The Commentariat -- October 16

Adrian Chen of Gawker: Tom Ryan, a conservative "New York-based computer security expert..., has leaked thousands of emails from Occupy Wall Street organizers and told us he's identified members of the hacktivist collective Anonymous involved in the protest.... Now they're being used by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart to smear the movement. The emails show that Occupy Wall Street is a 'conspiracy to "destabalize" Global Markets,' Breitbart says!" ...

... In a follow-up post, Chen writes that since the start of Occupy Wall Street, Ryan "has been waging a campaign to infiltrate and discredit the movement, [and] he was forwarding interesting email threads to contacts at the NYPD and FBI.... He was also giving information to companies" like NBC Universal.

Nicholas Kristof: "... the United States is [economically] more unequal a society than either Tunisia or Egypt. Three factoids underscore that inequality (the following links are to data referenced):

¶The 400 wealthiest Americans have a greater combined net worth than the bottom 150 million Americans.

¶The top 1 percent of Americans possess more wealth than the entire bottom 90 percent.

¶In the Bush expansion from 2002 to 2007, 65 percent of economic gains went to the richest 1 percent.

Michael Kimmelman, the architecture critic for the New York Times, on the significance of place -- and of face-to-face contact -- to protest movements. "In his 'Politics,' Aristotle argued that the size of an ideal polis extended to the limits of a herald’s cry. He believed that the human voice was directly linked to civic order."

Closing your [Citibank] account is now a go-to-jail offense. -- Ken Layne, Wonkette ...

... A woman wearing a business suit is manhandled, detained & arrested at the La Guardia Place (Manhattan) Citibank branch -- AFTER she shows police & security guards her Citibank documents & repeatedly declares, "I'm a customer!" According to Layne, the woman went into the bank to close her account. Watch from about 60 secs. in:

The View from the Court of Louis XVI. Nelson Schwartz & Eric Dash of the New York Times: Wall Street bankers see Occupy Wall Street protesters as "a fringe group" & "a ragtag group looking for sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," people who don't have the sense to realize bankers "pay all the taxes." [CW: And why is that? you jerks.] One banker said Sens. Chuck Schumer & Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), both of whom get plenty of Wall Street campaign money, should be defending the Street: "They need to understand who their constituency is." That, of course, is the exactly problem.

"We Are the 53 Percent." Or Not. Jonathan Bernstein in the Washington Monthly on Erick Erickson's "response" to the 99 Percent -- a Tumblr grievance site that allows wingers to complain that they are paying taxes and you're not. BUT, Bernstein writes, "... a substantial portion of them … don’t actually pay income taxes, and therefore are not, in fact, part of the 53 percent of households who do. For example, [a] citizen claims to be a college senior working '30+ hours a week making just barely over minimum wage.' ... If that’s all he’s got he’s not paying any income tax. Just as a guess, I’d be surprised if any fewer than 10 percent of the posters are actually income-tax free, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s about 50/50."

How to Identify a Moderate Republican. Jamison Foser of Media Matters: The votes by Maine Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins against the American Jobs Act, which Moody's Analytics estimated would create nearly 2 million new jobs, have sparked protests in Augusta, [Maine's capital].... In her five-paragraph statement about her vote against the jobs bill, Snowe indicated an objection to only one of the bill's provisions: the surcharge on adjusted gross income in excess of one million dollars a year, which would affect only one-tenth of one percent of Maine residents. So it's pretty clear what side Snowe is on: She sides with the richest one-tenth of one percent of Mainers, and against 99.9 percent of her constituents.... But just to drive the point home, Snowe spoke to group of businessmen..., where she courageously told them their taxes are too high and they are over-regulated.... Snowe also backed a balanced budget amendment, which, according to ... Moody's Analytics ..., 'is likely to push the economy back into recession.'"

Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times: "The Internet banking services that have been sold to customers as conveniences, like online bill paying, also serve as powerful tethers that keep customers from jumping to another institution.... Representative Brad Miller [D-NC] ... introduced a bill this month that would make it easier for customers to switch" banks.

