The editor of our paper, Anchorage Daily News, told his feelings about the fired 8...

[snowbear]

No fishing?

President on thin ice with refusal

The president says he will resist any "fishing expedition" that seeks to have his top aides testify before Congress on their role in the controversial firing of eight federal prosecutors. He will allow his aides to appear only in private, with no transcript and no oath.

The offer to appear at all is "extraordinarily generous," said the president's spokesman, who added there is no need to administer an oath because "the president expects everybody who talks to Congress to tell the truth, and so does the law." Especially these "honorable public servants."

Congressional committees are threatening to issue subpoenas if the White House aides refuse to testify under oath.

The same day the prosecutors' firing escalated into a political and legal collision course between the president and Congress, the Justice Department's inspector general told a House committee that the FBI may have violated federal law and policies when the agency collected private data on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals living here. As many as 600 of those files since 2003 could be "cases of serious misconduct," the inspector general testified.

He told House members the FBI abused its ability to collect private data on people without a court-approved search warrant, using only national security letters issued by the FBI -- without any court oversight. The private data included bank, telephone and credit card records.

There's a lesson here.

If the FBI is going to go on illegal fishing expeditions, then maybe President Bush should not throw lead weights at Congress when it, too, wants to drop its line in the political waters to see what fish it can catch. The president can't have it both ways; he can't go fishing with the FBI and then refuse to spend time with Congress.

Under oath is the only way to testify.

BOTTOM LINE: The president should stop fighting the truth.

Kudos to our editor for putting that in our paper!!! http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/8729803p-8631575c.html http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/8729803p-8631575c.html

[hamerfan]

1. Loved the ADN

when I lived up there. Always had good writing and a fine editorial staff. Glad to see that hasn't changed. Only wish there were more papers like that one. Maybe the Sacramento Bee is still like that, not a lot of others. Do you remember the short-lived Anchorage Times? Sometimes called the Veco Times? What a crappy paper that was.
dumpbush

[snowbear]

2. Yep..

Since the Anchorage Times owned stake in the ADN, when ADN wanted to buy out the Times.. they allowed the sale to go through, but the Times (very conservative) gets one whole page in the Alaska section.

We can live with just that one page, I barerly ever glance at it as I toss it in the recycyle box... A dude from Veco still manages it.

As far as the rest of the paper, the Anchorage Daily News is pretty progressive!

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

3. The ADN is a big believer in people expressing their opinions

In addition to the usual editorial page on the even numbered page, the bottom half of the opposite page is devoted to LTTEs. The quality of the letters is remarkable; no matter which side is expressed, the opinions are both articulate and respectful.

When the conservative Anchorage Times when out of business many years ago, ADN provided them with the top half of the page above the LTTEs. The newspaper publisher said it was important to the community to have more than one point of view expressed. The AT editors usually run a conservative columnist and an editorial which is nearly always in opposition of the ADN position. I thought that was pretty classy on the part of ADN.

Two other things about ADN. When I lived in Fairbanks ADN had an annual political cartoon competition (my submission was one of those published, of which I am most proud), and each year they threw a party for all the people who had written LTTEs.

Like I said -- classy.

[driver8]

4. I used to deliver the Anchorage Daily News!

When I lived on Adak...

Great article -- thanks for posting it!

[izzie]

5. Is this the same paper that was run by a women?

Just asking. It is the paper I read when I lived in Alaska and was happy with it. I still turn to it and see something is going on with the pipe line and 'greening' right now. Just who got away with what I guess. As I see it the pipe line Co. bent to the state to get into the state but I am not so sure it keep its word.

[PDittie]

6. Be sure and send a note of thanks

We should reward good media like this.

[snowbear]

7. Good idea, I will !!

~~

What's neat about it is that this wasn't sent in by a reader in the letter's section, it was in the main section of the paper and was the EDITOR'S OPINION.

I will send in a letter of thanks!