Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, introduced H.R. 1531 in Congress Friday. The resolution, according to a press release from the Congressman...

...is in response to President Bush’s widespread abuses of power and potentially criminal transgressions against our Constitution. The Resolution aims to prevent undeserved pardons of officials who may have been co-conspirators in the President’s unconstitutional policies, such as torture, illegal surveillance and curtailing of due process for defendants. "This Resolution declares that we will not tolerate a last minute attempt by President Bush to shelter his cronies – cronies who may well be guilty of serious criminal offenses – from the full force of the law," said Rep. Nadler. "President Bush must not excuse his own officials from possibly illegal acts committed outside the context of their official duties.  Such pardons would merely obfuscate the truth and amount to a gross miscarriage of justice." Beyond preventing pre-emptive pardons, the Resolution also recommends the establishment of a special commission or select committee to investigate the potentially illegal activities – including abuse of pardon power – of senior Bush Administration officials. It also calls for the next Attorney General to appoint an independent counsel to investigate and prosecute any crimes.

Nadler told the Austin-American Statesman that the goal is to prevent "undeserved pardons of officials who may have been co-conspirators in the president’s unconstitutional policies, such as torture, illegal surveillance and curtailing of due process for defendants."

"This resolution declares that we will not tolerate a last minute attempt by President Bush to shelter his cronies - cronies who may well be guilty of serious criminal offenses - from the full force of the law."

In a commentary at Salon.com on Thursday, Sen. Russ Feingold wrote:

If President Bush were to pardon key individuals involved in the misdeeds of his administration, from warrantless wiretapping to torture to the firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons, the courts would be unable to address criminality, or pass judgment on the legality of some of the president's worst abuses.  Issuing such pardons now would be particularly egregious, since voters just issued such a strong condemnation of the Bush administration at the ballot box.  There is nothing to prevent President Bush from using the pardon in such a short-sighted and self-serving manner -- except, perhaps, public pressure that may itself be a window on the judgment of history.  Everyone who can exert that pressure, from members of Congress to the press and the public, should express their views on whether it would be appropriate for President Bush to use his pardon power in this way.

You can sign the petition in support of Nadler's resolution and send a copy to your Representative by logging on at Democrats.com.

• • •

The Overnight News Digest is posted and includes the story, Dems look to stop endangered species rule changes.

Tonight's rescue team is HansScholl, ItsJessMe, shayera, vcmvo2, and watercarrier4diogenes, with srkp23 editing.

• boatsie, reporting live from Marin County, one of the richest regions in the US, describes the local food bank's struggles to meet demand, in Dispatches from the Field: Local Food Crises. (ItsJessMe)
• dreaminonempty analyzes maps in great detail in order to show how certain groups affected the presidential vote in Maps: Obama and White Evangelicals. (vcmvo2)
• JohnnyRook describes how scientists have made some startling conclusions in Climaticide Update: Lack of Radioactivity in Himalayan Ice Core Bodes Ill for Millions. (vcmvo2)
• Doolittle Sothere discusses the need for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and offers a comprehensive overview of its background and certification process, in LEEDing the way...to a Green Collar job (w/poll). (ItsJessMe)
• kay dub spins a little old-fashioned Marxian theory to explain the current financial crisis in We don't need no stinkin socialism! (HansScholl)
• ProfJonathan thoughtfully analyzes the importance of the auto industry to the US economy in CarCos: Restructure NOT Bankruptcy. (vcmvo2)
• KingOneEye describes how several far-right pundits are determined to demonize the President-elect's policies in Obama Paranoia Tarnishes Seminal Civil Rights Victory. (vcmvo2)
• Big Tex eulogizes "The People's Lawyer," Jim Mattox, dead at 65. (ItsJessMe)
• Scott in NJ highlights a very unique protest in Princeton Proposition 8: Preserving the Sanctity of Sidewalks. (shayera)
• fake consultant invites us to listen to and support the wonderful singer Madeleine Peyroux, in On The Need To Clear The Musical Desk, Or, Are You In New York This Sunday? (ItsJessMe)

jotter serves up High Impact Diaries: November 20, 2008.

emeraldmaiden brings Top Comments 11-21-08 - Finally Friday.