Nicholas Confessore & Griff Palmer of the New York Times: "Mitt Romney has raised far more money than [President] Obama this year from the firms that have been among Wall Street’s top sources of donations for the two candidates. That gap underscores the growing alienation from Mr. Obama among many rank-and-file financial professionals and Mr. Romney’s aggressive and successful efforts to woo them." CW: this is the top story in this morning's online Times, which can only please Barack Obama. ...

... CW: guess I was right. From Peter Wallsten of the Washington Post: "President Obama and his team have decided to turn public anger at Wall Street into a central tenet of their reelection strategy. The move comes as the Occupy Wall Street protests gain momentum across the country and as polls show deep public distrust of the nation’s major financial institutions. And it sets up what strategists see as a potent line of attack against Republican front-runner Mitt Romney, a former investment executive whom Obama aides plan to portray as a wealthy Wall Street sympathizer." CW: the Obama campaign probably fed the Times reporters the Obama-Romney Wall Street fundraising story above.

Right Wing World *

As the Worm Turns. Ryan Foley of the AP: "Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has cast himself as the outsider, the pizza magnate with real-world experience who will bring fresh ideas to the nation's capital. But Cain's economic ideas, support and organization have close ties to two billionaire brothers [David & Charles Koch] who bankroll right-leaning causes through their group Americans for Prosperity."

From yesterday's Commentariat: CW: the AP reported that "the United States is ... sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to [act as advisers] ... against a guerrilla group accused of horrific atrocities." AND here is Rush Limbaugh's "news" report on the development. The headline: "Obama Invades Uganda, Targets Christians." ...

     ... Matt Yglesias: "... Rush Limbaugh’s instinct is to embrace brutal murderers.... Reasonable people can disagree as to whether or not chasing a relatively small band of depraved mass murderers around central africa is a reasonable thing for American military personel to be doing. But let’s make no mistake—these are depraved mass murderers. And yet Rush Limbaugh is pleased to welcome them as fellow Christian allies." ...

     ... Digby: "Considering that Rush is a leader of a rather large group of people who insist that Hitler was a leftist, I'm not entirely surprised. Rightwingers' worldview is so Manichean they literally cannot conceive of anyone a Democrat or liberal might oppose not being the good guys --- particularly if that enemy calls itself 'Christian.' (Again, the proof offered for Hitler's alleged leftism is that the word 'socialism' appears in the name of the Nazi Party. So there you go.)" ...

     ... Steve Benen: "I don’t care that Limbaugh is a professional liar; I do care when he sides with depraved, roving band of mass murderers, solely because he hates the U.S. president.... When Congress passed the LRA Disarmament & Northern Uganda Recovery Act, authorizing U.S. military support against the LRA [the group the U.S. military is targeting], it was approved unanimously in both chambers.... Given that Limbaugh is one of the nation’s most prominent Republican leaders, perhaps the GOP presidential candidates can be asked for their opinion on this. Does Mitt Romney agree with Limbaugh? Will Limbaugh’s embrace of the LRA ... stop the candidates from appearing on Limbaugh’s show?" ...

     ... Commenter Mike on Benen's post: "The Limbaugh show is still carried on Armed Forces Radio, btw." CW: I've written to Armed Forces Radio to protest their continued carrying of a program which supports terrorists. You can write to P. J. (Jerry) Weaver, an Armed Forces Radio director, at pjweaver94@gmail.com Here's my letter to him:

Dear Mr. Weaver:

As you probably know, last week Rush Limbaugh came out in support of the terrorist African group the Lord’s Resistance Army. In 2009, the U.S. Congress unanimously passed the LRA Disarmament & Northern Uganda Recovery Act, authorizing U.S. military support against the LRA (you can find reference to it here). Last week the President sent Congressional leaders a letter advising them that he had “authorized a small number of combat equipped U.S. forces to deploy to central Africa to provide assistance to regional forces that are working toward the removal of Joseph Kony [the LRA leader] from the battlefield.”

In view of Mr. Limbaugh’s support of a group which the Congress and President have recognized as a violent terrorist organization, and against whom American troops are fighting, I ask you to immediately and permanently remove Mr. Limbaugh’s program from your schedule. Armed Forces Radio Network, which is taxpayer-funded, should not carry a radio show that advocates for enemy terrorists.

Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter.

