There are certain events in our nation's history where anyone living at the time will always remember where they were: When Pearl Harbor was bombed, when Kennedy was shot, when the shuttles blew up and of course when they heard of the events of 9/11. Well we can now add another tragic event to that list: Where were you when our Constitution was trampled upon; when our country went from a democracy to a dictatorship with the stroke of a pen?

Under the guise of "fighting terrorism" our basic freedoms have been handed over to, not only a president who has proven himself untrustworthy time and again but to future presidents, Republican or Democrat, who could prove to be even more unscrupulous. We can now be considered "enemy combatants" on the whim of a man who lied, he was not mistaken, he lied, about weapons of mass destruction, who not only condones but promotes torture, and who now has shredded the very fabric of our government, the Constitution. There was no cry, no scream, not so much as a whimper as the writ of habeas corpus was murdered. The Republicans like to remind us that there has been no attack on American soil since 9/11 and they like to take credit for this, well actually, they can take credit.

The terrorists do not have to attack us because they are smart enough to recognize-even if most of the American public does not seem to-that our government is doing their job for them.

The America we all once knew and loved is gone, replaced with

a government of fear and corruption. For over 200 years, the Constitution protected us against a power-hungry president.

That is now gone. The law to protect American citizens is gone.

We are just supposed to trust that the president will apply this new law to actual terrorists and not outspoken Democrats who irritate him. Looking back on his and his friends' records I have a hard time trusting. Sherry Jensen Thousand Oaks