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.

Excellent news for Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy; after a protracted legal challenge, federal Judge Algernon Marbley has ruled that 1,000 disputed provisional ballots from Kilroy's stronghold of Franklin County must be counted.

Her opponent Steve Stivers leads by 479 votes, but with nearly 27,000 votes uncounted in Franklin, it's doubtful he can hang on.

Marbley's ruling came in a lawsuit filed last week by supporters of Stivers, who argued the ballots were invalid because they were missing either a printed name or a signature, or the two were interchanged on ballot envelopes.

In his ruling, the judge said the plaintiffs never disputed that the voters who used the provisional ballots were eligible, properly registered and voted in the correct precinct, and that not counting the ballots would disenfranchise legitimate voters. His ruling sides with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who had said the ballots should be counted because the problems were due to poll worker error.

Punctuating his ruling with a reading of Ohio's voter fraud statute, Marbley called unfounded the plaintiffs' contention that allowing the disputed ballots to be counted would promote fraud. He said election officials have ways to double-check the validity of all the disputed votes.

Union County, part of Stivers' base in this election (it's a rural, Republican-leaning county) has now completed its count. Most of the outstanding vote is in Franklin, and as such, it's looking very good for Kilroy.

On the web:
Mary Jo Kilroy for Congress
Orange to Blue ActBlue Page

Have you heard the one about the union autoworker making more than $70 per hour, forcing American auto companies into bankruptcy?

There are two very small problems with that. First, there's something wrong with workers making a good living? As wrong for a blue-collar worker to make $70 as for a CEO to make $11,000?

Second, it's not true. Average wages for Big Three workers are around $28 per hour.

But then what's the source of that $70 hourly figure? It didn't come out of thin air. Analysts came up with it by including the cost of all employer-provided benefits--namely, health insurance and pensions--and then dividing by the number of workers. The result, they found, was that benefits for Big Three cost about $42 per hour, per employee. Add that to the wages--again, $24 per hour--and you get the $70 figure. Voila.

Except ... notice something weird about this calculation? It's not as if each active worker is getting health benefits and pensions worth $42 per hour. That would come to nearly twice his or her wages. (Talk about gold-plated coverage!) Instead, each active worker is getting benefits equal only to a fraction of that--probably around $10 per hour, according to estimates from the International Motor Vehicle Program. The number only gets to $70 an hour if you include the cost of benefits for retirees--in other words, the cost of benefits for other people.

Rather slick and cheeky of them, it must be said, to craft this particular line of bull.

Needless to say, if we had universal healthcare, enemies of unions wouldn't be able to tell this particular lie, and American auto companies would be doing a lot better financially. The plight of this industry should shore up our resolve for healthcare reform. And in the interim, as we watch one industry after another ask for government assistance, we ought not to place the blame for a single industry's problems on the backs of its unionized workers.

Leaks and rumors abound on possible nominations and speculation is reaching a fever pitch. Several media outlets are reporting Timothy Geithner to be named Treasury Secretary.

Geithner played a large role in the government's efforts to wrangle the credit crisis, which has damaged markets and economies worldwide. While a number of those efforts have been controversial, Geithner remains a well-regarded figure from Wall Street to Washington.

MSNBC reports Bill Richardson is likely to be tapped for Secretary of Commerce and Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security. Although the aides leaking the news to both CNN and MSNBC cautioned neither position was a done deal.

And last but not least, according to CNN (and many other outlets) Hillary Clinton could be nominated for Secretary of State.

President-elect Obama is on track to nominate Sen. Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state after Thanksgiving, three aides on Obama's transition team told CNN Thursday.

Clinton senior adviser Philippe Reines repeated a statement that "any and all speculation about Cabinet or other administration appointments is for President-Elect Obama's transition team to address."