Marie Burns

* Where nothing is as it seems.

Local News

Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times: "The push to repeal ... [Ohio State] Senate Bill 5..., Gov. John R. Kasich’s [R] signal achievements..., a law that weakens public employees’ bargaining rights..., will be one of the biggest battles in the country this Election Day, with the law’s supporters and opponents expected to spend in total more than $20 million in the fight."

News Ledes

AP: "Libyan revolutionary forces bulldozed the green walls surrounding Moammar Gadhafi's main Tripoli compound on Sunday, saying it was time 'to tear down this symbol of tyranny.'"

New York Times: "More than six months before the French presidential election, the main candidates appear to be set, with François Hollande, 57, winning a runoff election on Sunday to become the Socialist Party presidential candidate.... The putative favorite for the Socialists’ nomination — Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former managing director of the International Monetary Fund — did not run after he was arrested on charges of attempted rape in New York. The charges were dropped, but Mr. Strauss-Kahn retreated from political life." Hollande will likely face President Nicolas Sarkozy, president of the Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP), France's major right-wing political party.

New York Times: "Israel on Sunday released the names of the first 477 Palestinian prisoners that it will exchange for a soldier held by the militant faction Hamas, and the list revealed why the country has found the trade so wrenching: the majority of the inmates were convicted of manslaughter, attempted murder or intentionally causing death."

President Obama spoke at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial dedication on the National Mall this morning. AP story here. A post-speech AP story is here.

AP: "Iran's supreme leader warned the United States on Sunday that any measures taken against Tehran over an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington would elicit a 'resolute' response."

New York Times: "Buoyed by the longevity of the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Manhattan, a wave of protests swept across Asia, the Americas and Europe on Saturday, with hundreds and in some cases thousands of people expressing discontent with the economic tides in marches, rallies and occasional clashes with the police.... At least 88 people were arrested in New York, including 24 accused of trespassing in a Greenwich Village branch of Citibank and 45 during a raucous rally of thousands of people in and around Times Square. More than 1,000 people filled Washington Square Park at night, but almost all of them left after dozens of police officers with batons and helmets streamed through the arch and warned that they would be enforcing a midnight curfew. Fourteen were arrested for remaining in the park."

Reuters: "The world's leading economies pressed Europe on Saturday to act decisively within eight days to resolve the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis which is endangering the world economy. In unusually direct language, finance ministers and central bankers of the Group of 20 major economies said they expected an October 23 European Union summit to 'decisively address the current challenges through a comprehensive plan'."

AP: "Arab foreign ministers have called an emergency meeting Sunday to discuss whether to suspend Syria from the Arab League, officials said, ramping up the pressure on Damascus to end its bloody crackdown on anti-government protesters."

The Commentariat -- October 15

The President's Weekly Address. The transcript is here:

I've posted an Open Thread for comments on Off Times Square.

Occupy ...

Today is to be an international day of protest. To find out if there are any organized protests in your area, go to the Daily Kos page OccupyWallStreetEvents.com ...

... ** Linette Lopez of the Business Insider: Occupy Wall Street protesters are in the initial stages of planning a national convention to be held July 4, 2012. Lopez writes, "... if this is carried out, Occupy Wall Street could shift the course of American politics at its highest levels." CW: Read the details. They're pretty interesting.

... Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone: "... the primary challenge of opposing the 50-headed hydra of Wall Street corruption ... is that it's extremely difficult to explain the crimes of the modern financial elite in a simple visual. The essence of this particular sort of oligarchic power is its complexity and day-to-day invisibility: Its worst crimes, from bribery and insider trading and market manipulation, to backroom dominance of government and the usurping of the regulatory structure from within, simply can't be seen by the public or put on TV." Taibbi offers some policy suggestions that are consistent with the protests. ...

... Timmy Geithner pretends to get with the program. You can see how uneasy the subject makes him:

... Apparently Baron von Bloomberg has an evolving story of why he decided not to close Zuccotti Park. The propertyowners, Brookfield, are not confirming the Mayor's story that unnamed "city officials" threatened them with retaliation if they closed down the park for cleaning. David Nir of Daily Kos reports. ...

