As the defenders of the Constitution, we are deeply troubled that illegal surveillance of law-abiding Americans could be happening in our own building.

What the municipal court has said is that in order to practice law as a court-appointed counsel, you have to do this thing that the Legislature cooked up.

The goal of this law was to insure that all bill-paying Americans, including victims of Hurricane Katrina, don't have to pay the debts of others that can afford to pay.

Americans are more concerned about the sacred deadlines rather than the contents of the constitution.

The United States has been declared under martial law...All constitutional rights have been suspended. Anyone interfering with the collection of urine samples will be shot. Anyone failing to attend morning school prayer will be shot. The number one enemy of progress is questions. National security is more important than individual rights. Sports broadcasts will proceed as scheduled. Shut up, be happy, obey all orders without question. At last everything is done for you.

Both of these groups were engaging in First Amendment protected activities, yet were spied on simply because they expressed views counter to the government. This type of surveillance is contrary to American values and hearkens back to the illegal government spying conducted during the Vietnam War and the McCarthy era.