W. James Antle III, columnist for the Washington Dispatch writes about blogging coverage of the Iraq war, including war supporters and opponents.

Examples include University of Tennessee law professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds, whose Instapundit site has emerged as the 800-pound gorilla of the blogosphere, journalist Andrew Sullivan, UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, Charles Johnson's Little Green Footballs and Megan McArdle under the cyber-pseudonym Jane Galt. The common thread between most of these bloggers is a strong belief in the capacity of American military power to effect social change, concern for the dangers posed by radical Islam and a desire to see tyrannies swept aside by democracy in the Middle East. This is not to say that that the web is exclusively the domain of hawks. In addition to liberal blogs like TalkLeft and Tom Tomorrow, thoughtful libertarians including Gene Healy, Jim Henley and Julian Sanchez have also spoken out against the war. Antiwar bloggers across the political spectrum have converged at the provocative Stand Down blog, where they debate the war and, almost as frequently, each other.

Mr. Antle concludes that we bloggers are providing some valuable input:

In our increasingly information-based society, it is best to let a thousand flowers bloom. The web's contributions to the discussion of the Iraq war demonstrate its potential as a vibrant source of news and debate, as well as a community for the exchange of ideas. Informed citizens today aren't just picking up newspapers or tuning in - they are logging on.

Time Magazine has an exclusive interview with Scott Peterson's parents in which they not only stand behind their son, but insist he is innocent.

We're just very critical of the way the Modesto police has handled this investigation. They worked strictly on a theory that was dreamt up by this lead detective within the first eight hours, and they've pursued it backward from there and they have neglected so many good leads. Chief (Roy) Wasden made a comment during his news conference that on the evening before Christmas Eve, Laci's mother had spoken to Laci at 8:15 and that's the last time anyone saw Laci. Not true. There are several people who saw Laci.

The Washington Post has a detailed profile of FBI Agent James J. Smith, now charged with Katrina Leung in a sordid espionage case. If you haven't been following the case, here are the essential details:

In court documents, federal prosecutors allege that Smith and Leung, who were both arrested here this month, had been having an extramarital affair for almost as long as she had been providing the FBI intelligence on the Chinese government. Prosecutors are accusing Leung of being a double agent, supplying Smith with information at the same time she was giving the Chinese copies of classified FBI documents that he blithely left unguarded in her presence. Smith, 59, has been charged with gross negligence on the job and is free on $250,000 bond. Leung, 49, has been charged with illegally obtaining classified documents for the purpose of aiding a foreign power and is jailed; a federal magistrate last week refused to release her on bail. Prosecutors say Leung may have provided Chinese officials with confidential details on FBI personnel, a range of secret intelligence cases and spying tactics that agents and their informants use. Leung's attorneys have denied the charges, and say she has made "heroic contributions" to the United States.

Smith retired three years ago after a long career as a respected and dedicated agent. Ten years ago, court documents show that another FBI Agent, since identified as William Cleveland Jr., also was having an affair with Leung and told Smith he suspected Leung was a double agent. Smith did nothing about it and continued to give Leung information. Cleveland has since been stripped of his security clearance and resigned his counterintelligence post at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The New York Times Sunday has a lengthy article on FBI problems with informants, and reports the biggest problems may occur when the agent and informant get too close, sexually or financially.

Leung's family issued a statement today.

Ms. Leung's family, in its first public comments, said in a statement released today that she had spent two decades "doing what the F.B.I. wanted," putting herself in great personal danger. The family said she was now being targeted in part because she is a Chinese-American woman. "When Katrina can present the full story, you will know she has been abused and smeared by the F.B.I., she is a loyal and patriotic American and she is innocent of any crimes against America," the statement said.

Daily Kos writes about Blogshares and says we are the top priced lefty blogger.

Now for something completely apolitical, but cool nevertheless, check out BlogShares, the Fantasy Blog Share Market. It's a virtual stock market trading in weblogs. Signing up (it's free) gives you access to $500 pretend dollars with which to trade. Weblog market capitalization is measured by the number of incoming links.... At current market valuations, your $500 could buy 100 shares of Daily Kos stock, or nine shares of Instapundit. If you want TalkLeft, your 500 shares will snag you just 23 shares (giving her the highest market cap of any lefty blogger).

