BAGHDAD UPDATE G. is a friend of Salam Pax and, like Salam, is maintaining a weblog from Baghdad. Another good spot to get some basic, "man on the street (who happens to speak English, so not quite the man on the street)" perspective on what's happening in the heart of Iraq.

TRUMPED AGAIN Every now and again, I start to think about creating a personal weblog, one that allows me to be expressive, creative and shiny, and one that allows you to be a voyeur. Usually, I stumbled across something like this, from Que Sera Sera, and realize that there are people who already do it better than me.

Earlier today I was thinking about how I'm really dorky and think about sex a lot, and there's a part of me that could be really content just sitting inside and reading comic books and playing video games and eating pizza, so maybe deep down inside I’m really just a 13 year old boy, but then I thought about how I secretly want to be a princess and really enjoy smelling good, so I’ve come to the conclusion that deep down inside, I'm really just a homosexual 13 year old boy.

THE COURT TURNED UPSIDE DOWN It's not as crazy as all that, but this week's Supreme Court decisions are full of surprises. For everyone. Curious about what the conservative chattering class thought, I turned to Rush Limbaugh to discover him foaming at the mouth, apoplectic about the affirmative action and Texas sodomy rulings. It's enough to make me want to hug Ronald Reagan. Here's how Slate's legal diarist, Dahlia Lithwick, described it in a missive to a fellow legal eagle:

As you noted earlier, today's holdings, plus Monday's, represent a shockingly progressive set of decisions from a supposedly conservative court. Pretty much everyone had suspected that the court would invalidate the Texas sodomy law in Lawrence v. Texas—but most of us thought it would be done on the narrowest possible grounds, somehow preserving Bowers v. Hardwick, and limiting the holding to Texas and the three other states that single out homosexual sodomy for criminal prosecution. But instead we have Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, using the broader substantive due process rationale (you may remember it from such favorites as Roe v. Wade) to carve out a zone of privacy for consensual gay sex! O'Connor declined to overrule Bowers, a decision in which she had joined the misguided majority, but still sided with the majority today to invalidate the Texas law, on the Equal Protection grounds you outlined this morning. My goodness, could Kennedy and O'Connor have had some sort of conversion—some Dickensian visitation? Did the ghost of Justice Warren appear to them in the night, terrorizing them with visions of an apocalyptic America where strict construction and originalism blight the land?

A DIFFERENT VIEW ON NEOCONS The more libertarian voices are beginning to rise with concern about the nature of the Bush administration and its neoconservative bent. In this Financial Times commentary, the president and the founder of the Cato Institute express their dismay at the Bush administration's responses to the September 11 attacks. From a libertarian perspective, the Patriot Act and other decisions threaten a significant increase in government and a threat to civil liberties.

THE PERFECT CUPPA The Guardian dishes on the perfect cup of tea with a series of insightful comments and links to even more obsessive tea brewing sites.

WHERE THEY STAND If only a similar website existed for domestic policy issues. Thankfully, the Council for Foreign Relations has developed (and maintains) a hugely comprehensive website that delves into the foreign policy statements and perspectives on the Democrat and Republican candidates for President. A great resource if you're really struggling between, say, John Kerry and Carol Moseley Braun.

RE-ORDER IN THE COURT In a rare interview with the Chicago Tribune, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor discusses the recent affirmative action decisions from the Supreme Court, as well as her career. In recent days, speculation has been on the rise that O'Connor might resign from the Court this year.

BAGHDAD PHOTOS Salam Pax, an Iraqi who has been maintaining a weblog of his experiences in Baghdad since last fall, is now maintaining a photo log. Stop by to take a look at his view of a city struggling to rebuild.

PROMISES, PROMISES Like Newsweek's Johnathan Alter, I was pleased with President Bush's State of the Union commitment to expand the AmeriCorps Program. (In fact, that and his focus on the AIDS crisis in Africa were about the only things that pleased me.) And like Alter, I have been stunned in recent weeks to see the program's funding literally evaporate, leaving tens of thousands of volunteers and recipient -- as well as hundreds of community programs -- suddenly unfunded. There are few programs that match AmeriCorps' strength as a hub of national service -- the program allows young people a chance to work with others and make a difference as part of a community. It deserves far more support. Visit Save AmeriCorps for more facts, news and details.

POLARIZATION GETS YOU NOWHERE Howard Kurtz lays out a familiar case -- the nation is polarized over President Bush. Half the country thinks he's the greatest thing since Reagan, and the other half thinks he's the greatest demon since Reagan. But Kurtz goes on to provide some insightful pulls from other sources, such as columnist David Brooks (of the conservative Weekly Standard magazine):

"It's mystifying. Fury rarely wins elections. Rage rarely appeals to suburban moderates. And there is a mountain of evidence that the Democrats are now racing away from swing voters, who do not hate George Bush, and who, despite their qualms about the economy and certain policies, do not feel that the republic is being raped by vile and illegitimate marauders. The Democrats, indeed, look like they're turning into a domestic version of the Palestinians--a group so enraged at their perceived oppressors, and so caught up in their own victimization, that they behave in ways that are patently not in their self-interest, and that are almost guaranteed to perpetuate their suffering."

FUNNY IS AS FUNNY WRITES"This is the story of two men with nothing in common. Nothing except the fact that they are approximately the same age, Caucasian, enjoy good music and bad television, once lived within blocks of one another, and have similar socio-economic backgrounds. Also, it turns out they know a lot of the same people. Nevertheless, they put aside their differences and wrote a book that so tapped into the mood of a nation it became a #1 bestseller. Then the mood of a nation changed. And so they move on." Read the writings of Guifoile and Warner. Laugh a little. If you need convincing, or jjust a good laugh, peruse this several page excerpt of My First Presidentiary.

