PRESERVE OUR FREEDOMS

A recent Gallup survey indicated that four in five Americans would
forfeit freedoms for security. For more than 200 years, our nation has
shed much blood securing these freedoms for its citizens. To now say
we will forfeit them for temporary and elusive security is a travesty.

The current president and attorney general are well on the way to
granting these citizens their wish. They have restricted your right to
counsel, due process and attorney-client privilege and have gutted the
Freedom of Information Act under the guise of national security. The
attorney general recently announced new broad powers for federal
agents, with emphasis on detection and prevention. These new powers
allow spying on citizens and their e-mail if "warranted in light of
the seriousness of the crime."

This president and attorney general are not stopping with just
citizens' rights; states' rights are also in peril. They have
attempted to nullify the voters' voices in California and Oregon with
their attempts to repeal laws regarding medical marijuana and
physician-assisted suicide.

Mike Ehinger, Bennington, Neb.