Hi Jez,

In principle I support the war on terror. Unfortunately I fear you are correct. On this side of the pond we have a founding document which, in theory at least, is sacrisanct above all other considerations and laws. It is our Constitution. It fundamentally limits the power of government, and enumerates certain rights to individuals. In theory no one in this country is to be subject to search and seizure except on issuance of a warrant naming the specific thing to be sought, etc.. I'm still looking for that "airport exemption" clause. But alas, this didn't start with the war on terror. Years ago someone coined the phrase "war on drugs," and used it as an excuse to circumvent that Constitutional clause that prohibits governments from seizing property without due process of law. Now, if a cop pulls you over and finds that you have a couple thousand dollars cash, all he has to do is get a dog to bark at it and he can call it "drug money," and seize it (without even charging you with a crime, let alone convicting you). Alas, going back to the 1960's, anytime a politician wants to spend more of our money on anything, which is to say tax us more, he just declares war on something (war on poverty, war on illiteracy, war on ...) and our patriotism is supposed to preclude our objections.

The moral is this. Constitutions and other governmental decrees notwithstanding, your freedom will always be usurped to whatever degree you allow.