Anchorage Daily News

Kopp appointment insults women

Gov. Palin's appointment of Charles Kopp as commissioner of Public Safety pushes Alaska women's rights back 30 years. I expected so much more from a woman governor. He claims that no sexual harassment lawsuits have been filed and no settlements have been paid. The person appointed to this position needs to have a reputation above reproach.

As a 43-year-old woman, I have had to endure sexual harassment at every job I have ever held. Women had no recourse; you either took it or quit. I have raised my daughters to know that there are laws and rules in place so they never have to tolerate any kind of harassment in any aspect of their lives. Thank you, Gov. Palin, for throwing everything Alaska women have worked so hard to achieve under the bus by justifying Mr. Kopp's disrespect of women.

-- Wendy Isbell

Anchorage

Dumping phone books is littering

I wonder how long people will continue to put up with the phone companies dumping their duplicative, unneeded and unwanted phone books in their yards. By any reasonable definition what the phone companies are doing is littering. Many folks apparently are conned into believing that when this trash is dumped on their porch, it becomes their obligation to get rid of it. Some have suggested hauling it back to the phone company -- a good idea. Here's a better one. Call or e-mail the phone companies and demand that they burn their own $4 gas to come retrieve their litter. It's time for the phone companies to find a better way to conduct their business.

-- Richard Estelle

Palmer

Revised act driven by propaganda

Congress just passed a revised Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which the president signed into law. This revision specifically provides retroactive immunity from legal prosecution for telecom companies that helped the Bush administration's warrantless surveillance following Sept. 11, 2001. Our delegation all voted "yea."

This legislation was driven by hypocritical propaganda. We were told that the threat of modern Islamic fanaticism -- which America itself verifiably funded development of against Russia in the '80's -- justifies unfettered action by the executive branch. This constitutes philosophical treason.

First, nobody needs retroactive immunity from legal prosecution if no laws were ever broken. So Congress is publicly admitting that the Bush administration directed lawbreaking but is immune from accountability.

Second, this legislation sets the precedent that the executive branch can ignore law to deal with emergencies, even if its own incompetence or immorality encouraged them. The Constitution, and its supporting laws, will come to mean what the executive branch wants them to mean in support of its conduct.

Third, our Constitution directly forbids Congress from passing ex post facto law. Anybody can verify that this means Congress can't pass law making a heretofore lawful act illegal, or making a heretofore unlawful act legal. Yet the very words "retroactive immunity from legal prosecution" explain this is an ex post facto law!

This is real corruption.

-- Stuart Thompson

Wasilla

Assembly I/M backers vulnerable

The Assembly members who voted to reinstate the I/M program, I believe, have committed political suicide. I hope every voter remembers the names of the ones who voted for it. It is totally unnecessary, as we all know. They are supposed to vote as the people they represent want. Are they deaf? Apparently they are.

-- Jim Freeman

Anchorage

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