Speaking of fictional facts that might as well be true, I see that District Attorney Mike Nifong has dropped the rape charges against the Duke University La Crosse students:

Lacking any "scientific or other evidence independent of the victim's testimony" to corroborate that aspect of the case, the district attorney said in court papers, "the state is unable to meet its burden of proof with respect to this offense."

Nifong did not immediately return calls for comment, and a sign posted on his office door read, "No media, please!"

Excuse me? Kidnapping?

I guess that might as well have happened too, even if it didn't.

Duke President Richard Brodhead has called for the DA to resign.

"The district attorney should now put this case in the hands of an independent party, who can restore confidence in the fairness of the process," Brodhead said. "Further, Mr. Nifong has an obligation to explain to all of us his conduct in this matter."

Far more is involved in this case than the misdeeds of one District Attorney. There is a segment of the black community -- a small segment, we can hope -- that figures it is payback time for all the black men who have been railroaded to jail on trumped-up charges involving the rape of white women.

The local branch of the NAACP, an organization which fought against such injustices in times past, has thrown its weight behind those who are trying to railroad three white students, who were not even born when these other injustices occurred.

Winston Churchill once said, "If the past sits in judgment on the present, the future will be lost." Nowhere is that more true than when dealing with the explosive mixture of race and politics.

Nifong deserves to be removed from office and disbarred. If he gets away with all this, it will be a blank check for every prosecutor in the country to abuse the powers of the office.

The prosecution is a sordid affair, and the logic involved reminds me of blood libel, which is of course built on the principle that certain fictions might as well be true.

I hope it's over soon.

MORE: The Duke rape case touches on a larger, politically taboo issue: the high incidence of false rape charges.

Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?