Talking Points Memo has an interesting take on the Clinton nomination. Hillary still owes $7.5 million to various vendors for her campaign.....$5.4 million of that is owed to Mark Penn for services rendered. While she has nearly cut her debt in half since June, all fundraising would have to end if she accepts the position.

Obama is considering Clinton for secretary of state. As a Cabinet member Clinton would face fundraising restrictions to retire her vendor debt.

A 2001 advisory opinion by the federal Office of Special Counsel said a federal employee who still had a campaign debt would be prohibited from "personally soliciting, accepting or receiving political contributions."

Clinton could name an agent from her campaign committee to continue to organize and hold fundraising events to retire the debt. Clinton would be limited to attending a fundraising event and simply stating her appreciation to donors.

In other words, if the SoS job is offered and accepted......it could be very difficult for Mark Penn to get paid. Ouch.

More community discussion on these possible nomiations can be found in Johnny Venom's diary on the rec list.

Over at the Electronic Frontier Foundation's blog, Deeplinks, Kevin Bankston writes about what Obama could do to stop telco amnesty, framing his post in response to this NYT story by Eric Lichtblau and James Risen, the reporting duo who broke the illegal spying story back in December 2005. They write:

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama will face a series of early decisions on domestic spying that will test his administration’s views on presidential power and civil liberties.

The Justice Department will be asked to respond to motions in legal challenges to the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program, and must decide whether to continue the tactics used by the Bush administration — which has used broad claims of national security and "state secrets" to try to derail the challenges — or instead agree to disclose publicly more information about how the program was run....

In perhaps the most critical test, civil liberties groups that are suing major phone companies that took part in the N.S.A. program are waiting to find out whether a federal judge will throw out the lawsuits based on immunity granted by Congress in June.

The Justice Department has already moved to take advantage of the immunity provision by certifying in court that the phone companies were complying with a presidential order. But the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group that has taken the lead in the lawsuit, maintains that Congress acted beyond its powers.

A hearing is set for Dec. 2. Cindy Cohn, legal director for the foundation, said that as the case moved forward the new administration could act to withdraw the immunity certification made by the Bush Justice Department.

"Nothing will be over by Jan. 20," when Mr. Obama is inaugurated, Ms. Cohn said.

In light of this, Bankston argues that there are a series of actions Obama could take as president.

President Obama can end the immunity process. Consistent with his previous opposition to immunity — then-Senator Obama voted in favor of Senator Dodd's amendment to strip the immunity provisions out of the FAA altogether — Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to withdraw the government's motion to dismiss the lawsuits based on the immunity statute. Or,

President Obama can temporarily freeze the immunity process until he has learned all the details about the NSA program. Consistent with his support of Senator Bingaman's proposed FAA amendment to delay implementation of the immunity provisions, Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to ask the court for a temporary stay of the immunity proceedings. That would give the Administration time to review the classified details of the NSA program as well as the FAA-mandated reports about the program that are expected by this July from the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice, the NSA, and other agencies involved in the program. After having reviewed all the facts, the new administration can then re-evaluate whether it wants to continue to press for immunity in court, or drop its motion to dismiss and let the cases against the telecoms continue. Or,

President Obama can choose not to appeal if the immunity statute is found unconstitutional. If, after the hearing on December 2nd, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the federal Northern District of California agrees with EFF that the immunity statute is unconstitutional and denies the government's motion to dismiss, Obama could instruct his new Attorney General to not appeal that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

All of these are things Obama could do — on his own and without any help from Congress — to stop the implementation of the immunity scheme that he repeatedly opposed during his presidential campaign.

These recommendations aren't EFF's alone: as part of the transition roadmap published yesterday by a broad coalition of groups including EFF, seventeen different civil liberties organizations signed onto national security surveillance recommendations that included the proposition that President Obama should "[d]irect the Attorney General to withdraw the government’s motion to dismiss pending privacy litigation brought against telecommunications carriers for assisting with unlawful warrantless surveillance, or seek a stay of those proceedings until such time as the Attorney General, based on review of the Inspectors’ General reports required by the FISA Amendments Act, determines that a grant of immunity is appropriate."

