Norman’s post reminds me of the “securities fraud” charge that the feds tried to lay on Martha Stewart. While the judge threw out the charge at Stewart’s trial, I have no doubt that the jurors would have convicted her of that, had they been given the chance. (Had they been given the chance, I’m sure they would have convicted her of shooting JFK or blowing up the World Trade Towers. This jury wanted to be able to convict a celebrity, period.)

Duke Cunningham truly is an unsympathetic character, but rights are not reserved for only those who are attractive. After all, when Martha Stewart was on trial, one of the things that made it easier to convict her was the testimony that depicted her as something that rhymes with rich.

I believe that the single greatest threat to liberty in this country is not George W. Bush — as bad as he is — but rather the ability of federal prosecutors to criminalize just about everything. When people are convicted in federal court or plead guilty to something, more often or not no real crimes have been committed, or at least crimes in the historical sense of the word. This last statement is difficult for people to believe, as most people believe that anyone charged with a crime must be guilty of something.