a coalition of companies, including Google and Microsoft, which sit on a trove of personal communications, have appealed to the Obama administration to be able to disclose just how many Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Court orders they receive.

According to Justice Department figures, in 2012, government authorities made 1,856 data requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the vast majority for electronic surveillance, and another 15,229 requests through National Security Letters.

Nicholas Merrill, the owner of Calyx, received one such letter in early 2004 under the Patriot Act. He closed his business within months. “I was terrified they were going to drag me away,” he said Friday.

It took him years to challenge the court order. He still cannot discuss its contents, he can only acknowledge its existence. His actions, heUUA? And what do you see as the future of Humanism in the UUA?

MG: The UUHA was founded by Edwin H. Wilson, Lester Mondale, and others in 1962, shortly after the merger between the Unitarians and the Universalists. I suspect the Unitarian ministers were concerned about the “woo-woo” reputation of the Universalists and wanted to make sure Humanism continued to be strong. Many of the same people had been responsible for the founding of the American Humanist Association (AHA) in 1941—and Wilson was the Executive Director and sole employee of the AHA for many years.

The Humanist movement was really started around 1917 by Unitarian ministers like Curtis Reese and John Dietrich, and a large number of signers of the original Humanist Manifesto were Unitarians or Universalists. Humanism has