On the off chance they were intending to arrest him for injuring the captain's fist with his jaw, I strongly suggest that you decide not to add insult to injury and avoid such a retaliatory move. -- Attorney Ron Kuby, whose client Felix Rivera-Pitre was videotaped being punched by a white-shirted NYPD officer, in a letter to the NYPD & Manhattan DA ...

     ... Here's the video, via the New York Observer, which has another video here of a police officer on a motorscooter rolling over a protester's leg. As Drew Grant of the Observer writes, "not for the ... faint of heart."

Greg Sargent: Republican Senators, having unanimously killed President Obama's jobs bill, which according to a Moody's estimate would have created 1.9 million jobs, have come up with their own so-called "jobs bill." Sen. Rand Paul has claimed, without providing evidence or any details, that the GOP bill would create 5 million jobs. Sometime. But according to a Moody's analyst, the GOP bill "could hurt the economy in the near term. 'Putting the emphasis on balancing the budget now is likely to push the economy back into recession.'” (Emphasis added.)

Whose Program Is This Anyway? Ryan Reilly of TPM: "As House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) continues to try to pin the flawed 'gun walking' tactic employed in Operation Fast and Furious on the Obama administration, it's becoming increasingly clear that problems with ATF's Phoenix division date back at least into the Bush era. TPM has obtained the documents relating to another Bush-era ATF operation ... which deployed the 'gun walking' tactic.... In fact, ATF officials wrote in 2007 that the gun walking tactic had 'full approval' of the U.S. Attorney's Office being run by an interim Bush appointee and that the U.S. Embassy in Mexico was 'fully on-board.' ... Issa's investigators have had the documents and emails on the 2007 case for months, but he hasn't said anything much about them." Thanks to Jeanne B. for the link.

Joe Nocera has been reading Since Yesterday, "by Frederick Lewis Allen, a popular historian of the 1930s and 1940s. Published in 1940, it turned out to be a shrewd, concise, wonderfully written account of America in the ’30s." The similarities between then and now are striking. CW: I read Since Yesterday as a young teen to find out what had come before me; needless to say, it's an easy read.

Andrew Zajac of Bloomberg News: "About 25 percent of millionaires in the U.S. pay federal taxes at lower effective rates than a significant portion of middle-income taxpayers, according to a legislative analysis. Preferential treatment of investment income and the reduced impact of payroll taxes on high earners lets about 94,500 millionaires pay taxes at a lower rate than 10.4 million 'moderate-income taxpayers,' representing about 10 percent of those making less than $100,000 a year...."

CREDO: "On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted to let women die by passing a bill that would make it legal for hospitals to refuse to perform a life-saving abortion on a woman as an emergency procedure. In response to that vote, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) sent out a fundraising email asking supporters to donate to help protect the health of women. But three out of fifteen of the DCCC's top candidates who would receive that money voted [for the bill]." To tell the DCCC to "either stop fundraising off attacks on women's health or stop fundraising for anti-choice Democrats," you can sign CREDO's petition (which unfortunately will put you on CREDO's mailing list forever).

Here's a serious tearjerker. Thanks to a reader for the link:

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "The [Japanese] government’s failure to act quickly [to contain the failed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant], a growing chorus of scientists say, may be exposing many more people than originally believed to potentially harmful radiation. It is also part of a pattern: Japan’s leaders have continually insisted that the fallout from Fukushima will not spread far, or pose a health threat to residents, or contaminate the food chain. And officials have repeatedly been proved wrong by independent experts and citizens’ groups that conduct testing on their own."

Right Wing World *

Karen Garcia: "The Republican cavalcade of lunatics ... have served their purpose by deflecting attention away from what passes for government in Washington. Liberal pundits in general and MSNBC in particular have used their public arenas to shoot fish in a barrel every single day to save them the trouble of thinking, and to make the failure that is Obama look good.... The inconvenient truth is that Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are mirror images of each other. Each panders to his supposed base. Each is a right-of-center fiscal conservative. Their insurance company giveaway health plans are identical."

Hey, Herman Cain Has a "Buffett Rule," too. Zach Roth of Yahoo! News: "If the '9-9-9' tax plan promoted by Herman Cain, a leading Republican presidential candidate, had been the law of the land last year, Warren Buffett would very likely have paid no income taxes, according to an analysis prepared for Yahoo News and The Lookout by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. At most, Buffett would have paid taxes on just 1 percent of his income."

