Heeding the Message

It takes a big man to admit that he's made a mistake, especially in politics.

It takes an even bigger man to think it over carefully enough to propose doing something genuinely useful. Rep. Markey has done both; here's what he wrote in his latest press release, covered on Chris Soghoian's blog:

Under the circumstances, any legal consequences for this student must take into account his intent to perform a public service, to publicize a problem as a way of getting it fixed. He picked a lousy way of doing it, but he should not go to jail for his bad judgment. Better yet, the Department of Homeland Security should put him to work showing public officials how easily our security can be compromised.

Exactly. This is the kind of thinking we need more of. Kudos and thanks to Rep. Markey for a courageous and helpful statement.