First, Charlie Bass voted to intrude into the Terry Schiavo matter, inserting the federal government in a personal and family conflict that had already been vetted by the Florida State Courts.

On Thursday, Bass voted against an amendment reforming the Patriot Act to prevent secret searches of our library and bookstore records.

The Patriot Act was passed in a flurry after 9/11. While it contained measures beneficial to information-sharing among intelligence agencies, it also contained objectionable secret-search provisions conflicting with our fundamental rights as citizens.

Fortunately, the reform measure passed. Now the government must obtain a warrant to conduct such searches, as has long been the practice under the constitutions of the United States and of New Hampshire.

In his novel 1984 George Orwell fantasized about a science fiction future in which "Big Brother" invaded every part of every citizen's private life. Sadly, truth is stranger than fiction. In a state that celebrates personal freedom from government intrusion as a core value, our congressional delegation should not be working to make Orwell's vision a reality.

If we allow efforts to combat terror to justify unchecked government power such as secret searches, the terrorists will have taken away more than our sense of physical safety. They will have robbed us of the essence of our national birthright.

"Live Free or Die" is not just a slogan when it comes to protecting our fundamental freedoms. Bass's vote was a chilling display of the arrogance of power.

PAUL W. HODES

Concord