George,

As I relax on this Memorial Day I think about my fiance killed in Vietnam. About my grandfather wounded in WW I. About all the brave men and women serving in the military today in an unjust war brought on by lies. And I wonder when Americans will rise up, like we did 35 years ago, to stop this sham of a war.

I am proud to be a card-carrying member of the ACLU. Our civil liberties are being eroded day by day. Our press has become cowards. We are falling into a fascist black hole. Unions are being killed off daily. Worker rights are virtually gone.

But I still have hope. I refuse to bow down and see my rights, my son's rights, and UVA employee's rights be trampled.

It won't happen on my watch.

Jan Cornell (electronic mail, May 30, 2005)