Erosion of Civil Liberties in the U.S.

Re “Power, Ever More Power,” editorial, May 25: You ruined my breakfast this morning! I realize more and more that what we Americans prize above all, our freedom and privacy, will no longer be part of our daily lives. President Bush and his band of anti-freedom fighters are as insidious as they are dangerous.

Bush, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney would like to transform this country into a place where Christians are the only ones with the righteous answers, where the government can arrest anyone at any time without having to explain anything, where invasion wars are the only way to more oil and where big companies get even richer by getting all the contracts promised to them in advance by their former chief executives (read Rumsfeld and Cheney).

I’d better watch how I walk! My gait now will grace the files of the FBI and the CIA. Will Bush’s “strut” be on file? He’s the one to watch most closely.

Paulette F. Katz

Los Angeles

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Re “Mussolini’s Ghost,” Commentary, May 25: Brilliant article analyzing the Bush administration by David Ronfeldt. It was extremely clever and effective for him to present it as a summary of fascism, showing how it can take hold today. A number of indicators for the development of fascism Ronfeldt outlines coincide alarmingly with the policies of the Bush team.

Larry Maxcy

Yucca Valley

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How far is the administration going to keep us all afraid and willing to keep giving up rights? Now Iran. Patriot Act II. It’s insane. The American people had better speak up in a loud voice.

Carolyn Lopez

Santa Ana