Steve Kornacki of Salon makes a pretty good case for how crazy the right has become in the "Obama Era." Using Rush Limbaugh as a barometer, Kornacki notes that Rushbo "practically endorsed" Mitt Romney in 2008 at a time when Romney was touting RomneyCare; now Rush derides Romney daily. Kornacki writes,

It’s not that hard to imagine an alternate universe in which Romney somehow won the White House in 2008, then muscled through a national version of his Massachusetts law — with Republican support. But it was Obama who won, and when he tried to do the same thing, virtually every Republican in America accused him of destroying capitalism.

Not Ready to Be First Lady. Dan Gilgoff of CNN gives us a two-fer. (1) Anita Perry -- wife of Rick -- blames President Obama for her son's having to quit his job to work on the Perry campaign. According to Mom there,

My son had to resign his job because of federal regulations that Washington has put on us. He resigned his job two weeks ago because he can't go out and campaign with his father because of SEC regulations.... My son lost his job because of this administration. ...

      ... (2) She says the media & Rick's opponents have been "brutalizing" him "because of his faith." Here, Mrs. P was apparently referring to those who questioned or condemned the governor for refusing to disavow remarks of Pastor Robert Jeffress, a Perry friend & supporter, in which Jeffress called Mormonism -- Mitt Romney's faith -- a non-Christian cult. ...

      ... CW: So it's Obama's fault the Perry boy has to follow slightly ethical standards when he changes jobs (isn't the Perry campaign paying the kid?), and it's the media's fault that Perry won't stand up to religious intolerance. This woman, who is a nurse, needs a doctor. My non-professional diagnosis: severe persecution complex.

... Oh, wait. There's more. Jacob Bernstein of the Daily Beast: "Mrs. Perry is also fending off claims from people who say that her own career amounts to a series of conflicts of interests, in which she and the folks she works with benefit from her association with the governor. Since 2003, Mrs. Perry has worked for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA), where she’s raised roughly $1.5 million as a $60,000-a-year contract employee.... A report in the Austin American-Statesman noted that a significant portion of Mrs. Perry’s salary at TAASA comes indirectly from the governor’s 'political donors, state contractors, and companies that do business with the state or have issues before the legislature.' Indeed, of 37 major donors to the organization, the paper reported, only three have 'no ties to the governor or state business.'”

... Then again, maybe we shouldn't fault Perry & Jeffress ...

CW: the AP reported that "the United States is ... sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to [act as advisers] ... against a guerrilla group accused of horrific atrocities. Here is the President's letter to Congressional leaders. (Also linked in today's Ledes.) ...

     ... AND here is Rush Limbaugh's "news" report on the development. The headline: "Obama Invades Uganda, Targets Christians." And you wonder why wingers don't know WTF is going on? Is this satire or is Rush a living self-parody or is he genuinely insane or what?

* Is a diversion from Right Wingish World, which is, well, real.

Local News

CW: America's Worst Governor, Con'd. The Demise of the 7-7-7 Plan. Michael Bender of the St. Pete Times: Florida Gov. Rick Scott, campaigned on a promise "to create 700,000 jobs in seven years beyond estimates for job growth over the same span. State economists last year predicted Florida would add 1 million jobs in that time." During the campaign, he also urged Floridians to "hold him accountable." However, after backtracking several times on his job-grown promise, Scott now says he "could argue" he doesn't have to create any jobs. "I just have to make sure we don't lose jobs."

News Ledes

AP: "The U.S. is abandoning plans to keep U.S. troops in Iraq past a year-end withdrawal deadline, The Associated Press has learned. The decision to pull out fully by January will effectively end more than eight years of U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, despite ongoing concerns about its security forces and the potential for instability." ...

     ... Politico Update: "The Obama administration is knocking down a report that all but a small security force will be pulled from Iraq by the end of the year, saying instead that discussions are still ongoing."