While I'm supportive of all of these ideas, I think that that horse left the barn, at least politically--particularly in light of Obama's reversal on telco amnesty last summer. There's the possibility that the courts find the amnesty part of the legislation unconstitutional, since it amounts to the Congress telling the courts how to rule, but outside of that possibility, it doesn't seem likely the telcos are going to be held accountable. It would be a great victory for justice if a President Obama were to take any of these actions. But the key issue in telco amnesty was the shutting of the door on the public's right to know what happened in this program--who was spied on and why and what elements of the program are ongoing.

We know part of this already, from the whistleblowers who spoke out last month that they were illegally spying on Americans abroad, but the program is still shielded, and innocent Americans undoubtedly are still being subject to warrantless wiretapping.

This is what President Obama could end, even without Congress acting. He could instruct his agencies to follow the old FISA rules and United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18, or USSID 18 -- an NSA rule that bars overseas surveillance of Americans without authorization and probable cause. Those protections, and the basic Constitutional fourth amendment protection, have been all but eradicated by the Bush administration and have to be restored if the Obama administration hopes bring this country back under the rule of law.

Whether this will happen is now seriously in question, with reports that former National Counterrorism Center head John Brennan is the favorite for the CIA director nomination. This pick could create real conflict within the new administration: Brennan continues to defend the "enhanced interrogation" techniques and rendition that Obama himself has renounced. On this, I can only reiterate what Glenn says:

To appoint someone as CIA Director or Director of National Intelligence who was one of George Tenet's closest aides when The Dark Side of the last eight years was conceived and implemented, and who, to this day, continues to defend and support policies such as "enhanced interrogation techniques" and rendition (to say nothing of telecom immunity and warrantless eavesdropping), is to cross multiple lines that no Obama supporter should sanction. Truly turning a page on the grotesque abuses of the last eight years requires both symbolism (closing Guantanamo) and substantive policy changes (compelling adherence to the Army Field Manual, ensuring due process rights for all detainees, ending rendition, restoring safeguards on surveillance powers). Appointing John Brennan to a position of high authority would be to affirm and embrace, not repudiate, the darkest aspects of the last eight years.

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...

This Late Night Snark Has Not Been Vetted:

"A new study says that unhappy people watch more TV. I just want to say, Helllllooo, Republicans!"
---Jay Leno
-
"It was so cold today, I was shaking like Sarah Palin taking a geography test."
---David Letterman
-
"Yesterday in Georgia, John McCain was campaigning for a Republican congressman who is facing a runoff election. You can tell McCain is a little bitter about his defeat because instead of saying 'My friends,' he now says, 'My ungrateful bastards.'"
---Conan O'Brien
-
"Barack Obama met with Hillary Clinton on Friday to see if she would be interested in a role in his administration. 'Of course,' said Hillary. 'I'll take president.'"
---Seth Meyers
-
"I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say things are not going well for the Republicans. Two years ago they controlled both the White House and the Congress. Soon they'll be controlling both the Coke machine and the fry station."
---Stephen Colbert

And our favorite, from The Daily Show:

Fox News announcer: Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted. The South Texas indictment says there's a---quote---"money trail" of Cheney's prison-related businesses.

Jon Stewart: Dick Cheney has prison-related business. Is there any unpleasant aspect of our society that Dick Cheney isn’t making money off of?

Oh, hey... It's the last pre-Thanksgiving weekend of the Bush administration, and you know what that means: blogosphere-wide Lambada party! Show up nude and we'll waive the cover charge.

Your west coast-friendly edition of Cheers and Jeers starts in There's Moreville... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

Ezra has a clearly-written piece outlining the idea that the presumed new OMB head, Peter Orszag will be nearly as important on the health care reform beat as Tom Daschle's appointment to HHS.

If you're interested in health care reform, the appointment of Peter Orszag to be director of the Office of Management and Budget is second only in importance to the the elevation of Tom Daschle to health czar and HHS secretary...

