The O carries a story from this afternoon describing a trio of Democratic Senators who are seeking a slowdown on the potential extension of some of the more egregious USA PATRIOT provisions otherwise set to expire. (Betcha didn't know the Act's title was actually in acronym form, didya? It's short for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism...Act.) Along with Russ Feingold of Wiscosin and Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois is our own Ron Wyden, who--compared to his stance on healthcare--is well out in front of his caucus on surveillance and civil liberty issues, and continues to lead progressive interests in the Senate:
Wyden is spearheading an effort to place tighter rules and oversight on the so-called business records provision in the law. Under the current law which expires Dec. 31, federal investigators can scoop up individuals' bank and financial records, medical information, DNA and other "tangible things" (the law's actual wording) without having to prove that the individuals have any connection to terrorist activities.
But Wyden and his allies believe the definition is too broad and too easily allows government officials to conduct "fishing expeditions" of people who may not have any involvement with terror activities.
The "business records" provision sets the standard that the government must meet to obtain an individual's personal information from banks, hospitals, libraries, retail stores and other institutions.
On a pure workload and intellectual basis I think President Obama can handle multitasking on a variety of issues, but the media and the general public may not be so facile. I've been aware of the business records provision and the attention it's been getting in prog-wonk circles, because it's among the most ridiculously overreaching of the PATRIOT provisions, and one that has great potential for touching the lives of ordinary Americans in their homes and businesses. But with stimulus and health care and climate and Afghanistan and banking all taking up chunks of our collective consciousness, we run out of things to devote your outrage and our energy to.
Diehard fans of H.R. 2651 charged the floor of the Senate chamber Tuesday after their bill, a 14-vote underdog nicknamed the Maritime Workforce Development Act, passed 51-49 with just moments to go in the legislative session...A champagne-soaked Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), whose last-second vote clinched the bill's passage, said the guys on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee deserved much of the credit, but that the biggest thanks should go to God.
We're all watching the slo-mo pershing of the giants and half-lings of the print media era, as newspaper brands fall off one by one for want of profitability or a buyer. There are a lot of lives affected, as in many industries around the country, but on a systemic basis I'm not shedding many tears for the franchise print media that exists in most cities. Their various outlets may have individual merit and seem innocuous under the nameplates people have grown accustomed to, but in many ways they are the media equivalent of Taco Bell or Best Buy for their communities--grafted and ingratiated into the citizenry, rather than grown from within it.
The truth is that the major papers will survive in one form or another, having shfited their content online and cut a wide swath of live bodies out of their delivery infrastructure. Will you be out of luck if you don't have a ready interent portal? Very likely. Will free news stop being free? Maybe, unless the big shift to online news makes advertising more viable. Or you'll get bare stories and pay for what's after the continue.
Where the wreckage will be more complete is in smaller markets, of which Portland is probably at the top end of "smaller." If the Oregonian fails, will news continue? Surely. Will it smell as musty as the old money and influence that dank up The Oregonian's pages? Probably not. For better or worse the now-not-just-weekly Willamette Week (and their .com, which has half the news but is 10x easier to navigate than OregonLive) has scooped The O when the latter was caught napping on its generous laurels.
Willy Week is just the tip of the iceberg, though. There's the Mercury, which is mostly for laughs but whose online component produces pretty sharp journalism; KBOO, an outlet that could use a wattage boost and a little funding stream; Street Roots, and the various blogs that cover the City and City Council. In Salem, the passive acceptance of the dance between legislator and reporter might be due a shakeup with new, less beholden players.
Whew! All of which was to say that you needn't pick up a daily paper to find strong reporting, including highly technical investigative journalism. Josh Marshall at TalkingPoints is writing the book on a sustainable model, Dave Niewert writes from Washington on racism and extremism, David Sirota is breaking into the established print media but publishes most of his best work at OpenLeft, et al.
And one of those et al is Marcy Wheeler, better known as emptywheel of FireDogLake. Her coverage along with site founder Jane Hamsher and others of the Valerie Plame case was so good the trad-med was forced to admit she was a godsend for info during the trial. Marcy has been working like a scrivener following the surveillance scandal of the Bush adminsitration, right on through the Presidential transition. The most watched case right now is the al-Haramain case, involving a charity that was originally founded in southern Oregon. But there's a lot more to it than that...we think.
The sword of Damocles may have just been raised against the Bush administration at its highest levels, by way of US District Judge Vaughn Walker, the judge overseeing the FISA lawsuit(s), particularly the one against the government by the Al-Haramain Islamic charity, once based in Ashland as the US headquarters of the Saudi concern. The judge is demanding what amounts to surveillance logs of tapped conversations among the plaintiffs and others ("involved" or not), something the Bush administrration has consistently refused to provide.
The excuse they've given is as preposterous as it is circular--we can't show you the logs because it's national security, and you can't prove that you're eligible to sue us because we won't show you the logs. And we don't have to show you the logs because the President says you can't see them. Not even you, Mr. Judge!
