Passport to Frustration

"Freedom of travel used to be a basic right that we took for granted, like freedom of speech. This summer, for millions of Americans, my family included, it has become a struggle with an unseen, dysfunctional bureaucracy. I am sitting on the terrace of a house overlooking the Adriatic Sea, where we like to spend the summer. I am here without my wife and two teenage daughters, who are waiting for their U.S. passports to be renewed. They are hoping to join me next week, but nobody can tell us when they will receive their travel documents." Washington Post, June 23, 2007.