D.C. District Court Judge James Robertson, one of the 11 secret judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, has resigned in the wake of the allegations that Bush couldn't even be bothered to get one of these rubber-stamped FISA surveillance orders, despite the fact that the government could monitor conversations for 72 hours before even applying for a warrant if the circumstances so warranted.

Two associates familiar with his decision said yesterday that Robertson privately expressed deep concern that the warrantless surveillance program authorized by the president in 2001 was legally questionable and may have tainted the FISA court's work.

....Robertson indicated privately to colleagues in recent conversations that he was concerned that information gained from warrantless NSA surveillance could have then been used to obtain FISA warrants. FISA court Presiding Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who had been briefed on the spying program by the administration, raised the same concern in 2004 and insisted that the Justice Department certify in writing that it was not occurring.

The Washington Post reports on the most expensive lawyer in America, the only one to charge $1,000.00 an hour. It is former U.S. Attorney General Ben Civiletti, a partner in the Venable law firm.

Civiletti, who specializes in litigation, antitrust law and white-collar defense, topped the National Law Journal's 16th annual survey of hourly rates at more than 100 of the country's top law firms.

The Post points out that while Civiletti may charge more than any other lawyer, it doesn't mean he earns more than other lawyers:

Civiletti's rate doesn't come close to making him one of the nation's highest-paid lawyers. Trial attorneys can win multibillion-dollar verdicts and earn fees that break down into more than $1,000 an hour, said Coffee. And a firm working on a merger may charge its client a percentage of a deal instead of billing by the hour. The lawyers who successfully sued tobacco companies in 1998, for example, raked in billions of dollars in fees.

This is hardly a surprise, but lobbyist Jack Abramoff reportedly is engaged in serious plea negotiations with the Government. One reason: He says he's broke and can't afford extended trials. His Miami trial is set for January 9. He is also the subject of a Washington grand jury investigation. If he takes a deal, he will provide cooperation against members of Congress and others in exchange for a reduced sentence.

At issue is the complicated structure of the case against Mr. Abramoff. In August, he was indicted by federal prosecutors in Miami on charges of fraud stemming from his purchase of a fleet of casino boats in 2000. He pleaded not guilty in that case, and his lawyers say they are preparing him to stand trial. Mr. Abramoff has also been under investigation here in connection with his lobbying. No charges have been brought against him in that inquiry. The existence of what amounts to two separate but overlapping investigations partly explains why the plea negotiations for Mr. Abramoff have been so protracted and tough, said people with inside knowledge of the case.

Here's another aspect of the investigation that is bound to make some folks nervous:

Thanks to Jane at Firedoglake for asking bloggers and their readers to go help Digby. Just do it. Jane tells you why she thinks it's important to give bloggers a financial assist. Digby has more. Here are my thoughts on it.

In addition to December being the nominations month for the Koufax Awards for liberal blogging excellence, it is also the month that many bloggers must balance the ledger sheet. How many hours were spent blogging, how much money did it cost in lost income from the day job and how much did the blog make from blogads and/or donations?

College students, wealthy retirees and the independently wealthy can blog for love of their topic. Very few others can, and not suprisingly, a lot of the best bloggers fall within this group. The first year, they don't expect to make money through blogging. The second year, some donations and a few ads come their way and they are thrilled. But when the end of the third year rolls around, and still only peanuts are coming in, bloggers have to do an accounting and re-assess.

Digby writes today:

Under the terms of a new settlement agreement, California will begin de-segregating its prisons:

Under the terms of the agreement, the state will phase out racial segregation in three steps: In March, after distributing the new policy to prisons and retraining prison staff, current race segregation policies will end in state prison reception centers.

Next year, the ban will extend to so-called sensitive needs yards and minimum support facilities — dorms that house minimum-custody inmates. In 2008, plans will be rolled out to bring the new integration policy to the prisons, Deixler said.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has issued his long awaited report , prepared by Democratic staff of the House Judiciary Committee, calling for the censure of Bush and Cheney for their mispresentations about the Iraq War. He has introduced a resolution calling for a full investigation. Chapter Four contains the 16 page legal analysis section. Chapter Five has recommendations. Don't miss Exhibit A containing an explanation of the criminal laws that our leaders may have violated. From the press release (received by e-mail):

"In brief, we have found that there is substantial evidence the President, the Vice-President and other high ranking members of the Bush Administration misled Congress and the American people regarding the decision to go to war in Iraq; misstated and manipulated intelligence information regarding the justification for such war; countenanced torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in Iraq; and permitted inappropriate retaliation against critics of their Administration. There is at least a prima facie case that these actions that federal laws have been violated - from false statements to Congress to retaliating against Administration critics.

