I'm fully aware of the threats to civil liberties posed by government surveillance. But I'm not going to allow that awareness--and my political activism against it happening--to cloud my judgment about this sort of crime.

Now, rest assured I fully believe Pete Townsend to be innocent until proven guilty--and I do mean proven guilty legitimately. To use an example of what I mean by that, one need only look to the actions of outgoing Illinois Governor Ryan. Innocent people are wrongfully convicted of heinous crimes all the time. So I assure you catspaw, my standards are much higher than most peoples' who are just interested in incarcerating and/or torturing and killing any old black man, or pervert, or whatever for the crime, to make either themselves feel safe, or to satisfy the cry for blood from the victims' loved ones.