Hardcore Cosby fans won't let it go

Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby now faces criminal charges over sexual assault allegations, but despite a lifetime of reported abuse and his admission of drugging women, the man still has his defenders.

It is true that Cosby has been a philanthropic powerhouse over the years, particularly to historically black colleges. Among the donations he's made in the past are a $20 million gift to Spelman College in 1988, and $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine. (In July, Spelman ended a professorship named for Cosby and returned money associated with it to a foundation established by his wife, Camille.)

Many of Cosby's fans aren't weighing the good against the bad, however-they don't think the bad was all that bad to begin with.

Sourcing quotes to random social networking accounts is a hallmark of bad reporting, because you can search-'n'-quote your way to supporting almost any position in the quest for a balanced, dramatic story. These Cosby supporters and their wheedling, cautious, silencing denial, though, they're real. That's the first and last line of defense for celebrity rapists.