New York City transit workers went on strike today for the first time since 1980. So far, chaos has been avoided. Many commuters just stayed home.

Bloomberg, who had predicted "gridlock that will tie the record for all gridlocks," put into effect a sweeping emergency plan, including the requirement that cars coming into Manhattan below 96th Street have at least four occupants. As he walked across the bridge, he smiled, admired the view and called the strike "outrageous."

Lots more pictures are here.

If you're affected by the strike, or have any great stories, here's a place to put them.

by TChris

The Washington Post notes that the House of Representatives is doing its dirty work in the dead of night or in the wee morning hours — “well past the deadlines for the evening news or the morning paper.”

The House voted at 6:07 a.m. yesterday to shave $39.7 billion from entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. At 5:04 a.m., lawmakers voted to open the Alaskan wilderness to oil exploration.

by TChris

Science, rationality, and the Constitution prevailed in Dover, where the school board tried to undermine the science underlying evolution by promoting a religious alternative, intelligent design. (TalkLeft coverage of the lawsuit is here.) Judge John Jones III decided that the board's policy violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by endorsing a religious belief.

"In making this determination, we have addressed the seminal question of whether ID is science," Jones wrote. "We have concluded that it is not, and moreover that ID cannot uncouple itself from its creationist, and thus religious, antecedents."

The school board's policy required teachers to inform biology students of "gaps" in Darwin's theory of evolution while directing their attention to a book on intelligent design in the school library. Judge Jones was scathing in his criticism of the board members, who have since been voted off the school board.

by TChris

Here's how the Bush administration is protecting you from terrorism:

Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.

You may not have known that poverty relief activists were responsible for 9/11, but they must have been, or the Bush administration, which focuses on nothing but protecting us from the likes of Osama, wouldn't be wasting scarce resources snooping into their activities.

2,000 people in Los Angeles paid their respects yesterday to Stanley Tookie Williams, executed last week in California.

"Many of the people who lined up today for a last look at the man didn't know him; never met him," Ali said. "But they came to pay their respects because they have a Tookie in their family, or identify with his struggle."

Who were they? Here's one example:

When elementary schoolteacher Macella Hibbler, 34, heard that Williams' body was on public view, she threw sweaters on her three young children and hurried to the mortuary to see the man whose life story had saturated the news media only a week ago. "My only thought has been this: How can I get my children to understand, I mean really understand, why we're here?" she said. "I'm telling them, 'Watch the road you take and make wise decisions. That way you won't wind up in a coffin.' "

Another said:

Standing outside the mortuary, watching the spectacle in the street, Wanda Smith, 42, shook her head and said, "I feel sorry for Tookie. It could have been my own brother, or my son. "I hope that his death will make gangbangers stop killing each other," she said. "I've been to so many funerals, it's heartbreaking."

I think that is the legacy Williams hoped for.

A TalkLeft reader I am not familiar with wrote the following. Read at your own risk, as it is not further sourced, but it has a certain logical appeal.

Let me ask why every smart blogger out there and every pundit on TV is talking about wiretapping when the obvious problem is that the U.S. government is now monitoring the entire U.S. Internet a la Echelon or Raptor.

Why do Gonzales and Condi Rice keep mentioning the "technical" aspects of the program as a dodge around FISA?

Why this seemingly inconsequential parsing by Bush of the difference between "monitoring and detection"? Bush says they use FISA if they're montioring, but this is about "detection."

Why, in his letter, does Rockefeller state that he's "not a technician."?
Why the mention of TIA in Rockefeller's letter?
And why the mention of "large batches of numbers all at once"?

Why?:

These are not phone numbers we're talking about...These are IP addresses, email addresses.