Olympic champion Michael Phelps isn't the first 23-year-old to smoke pot in a dormitory room. He apologized, but he needn't have. The lowlife who took the picture? He owes Phelps an apology. He is indecent, and society is indecent for rewarding his candid-camera intrusion upon Mr. Phelps with money and attention. Congressman Peter King's legislation to force cell-phone manufacturers to ensure camera-phones click upon taking a picture addresses a serious problem--the lack of a private sphere in a technologically-advanced society--but does so with a misdirected faith in governmrnt to solve it and do so in a heavy-handed manner.

Other than how easy it is for one to take a picture anywhere and anytime is that these pics can live forever on the internet. That makes some situations captured digitally even more dangerous and embarrassing and the ultimate invasion of privacy.

He would have been too stoned to hear a click from the camera anyway. Anywho, joking aside, Phelps never should have put himself in that situation. It's his fault, not the guy who took the picture. He has to take responsibility for his own actions.

"[Phelps] has to take responsibility for his own actions."

Very true. But this particular action is the business but anyone other than Phelps and God is beyond me.

Phelps will (hopefully) escape any charges from this offense, but is it not a huge mark of shame that this country incarcerates a higher percentage of its citizens - and by and large b/c of no-harm crimes like this one - than any other country in the world?

Incidentally, if the GOP wants to win a larger percentage of the minority vote, hoisting a moderate black to the helm of the party ain't gonna do it. Advocating the decriminalization of drug use - or at least of marijuana use - and the freeing of all those so incarcerated, on the other hand, will do much to attract those potential voters.

It won’t be the last for sure. Come other great people will stumble too. Any person and/or committee who will condemn MPhelps are just as hypocrite as can be. Michael Phelps will always be himself and be adored by all ages no matter what because of what he accomplished. We hope he can recover from this.

Phelps is a public figure. There are laws and legal precedents that make what happened to him legal, regardless of whether it is anyone else's business or not. Personally, this has in no way changed my opinion of him. I still remember getting goosebumps watching him dominate in Beijing.

Some valid points, Eric. But, should the GOP also work to overturn Roe v. Wade to attract voters? Or what about abolishing the drinking age? These measures would surely attract new voters.

I'm a bit confused by Ken's comment. Maybe it isn't coming through in the written form, but is he using sarcasm? What exactly would be wrong with either trying to overturn Roe v. Wade or with abolishing the drinking age?

I'm with Steve. And I would be delighted if the GOP really did work to overturn Roe v. Wade. (And to abolish the drinking age, too!)

This story presents a gross example of just how screwed up and oppressive the war on drugs is: http://tinyurl.com/d5ngbx