Washington in 60 Seconds: Harry Reid Calls for Botox Tax; Sarah Palin to Ft. Hood

Good morning, Capitolists! It's World Toilet Day. To mark the occasion, a World Toilet Day event is scheduled for 12:30 sharp on the West Front of the Capitol just as the Senate begins consideration of health care reform.

We'll leave the unintended irony to you, so you leave the headlines to us. Here's what's happening in Washington today:

* Great Wall in the Rear View. The president is on his way back from Asia after an eight-day tour of the continent, and The New York Times notes that novelty has given way to tough issues. Without Michelle Obama's clothes to admire, and with no gee-whiz stops like a boyhood Indonesian home, the paper declares the trip to China, Japan and Singapore "a long, uphill slog."

* Botox Tax. Meanwhile, back at home, Sen. Harry Reid unveiled his health care reform package last night. Buried deep in the 2,000-plus pages of text was an eyebrow-raising provision: A new 5 percent tax on elective plastic surgery. For the "Real Housewives" reading along at home, that's a tax on lifts, nips, tucks and shots, and it would go into effect Jan. 1, 2010. Senior Democratic aides estimate the levy will inject $5 billion into Uncle Sam's bottom line.

* "Going Rogue" Going to Fort Hood. As Sarah Palin's book tour bonanza continues to criss-cross battleground states, a long-planned stop at Fort Hood will certainly bring smiles to those on the base who could use a distraction. A publicist for the book told The Wall Street Journal that after the horrible shootings, a base official contacted Palin to say she should stick with the planned visit. She'll also visit Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

* Pink Slip for Geithner? The Hill reports this morning that House liberals want to fire two government employees in an effort to lower the unemployment rate, namely Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who they say care more about Wall Street than Main Street. Rep. Peter DeFazio told MSNBC, "We may have to sacrifice just two more jobs to get millions back for Americans."

* Guilty Pleasure. Just because we've missed reading about him, we checked on Kwame Kilpatrick this morning (the former Detroit mayor who was caught sending dirty texts to an employee, among other misdeeds). The Detroit Free Press writes today about the fireworks at the ex-mayor's restitution hearing, where he told the judge he does not know if his wife has a job and does not know who is paying the rent on his million-dollar home. "My wife is pissed at me. So I don't get involved in the day-to-day operations of our checking account," he explained.