John Kerry's Dark Record on Civil Liberties.

Thanks for John Berlau's piece, "John Kerry's Dark Record on Civil Liberties" (October). It is nice to see that I am not the only person who thinks Kerry is too right-wing to pass himself off as a Democrat.

In 2000 Gore and the Democrats ran to the right and thought no one would care about the millions disenfranchised by their intolerant Drug War policy. The Florida voter purge lists should have taught them something, but didn't. The Democrats still support the policies that have been disenfranchising nonconformists for the past 34 years.

John Kerry has built his entire political career resume on the high conviction rates of the Jim Crow Drug War. while still with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, white boy Kerry stopped the organization from joining up with the civil rights movement. He then went on to become a Drug War prosecutor to rehabilitate his rightwing credentials from his anti-war youth. As a U.S. Senator, Kerry wrote the legislation that resulted in the shooting down of innocent American missionaries over Peru, killing a mother and child. This even though the best minds of both parties told presidents going back to the 1980s that the policy was dangerous and stupid. But nothing is too dangerous or too stupid for John Kerry the Drug Warrior.

Pat Rogers

Allentown, PA

I was disappointed by John Berlau's article for two reasons. First, I was expecting a justified tirade on Mr. Kerry's "dark record" on self-protection and Second Amendment issues. Instead 1 found a tirade against his record on, essentially, Fourth Amendment issues.

Which brings me to the second reason. There is no admission in that article that government law enforcement entities, by their very nature and mission, must have powers that ordinary people do not have--the power to probe, poke at, spy on, and investigate citizens. The most fundamental responsibility of any government--even a limited one--is to protect its citizens from violence and fraud and to solve these crimes when they are committed. Without investigative powers appropriate to the times and criminal capabilities, this simply can't be done. Without them, there is no way to solve murders or prevent evil men from driving airliners into buildings. This is something the left has not grasped, nor seemingly has Berlau.

Therefore, the issue isn't so much what powers the government has, but rather what it can do with them. It must be able to investigate citizens. With that information it can prevent murders, but must not crush dissenting opinions. Any truly serious discussion of civil liberties must include the fact that search and seizure issues involve some inherent trade-offs, exist in a context, and must reflect the capabilities of the criminals.

Ralph Mroz

Greenfield, MA