Mike at Cold Fury has been blogging up a storm. Just start at the top and work your way down.
John Cole started Balloon Juice early in 2002. Those who have followed along know that this has been quite the journey.
All Together Now
Michael Jackson is not being investigated because he is Michael Jackson.
O.J. was not prosecuted because he was O.J.
Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were not prosecuted because of who they are (although it probably would not have bothered me in this case).
Mike Tyson was not prosecuted because he is Mike Tyson (although there probably should be a law on the books about that one).
And so forth:
Earlier Friday, Limbaugh’s attorney, Roy Black, accused the Palm Beach state attorney of investigating Limbaugh only for political reasons. Black said Limbaugh was not a target of State Attorney Barry Krischer’s investigation until October when the National Enquirer quoted Limbaugh’s maid as saying she had unlawfully sold Limbaugh such medications.
“Suddenly an elected public official could not ignore the name Rush Limbaugh,” Black said on NBC’s “Today” show. Black is also a paid NBC commentator. “They are looking to publicly embarrass him and affect his radio program….Why is Rush Limbaugh the only person treated like this in America?”
Dear Rush,
If they prosecute you, I am rather confident it is not because you are Rush Limbaugh.
BDS
This was a pretty amusing column on Bush hate by the Hammer. I expect the usual suspects will be out there asserting that he really thinks Dean is actually insane, which will be even funnier.
Go Vote
Make sure you go vote for the Weblog Awards.
Predictably, I am getting my ass handed to me.
For some reason, I am not even on the Playful Primates ballot. Weird.
Drunken Congressmen and the Democratic Frontrunner
More Violence In Iran
This is distressing:
Iranian Supreme Revolutionary Guard forces under the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly killed a 10-year-old boy in the country’s minority Baloch region yesterday, touching off a massive uprising against the Islamic regime countered by a deadly crackdown and imposition of martial law, according to sources on the scene.
Amid burning banks, stores and government offices, at least 30 Baloch protesters are dead and 80 injured in the southeastern city of Saravan near the Pakistani border, said Malek Meerdora, who immigrated to Canada from the city in 1993…
In an unusual display of resistance to the hard-line, cleric-led regime, a crowd set a military jeep on fire and began beating the soldiers, Meerdora said.
Later, at about 1:30 p.m., thousands of Balochs, including many from surrounding cities, began to congregate on the streets in protest.
Revolutionary Guard soldiers opened fire on the crowd, hitting up to 80 people, witnesses claimed.
The entire city and surrounding area is raised up against the Tehran government, Meerdora said, burning down symbols of the regime and attacking Iranian officials.
How can we help these people?
The Disastrous Impact of Bad Data
Move over Bellesiles and Lott, there are some new kids on the block:
Three Maryland researchers have admitted fabricating interviews with teenagers for a study on AIDS prevention that received more than $1 million in federal funds.
Lajuane Woodard, Sheila Blackwell and Khalilah Creek were employed by the University of Maryland at Baltimore’s department of pediatrics as researchers on the study, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The three admitted they made up interviews with teenagers, which they had claimed took place from May to August 2001, for the study on preventing the transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The fabrication was first reported in the journal Research USA.
This is so irritating and awful on so many levels I am just going to end this post right here, as I can not adequately describe my anger.