Great news--the two female Italian aid workers kidnapped and held hostage in Iraq have been released. Last week's report that they had been killed was false.

The abducted CNN reporter also has been released.

A website created to out Harvard Professors whose writings include words taken from the works of others is making waves. Today, esteemed Law Professor Laurence Tribe apologizes for his mistakes. Also caught in the cross-hairs: Charles Ogletree. Instapundit weighs in.

...identifying plagiarism requires more than just pointing out some parallel passages (see this post quoting Alexander Lindey on why that is) -- it also requires knowledge of context, an analysis of the work as a whole...

From Mark Crispin Miller:

This week we're releasing the DVD of A Patriot Act, the piece I've been performing at the New York Theater Workshop all this year. That show was a great success, getting people all fired up to fight the Bushveiks; and this new movie version is terrific. It is the joint work of a highly skilled and gifted group of filmmaking professionals, all of whom put in their time for free.

We want to set up screenings everywhere, so that every rational American (hey, every rational person) might see it prior to Election Day. We'll have it screened at indy theaters, social gatherings, at campus rallies and on public access cable channels. (And if Bush & Co. steals the White House for the second time, we want the movie to stay on the public radar screen, because if that does happen Patriot Act will be even timelier.)

[link fixed.]

To get your copy, send an email to info@patriotnation.us

Yesterday we wrote about the new anti-terror bill being pushed through Congress by Republicans anxious to get it passed and signed into law by Bush before Nov. 2. Here's more--go grab your Pepto Dismal, you'll need it:

S. 2679 contains the largest expansion of federal powers since the USA PATRIOT Act, with the most serious consequences for civil liberties, that have been proposed since the demise of the much-maligned "Domestic Security Enhancement Act," also called "Patriot Act II." While the Domestic Security Enhancement Act provoked a firestorm of criticism and never proceeded beyond the drafting stage, a number of its contentious provisions have been given new life in S. 2679.

Check out Section 110 of the bill.

Congresswoman Diana DeGette(D-Colo.)is warning that the Administration is pushing towards the return of the draft:

"The American people are going to have to realize that if the Bush administration is going to push 'pre-emption,' we're going to have to reinstate the draft," Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said at a news conference in Denver. "I'm just trying to be realistic. We're already stretched with our ventures in Afghanistan and Iraq."

DeGette has called for a Congressional investigation into the Administration's "stop loss" orders, which tell a soldier about to be done with his duty that if he doesn't reinlist, he will be sent to Iraq to finish out his service.

"Soldiers who served honorably, fought in Iraq and are near the end of their service should not be threatened with impressment," DeGette said. "How widespread is this? How high does this go in the Pentagon?"

The death penalty debate is growing. Here is an excellent speech by Richard Dieter of the Death Penalty Information Center to the American Correctional Association (prison guards.) It outlines all that is wrong with the death penalty. It's not new, but it's a keeper for all who are called upon to speak on the subject. His conclusion:

The death penalty is literally falling apart at the seams. Judging by the 50% decline in death sentences, by the growing rejection of this punishment around the world, and by the decreasing support even in this country, it is likely that its days are numbered. I believe that we are seeing a trend in society to put its trust in the correctional system that is already keeping society safe from over 99% of violent convicted criminals. I believe the correctional system would do a much better job with the people who are currently sentenced to death. It would not be satisfied that it has "discharged its whole duty when it has punished" but "having raised him up," it would meet its "further duty to aid in holding him up," regardless of how terrible the crime. Of one thing I am sure: the death penalty system has been tried and it has failed.

The Guardian today presents the first weekly column by Markos of Daily Kos.

Chris Bowers, who writes for Daily Kos and My DD, has a new idea. Lefty bloggers should pool together and apply for a seat in the White House briefing room.

With the Supreme Court set to hear oral argument in the Blakely v. Washington case, check out the debate going on at Legal Affairs--between Douglas Berman and Stephanos Bibas. It's shaping up into an interesting discussion.

