"Criminal defendants in America are innocent until proven guilty, unless they don't say they're innocent, in which case they're obviously guilty."

Bonus shorter: "Elite athletes who are dismissed from professional sports teams when they don't earn their multimillion-dollar salaries are going through exactly the same thing as a dog that's been tortured and hung until dead."

I mean, geez, it's possible to have sympathy for Michael Vick and believe that people are innocent until proven guilty without being a complete and total prick who stereotypes lawyers, defendants, and vaguely implies that animal rights activists are racists. Unless, of course, you are Gregg Easterbrook. It pains the soul.

Mine, mostly, but then again - I read a lot of news, and I never saw this follow-up to this story that made the rounds in mid-July:

ASHEVILLE- Buncombe County's sheriff and district attorney have dropped charges against a couple accused of desecrating the American flag, saying they stood little chance in court.

The Sheriff's Office will continue an investigation into the actions of Deputy Brian Scarborough, who issued the charges after a complaint from a fellow National Guardsman, Sheriff Van Duncan said Thursday.

Duncan said he "had rather we responded to that call differently" and that Scarborough "probably shouldn't have been there to begin with."

Note, however, that the Sheriff's Office still insists on casting aspersions on the couple whose house was invaded by the deputy:

Scarborough, 25, started at the Sheriff's Office in 2003 as a reserve deputy. He was hired full time June 13, after serving seven months in Iraq with the National Guard.

"Whether we agree with someone's actions whether or not to hang the flag upside down, it does seem to be the intention of the Supreme Court, which is the supreme law of the land, to allow that," Duncan said. "So in other words, the Kuhns are allowed to do what they're doing.

"On the other side of that, if it weren't for young men like Deputy Scarborough, we wouldn't have those rights."

Duncan said the District Attorney's Office likely could have prosecuted the Kuhns on the assault and obstruction charges. Duncan said he wanted to make amends with both sides and bring closure to the issue.

"I don't think we gain anything by dividing the charges and going on," Duncan said. "We feel like the sooner we can move on from this, the better all parties involved will be."

Especially the Sheriff's office, if it can avoid accountability for its deputy's actions. If the Sheriff is talking about the "right" to use armed force to invade a [house/country] for no legal reason, with no plan, and then blame everyone else for the results of your action, then he's precisely summarized both the Iraq War and his own deputy's actions. Way to stand on principle, America!