NASA Plans Lunar Outpost  —  Permanent Base at Moon's South Pole Envisioned by 2024  —  NASA unveiled plans yesterday to set up a small and ultimately self-sustaining settlement of astronauts at the south pole of the moon sometime around 2020 — the first step in an ambitious plan to resume manned exploration of the solar system.

Clinton reaches out to Iowans about 2008  —  The senator is calling Democrats to gauge support for a possible White House run.  —  Sen. Hillary Clinton began making calls Monday to Iowa Democrats about the state's political landscape with an eye toward its 2008 presidential nominating caucuses, aides to Clinton said.

Taking Stock: John Bolton's Resignation  —  A former diplomat I greatly respect advised me to avoid dwelling on the John Bolton confirmation and to move on to new policy subjects.  He wrote: … He's absolutely right — and I have in fact tried to do this a number of times …

Howard Kurtz speaks on Jose Padilla: just some leg shackles for the Dirty Bomber  —  Howard Kurtz, the media critic for both CNN and The Washington Post, participated in an online chat yesterday, and was asked about the Jose Padilla story in yesterday's New York Times.  This is what ensued:

Court Reviews Race as Factor in School Plans  —  By the time the Supreme Court finished hearing arguments on Monday on the student-assignment plans that two urban school systems use to maintain racial integration, the only question was how far the court would go in ruling such plans unconstitutional.

How to end AP's "60 Minutes Moment" on Iraqi Sources  —  You've probably not read much about it because only a handful of mainstream media outlets have covered it, but the Associated Press - for decades America's largest and most trusted wire news service - is at the center of a credibility crisis largely of its own making.

A Dream of Mature Nations  —  A number of Canadians took offense recently to a Boston Herald column in which I slammed Canada and Europe in general for failing to hold up their end in this war for democracy, freedom and security.  Specificially, I slammed them for being smug democracies …

Hardliners turn on Ahmadinejad for watching women dancers  —  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, who flaunts his ideological fervour, has been accused of undermining Iran's Islamic revolution after television footage appeared to show him watching a female song and dance show.

Census Counts 100,000 Contractors in Iraq  —  There are about 100,000 government contractors operating in Iraq, not counting subcontractors, a total that is approaching the size of the U.S. military force there, according to the military's first census of the growing population of civilians operating in the battlefield.

Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish  —  Medical records show that when Tyler Jennings returned from Iraq last year, he was severely depressed and used drugs to cope.  When the sergeants who ran his platoon found out, they started to haze him.

Bush Meets With Rival of Iraqi Leader  —  President Bush met today with one of the most powerful Shiite leaders in Iraq — a political rival of Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-Maliki — and urged him to "reject the extremists that are trying to stop the advance of this young democracy."

I: About That Cakewalk ...  I remember sitting with Richard Perle in his suite at London's Grosvenor House hotel and receiving a private lecture on the importance of securing victory in Iraq.  "Iraq is a very good candidate for democratic reform," he said.  "It won't be Westminster overnight …

THE TRUTH ON IRAQ  —  THE most common cliché about the war in Iraq is now this: We didn't have a plan, and now everything is in chaos; we didn't have a plan, and now we can't win.  —  This is entirely wrong.  We did have a plan - the problem is that the plan didn't work.

Monopsony  —  With the minimum wage in the air, I see the Econ 101 trolls are out in force.  Look, unless you believe that the labor market is accurately characterized as perfectly competitive then not only is it the case that the minimum wage doesn't necessarily, reduce employment …

Escape From Wall Street  —  How Congress put Hong Kong and London in a position to surpass New York as a financial capital.  —  HONG KONG—If you want to look for reasons why New York's status as the world's financial center is in serious jeopardy, you need only come here to gaze at this booming city and tour its markets.

With the Democratic Congress, Groups Gear Up for Fight Over Paid Sick Days  —  With the Democratic Congress expected to move quickly to raise the minimum wage, many Democrats, women's organizations and liberal groups are gearing up for a fight on another workplace issue: paid sick days.

The Military and The Media  —  FALLUJAH, IRAQ: I've completed the first leg of the journey to Iraq, after having moved through Dubai, Kuwait and Baghdad.  I am now at Camp Fallujah.  While in Fallujah, I'll embed with a Marine Police Transition Team (PTT) and also meet with the Civil Affairs Group.