Phil,

I can agree with you only so far. Public officials probably ought to be held to a higher intensity of scrutiny, in proportion to the amount of public trust for which they are responsible. We must never forget, however, that they remain citizens of the United States with rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

What Lindy did, essentially, was to disseminate hearsay - that is, unsubstantiated third-party allegations - about the behavior of a citizen who may or may not ever be accused of foul play in the disappearance of another citizen. The content of Lindy's post, if true, may have relevance to the reelection of Condit, or even his current tenure. It may also, if true, be used against him in a court of law if he is accused of a crime relating to the case under discussion - if there is ever a case. Even if true, there is a direct connection missing between the allegations in Lindy's post and the fate of the missing woman - a connection which the prosecution, if there is one, will need to establish in court. However, public dissemination of the hearsay before indictment or arraignment, not to mention trial, poisons the entire potential jury pool and in essence denies Condit a fair trial, if he is ever accused of a crime.

My distinction among appropriate locations for posts to The HabitableZone's various BBSs is based upon (to paraphrase M.L. King, Jr.) the character of their content. Obviously, by already-established usage, we collectively wish the Space Science board to remain scientifically rigorous as well as topical. I believe we also all assume that the Current Events board should be used to report factual occurences, and opinions based upon fact. The case of this board, Off Topic, is "nebulous" on purpose (thank you, Justin, for the pun!). Nevertheless, the specific post in question - character assassination by innuendo - is best relegated to the very Hell Justin has created for that purpose.

I am beginning to fear the rise of a new trend in politics, which I will call "Moral McCarthyism", where brandishing a sheaf of blank paper while claiming it to be a list of reprobates and their deeds will be swallowed whole, as fact, by an American public already primed to believe the very worst of their elected representatives. Guilt by implication and association, trial by public opinion, blacklists, government surveillance of private citizens, HUAC... want that back, Phil, or was once enough?

The end result could look a lot like fascism. I know that's extreme for this country... but not impossible. It looked like fascism last time, too. Here's something not so extreme: The less desirable we make it to seek and hold public office, the more undesirable public officials we will have.

E'