Letter: Constitutional right that has been lost

Thursday, June 8, 2006 | 7:31 a.m.

I would like to reply to Ken Lucas' June 6 letter, asking for someone to explain a right they feel has been lost in the last 10 years. I only wish I had a bit more space to answer questions that tend to simplify a very complex issue.

The one constitutional right I would suggest we lost in the last 10 years was freedom of speech. There has been a "chilling effect" perpetrated by the present administration through memos, directives and wiretaps, all in the name of the Patriot Act.

I am a documentary film editor. One of my producers has been working on a global warming documentary. Every scientist he has spoken with has acknowledged that the planet is getting warmer and that man is at the root of its cause.

At the same time, nary a one of them will go on record with us because of a fear of this administration. These people make their living off teacher's salaries, grants and government-funded enterprises. Just think what kind of shell they will crawl into now that the "Bush Supreme Court" has decided to lift any form of protection from so-called "whistle-blowers" in the government.

Mr. Lucas asks how this has affected my personal day-to-day life. I'd answer by explaining a moment I had on vacation this last week. I drove into Yellowstone National Park from Cody, Wyo. All the trees on the hillsides had been killed by a bark beetle. According to the scientists we have talked to, this beetle is advancing across our country due to the warmer climate and lack of cold that kills it. This is my favorite spot on Earth. I think my day-to-day life has been affected!

Allen Dohra, Henderson