THE FIGHTING GAMECOCK If the Democrats had six more Senators like Robert Byrd, the Bush administration would be playing some serious defense going into the 2004 elections. The Senate's senior member, Byrd continues to win new fans and irate old enemies with his flights of rhetorical fancy through which he launches zingers and darts at Bush's handling of national affairs.

In speech after withering speech on the Senate floor, Byrd has excoriated the president on a range of issues:

•The war in Iraq. Byrd accuses the administration of "an exploitation of the fear" resulting from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to win public support. "There was no reason for our going to war," he says.

•Homeland security. Byrd argues that the White House is steering money and resources to the Pentagon while shortchanging local police and medical officials. "I have some concerns that we are leaving America unguarded," he says.

•Judicial nominations. Byrd is the leading opponent of a Republican plan to eliminate filibusters of presidential nominees. He is urging colleagues not to "sacrifice the independence of the Senate."

"The president of the United States is dictating to the Senate what should be its procedure and its rules," Byrd told members of the Rules Committee earlier this month. Pointing a trembling finger across the room at Sen. Bill Frist, he said the proposal "points an arrow at the constitutional liberties of the American people."

Younger senators sometimes roll their eyes at Byrd's rhetorical flights. But no one knows more about the Senate's rules or how to manipulate them to his advantage.

WILLIE AND THE GANG If you weren't in Austin in April, you missed one of the better lineups in music today -- Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams and the Jayhawks. Combining Nelson, who at 70 still maintains a folksy musical stride, with Williams (just coming into her own) and the Jayhawks (trying on a new poppier feel) is just plain smart.

Call Willie Nelson what you will—and he’s been called a national treasure, the “King of the Road” and that old pot-smokin’ country singin’ hippie—he still has one of the purest voices in music today. And it would be a sin to underestimate the bright, beautiful tone he seems to draw effortlessly from his signature, beat-up, nylon-string classical guitar. Less than two months before his 70th birthday, Nelson hit the stage with his Family Band at 12:25 a.m. on the big night of the SXSW music conference in his home state of Texas, and for two hours he proceeded to play songs that unfolded the story of his career.

WORDS FELL Paste Magazine just posted their interview with Lucinda Williams, whose latest release, "World Without Tears," still lingers near my CD player. It's more ambitious and diverse than "Essence," and less racuous than "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road." It's not consistently as good as either, but in some important ways it's better than both.

“Well, I’ve been through another heartbreak,” says a rather cheerful Lucinda Williams over the phone from her new home in Los Angles.

And while it seems that the 49-year old who was recently named “America’s Greatest Songwriter” by Time, has experienced more than her allotted portion of emotional damage at the hands of men—all beautifully captured in her admittedly autobiographical canon of songs—she seems genuinely excited about her current lot in life. She’s left Nashville and what she calls the “general ambience of middle Tennessee … square … suburban … safe” for a thriving roots music scene in L.A.

THE MEAN STREETS The NYTimes looks at two of that city's urban nomads, chronicling their lives with a sadly familiar tone. (NYTimes login: buttermilk.com, password: buttermilk)

LIFE, PUNCHING FICTION Ah, the wild, wooly email correspondance of a young college lass and two satirical writers.

THE DEMOCRATIC WING, MY FOOT Howard Dean likes to introduce himself as "representing the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party," which is code for either "I'm more liberal than they are" or "I'm more middle-of-the-road than they are," depending on his audience. What he actually is, however, is a charismatic former governor running on a moderate platform with significantly less knowledge of the federal government (i.e., the number of Americans currently serving in the military, the size of the health care budget, etc.) than most of his competitors. Howard Dean, bright as he is, is at worst the Democratic George Bush and at best a half-baked Bill Clinton.

GET YOUR FOLK ON The Smithsonian Folklife Festival scales itself down this year after 2002's ambitious Silk Road extravaganza. The two-week event tackles the cultures of Scotland, Mali and Appalachia this year with exhibits and performances on the Mall. Hopefully, the Malian builders who spent the last month trying to construct a 5,000-square-foot adobe building in the rain are making headway in recently arrived hell of Washington's summer.

DOUR DESIGNER Chris McCray is a frowny face on camera with the visual sensibility of a happy man. Richmond.com chats with the interior designer who has graced Richmond's commercial spaces with color, panache and class.

IT'S TUTU MUCH Forgive the pun, please. The Richmond Ballet hits the airwaves this week as part of Central Virginia's public television foray into the arts. The Ballet's productions of "The Maiden's Hymn" and "Bow Out" air Wednesday for those in the area.

REVISE THIS As the President wanders the nation decrying revisionists who seek to rewrite recent history vis-a-vis Iraq, Harvard's Alexander Keyssar reminds us that the job of historians is actually to revise history. And while those in power prefer their version, stories change and facts emerge over time.

DOMINO DOMINUS A new ABC News - Washington Post poll is chockful of information about what the American public thinks -- and has good news, bad news, and depressing news. The good news is that Americans are willing to stick it out in Iraq (presumably so that we can set right what we knock down), though there has been some slippage as casualties have risen. The depressing news is that there are actually a chunk of Americans who believe Iraq used chemical or biological weapons against our troops. Two messages can be taken from this -- people are ignorant, and polls are a bad test of knowledge. And the bad news? 57% of those polled want to create a landbridge to Asia, and are willing to use the U.S. military against Iran to stop possible development of nuclear weapons by that country. Welcome to Pax Americana.

There's a similar partisan division on the possibility of U.S. military action against Iraq's neighbor, Iran. Fifty-six percent of Americans would favor striking Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear arms; that includes 72 percent of Republicans, compared to 45 percent of Democrats.