Don't trust the Bredesen administration to tell the truth

The Tennessean points out the obvious: The Bredesen administration can't be trusted. Following yesterday's recommended firing of the fall guy in the illegal background check scandal, Gail Kerr writes:

So where does that leave us?

People want to believe the THP is going to make this right. The decision to terminate Shirley came quickly after Bredesen got home from the Democratic National Convention. The governor is too smart not to realize this thing was blowing up around him. The THP is finally done horsing around with this guy.

But, unfortunately, there remain unanswered questions.

Shirley, though under suspicion, was allowed to continue having access to the law enforcement database for more than a month. He even received a glowing employee evaluation a month into the criminal investigation. Only after The Tennessean broke the story was the man suspended. Why? The THP says they had to follow proper channels. We'll just have to take their word for it.

Safety Commissioner Dave Mitchell said Shirley acted on his own, with no political motive. But they won't release the list of who was improperly investigated. Or speculate onhis motivation. So we'll just have to take his word for it.

Mitchell was emphatic that this sort of thing "will not be tolerated." But the THP, and this administration, has a history of returning folks who have gotten in trouble to well-paid state jobs. When Shirley was caught fixing a ticket for the governor's top dog, former THP leaders created a fake punishment. So will the termination stick? We'll just have to take their word for it.

Commissioner Mitchell pointed to changes he's made in the last 20 months. Is this finally a turning point in the THP mess?

It looks good. Sounds good. But is it real?

After all that has happened, just taking their word for it is unacceptable.