One of TalkLeft's most astute readers (and a major expert on all Department of Justice matters) suggests a connection between today's two news stories - the Times disclosures about secret wiretapping of domestic telephone calls, and the President's apparent yielding on the McCain amendment.

According to the Times, the Administration justifies its wiretapping under the President's inherent national security authority, even though there are specific statutes by Congress that prohibit it. The Wiretap Act specifically says that all wiretapping not authorized by statute is illegal, and that "procedures in [the Wiretap Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillanc Act] shall be the EXCLUSIVE MEANS by which electronic surveillance . . . and the interception of domestic wire, oral and electronic communications may be conducted."

If the President can ignore that statute and authorized wiretaps "to protect the nation," then equally he can ignore the McCain Amendment and order torture of detainees "to protect the nation."

Have we been sold a bill of goods?

by TChris

The war against Christmas has been waged so clandestinely that only Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson seem to be aware of it. If that undynamic duo were less shrill about their pet peeve, the vast liberal plot to assist the Grinch might go unnoticed.

O'Reilly, Gibson, and the rest of them are supposedly all upset because some people are calling a Christmas tree a holiday tree, some stores aren't mentioning the word Christmas in their advertising, and some people are saying, "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." So apparently, the essence of Christmas is, one, making sure a Christmas tree is called a Christmas tree instead of a holiday tree; two, saying Merry Christmas to people as opposed to Happy Holidays; and three, ensuring that advertisements use the word "Christmas."

Wouldn't it be fair to say that never on behalf of so large and all-powerful a majority has such a frivolous complaint been raised?

A bit of perspective:

If you don't have to go to court or the jail after that, then you can stay here and thread. There's lots going on. You can read the winners of the bipartisan Weblog Awards here, and nominate your favorite blogs for the just liberal blogs' Koufax Awards here.

Then there's torture, spying on Americans, the Patriot Act and the immigration acts now being considered by Congress to rant about.

On a lighter note, a hairstylist in Aspen has been accused of stealing Kevin Costner's laptop. So, whatever strikes your fancy is fine here.

I wonder what former President Ronald Reagan, so famous for his "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" statement at the Berlin wall, would think of his fellow Republicans in Congress last night passing a border bill that will result in five fences being built along 698 miles of the Mexico -United States border in an effort to block illegal immigration and drugs from entering the U.S.

The vote on the amendment was a victory for conservatives who had long sought to build such a fences along the Mexican border. But the vote was sharply assailed by Democrats, who compared the fences to the Berlin Wall in Germany. Twelve Republicans also voted against the amendment.

The New York Times has a ten page article explaining how President Bush, via executive order issued after 9/11, directed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on thousands of conversations and read e-mails, without a warrant. Not even a secret FISA warrant was obtained. The Times says it withheld reporting this for a year because the White House said it would alert terrorists.

Mr. Bush's executive order allowing some warrantless eavesdropping on those inside the United States ­ including American citizens, permanent legal residents, tourists and other foreigners ­ is based on classified legal opinions that assert that the president has broad powers to order such searches, derived in part from the September 2001 Congressional resolution authorizing him to wage war on Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, according to the officials familiar with the N.S.A. operation.

As for numbers:

The New Jersey Senate today passed a one year moratorium on the death penalty.

A co-sponsor, Sen. Robert J. Martin, R-Morris and Passaic, noted that 50 of the 60 death sentences imposed since the penalty was reinstated in 1982 have been overturned. "Something is fundamentally flawed with that statute," Martin said.

If passed, New Jersey will be the first state in the modern era to legislatively enact a moratorium. Maryland and Illinois have imposed moratoriums based on executive orders. More details:

The state has 10 men on death row. The bill the Senate will consider would create a death penalty study commission to scrutinize the state's death penalty law, particularly whether it is applied fairly, its costs, whether it is a deterrent to crime and if it should be abolished. The commission would complete its work by Nov. 15, 2006. In the meantime, a moratorium would be imposed on all state executions until at least 60 days after the commission finishes its work.

by TChris

The two men who stole a Mustang in San Bernardino would have committed a better crime if they hadn't photographed themselves with the disposable camera they found in the car. When they abandoned the Mustang, they left the camera behind. Police developed the pictures which, together with fingerprints the thieves helpfully left in the car's interior, led them to Albert Engelsman. When the police knocked on Engelsman's door, he was wearing the same shirt depicted in the photographs. Confronted with the evidence, Engelsman ratted out his brother-in-law, the accomplice standing next to him in the impromptu photo shoot.

