The Green Man has had it in his mind for some time to buy a fake PhD. It would be a huge lark, well except for the fact that money is a bit too hard to come by to waste it so frivilously.

The Government Affairs Committee of the US Senate is not so sure that it is as humerous as The Gren Man finds it. By way of investigation Sen. Susan Collins purchased herself a number of very prestigous degrees (see here) She says

No applicant for a job -- whether it's in the private sector or federal government -- should lose out to a candidate because that candidate holds a bogus degree. Moreover, our tax dollars should not be spent on helping federal workers obtain substandard degrees.

Of course not all polititians are quite so picky about the qualifications of their staff. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Jack Corrie to a high-level information technology position in the state's Department of Motor Vehicles. Corrie's credentials include a bachelor's and a master's from the University of Palmers Green, which is a fake university, according to John Bear, an expert on online learning and diploma mills. It is unclear whether Gov. Schwarzenegger was aware of this and, if so, whether he thought that it mattered.

The Green Man would like to assure his readers and potential suckers (err sorry students) that the PhD in Ancient Forest Technology offered by The Green Man University has nothing to do with this illicit trade in fake qualifications and that the "print your own" MS Publisher certificates are completely legit.

Read more in Wired.