Apparently Mr. Judge has had quite enough of all that, and ordered an in-chambers review of whatever the documents allegedly held, in which case he would immediately rule on the standing of al-Haramain to sue--that is, whether the logs matched what the plaintiffs' lawyers said they said, and thus validating their legal claim to have been harmed by the policy. The lawyers were incredibly specific, isolating specific days of specific conversations. Walker gets his judgey voice on:
To be more specific, the court will review the sealed document ex parte and in camera. The court will then issue an order regarding whether plaintiffs may proceed — that is, whether the sealed document establishes that plaintiffs were subject to electronic surveillance not authorized by FISA.
And the kicker for it all is that at least one of the taps occurred on the very days that NONE of it was legal, no matter how twistedly it could be justified under the newly written law that hadn't taken effect. Gonzo and the rest of the thugs couldn't get a hospital-bound Ashcroft to sign off, and so if the allegations are supported in the logs, it couldn't be a clearer or more blatant violation.
When that domino falls--when a plaintiff is miraculously able to prove standing by showing the very thing the trial is supposed to review, whether they were spied on illegally--it opens the door wide for criminal culpability on a range of things already strongly alleged but left unindictable because of the evidentiary conundrum. Will this break a hole in the dike and lead to further judicial demands that the government cut the crap and habeas papyrus?
As is true with anything FISA or Plame-related, firedoglake is a must-visit source. Emptywheel in particular is better informed than any 5 pro journalists covering those stories.
It's another depressing week for progressives who keep hoping that the new boss will bring us substantially better than the old boss, at least Congressionally speaking. The House has made its way to summer recess by cleaning up bills that apparently just HAD to get done, lest we die in a terrorist attack by holding telecom companies and the Bush administration to account, or suffer the fate of withdrawing troops from Iraq without a crushing victory won.
The upshot is that you and I have less privacy, the Bush administration and phone companies will get more in order to cover their wrongdoing (and also top Democrats, if merely in their longtime knowledge and thus complicity in the scheme). and another blank check of your grandkids' money will be cut for the war, no strings attached.
It makes me wanna puke, the paucity of leadership we're seeing in Congress. Nancy Pelosi let FISA hit the floor and go forward. Steny Hoyer compromised with himself and presented it to the White House, secretly. And was there even a peep about quietly floating another bigtime chunk of credit for this hopeless, destructive, counterproductive war? No.
There are pockets of sanity, surely. A majority voted against the FISA compromise, but many inexplicablhy voted for it--enough to carry the bill with almost every Republican. A more solid majority voted againt the war bill, nine more than last time if I heard correctly--as if that's some kind of grand consolation. But still 80 Democrats evaluated this unpopular, disaster of a war effort and said, "Yeah, sign me up for another 165B, baby!"
This is a shame we all bear as Americans, but as Oregonians we have to feel pretty lucky, and proud. On both bills, all four Democratic Representatives voted No. Earl Blumenauer, Darlene Hooley, Peter DeFazio and (even, some might say) David Wu formed a solid coalition of Oregonians FOR privacy and accountablity, and AGAINST warrantless spying on citizens and wasteful warmongering. Forget Walden; for many states there are Democrats voting for this garbage, shadowboxing imaginary pitfalls for their re-election.
Staff for both Earl and David were kind enough to send me the Congressmen's statements on FISA, which I'm happy to relate to you here. Read their words carefully, because I think it won't be too long before history realizes how sad and pathetic these times were for justice and the Constitution, and takes note of those who stood against it, doing the duty they had sworn an oath to uphold. When "history takes note," to anthropomorphize, it will recognize our Democratic delegation on these issues, and recognize them favorably.
So. Wu first, on FISA:
This so-called ‘compromise’ legislation does not strike a middle ground. We leave the door open for the attorney general and the director of national intelligence to abuse their authority and snoop on any American anytime anywhere, under the guise of ‘incidentally’ collected information. This is not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind.
It is the legitimate role of government to protect Americans from both foreign aggression and the domestic abuse of authority. In compromising with Republicans, we have compromised the privacy of every American.
And the always-eloquent Blumenauer, first on FISA and then the war supplemental:
I have heard some say that the enemies of America take on many forms. To them I say: let us be sure one of those forms is not our own government. I cannot vote for a bill that expands the government’s spying power. Nor can I vote to give backdoor immunity to telecommunications firms. These firms directly assisted the Bush administration in warrantless spying tactics. I am dismayed that we could not pass legislation that does more to protect the rights of American citizens. I continue to believe that the intelligence community does not need to violate the rights of Americans in order to protect them. I demand, and Americans deserve, protection of their basic civil rights.
and the war, keeping a promise not to fund without timelines for withdrawal:
Thankfully, this is the last supplemental funding bill that will be considered under the Bush administration. I have opposed the Iraq war from the start and remain committed to opposing all legislation that does not set a firm deadline for bringing our troops home. I continue to believe that the best way to honor those whose lives have been lost in this tragic war is to end it as quickly and responsibly.
