I gotta be honest. I think Sen. Ted Stevens’ four decades of service in the Senate should confer to him some degree of deference and a little bit of a benefit of the doubt. I know he is best friends with Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and that, as World War Two veterans, they have a special bond. I’m not for unceremoniously kicking Ted Stevens to the curb. But he appears to have accepted bribes and his seat on the Appropriations committee puts him in a position to have a lot of influence of the Justice Department’s budget. It’s unseemly for Stevens to retain his seat on Appropriations. He should be stripped of that responsibility at least until he can clear his name. Given his long and distinguished service to the nation, I don’t have a problem with letting him keep his other committee assignments for the time being. This is not about disrespecting a man that fought the Japanese during World War Two and dedicated his life to public service. This is about a simple conflict of interest.