In a May 30 editorial the Sun Journal suggested that Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Bush administration have fostered a tolerance for police abuses. This tolerance, the paper argued, contributed to the overreaction of a state trooper in Farmington in an incident completely unconnected to homeland security.

Characterizing the trooper’s actions as out of line in this incident is perfectly appropriate. Laying the blame on President Bush and John Ashcroft is just plain silly and not worthy of space on this paper’s opinion page.

For the most part I think the Sun Journal does a very good job living up to its responsibility to serve the public – I was particularly pleased with the work last fall to improve access to what is supposed to be public information.

Living up to the paper’s responsibility to serve the public also means taking on issues like the Bush administration’s response to the war on terrorism directly and reasonably.

To do otherwise diminishes the credibility I believe the entire staff of the Sun Journal has worked hard to achieve.

Dan Demeritt, Augusta

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