Jann Wenner interviews Bruce Springsteen in the new Rolling Stone on Bruce's emergence as a rocker with political clout with voters. Among the topics: John Kerry.

I think that Senator Kerry has long played it close to the vest, and that's his style. However, the presidency is like the heavyweight championship: They don't give it to you, you have to take it. He has a slow, deliberate style that may not make for an electrifying campaigner, but it may make for a very good president. But, of course, you have to get there.

One of the most disturbing aspects of this election is that the machinery for taking something that is a lie and making it feel true, or taking something that is true and making it feel like a lie -- the selling machinery has become very powerful. Senator Kerry has to make people pay attention to the man behind the curtain. He has to take the risk and rip the veil off the administration's deceptions. They are a hall of mirrors and a house of cards.

For Senator Kerry, the good news is he has the facts on his side. The bad news is that often in the current climate it can feel like that doesn't matter, and he has to make it matter.

By the way, happy birthday to the Boss, who turned 55 this week. How time flies.

If you're doing a research project on Bush and you need some ammunition, check out The Paperless Archives:

George W. Bush Presidential Papers
George W. Bush Administration Papers & Reports

17,361 pages of President George Bush and Bush Administration papers.

bq. Material released through Freedom of Information Act Request releases and public information releases. Composed of internal White House documents, Public financial disclosures of President Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, and other members of the Bush Cabinet, George Bush military service records, Iraq Coalition Provisional Authority documents, George Bush and Richard Cheney tax records, 2000 Presidential election dispute court documents and reports, Government Accountability Office reports, Executive Orders issued by President George Bush, transcripts of President George W. Bush public papers, and government reports on issues related to the Bush Administration.

The first jury trial of Enron execs is underway in Houston. The government's star witness so far is a former Enron exec who told the jury how he and others, including former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, pillaged the company coffers:

Former Enron executive Michael Kopper spent much of Monday telling a jury about how he and others systematically looted Enron, concocting scheme after scheme to line their pockets with millions of dollars stolen from shareholders.

Kopper, 39, calmly and thoughtfully explained that in 1997 he and ex-Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow started to divert funds to themselves, family and friends by breaking laws, breaking internal rules, lying, manipulating and standing in the middle of deals.

So what was Kopper's role?

Kopper, who has pleaded guilty in 2002 to two counts of conspiracy, admitted he and his partner William Dodson stole about $16.5 million from Enron between 1997 and 2001. He said he helped loot about $45 million for Fastow and his family as well. And other friends got anywhere from $60,000 to $1 million, some after investing, others just because Fastow and Kopper wanted to pay them something.

What is Kopper going to get for his testimony? He's hoping for probation.

Kopper agreed with Dan Cogdell, lawyer for Enron defendant Sheila Kahanek, that if he had not entered into a plea bargain with the government he could have faced a life sentence for all his crimes. But Kopper said he hopes he might still get a probated sentence, despite the 15-year maximum he faces on his two charges.

Financially, Kopper isn't hurting either:

Twenty-four hours later and the blogosphere is still reflecting on Billmon's op-ed to the LA Times on the commercialization of bloggers and how it contributed to his decision to take a break. I contributed my two cents on Billmon's post yesterday. Today we hear from the left-of-center masters.

This morning, Kos weighed in. I agree with him completely. Tonight, Atrios provided his thoughts, which are more like pearls of wisdom to aspriring bloggers.

If you're new to blogging, go read them both. They're the stars, our blog-fathers. Which is not to say you need to aspire to their heights--only that they demonstrate what it takes to reach them. Neither expected or even sought these pinnacles, but there's a reason they acheived them--and it's not just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, writing about the topic du jour. All it takes to understand their success, should you aspire to it, is to read them throughout the day and evening. Once a day doesn't do either of them justice.

Here's a few snippets of advice Atrios had tonight for new bloggers: