Bombing the Moon  —  Following up on my GOP mind games post, Ezra Klein makes a smart observation in this morning's Wonkbook on how the GOP transformed tax increases from a important, necessary option in the deficit debate into something evil and extremist.  To prove his point …

Pair of votes shows House divided on Libya  —  The House delivered a surprising split decision on Libya Friday: Voting against authorizing the use of American forces there and then, an hour later, refusing to limit funding for the mission.  —  In essence, the House decided …

Plurality of Americans love Gadaffi  —  Hillary Clinton, yesterday, when asked about those questioning the Libya War: … Gallup, yesterday (click image to enlarge):  —  It's not only a plurality of Americans who are “on Gaddafi's side,” but also the head of the Arab League …

Seized Phone Offers Clues to Bin Laden's Pakistani Links  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The cellphone of Osama bin Laden's trusted courier, which was recovered in the raid that killed both men in Pakistan last month, contained contacts to a militant group that is a longtime asset …

Politicians Who Fear the Public Light  —  As we wrote this editorial on Thursday evening, we were still waiting for the New York State Senate to do what it should have done long ago — end a basic inequality under the law by allowing same-sex couples the full right to marry.

Fighting Words: DeMint Warns Republicans They May Be ‘Gone’ if They Support Debt Ceiling Increase  —  Conservative firebrand Sen. Jim DeMint has a message to fellow Republicans in Congress: If you support increasing the debt ceiling without first passing a balanced budget amendment …

New Jersey Lawmakers Approve Benefits Rollback for Work Force  —  TRENTON — New Jersey lawmakers on Thursday approved a broad rollback of benefits for 750,000 government workers and retirees, the deepest cut in state and local costs in memory, in a major victory for Gov. Chris Christie …

Commander In Chief Misspeaks About Soldier Killed in Afghanistan  —  During his remarks to troops at Fort Drum today, the President was reminiscing about the times he has spent with the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, when he got something wrong. … The problem is, Jared Monti was killed in action in Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006.

Romney Goes Classic  —  Clicking around on In These Times (!), I noticed this ad directing me to Mitt Romney's campaign site.  —  Those people aren't dressed like Americans in the year 2011, are they?  No. That's because this is copied from (or lovingly designed in tribute to!) …

Johnson proves to be a big spender - and taker: Firm pays him $10 million  —  After dropping nearly $9 million from his own pocket to win a seat in the U.S. Senate, Ron Johnson didn't have to feel the pain for very long.  —  Johnson's plastics company paid him $10 million in deferred compensation shortly …

Iran giving out condoms for criminals to rape us, say jailed activists  —  Smuggled letters allege authorities are using mass rape as a weapon inside Iran's most notorious prisons  —  Prison guards in Iran are giving condoms to criminals and encouraging them to systematically rape young …

Exclusive: Top U.S. admiral admits we are trying to kill Qaddafi  —  The top U.S. admiral involved in the Libya war admitted to a U.S. congressman that NATO forces are trying to kill Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.  The same admiral also said he anticipated the need for ground troops …

Supporting choice, ensuring economic opportunity  —  At Google, we've always focused on putting the user first.  We aim to provide relevant answers as quickly as possible—and our product innovation and engineering talent have delivered results that users seem to like, in a world where the competition is only one click away.

Can liberals start their own tea party?  —  Van Jones is hoping to rival the tea party movement.  (Carlos Osorio - AP Photo)  —  At last weekend's Netroots Nation gathering in Minneapolis, liberal activists expressed frustration that they lacked the political power or media focus given to the conservative tea-party movement.

Romney dominates GOP cash dash  —  Everyone knows Mitt Romney is going to outpace the GOP presidential field when next month's fundraising reports come out.  But the scale of his money advantage is finally coming into shape: the rest of the field is going to be eating his dust.

House vote to defund Libya mission fails  —  Measure comes hours after lawmakers rejected resolution to authorize operation  —  Below:  —  WASHINGTON — Hours after rejecting a resolution to authorize the U.S. military operation in Libya, the House on Friday voted down a measure that would have cut off funds for the mission.

Osama wanted new name for al-Qaida to repair image  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — As Osama bin Laden watched his terrorist organization get picked apart, he lamented in his final writings that al-Qaida was suffering from a marketing problem.  His group was killing too many Muslims and that was bad for business.