In their previous lives, Mike German and John Kellerman had little in common.

Mike was an undercover agent for the FBI, John a banker.

Mike now works for the American Civil Liberties Union and will testify in support of our bill to end State Police surveillance of lawful First Amendment activity.

John has Parkinson’s disease and has testified for funding of embryonic stem cell research.

“When I infiltrated an extremist group, I would go to lunch with the people who were considering violent activity, not those who weren’t,” Mike told me and another committee member Friday afternoon.

The State Police did not make that distinction.

I saw John at a fundraiser for stem cell research where he was the honoree Saturday night. He discussed my advice to him the first time he was to speak in Annapolis.

“You told me to be myself,” recalled John. “Not many have my experience crawling from my bed to the bathroom.”

He’s also testified that he’ll dance at his daughter’s wedding.