Editor, the Advocate:

Another 4th of July is upon us and it saddens me to write that this nation is merely a shadow of the one that declared its independence so many years ago.

What would Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin or Samuel Adams say about this government’s desire to track its citizens?

Recently, Congress decided to grant immunity to the telecommunications companies that helped our “leaders” violate the Fourth Amendment. Is it any wonder that the ratings of the current Congress are so low?

I am also disturbed by the fact that the government treats its citizens like criminals by having us fingerprinted and put into a database through an abomination known as TWIC. The TWIC is administered by the TSA and I don’t have to tell you what a mess they are.

It’s just one more pointless and costly government program. How costly? The government charges you $132.50 so they can keep track of you. That’s $132.50 on top of whatever they take from us to fund these programs in the first place. Isn’t 33 percent of our income enough?

Happy birthday, America!

I look forward to the day when you are free once again.