It was nice listening to the good doctor reassure us that he is a expert on Alaska and how, "I visit Alaska all the time" I go to Denali national park, glacier bay... but apparently he does not go anywhere that is not in a National Park, either that or he believes that they are not worthy of mention.

He is just the kind of moronic elitist that we need hanging around.

I recall when I first saw and heard Don Young. It was 1971 or 1972. He was in the Alaska Senate at the time and chaired a committee having something to do with Alaska commercial aviation. I was in the private sector commercial flying business. There was a hearing here in Anchorage involving the Alaska Transportation Commission. The three politically appointed commissioners from that agency didn't have the guts to attend. Instead, they sent a lowly staff worker.

Young was allowing the industry to testify but at one point an Air Taxi operator from Valdez had a bone to pick with that particular state employee, because the staffer had uncovered some wrongdoing on the part of the Air Taxi firm. Young put the state employee on the stand. Young was smoking a huge cigar at the time. Blowing smoke directly at and all over the little bureaucrat. The Air Taxi owner was allowed to stand up and shout, using staccato speach, at the state employee, while stabbing at him with a pointed finger and asking one question after another, all in red faced anger. At one point the employee attempted to answer one of the rabid air taxi operator's questions. Young screamed, and I mean scream, "let him finish!"

I was part of the private sector and didn't really have a lot of love for the transportation commission either. But I couldn't believe my eyes. I also happened to be familiar with the details regarding the Valdez violation and the air taxi operator's case. He had simply been caught by the Commission for being crooked and cheating.

Young was a complete bully and a ass. I made a mental note then never to like him or vote for him. He has lived up to my expectations a hundred times since. Just reflect on his actions over the years, a real simpleton, pounding on a table with his oosik, ignorantly intimidating good people, just one step shy of being a Senator Joe McCarthy from another era.

Good on you Dr. Brinkley for putting this cowardly demagogue in his place. About time.

There is so much wrong with this hearing and this process. Rather than elicit information for the purpose of making sound decisions, hearings such as this only further divide and alienate Congress and the public, and serves as merely another platform for partisan target practice. There is no leadership; no wisdom; no intelligient discussion. Granted, we have beat this issue to death, but it wouldn't matter if we were talking about a big oil drilling issue or who will be dog catcher - leadership is absent. How hopeful it would be if we had reason to be proud rather than dismayed or disgusted by the obvious vote-seeking, money-pocketing, partisan pandering of too many in Congress. (And for those who like to take pot-shots at anyone who has ever run for office, save your breath - I'm not running).