In assessing abuses of power by government, I offer the following formula: Once may be an anomaly, twice a coincidence,but three or more examples of the same abuse constitute a pattern.

Earlier this year, Police in Rochester, New Hampshire charged 48-year-old Christopher Power
with ?wiretapping? -- a class B felony ? after they discovered that Power had used a mini-cassette recorder to document a traffic stop.

In 2006, New Hampshire resident Michael Gannon, who complained of police misbehavior, was similarly charged after taping interviews with police in his own home. His complaint was upheld, but Gannon briefly faced wiretapping charges that could have resulted in a prison term of 21 years.

Now we learn that 18-year-old Brian Kelly of Carlisle, Pennsylvania faces seven years in prison for taping a May 24 traffic stop.

Clearly, these episodes reflect an intent to intimidate the public. Police have no reasonable expectation of privacy, and citizens have the right and duty to hold them accountable.

Let us stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.