LoBiondo's Votes are Un-American

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, has been busy the last few weeks. The latest is his vote for a constitutional amendment to take away one's right to express free speech by burning the American flag. While I don't think I will be burning our flag, one has to wonder about LoBiondo's value system when he supports extending the life of the Patriot Act - which calls for such actions as government agents going through your house without telling you, checking into your library books without your knowledge, and arresting you in the night without a real right to a lawyer, without knowing where you are being taken and with no due process for months or even years.LoBiondo also supports protecting the rights of gun owners to the point that the government does not need to keep records of who buys guns, even if they are on a possible terrorist list. Yep, you heard it.However, LoBiondo does support government intruding into family decisions of life and death, gay relationships and adoptions, women's choices and stem-cell research. When he first came to Congress in 1994 with Newt Gingrich, he signed onto the Contract With America, which, among other things, called for term limits, fiscal responsibility and a smaller government. Evidently, LoBiondo has had a convenient lapse of memory.There is no real Americanism in his voting record. To support LoBiondo is to support our increasingly unpopular President Bush. It takes a lot of courage to be a real American. It takes bravery to let other people express their opinion even if you don't agree with their position.

J. DAVID ALCANTARA

Atlantic City

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