Without hesitation, I voted to fund vital domestic items. These include an expansion of ‘GI Bill’ education benefits, an extension of unemployment benefits, and the protection of Medicaid from harmful cuts. The bill we passed will also helps Iraqi refugees, four million of whom have been displaced by this tragic war.
I hold our Reps to a high standard. I fault Blumenauer for being too easy on trade, and for disclaiming the need for impeachment. Those aren't minor flaws IMO, either. But I don't think there's mendacity or something crooked afoot, so I accept the difference and maintain a high opinion of him overall. Wu I'm even less psyched about at times, but he too has been reliable on some of the most important issues of our time when others have not, and he is in a much purpler district than Earl for sure. And the more Darlene Hooley stays around, the more I'll miss her now that she's become so damned progressive! It seems like about a year or two ago, she snapped out of a go-along kind of mentality and made her break with the charade. She's been a rock for the progressive caucus ever since.
So yes, I'm hard on them. But I never lose sight of the fact that for their suggested faults, as a state delegation they are nearly unmatched for the way they have firmly aligned Oregon against the madness of the last eight years. That's a lot to be proud of. The people WE sent to represent US, did not get the wool pulled over their eyes--or if they did they pulled it right back up pretty quickly, cursing their good faith in those who should have earned their skepticism. If you've voted for them in the past, give yourself a pat on the back--good choice.
I understand this is running in some rotation at KPOJ, so many of you may be familiar with this. I don't get near a radio much, and for those of you don't either, here's the audio of the ad. It's an ACLU 1 minute spot highlighting Smith's support of warrantless wiretapping and immunity for the telecomm industry. It's kind of a dry ad, but it's a complex subject and very nice that the national organization is running them for us. So here's the spot:
I've already been discussing in the comments to yesterday's story on Wyden and FISA, that after failing to stand publicly with Chris Dodd over the weekend and into this morning on his attempt to filibuster their own Majority Leader, it turns out he pulled a master twist job on Harry Reid that--coupled with the pressure of tens of thousands of activist progressives like the Loaded Orygun community--forced Reid to table the bill until next year. He came at Reid from multiple fronts, marketed it and integrated it with friendly resources, and basically overwhelmed Reid with problems. It's worth taking a closer look at now, but at the end I've got a wild theory to float.
To try to recap: on Monday morning Senator Dodd prepared to offer an amendment to the base bill that Reid had selected, from the Intelligence Committee rather than the Judiciary Committee. He claimed because the Intel bill passed by a stronger margin, tradition dictated he offer that one as the "base." So that was sneaky enough.
But then he did something that is really troubling and conspiracy-inspiring: he set the bar for amendments at 60 votes, on the ostensible theory that Republicans would filibuster their way to a 40 vote majority anyway if they didn't like it. Ah, the bold strategizing of Harry Reid. So Dodd was now faced with an amendment that itself could likely get majority but not filibuster proof votes. Filibustering to stop a bill without a majority is one thing, but doing it to favor an amendment without a by-rule majority behind it is really kinda just ego.
o Dodd was basically neutered by the tactic. But it begs the question: why on earth would Reid pre-capitulate on any amendment? Talk about filibuster by fear! Is he just inept, or is he doing it for another, more sinister reason? Good God almighty, what did we do to deserve these leaders. Why hast thou forsaken us...at CHRISTMAS! (We're sorry about Jesus, we really are. We were so primitive then! Can't you let us off the hook now? Please?) Ahem. Below the fold, Wyden's frontal assault on inertia, Senate style. {more}
Despite being one of the 2 votes in the Intel committee against the FISA bill being shepherded through the Senate by Harry Reid, and his statements about protecting overseas communications by Americans, I was unable to get any sense from Senator Wyden's office this morning that he plans to join Chris Dodd's potential filibuster on the bill today.
So far only Russ Feingold and Ted Kennedy have agreed to give Dodd a break by asking questions. The staffer at his office repeated that Wyden had made no statement, and could not offer whether he would. That's not typically code for a "yes" response, although there's the faint possibility they are trying to salvage some backroom way out of this utter clusterfuck by Reid and the Democratic Party, and he's holding his powder.
OK, so I just promoted a diary from Oregon Senate candidate Steve Novick about his active weekend, but at the risk of saturating the state with Novick News, this extremely timely and overwhelmingly important statement to the Democratic Congress in DC: QUIT BEING SUCH FUCKING COWARDS AND FIGHT THE ADMINISTRATION ON ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING!OK, that's perhaps a bit paraphrased, but the sentiment is accurate--DC Dems appear to be removing from their collective body what few vertebra they have left on the FISA laws, and we can't afford any more capitulation than we've already seen. Novick:
"Americans want us to fight terrorists with the strongest tools available, but they do not want to sacrifice our liberties in the name of security," said Novick. "The direction currently being taken by Congressional Democrats, particularly in the Senate, threatens to make permanent several powers granted on a temporary basis in August and even extend them further to make the telecommunications industry unaccountable for any violations of privacy or other civil liberties. I strongly urge them to rethink this approach."
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