The national Society of Professional Journalists doesn't normally get involved in politics and policy -- certainly not in something like the proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street being pushed by the Bush administration.

But in a posting on its website this week SPJ says its leaders are "concerned" about the proposal.

"In particular, SPJ is at odds with Section 8 of the bill, which would yield broad, unfettered and unchecked authority to the Treasury Secretary," the post says.

The section in question reads this way:

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

SPJ President Dave Aeikens said, "Secrecy is what got us in trouble in the first place, and now the administration wants to make the fix secret too? Americans demand more accountability and transparency in their government, not less, especially when $700 billion of their own money is at stake."

-- dh