James Taranto, "Best of the Web"
The left-wing Talking Radio blog claims that an Air America hostess has been a victim of crime in New York:
Randi Rhodes was mugged on Sunday night on 39th Street and Park Ave, nearby her Manhattan apartment, while she was walking her dog Simon.
According to Air America Radio late night host Jon Elliott, Rhodes was beaten up pretty badly, losing several teeth and will probably be off the air for at least the rest of the week. . . .
Elliott was extremely agitated when he reported on the incident. He opened his show by saying "it is with sadness that tonight I inform you that my Air America colleague Randi Rhodes was assaulted last night while walking her dog near her New York City home."
Pointing out that Rhodes was wearing a jogging suit and displayed no purse or jewelry, Elliott speculated that "this does not appear to me to be a standard grab the money and run mugging."
"Is this an attempt by the right wing hate machine to silence one of our own," he asked. "Are we threatening them. Are they afraid that we're winning. Are they trying to silence intimidate us."
"That KKKarl Rove and his Jew-loving neoKKKon Zionazi RethugliKKKan goon squad, nothing is beneath them. Nothing!"
Not only was there no evidence the mugging was politically motivated, but New York's Daily News says it was all a hoax: "Claims she was brutally attacked near her Manhattan apartment are bogus, her lawyer and a police source said today."
Over at DU and Kos, they're probably asking themselves, "How did he do it? How did KKKarl Rove get to Randi Rhodes?"
Oh well, just remember, there was a time, 15 or 20 or 30 years ago, when getting mugged in New York was not even unusual. Thank you, Rudy Giuliani. |