Reply #3: I am not sure if it was for naught. I tell you what.

[No Elephants]

I like to think of myself as an honest person.

I try very hard not to even make sincere factual mistakes in what I say (which is why so many of my posts contain highly qualified statements).

However, I honestly don't know if I could resist the temptation to shred if I were going though my files or the files of someone I really cared about and I came things that seemed potentially incriminating.

I've never done anything like that because I have never been in a position where it seemed necessary to protect my papers or those of a loved one from public (or court) scrutiny, but I honestly don't know what I would do if I were in that position.

Do you, dear reader? What if, say, your kid had (as an adult) written a note on a memo that, in hindisight, seemed like it could be a huge problem for him or her?

Political staffers can be very loyal.