expect the unexpected

i'll say this about the FBI raid on rep wm jefferson's (d-la) office: at least they had a warrant!

i wouldn't know if the warrant followed the constitution's requirement to describe the "things to be seized" or if the raiders seized only what was described, but that's the lawyers' problem, not mine.

as for separation of powers, i am a bit concerned, but i'm willing to wait for what higher courts say. the fact that the executive branch has never searched a congressional office before is clearly a long-followed custom and may or may not be a legal precedent.

it looks like they've got a lot on the guy and the country would be better off with him in jail instead of congress, but one aspect of it still worries me: if they can do that to a congressman, imagine what they can do to you or me!

sure, i know. you're one of those characters who says "go ahead. i've got nothing to hide."

well, bully for you. what a boring life you must lead: no love letters you wouldn't want a stranger reading? nothing ever said on the phone that wouldn't embarrass you if you knew a 3rd person was listening?

i recall hearing of a guy who got stopped for something minor on the jersey turnpike. the cop asked if he could look in the trunk. the guy figured he had nothing to hide, so he said ok.

the search took 2 hours!

see, it's not all about getting unjustly locked up or tortured or shot. often it's about your right to have a humdrum existence without a guy with a badge imposing an unreasonable inconvenience on you just because he can.

so when you think you've nothing to hide, also think about whether you have nothing better to do, and, like mel brooks says (after disraeli), "hope for the best, but expect the worst!"