AP: "An American drone strike in southern Yemen has killed seven al-Qaida-linked militants, including the media chief for the group's Yemeni branch and the son of a prominent U.S.-born cleric slain in a similar attack last month, government officials and tribal elders said Saturday. In the capital, meanwhile, forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters, killing at least nine and wounding scores, according to medical officials and witnesses."

Occupy Wall Street moves uptown to Times Square for the biggest U.S. demonstration yet:

     ... And speaking of Times Square, no word yet from, um, the Times on the demonstration right next door.

AP: Occupy Wall Street "supporters in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday waved signs such as 'you can't eat money.' About 200 people in Tokyo joined the global protests, and Philippine supporters in Manila marched on the U.S. Embassy to express support for Occupy Wall Street and to denounce 'U.S. imperialism' and U.S.-led wars and aggression." ...

     ... NBC News Update: "Italian police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters after some smashed shop and bank windows, torched cars and hurled bottles.... A small group of violent protesters broke away from the main demonstration in the Italian capital.... The ANSA news agency said some protesters trashed offices of the Defense Ministry and of a labor agency, smashing windows with clubs, throwing paper bombs and firecrackers and setting cars on fire. Most of the violence took place near the Colosseum." NEW. Al Jazeera story here, with video. ...

     ... AP Update: "Thousands of demonstrators protesting corporate greed filled Times Square on Saturday night, mixing with gawkers, Broadway showgoers, tourists and police to create a chaotic scene in the midst of Manhattan."

     ... ** The Guardian is liveblogging world events.

     ... NEW. The New York Daily News has a good liveblog of events in New York City. Police arrested about 20 protesters at a Citibank branch on La Guardia Place (near Washington Square Park).

     ... Firedoglake: In Cleveland, Ohio, after Occupy Cleveland obtained a city permit to erect small tents, individual members of the police force provided tents to the protesters.

AP: "The United States is venturing into one of Africa's bloodiest conflicts, sending about 100 U.S. troops to central Africa to support a years-long fight against a guerrilla group accused of horrific atrocities. The Obama administration said the troops will advise, not engage in combat, unless forced to defend themselves.... The first of the troops arrived in Uganda on Wednesday, the White House said, and others will be sent to South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo." ...

     ... Update: the text of the President's letter to Congressional leaders is here.

NEW. NBC News: "The number of donors who raise big money for President Barack Obama jumped in the last three months as he builds a war chest for what will likely be the costliest presidential election ever. At least forty-one people have raised at least half a million dollars for the president, compared to 27 in Obama's first report, according to an analysis of campaign data released Friday. The big donors [are] known as 'bundlers.' ..."

New York Times: "The Obama administration announced Friday that it was scrapping a long-term care insurance program created by the new health care law because it was too costly and would not work. Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, said she had concluded that premiums would be so high that few healthy people would sign up. The program, which was intended for people with chronic illnesses or severe disabilities, was known as Community Living Assistance Services and Supports, or Class."

Reuters: "A Long Island man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Friday after admitting to stealing more than $195 million from thousands of investors in the course of a five-year, $400-million Ponzi scheme. Nicholas Cosmo, 40, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley to repay $179 million to more than 4,000 investors who thought they were investing in short-term commercial bridge loans through Cosmo's two Long Island-based companies, Agape World Inc and Agape Merchant Advance."

Guardian: "The prime minister lost his first Conservative cabinet minister on Friday when Liam Fox [the Defence Secretary] folded under the pressure of relentless revelations about a close friend and the access he gained to the heart of government."

The Commentariat -- October 14

Paul Krugman on the GOP presidential candidates: "... since economic policy has to deal with the world we live in, not the fantasy world of the G.O.P.’s imagination, the prospect that one of these people may well be our next president is, frankly, terrifying." ...

... I've set up a page on Off Times Square for readers to comment on Krugman's column. Or whatever. ...

... On his blog, Krugman juxtaposes these two stories:

     ... "More than Anything Else, I'm Sorry for Myself...." Max Abelson of Bloomberg News: "An era of decline and disappointment for bankers may not end for years, according to interviews with more than two dozen executives and investors. Blaming government interference and persecution, they say there isn’t enough global stability, leverage or risk appetite to triumph in the current slump." ...

