I have a question for Josahua Martz ("Protest for own sake is not worth effort," Feb. 7): How is it possible to abuse the First Amendment, or more specifically, how does one hide behind the most abused portion of our Constitution? Martz would have been better served not to resort to ad hominem attacks, and instead he should have used the "tried and true method of substantiating arguments with facts."

His first assertion that the First Amendment is the most abused part of the Constitution doesn't make logical sense. The freedom of speech is exactly that -- the freedom to say whatever one wants about any issue at any time. And the freedom to assemble is exactly that -- the freedom to assemble anywhere at anytime about any tissue. Some of us, the "morons," feel that the Iraq war -- the war that killed 100,000 Iraqis and fought because of weapons of mass destruction -- is worth exercising our First Amendment rights.

To construe our protests as abusing the First Amendment is sheer ignorance of the Constitution.