Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

Crap, where has the week gone . . . tomorrow's already Thursday, and I am looking down the barrel of a couple of deadlines. I forgot my iPod at home today and that just sucked . . . what the hell did I do before I had an iPod? This isn't a plug for Apple, by the way, it's an honest question.

And thank you to my ladies in Texas for turning me on to this so that I could rant a little. By and large the cops I've ever dealt with have been straight forward, and I've made it through three decades without a moving violation despite being pulled over at various times for various reasons -- sometimes flagrant (like running right through a red light, or going the wrong way down a one-way street). But there's something about the folks that go into law enforcement, along with the power that the badge and uniform confers that just SCREAMS for accountability. I admit that we need the cops . . . but we also need them to know that if they act like this there will be consequences. So I'll be following this story closely now.

In the mean time, let's take a moment to review what we should have learned in civics class, but if you were like me you didn't:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.