     "... Because I Only Make 5-1/2 Times What You Do." Catherine Rampell of the New York Times: "... the average salary in the [banking] industry in 2010 was $361,330 — five and a half times the average salary in the rest of the private sector in the city ($66,120). By contrast, 30 years ago such salaries were only twice as high as in the rest of the private sector. Here's the point, graphically put:

Karen Garcia is withering in her criticism of Democratic efforts to co-opt Occupy Wall Street. ...

... AND after listing some top Democrats who are big Wall Street beneficiaries -- either in campaign contributions or fat incomes, Glenn Greenwald asks,

... does the Center for American Progress really believe that the protest movement named OccupyWallStreet was begun — and that people are being arrested and pepper-sprayed and ready to endure harsh winters and marching to Jamie Dimon’s house — in order to devote themselves to ensuring that these people remain in power? Does CAP and the DCCC really believe that most of the protesters are motivated — or can be motivated — to turn themselves into a get-out-the-vote machine for Obama’s re-election and the empowerment of Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party?"

Prof. Mark Barenberg, et al., in a New York Times op-ed: "In the past month, the National Labor Relations Board has come under furious attack from Republicans in Congress, and decades-old workers’ rights are at risk. Backed by a well-financed lobbying and publicity offensive, Republicans are using a recent labor-law complaint against Boeing to achieve a radical goal that goes far beyond the legal issues in the case: unraveling workers’ rights that have been part of the fabric of our social contract since the Great Depression."

Jeff Zeleny & Monica Davie of the New York Times on President Obama's trip to Michigan today -- his ninth since becoming president: "As the presidential race intensifies, Michigan will become more than a trove of 16 electoral votes. It will be a virtual laboratory for some of the most central themes of the campaign in a state that embodies the changing face of the nation’s economy." ...

... BUT. Irony Alert. Steve Rattner, Obama's former car czar, writes, "The small car that is being made at the Lake Orion plant – the Chevrolet Sonic – was originally scheduled to be made in South Korea.... That was because with a traditional Detroit cost structure, cars like the Sonic cannot be made profitably in the U.S. But as part of the new agreement with the United Auto Workers in connection with the 2009 auto rescue, the U.A.W. agreed to permit 40% of the workers in the facility to be paid so-called 'Tier II' wages, roughly half of what a traditional U.A.W. member earns.... So while the U.S. gained 1,800 jobs, they came at a significant price." Via Ben Smith.

Amy Chozick & Tanzina Vega of the New York Times: "The European edition of The Wall Street Journal accounts for less than 1 percent of total business at its parent company, the News Corporation. But the controversy this week over an unorthodox circulation deal that resulted in the resignation of the newspaper’s publisher could carry outsize influence among investors already concerned about ethical practices at the [Murdoch] company, analysts said Thursday." News Corp's annual shareholders meeting is next Friday.

Thomas Hargrove of Scripps Howard News: "The Social Security Administration has failed to inform tens of thousands of Americans it accidentally released their names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers in an electronic database widely used by U.S. business groups. The federal agency has kept silent about a potentially harmful security breach of the personal data of about 14,000 people each year, ignoring recommended reporting guidelines for such confidentiality breaches and violating the intent, at least, of the U.S. Privacy Act, which protects personal information of private citizens." Those whose data the SSA releases are individuals the agency erroneously thinks are dead. Forty-six states require entities who have breached privacy to inform the victims; the federal government has no such law. "Most of those erroneously listed as dead who were contacted for this story said they only found out about the agency's mistakes when they suffered adverse events like frozen bank accounts, canceled cellphones..., etc."

Nobel Peace Prize winner Leymah Gbowee speaks to NBC News's Andrea Mitchell. What a woman! (and no, I don't mean Mrs. Greenspan):

Right Wing World

CW Note to Self: must continue to pick on $9.99 Pizza Plan. ...

     ... ** Which sometimes forces me to go to the HuffPost -- where Amanda Terkel notes that Cain's 999 plan looks suspiciously like the tax code for the old video game SimCity. And some say the GOP is no longer a serious party. ...

