Actually, I take it back. It’s a whole lot freaky, too. The nutshell version: The Cleveland Plain-Dealer spoke to “Ellie Light” on the phone this morning and got her to admit — in a “husky voice” — that her name’s really Barbara Brooks, she’s a nurse, and that she wrote the letters on her own initiative. She gave them some personal information to verify her existence and it checked out. Later today, another woman — not husky-voiced — called the Plain-Dealer and said that she’s Barbara Brooks and that it’s actually her husband, a Kossack named Winston Steward, who’s responsible for the Ellie letters and has now taken to posing as her because he’s afraid the “right-wing crazies” will get him. (Question: If you think you’re in danger, why would you expose your wife to that danger by posing as her?) She too gave the Plain-Dealer some personal information, and her records appear to match those of “husky-voiced” Barbara. Can it get any freakier? My friends, it can:

This conversation with Barbara Brooks was followed by yet another call with the husky-voiced individual, who was adamant that “she” really is Barbara Brooks. The conversation got more weird, as “Barbara Brooks” of the husky voice claimed she had been divorced from Winston Steward for a year. (The other Barbara Brooks said that she and Steward have been married for 31 years, and still are.)

Asked to provide the name of “her” divorce attorney, the husky-voiced Barbara Brooks spelled out the name of “Tabone Enklery,” initially ending the first name with a “y.” “Enkerly” practices in San Antonio, according to the deeper-voiced Barbara Brooks, saying the divorce took place in Texas. He/she, however, could not come up with the divorce judge’s name on the spot.

Needless to say, there’s no “Tabone Enklery” in Texas’s attorney registry. Still not weird enough? Well, Gawker claims to have spoken with Barbara Brooks too — not the husky voiced one, the other one — and she insists that not only is her husband Winston Steward the real “Ellie Light,” but he was the one who called into Michael Smerconish’s radio show this morning posing as Ellie. You’ll find the clip below, via Breitbart; tell me if you think it sounds like a guy.

Oh, did I forget to mention that both Gawker and Ben Smith have received new e-mails from “Ellie Light” that don’t clarify anything? Exit question: Given that this appears to be some sort of kooky nutroots freelance operation gone wrong and not an Axelrodian master plan, does anyone much care anymore?

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