In this country, I believe the burden of proof is upon the government to prove wrongdoing, not upon individuals to prove innocence.
Dana.

You are confusing criminal proceedings with civil proceedings.

In a criminal proceeding the entire burden of proof is on the government prosecution. Furthermore, the standard of proof is higher (beyond reasonable doubt). In a criminal proceeding, unless the accused pleads guilty, the prosecution must prove every element of the alleged offense beyond reasonable doubt.

In a civil proceeding the government may not even be involved (unless it happens to be plaintiff or defendant). A civil suit is between two individuals (corporations and the government counting as individuals for this purpose). The burden of proof is still with the plaintiff, but the standard of proof is lower (preponderance of evidence — legalese for "more likely than not"). The plaintiff has to prove that he has been injured that that the injury is the fault of the defendant. No law need have been broken, but if the injury is the result of lawbreaking by the defendant then the plaintiff has a stronger case. If the defendant doesn't offer a defense, it is usually fairly easy for the plaintiff to show that it is "more likely than not" that the defendant is liable for his injury. This is why the defendant in a civil proceeding must defend himself. Otherwise, the lower standard of proof makes it fairly easy to get a judgment against him. This is why OJ walked on the murder prosecution but was nailed on the wrongful death civil action.

Don't confuse criminal prosecution by the government with a civil action by an individual.

LWM:

"Beyond a reasonable doubt" and "to a moral certainty," if my memory serves. In civil just a "preponderance of the evidence" is required.

"To a moral certainty" is usually treated as a definition of "beyond a reasonable doubt". However it has been challenged in court and there is a tendency for judges to veer away from the subjective implications of "moral certainty" in their instructions nowadays. See this somewhat dated (1994) but still relevant article on the topic: <http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cri09.htm>.

In civil cases where punitive damages are involved there is frequently a higher standard of proof, "clear and convincing evidence", invoked. This is meant to be a middle position between "preponderance of evidence" and "beyond reasonable doubt">

First:

Send a letter devoid of any of the emotional diatribe of Col. Boylan’s tone, as you do in all your articles, to SECDEF Gates with copies to Gen. Petraeus, CINCCENTCOM, the secretary and chief of staff of the Army, and the chairman of the armed services committees in the House and Senate.

Then:

I forgot...

to include Admiral Fallon. In fact, you could consider writing the letter to him and copying Gates.

I thought Adm Fallon was CINCCENTCOM. Has there been a change of command while I wasn't watching?

Thanks shooter. That's a perfect description of Boylan's email(s). And thanks for including the "Heh" this time. Otherwise, we might fear that you were starting to think for yourself. How's the golf game coming? Been able to do anything about that slice yet?

So leaving aside Boylan's pettiness, it appears he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer either.

... is that he's not even a knife. He's a spoon who thinks he's a knife.

... allow me to make my contribution as well:

The Merry Minuet

The Kingston Trio (ca. 1959)

They're rioting in Africa. They're starving in Spain. There's hurricanes in Florida, and Texas needs rain.
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls. The French hate the Germans, the Germans hate the Poles.
Italians hate Yugoslavs, South Africans hate the Dutch. And I don't like anybody very much!
But we can be tranquil and thankful and proud, for man's been endowed with a mushroom-shaped cloud.
And we know for certain that some lovely day, someone will set the spark off... and we will all be blown away.
They're rioting in Africa. There's strife in Iran. What nature doesn't do to us... will be done by our fellow man.

Plus ça change ...

But seriously, Iran is the greatest threat to the US in the world today. Right now there are three Iranian carrier battle groups operating in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening to deliver humanitarian aid to New Orleans.

Garry Owen:

Am I missing something? "here at UT"? Is Glenn's blog published simultaneously somewhere other than Salon? If so, now I understand the consternation and the blowback from a few who feel personally insulted.

Yes, you are missing something. Glenn originally had his own blog called Unclaimed Territory on Blogger. Because of the quality of his writing and his relevance in the current political environment and because he occasionally wrote a piece for Salon that was well received, he was offered an opportunity to move his blog to Salon as a regular contributor. Glenn insisted that he have full editorial control and that he be allowed to run it as a blog in precisely the same way as the old UT. This he was granted and most of the people that you have irritated by your arrogance and coprolalia are long-time regulars going back to the inception of Unclaimed Territory who still tend to think of it as UT rather than Salon.

ar·ro·gance /ˈærəgəns/ Pronunciation [ar-uh-guhns]
–noun
offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride.

You were good with me up until you got to "most of the people that you have irritated by your arrogance." MY arrogance? What about yours?

You left out the bit about coprolalia:

cop·ro·la·li·a /ˌkɒprəˈleɪliə/ Pronunciation [kop-ruh-ley-lee-uh]
–noun
the obsessive use of scatological language.

Piss off.

Q.E.D.