Charlie Sheen's wife, Brooke Mueller, called the cops on him Christmas Day and Sheen was charged with second-degree assault for choking her. The latest on this scandal is that Sheen allegedly threatened to have her killed. Considering what a big star Sheen is—he's on one of the most popular shows on TV—this scandal has had relatively little coverage, especially when you compare it to the Tiger Woods coverage. What gives?

The New Yorker's James Surowiecki explained why Charlie Sheen is scandal-proof while Tiger's career has been nearly destroyed by his transgressions:

Scandals that aren’t out of tune with a celebrity’s image are often surprisingly easy to bounce back from: after images of Kate Moss snorting coke surfaced, her bookings fell, but, over time, they went up. Revelations that Michael Jordan had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars gambling barely dented his appeal, since the story reinforced the image of him as a fierce competitor. But scandals that conflict with a person’s public image can wreak havoc.

Charlie Sheen's image has always been debauched—as Gawker's Foster Kamer points out, he's a known druggie, hooker enthusiast, conspiracy theorist, racist and wife beater, and yet, he continues to work consistently. It doesn't make his alleged treatment of his wife any less repulsive, but at least it explains why the outrage is low grade.

Photograph of Charlie Sheen by Aspen Police Department via Getty Images.

Tags: charlie sheen, domestic abuse, drugs, tiger woods

As the curtains close on what Pew is calling the worst decade in half a century, the Internet is aflutter with uncharacteristic positivity, offering up bushels of best of the decade lists. The Village Voice recently ran a piece on the Best Dining and Drinking Trends of the Decade that included nods to the Slow Food movement and the mainstream emergence of local brews. The Hollywood Reporter issued a best films of the decade list with United 93 and No Country For Old Men making the cut (though feminist blog Women & Hollywood quickly pointed out that HR failed to elect even one female-directed movie to their list.) And Paste Magazine put together an all-encompassing series of Best of lists ranging from Best Video Games of the decade to the more self-indulgent Best Paste Magazine Covers of the Decade.

But what about the worst of the decade lists? From the attacks of 9-11, to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, there’s a reason 50 percent of Americans view the ‘00s with negative feelings. Lucky for us neggos, Engine Industries has put together an exhaustive compilation of the Best of The Worst of the Decade Lists. Feast your eyes, and breathe a sigh of relief that the ‘00s are nearly over.

Tags: Pew, the aughts, worst of the decade lists

News hit today that there has been an ongoing custody battle between Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, and Levi Johnston, the shiftless father of their son Tripp. Bristol and the Palin family had tried to keep the case closed to the public, and the court record had previously used pseudonyms for the feuding couple. But Levi's lawyers opposed the Palin gag order: "Simply put, this matter is public in nature, the courts are not refuges for the scions of the elite to obtain private dispensation of their legal matters because the public at large has an interest in the proceedings," said Johnston's lawyer Rex Butler.

Is it common in celebrity trials for proceedings to remain sealed? I don't know about the precedent in Alaska, but Christie Brinkley's philandering ex-husband, Peter Cook, tried to keep their nasty divorce trial private in New York State because he feared the couple's children would be hurt by what came out during the proceedings—which is the same reasoning Bristol gave for wanting to keep her custody battle private. In the Brinkley/Cook case, Suffolk County Judge Mark Cohen wrote: "[O]pen courtrooms, in general and in divorce actions, may provide a basis for societal education...The required high burden of compelling reasons to close the courtroom has not been met."

The judge in the Palin case refused to grant a gag order, so even if the case were private, Levi Johnston would run his mouth to the press about what went on whether the proceedings were public or not. However, I can't imagine that this custody battle will hurt Sarah Palin's image in the long run, no matter what comes out about her trying to keep Tripp from Levi Johnston. Her appeal is her relatability, and so many Americans can relate to messy divorces and crappy sons-in-law.

Photograph of Bristol, Sarah and Trig Palin and Levi Johnston by Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images.

Tags: Bristol Palin, christie brinkley, custody battles, levi johnston, Sarah Palin, tripp johnston-palin