The Koufax Award Nominations are now open. Go on over and nominate your favorite blogs.

The Koufax Awards are named for Sandy Koufax, one of the greatest left handed pitchers of all time. They are intended to honor the best blogs and bloggers of the left. At the core, the Koufax Awards are meant to be an opportunity to say nice things about your favorite bloggers and to provide a bit of recognition for the folks who provide us with daily information, insight, and entertainment. The awards are supposed to be fun for us and fun for you.

Here's how they work.

You can nominate blogs in more than one category. TalkLeft has had the most success in the "Best Single Issues" category.

Sen Russ Feingold, leading the charge for a filibuster of the Patriot Act renewal legislation, confirms what we suspected all along: The Sneak and Peek provisions of the Patriot Act are about drugs, not terrorism. A Sneak and Peek, if you are new to the jargon, is where a law enforcement agent enters a dwelling surreptitiously with a warrant, snoops around, and leaves without ever notifying the resident that a search has occurred. There has been a 75% increase in sneak and peeks since 2000.

From his prepared statement on the Patriot Act renewal legislation, read on the Senate floor last night:

Don’t be fooled for a minute into believing that this power is needed to investigate terrorism or espionage. It’s not. Section 213 is a criminal provision that could apply in whatever kind of criminal investigation the government has undertaken. In fact, most sneak and peek warrants are issued for drug investigations. So why do I say that they aren’t needed in terrorism investigations? Because FISA also can apply to those investigations. And FISA search warrants are always executed in secret, and never require notice. If you really don’t want to give notice of a search in a terrorism investigation, you can get a FISA warrant. So any argument that limiting the sneak and peek power as we have proposed will interfere with sensitive terrorism investigations is a red herring.

TalkLeft hit 10 million visitors today. And welcome, Denver Post readers who are finding us for the first time through David Harsanyi's column today. (And thanks to Crooks and Liars for mentioning it.)

For radio listeners, I'll be talking with Rachel Maddow on Air America today at 11:30 a.m. (MT) about Karl Rove and PlameGate. Is an Indictment looming, or has Robert Luskin pulled yet another rabbit out of his hat? You can listen live online here.

Also, TalkLeft will be getting a bloglift (y.i.c.t.p. as Skippy would say)over the weekend, it's first since Markos of Daily Kos so graciuosly designed TalkLeft in June, 2002.

It's the last day for voting in the Weblog Awards. TalkLeft is in second place for best liberal blog, so please vote so we can keep our spot - and for your other favorite blogs. The Koufax award nominations (for liberal blogs) opened today.

Robert Novak said Tuesday that people should ask President Bush who the Valerie Plame leaker is because he has to know. The White House gives a testy response, and then clams up.

"I don't know what he's basing it on," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan, declining to comment further.

Not quite a denial, is it? Sen. Schumer sent Bush a letter asking him to give up the identity of the leaker. And how much trouble is Karl Rove in?

Some Rove allies now fear he may be in more legal jeopardy than he was when Libby was charged.

by Last Night in Little Rock

It is reported on Law.com today that DOJ has hired defense counsel for the two air marshals who shot and killed Rigoberto Alpizar last week on a jetway in the Miami Airport.

It should be recalled that the head of the air marshal program and even the White House were defending the use of deadly force against Alpizar as absolutely justified on CNN immediately after the shooting, without so much as an investigation.

The FBI is investigating, and passengers reported to CNN that they heard no bomb threat. He just said "I've got to get off, I've got to get off."

I've been on an airplane where a man panicked about the claustrophobia. He rushed for the door, too, and ran inside. It happens.

Circle the wagons.