Just the facts,please, Ed

In his column today, Ed Mathews (Mead) wrote, among other things: "(Alaska Governor Sarah)Palin dismissed Alaska's safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, who refused to fire a state trooper who was the ex-husband of Palin's sister."

This is a classic example of the folly of the three-dot school of journalism as practiced by Ed. His clear, but false, implication is that Palin dismissed State Trooper Commissioner Monegan because of the marital discord between her sister and her sister's Trooper ex-husband, whom Monegan refused to fire.

Monegan SHOULD have fired the errant gun-toting trooper because (a) he tasered an 11-year-old boy for kicks, a felony under Alaska law; (b) illegally shot a moose out of season, a "capital" offense in Alaska; (c) was caught drinking beer while driving a state trooper vehicle; and (d) before witnesses, threatened to kill Palin's father, a retired high school coach and teacher.

Palin did nothing illegal when she fired the commissioner. Under Alaska law, she is empowered to hire and fire him WITHOUT CAUSE. There was plenty of cause to fire him, but she didn't need any.

Just the facts, please, Ed.