No one is infallible and mistakes happen. Some are out of laziness or lack of knowledge. Some people are burning the candle at both ends and unable to think clearly. Some are just plain accidents. The jerk that just cut you off on the freeway may have a blind spot.

I made a few mistakes this week that were not devastating but nonetheless irritated me so much I've made it the theme of this column. The worst thing those of us who make mistakes can do is fail to admit them, and like then-presidential candidate John Kerry, you can have an I-voted-for-it-before-I-voted-against-it moment.

Hopefully for most of us, it's not that public, though last week one of mine was at least within the credit union industry. I made the horrid mistake of accusing NCUA's Buddy Gill of being (perish the thought) a Republican. A thousand pardons to my learned colleague in Virginia. It was a bonehead move to work from my failing memory that was made in haste under a looming deadline.