Kos also analyzes the un-decideds in the Democratic presidential nomination race:

Gary Hart: The early word was that he didn't have the money, but recent steps seem to suggest that a) he does have money, or b) it doesn't matter. It looks like a run is imminent. Volunteers at several college campuses have started recruiting volunteer interns to help ramp up their organization (a good way to do it on the cheap). While the first of these emails, leaked earlier this week, drew a careful denial from the Hart camp, the fact that so many of these are surfacing points to a coordinated recruitment effort.

Wesley Clark: As everyone here already knows, he's my favorite in this race. He's solid on national security, well-spoken, presidential, pro-choice, pro-gun, pro-affirmative action, anti-PATRIOT Act, and believes strongly that the government should provide for the less fortunate amongst us.

But is he running? Everything I've heard is that he's 50/50 on a run, and that a decision would be forthcoming after the war. However, the war ended quickly and still no decision.

We think Hart and Clark are the two to watch. If you're partial to Clark, check out the DraftClark website that Kos and Jerome of MyDD put together.

A big thanks to Media Horse for touting our civil liberties coverage.

Lisa English of Ruminate This has some good thoughts on what the Dems must do to win in 2004: coalesce and fight. Digby of Hullaballoo weighs in as well.

Eric Alterman's new Nation column is up, Bush Gone Awol.

Atrios takes off on liberal bloggers criticizing other liberal bloggers and has some thoughts about Castro:

...in the Pantheon of evil dictators of the last 40 years , including ones we actively supported like our good buddy Saddam, he doesn't exactly deserve the top billing. In addition, despite the fact that U.S. policy towards Cuba - driven at least in part by the Cuban exile community - is supposed to encourage "regime change," it seems to have been instrumental in preserving the viability of the Castro regime.

Jim Capozzola of Rittenhouse Review, future Pennsylvania candidate for the U.S. Senate, highlights the looting and destruction of Iraqi artifacts. Skippy is focusing on Iraq and fascism. Liquid List has an excellent post on the threats to our civil liberties.

We hope you will take some time this weekend to read these excellent bloggers as well as the sites listed on the right. All are contributing to the quality of discourse in the blogosphere, including the ones "on the other side."

Dumb law of the week: In Souderton, PA, outside Philadelphia:

Borough officials are considering an ordinance that would make it illegal for groups of people to gather anywhere from public sidewalks to parks, with the threat of jail time for loiterers -- and, in the case of juvenile repeat offenders, their parents.

Local leaders say the loitering ordinance is needed to address what they say is a growing incidence of vandalism and other misbehavior.

But the proposal has raised the ire of civil libertarians, not to mention local teenagers who say this community of 6,700 outside Philadelphia is trying to make "hanging out" a crime.

"What are we supposed to do, just sit in our houses?" asked Becca Murphy, 13, who was hanging out with a half-dozen friends after school Tuesday in Souderton Community Park on Main Street. "There's no problems here, there's no gangs or anything at all. It's totally ridiculous."

Steve Bates of The Yellow Doggerel Democrat recounts his experience being summoned for jury duty in a Texas capital murder case. He's not at all happy with the system, particularly the requirement that jurors be "death qualified" before they can be selected--jurors say they have to be willing to impose death in the appropriate case. Persons who say they could not impose the death penalty no matter what are not allowed to serve.

Unfortunately, this is the law throughout the country. Prospective jurors should know this. [thanks to Body and Soul for the link]

Does this sound like someone about to flee? CNN reports Saturday,

Scott Peterson is under arrest and locked up a few blocks away from here at the Stanislaus County jail. He was picked up yesterday by Modesto police in San Diego. They had been following him around for ... days using some different technology. The attorney general is saying they had a bug on his car so they would know exactly where he was going. A couple of times, he even got out and came back and spoke to detectives and said basically, "Why don't you go ahead and arrest me?" They finally did yesterday afternoon.

Here's our initial post on the DNA confirmation of the remains and Peterson's arrest.

The U.S. is holding 6,850 Iraqi war prisoners. Just a handful are top Iraqi leaders. In deciding what to do with the prisoners, the U.S. says that it is in uncharted legal waters.

Prisoners of war are entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions. The U.S. does not dispute this.

Unlike the 660 or so captives held at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay as part of the American war on terrorism, the POWs in Iraq were combatants in a conventional war, so the United States is bound by the Geneva Conventions in its treatment of them, the U.S. officials said.