Orszag will be coming from the Congressional Budget Office, OMB's legislative cousin. There, he's shown an almost single-minded focus on health care reform. He's added dozens of health care analysts to the staff, reconstructed the health policy division's management structure, and is readying to release two major books on health policy options and CBO's health care scoring models that will be extremely central in how Congress looks at building a health care bill. Amidst all that, he's toured the country giving a slide show about the problems of the health care system, the overwhelming danger it poses to our fiscal condition, the incredible inefficiencies that beset the delivery, and the research that suggests reform could not only save money but also improve care. He's also acted as a powerful and credible counterweight to those who counsel incrementalism, or delay, on health reform.

Add this to our previous list of signs and portents that Obama is taking health care reform seriously and in a big way.

In any case, the economics team is shaping up as Orszag at OMB, Bill Richardson at Commerce, Tim Geithner at Treasury (and perhaps Larry Summers at Council of Economic Advisors as future fed chair or other senior adviser role.)

At the same time, the health team is Tom Daschle at HHS, Orszag in a supporting role, and CDC still to be named (currently Julie Gerberding).

Hey, maybe Obama will name a Surgeon General as well. Did you know that currently the Acting Surgeon General is Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H.? That's the problem - no one else knew, either. For the new administration to treat the SG as a serious and visible appointee (taking nothing away from Dr. Galson) would be a sorely needed boost for public health and prevention.

Speaking of public health, although Homeland Security isn't often thought of as a health position, it is vital for emergency preparedness, including public health emergencies. Obama's choice at DHS, Janet Napolitano, co-chaired the 2006 National Governors Association pandemic flu task force. Governors can appreciate the need to plan for emergencies at state levels, so that's useful.

In any case, with Orszag at OMB, maybe all of the above will be properly funded.

Over on the Hill, the Big Three are getting sternly worded advice about how to approach Congress with a proposal that has a chance of passage, according to the Washington Post:

Earlier today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that she and Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will send a letter to the heads of GM, Ford and Chrysler, telling them what they need to show Congress in order to get federal bailout money....

Pelosi said that she wants lawmakers to tell Congress that, if it approves the bailout, Detroit will:
-- pay no shareholder dividends,
-- give no bonuses to employees making more than $200,000,
-- explain how they will invest in advanced technology to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Meanwhile, the Obama camp is looking into expedited ways for the companies to restructure, according to Bloomberg:

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team is exploring a swift, prepackaged bankruptcy for automakers as a possible solution to the industry's financial crisis, according to a person familiar with the matter....

"It creates the environment to deal with GM's problems but limits government financial commitment,'' said bankruptcy lawyer Mark Bane of Ropes & Gray in New York....

In a prepackaged bankruptcy, an automaker would go into court with financing in hand after reaching agreement with lenders, workers and suppliers on what each would give up and on the business plan to be followed. The process might take six to 12 months, compared with two to five years if the automakers followed an ordinary Chapter 11 proceeding and worked out agreements under a judge's supervision, Bane said.

The Bloomberg article also makes clear that the Bush administration is still pushing the idea of of tapping the $25 billion loan that was set aside to help the industry develop fuel-efficient solutions. Additionally, the UAW is getting involved in discussions as well:

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger told Bloomberg Television today that he's "at the bargaining table" to help find ways to cut costs at U.S. carmakers, signaling that the union may be flexible in making concessions to push through an aid package for the auto industry.

• DHinMI has two essays in mind for Sunday. In one, he will dispel myths about why the American (and global) auto industry is a mess, and why it's in our best interests to save it. In a second essay, he will examine whether the Republicans lost big because they're not a party of ideas.
• DarkSyde will show the Obama climate change and energy transition team has their work cut out for them in more ways than one, in "Anatomy of a Zombie Lie."
• Now the "big jobs" are being filled, let's not forget about the really big jobs: cleaning up the mess in Interior and EPA. Sunday, mcjoan will explore what needs to be done in these agencies, and who might be able to tackle the job.

Other essays are in the works.

And now it's time to begin Friday afternoon chattering ...