I for one would be more than willing to contribute to it.

GG, perhaps slightly off topic, but not by much. At least two warrantless entry/search/seizures involved. Since you were there, thought you might find this of interest--trial slated for later this month I believe:

Social activist, organizer ... and RNC informant

http://www.twincities.com/ci_11352449?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com

Activist Unmasks Himself as Federal Informant in G.O.P. Convention Case

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/us/05informant.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=bradon%20darby&st=cse

Press Release from Austin activists relating to upcoming trial:

January 6, 2009

Austin RNC Informant is Provocateur Not Hero

Austin, TX – A group of Austin activists today released their conclusions from reviewing over 70 pages of FBI documents obtained through a legal case regarding alleged actions to protest the Republican National Convention (RNC). From reading the documents, and from their own experience with him, these activists have concluded that the FBI informant Brandon Darby did not heroically intervene to stop violence. Rather it appears that he actively sought out people that he could manipulate and entrap. The two Texas men that Darby was most closely associated with during the convention, Bradley Crowder and David McKay, are accused of making Molotov cocktails and have been in jail since early September. Their trial is set for January 26. The disclosure of Brandon Darby as the informant casts further doubt on the charges against these two men.

According to the FBI's documents, Darby, posing as an activist, had been covertly gathering information for the FBI since at least February 2007, twelve months before he ever met Crowder or McKay or knew of any plans for the RNC. "As an older seasoned activist, Darby had a lot of sway over Crowder and McKay, making them susceptible to his often militant rhetoric," said Gabby Hicks, who was in St. Paul with Darby during the Convention. "He was always the one to suggest violence, when the rest of us clearly disagreed with those strategies."

Darby has been characterized by many people who have known and worked with him as both persuasive and manipulative, with a history of provocation, instigation, and incitement. According to Lisa Fithian, who worked with Darby for years, "Brandon was always provoking discord and aggression, in the anti-war movement in Austin in 2003, in protests in Houston against Halliburton, and in disaster relief at Common Ground in New Orleans. I worked with Darby in all of those places and saw the disruption he caused."

The FBI documents make it clear that Darby did not restrict his informing to people he alleges were planning illegal activities. He also gathered information on numerous people who were engaged in lawful activism; including some who had no plans to attend the Republican Convention. "The wider net cast by Darby in his information gathering shows that he was part of an FBI campaign to suppress political dissent and activism," said Will Potter, an award-winning independent journalist. "By gathering information on law abiding activists and then defending his actions as stopping violence, Darby contributes to the public perception that political dissent is criminal, which has a chilling effect on free speech."

Because of Darby's leadership role and his militant rhetoric, two impressionable young men, who have been held without bail since September, now face 7 to 10 years in prison. As the prosecution prepares for trial, friends and family of McKay and Crowder are hoping for a not guilty verdict. "We miss him a lot," said Mckay's father. "Every night David calls – at this point those calls mean everything to me."

For more information contact the Austin Informant Working Group at texas.solidarity@gmail.com. People in this community are also available to speak to the media about their experiences with Darby and the results of his malicious actions.

Gabby Hicks (651.341.3678) traveled to St. Paul with Darby for the RNC and is named in the documents.

Lisa Fithian (213.840.1972) is local long-time organizer named in the documents and worked with Brandon in Austin, Houston, and NOLA.

Carly Dickson (512.775.0800) was a longtime friend of Brandon, represents Austin People's Legal Collective

Brent Purdue (512.736.6852) is a local activist who worked with Brandon.

Heather Mitchell (512. 299.4405) is a local activists.

Scott Crow (512.297.1049) is a local long-time organizer named in the documents and a long-time friend of Brandon's.

Note first the FBI letter refers to "the unauthorized disclosure of classified information regarding the Presidentially-authorized NSA program". This isn't described as the Constitutionally-allowed or the legal program; it is merely Presidentially-authorized.

Next, we have the esteemed Speaker Pelosi. From her letter to Hayden in Glenn's link:

Therefore, I am concerned whether, and to what extent, the National Security Agency has received specific presidential authorization for the operations you are conducting. Until I understand better the legal analysis regarding the sufficiency of the authority which underlies your decision on the appropriate way to proceed on this matter, I will continue to be concerned.

The Speaker is "concerned" about the practice, that is, unless it has received "specific presidential authorization". That would appear to be the only requirement for what Pelosi deems to be the "legal analysis regarding the sufficiency of the authority which underlies" the actions. The Constitution, Federal statutes and the US Code of Federal Regulations are just so quaint.

Just wow.

If only it were a civil suit with which Tamm was faced, maybe it would be possible to get some representative (Tim Ryan?) to introduce a bill to provide the same type of retroactive immunity for him as was provided for the telecoms.

Although I am sure that Tamm cannot afford the lobbying fees to Jay Rockefeller to get him to support it.

I wanted to offer one other thing in relation to yesterday's post too:

I am not here as a public official, but as a citizen of a troubled world who finds hope in a growing consensus that the generally accepted goals of society are peace, freedom, human rights, environmental quality, the alleviation of suffering, and the rule of law.

During the past decades, the international community, usually under the auspices of the United Nations, has struggled to negotiate global standards that can help us achieve these essential goals. They include: the abolition of land mines and chemical weapons; an end to the testing, proliferation, and further deployment of nuclear warheads; constraints on global warming; prohibition of the death penalty, at least for children; and an international criminal court to deter and to punish war crimes and genocide. Those agreements already adopted must be fully implemented, and others should be pursued aggressively.

We must also strive to correct the injustice of economic sanctions that seek to penalize abusive leaders but all too often inflict punishment on those who are already suffering from the abuse.

The unchanging principles of life predate modern times. I worship Jesus Christ, whom we Christians consider to be the Prince of Peace. As a Jew, he taught us to cross religious boundaries, in service and in love. He repeatedly reached out and embraced Roman conquerors, other Gentiles, and even the more despised Samaritans.

Despite theological differences, all great religions share common commitments that define our ideal secular relationships. I am convinced that Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and others can embrace each other in a common effort to alleviate human suffering and to espouse peace.

But the present era is a challenging and disturbing time for those whose lives are shaped by religious faith based on kindness toward each other. We have been reminded that cruel and inhuman acts can be derived from distorted theological beliefs, as suicide bombers take the lives of innocent human beings, draped falsely in the cloak of God's will. With horrible brutality, neighbors have massacred neighbors in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

In order for us human beings to commit ourselves personally to the inhumanity of war, we find it necessary first to dehumanize our opponents, which is in itself a violation of the beliefs of all religions. Once we characterize our adversaries as beyond the scope of God's mercy and grace, their lives lose all value. We deny personal responsibility when we plant landmines and, days or years later, a stranger to us - often a child – is crippled or killed. From a great distance, we launch bombs or missiles with almost total impunity, and never want to know the number or identity of the victims.

...

Ladies and gentlemen:

War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.

-Jimmy Carter, Nobel Lecture, December 10, 2002