Dear Editor:

Since our troops have been fighting in five wars to allegedly protect our freedoms I would like to ask the bold question of "Are we free?" Are families who spend more than they earn financially free? Don't they become further enslaved to interest payments when they buy something they can't afford? Isn't it the same for our nation?We now work five months of the year just to pay our taxes. Isn't that slavery when we work for our government for free and for almost half of the year? And what can we do today that doesn't involve the permission of our government?How about traveling? If you fly you may be groped by a government agent or run through a nude body scanner or even worse be asked to remove your adult diaper like a 95 year old woman from Florida. She has leukemia and was told by the TSA lose the diaper or you do not fly.Want to get in your car and take off somewhere? First you need a driver's license and in some states if you do something as menial as not return a library book the government takes away your privilege which really was a right until you signed an agreement with the state to agree to all their terms and conditions.Want to put an addition on your home? Don't you need permission? Wanna get married to your high school sweetheart? Well, first check in with the state to be sure you take a blood test and then get a license.Hey kids, it's summer, time to start squeezing fresh lemons to raise money for your favorite charity! Oh wait, you don't have a vendor's license? Looks like your government is going to have to fine your parents $500 like recently happened outside of the US open.Don't want government health insurance? Well you'll have to talk to the IRS about that one and we all know how friendly they can be. All right forget it, why don't you just go bowling and blow off some steam? Ah crap, I think the local government just implemented a recreational tax. Probably couldn't afford bowling anyway now that food prices have just gone up 5-10 percent because of the devaluation of our dollar. Where are the real men and women? Does anyone care? "A slave is one who waits for someone to come and free him," Ezra PoundGene DuffyJim Thorpe