The Government says it is leaning towards dividing the prisoners into two groups:

A senior U.S. government official said yesterday that "it's very early in the process" of determining the legal fate of the Iraqi military officials in detention. But the government is inclined to divide those it eventually brings to justice into two groups, allowing Iraqi authorities to try people for "crimes against the Iraqi people," while courts under U.S. auspices would handle "crimes against Americans" such as Iraqi soldiers' waving a white flag before attacking, placing artillery in schools and mosques, and beating U.S. POWs, the official said.

The Judge in the sniper case has entered an order declaring that any law enforcement agents who leak information about the sniper case will be subject to prosecution for contempt of court.

Defense lawyers have complained for months about the leaks, some of which have been published in the Washington Post. Friday, the lawyers for John Muhammed obtained subpoenas for five investigators in Prince Williams County and four Washington Post reporters, concerning this April 6 Post article that summarized police reports of suspect John Lee Malvo's statements.

The Judge stopped short of ordering an investigation into the leaks.

The brother of Zacarias Moussoaoui writes about "My Brother Zac" in Saturday's Guardian. Abd Samad Moussaoui describes a childhood "beset by racism in France and the indoctrination he believes his brother received in London, which drove him into the arms of al-Qaida."

The article is an edited "extract" from Abd's forthcoming book, Zacarias Moussaoui: The Making Of A Terrorist, scheduled for release May 22 by Serpent Books.

A press conference is underway in Modesto, CA where law enforcement announces that DNA tests confirm the unidentified female who washed ashore earlier this week is in fact Laci Peterson, who has been missing since Christmas Eve. Laci was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time. The fetus that washed ashore within a day of Laci is the biological child of her and Scott Peterson. The probability is "in the billions."

Scott Peterson has been arrested. He was arrested between 11 and 12 noon, before they got the final DNA results. Law enforcement determined he had to be arrested at that time. He was arrested while driving a vehicle. Sounds to us like they thought he might flee--perhaps through a wiretap and cell phone records, but the police aren't talking about that.

He will be charged Monday or Tuesday in Stanislaus County, CA with capital murder. The special circumstances are a double homicide. No decision has been made as to seeking the death penalty, although it is an option.

Cause of death has not been determined. Laci spoke with her mother at 8:30 am from her home Christmas Eve morning. That was the last contact with her and there have been no sightings of her alive since. Since Scott Peterson is being charged in the county where she lived as opposed to the county where her body was found, it is likely police believe that Laci was killed in or near their home.

We'll be talking about Scott's possible defenses on Fox News Sunday at 2:35, E.T.

Attorney General John Ashcroft has done it again. At a news conference Thursday, Ashcroft commented on the credibility and value of a government witness in the ongoing Detroit terrorism trial, in which the Government has accused four men of being in a sleeper cell.

A federal judge said Friday he was "distressed" by Attorney General John Ashcroft's public praise of a key government witness at the trial of four men accused of acting as a "sleeper" terrorist cell....

"I was distressed to see the attorney general commenting in the middle of a trial about the credibility of a witness who had just gotten off the stand," Rosen said. Later, Rosen added, "The attorney general is subject to the orders of this court. ... The attorney general has specifically been put on notice about the scope of its gag order."

...At a news conference Thursday in Washington, Ashcroft called witness Youssef Hmimssa's cooperation "a critical tool" in efforts to combat terrorism. He said it should put potential terrorists on notice that there are informants among them. "His testimony has been of value, substantial value," Ashcroft said.

This is improper on a few levels. First, there is a gag order imposed on the parties in the case. Second, ethical rules prohibit prosecutors from giving their opinion on the quality of evidence in an ongoing case (see, for example, rules 3.6 and 3.8 of the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct ). The credibility of the Governement witness is a huge issue in the case.

Defense lawyers say Hmimssa is a liar who is trying to save himself from harsher punishment. Hmimssa, who arrived illegally in the United States in 1994, has admitted using aliases, engaging in document fraud and leading a credit card scheme that netted more than $180,000.

The Attorney General of the United States knows better than to comment on trial evidence at a press conference. It's the second time he has violated the gag order in the case, according to defense counsel. The Judge may make Ashcroft explain himself after the trial. That hardly helps the defendants overcome the prejudice caused by his comments if one of the jurors saw the conference or had his comments repeated to him or her. Jurors weigh the credibility of witnesses and strength of evidence, not proseuctors.