     ... Tim Egan is always a good read: "By almost any measure — social, political, economic, logical — Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan is nuts, nuts, nuts.... Cain is proposing the largest shift in tax burden from the wealthy to the poor and middle class in the nation’s history. Oh, and he apparently would scrap the two great government programs that keep millions clinging to fragile middle-class status — Social Security and Medicare...." ...

     ... Ezra Klein asks Prof. Edward Kleinbard, a tax law expert, to run the 999 numbers. The post even includes longish (by my standards) formulas to explain the calculations. Bottom line: for a family of four earning $50,000/year "Cain’s plan would increase the family’s tax bill by thousands of dollars.... The poor and middle class will face a big tax hike ... and the rich will get a huge tax cut." ...

... I don't run ads. BUt. Here's a 999 plan I might be able to get with. Via Ben Smith:

Mitt Romney, front row 2nd from left, and his Bain Capital buddies have fun raking in the dough (at the expense of companies it liquidated & of employees it put out of work), ca. 1970s. Bain Capital photo via Boston Globe. ... Jim Newell of Gawker: "If this does not appear in an attack ad at some point in the next year, then various rival campaigns will have failed."

News Ledes

CNN: "Protests swelled in cities nationwide Friday as police forces struggled to either corral or remove demonstrators from downtown parks and plazas in the latest development of the monthlong Occupy Wall Street movement. Scores of protesters were arrested in Denver, Seattle, San Diego and New York, while similar demonstrations were scheduled to take place in Washington, Orlando and Atlanta. CNN iReporters sent in photos and video from 'occupy' protests across several American cities."

Reuters: "A U.S. appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked Alabama from enforcing part of its tough new immigration law but allowed some disputed portions to remain in effect. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, halted the controversial provision that permits Alabama to require public schools to determine the legal residency of children upon enrollment. But the court ruled the state could continue to authorize police to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally if they cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason."

AP: "Kansas City's Catholic bishop was charged Friday with not telling police about child pornography found on a priest's computer, making him the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official indicted on a charge of failing to protect children. Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic Diocese Bishop Robert Finn, the first U.S. bishop criminally charged with sheltering an abusive clergyman, pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of failing to report suspected child abuse."

President Obama & Republic of Korea President Lee toured GM's Orion assembly plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, & made remarks afterwards. Detroit Free Press story here. See also today's Commentariat.

Politico: "House Republicans are doing an about-face, breathing life into expensive legislation long considered dead in Congress, showing that, yes, they do believe the federal government should be spending money on domestic programs. Speaker John Boehner is starting with the mother of all public works bills — directing top aides to work with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on a six-year highway bill to rebuild the nation’s transportation infrastructure. The last such highway bill cost $286 billion — House Republicans have not released cost projections for a new one."

New York Times: "The cleanup of the Lower Manhattan park that has been occupied by protesters for nearly a month was canceled Friday shortly before it was supposed to begin, averting a feared showdown between the police and demonstrators who had vowed to resist any efforts to evict them from their encampment. The announcement was made by the Bloomberg administration around 6:20 a.m., about 40 minutes before workers were scheduled to enter Zuccotti Park...." More expansive AP story here. ...

... Seattle Times: "Seattle police Thursday night arrested several Occupy Seattle protesters who refused to leave a tentlike structure set up in Seattle's Westlake Park. Amid chanting and beating drums, saxophone music, cheers and jeers, 10 protesters were removed from the tent and hauled into paddy wagons."

New York Times: "... hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam received the longest prison sentence ever for insider trading on Thursday, capping an aggressive government campaign that has ensnared dozens and may help deter the illegal use of confidential information on Wall Street. Judge Richard J. Holwell of Federal District Court in Manhattan sentenced Mr. Rajaratnam, 54, the former head of the Galleon Group hedge fund, to 11 years in prison. A jury convicted Mr. Rajaratnam of securities fraud and conspiracy in May after a two-month trial."

New York Times: "The trial of a man accused of trying to blow up a commercial airliner with a bomb sewed into his underwear ended Wednesday, just a day after it had begun, when Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the accused, abruptly announced that he would plead guilty to all of the federal counts against him. Prosecutors and federal agents seemed stunned, if pleased, and declared that the plea was evidence that the American court system, as opposed to a military tribunal, could bring a suitable outcome to a terrorism case."