Fast swimmer dodges bullet

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina sheriff said Monday he was not going to charge swimmer Michael Phelps after a photo of the 14-time gold medalist showed him smoking from a marijuana pipe.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he couldn't ignore the photo but defended his investigation.

"Michael Phelps is truly an American hero ... but even with his star status, he is still obligated to obey the laws of our state," Lott said.

The photo showed Phelps smoking from a marijuana pipe at a party in November when he visited the University of South Carolina.

Phelps has called his judgment bad and said he would learn from his mistake.

This isn't the first embarrassing episode for Phelps after an Olympic triumph. In 2004, a few months removed from winning six gold and two bronze medals in Athens, the swimmer was arrested on a drunken driving charge at age 19. He pleaded guilty and apologized for the mistake. More here:

Yes, what an "embarrassing episode." It's a good thing this objective jourrrrnalist told us that a DUI is "embarrassing." Otherwise we might get the idea that DUI's are just a tool of a repressive communist government to get our money by charging us $10,000 for doing something almost as dangerous as talking on a cell phone while driving.

"We found that people are as impaired when they drive and talk on a cell phone as they are when they drive intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit” of 0.08 percent, which is the minimum level that defines illegal drunken driving in most U.S. states, says study co-author Frank Drews, an assistant professor of psychology. “If legislators really want to address driver distraction, then they should consider outlawing cell phone use while driving.:

“This study does not mean people should start driving drunk,” says Drews. “It means that driving while talking on a cell phone is as bad as or maybe worse than driving drunk, which is completely unacceptable and cannot be tolerated by society." More here:

Ooooooo - impaired? Talking on a cell phone? Now THAT'S some extreme danger right there. Oh, and I always love it when some jackass injects a "... and what we found was ... " into a converstation. Ever notice? The libs are always "finding" things. Ohhhh, you "found it?" It was a "study?" Well then, it must be the truth.