Most have heard the saying “do as I say, not as I do” but I expect that fewer know the full quotation. Its author was the remarkable English polyhistor, John Selden (1584-1654). Here’s the full quotation from The Table Talk of John Selden:

Preachers say, Do as I say, not as I do. But if the physician had the same disease upon him that I have, and he should bid me do one thing, and himself do quite another, could I believe him?

The government can be pretty tough when it comes to the destruction of documents. For example, Section 802 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act made it a crime to knowingly alter, destroy, mutilate et cetera any record with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of the SEC or any other department or agency of the United States. 18 U.S.C. § 1519. California followed suit by adding a substantially similar provision, Section 25404(a), to the Corporations Code. Cal. Stats. 2003, c. 473 (AB 1031).