Not with a bang but a whimper.

Here is the all too familiar trajectory of news: a juicy story begins all flashbang 24/7 on cable news and ends, later, as a note on a blog somewhere in the obscurity of cyberspace, forlorn and abandoned as Abishag (that withered hag):

No memory of having starred
Atones for later disregard,
Or keeps the end from being hard.

Thusly:

John Karr was flown to the United States from Bangkok in police custody to face an accusation that he kidnapped and killed Jonbenet Ramsey, only to be released from Colorado custody after DNA exonerated him. (TalkLeft coverage collected here.) Then Karr was taken to California to face charges that he possessed child pornography.

Those charges were dismissed today after prosecutors conceded that Karr may never have accessed pornographic images on his computer in California. Police lost the computer after they seized it.

Ah yes, the villainous John Karr, the man who was served prawns (oh gnashing of teeth), released, uncharged of any crime, by both states in which he faced authorities, Colorado and California.

But don't expect to hear a blatherning newsbuffoon say "I was wrong." We're on to new entertainments now - Ds being mean to Rs! - and "I was wrong" would spoil the fun.