Top Items:
Serena Williams / The Onion:
Congress Takes Group Of Schoolchildren Hostage — WASHINGTON—Brandishing shotguns and semiautomatic pistols, members of the 112th U.S. Congress took a class of visiting schoolchildren hostage this morning, barricading themselves inside the Capitol rotunda, where they remain at press time.
RELATED:
Elizabeth Flock / Washington Post:
The Onion's tweets about Capitol gunfire prompt panic, mockery — The Onion, a satirical news Web site and newspaper known for its ability to elicit peals of laughter, isn't getting too many guffaws on this one. The site tweeted Thursday: — The site also posted the news to its Facebook page.
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Wonkette, Boing Boing, Gothamist, Business Insider and Connecting.the.Dots, more at Mediagazer »
Debbie Siegelbaum / The Hill:
Onion takes heat from Capitol Police after tweets about gunfire
Onion takes heat from Capitol Police after tweets about gunfire
Discussion:
The Politico and The Hill
Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Perry Slumps in Polls, but Not to Romney's Gain — There have been three scientific national polls released of Republican voters since the Sept. 22 debate: a CNN poll that was conducted over the last weekend, and polls by Fox News and Economist/YouGov released on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Caucus, New York Times, Daily Kos, Politics, Salon, Hot Air, Poll Watch Daily, Patterico's Pontifications and The Daily Dish
RELATED:
Michael D. Shear / The Caucus:
Huckabee to Interview Romney on His Show
Huckabee to Interview Romney on His Show
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and GOP 12
David Frum / The Week Magazine:
Why the GOP should embrace Mitt Romney
Why the GOP should embrace Mitt Romney
Discussion:
Pajamas Media and FrumForum
Maya Rodriguez / WWL-TV:
Anti-Obama sign in Uptown neighborhood draws controversy — NEW ORLEANS — There are several political signs attracting all kinds of attention in one Uptown neighborhood. — On Wednesday, crowds gathered at the corner of Calhoun and Coralie streets, looking at several signs depicting President Barack Obama …
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Crawdad Hole, The Hinterland Gazette and First Draft
RELATED:
Michelle Malkin:
Adventures in liberal tolerance, part 999,901 — Anti-Obama signs in New Orleans — on private property — have set off a frenzy of prog protests against free speech. Former and current politicians have “met” with the property owner as mobs gather near the offender's home.
Stephen Gutowski / MRCTV:
Liberals Try to Remove Anti-Obama Signs in New Orleans
New York Post:
Christie seriously considering presidential bid after GOP prodding — By JOSH MARGOLIN in New York and S.A. MILLER in Washington — After months of hedging, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is giving serious thought to jumping into the ring for a GOP presidential run — and could make his decision next week, The Post has learned.
Discussion:
Salon, Guardian, City Room, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Caller, GOP 12 and Daily Kos
RELATED:
Joel Siegel / ABCNEWS:
Chris Christie: Is New Jersey Governor Too Overweight to Become President? — For Chris Christie, there was no way around it. “In case you haven't noticed, I'm slightly overweight,” he said during a debate in his successful campaign for governor. — Two years later, Christie is the man …
Discussion:
Gothamist, Indecision Forever, Outside the Beltway, Ben Smith's Blog, Trail Blazers Blog and Politics
Wall Street Journal:
Taking Cain Seriously — Why isn't a successful business résumé presidential material? — You hear the same thing said about Herman Cain all the time: Herman Cain has some really interesting ideas, but . . . I love Herman Cain, but . . . But what? — But he can't win.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The New Republic, CBS Philly, Betsy's Page, CNN and Public Policy Polling
RELATED:
Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:
Garofalo: GOP using Herman Cain ‘to keep the racism very covert’
Garofalo: GOP using Herman Cain ‘to keep the racism very covert’
Discussion:
Politics, Verum Serum, Hot Air and Mediaite
New York Post:
A ‘Furious’ revelation — This just might be the smoking gun we've been waiting for to break the festering “Fast and Furious” gun-running scandal wide open: the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives apparently ordered one of its own agents to purchase firearms with taxpayer money …
RELATED:
Richard A. Serrano / Los Angeles Times:
ATF Fast and Furious guns turned up in El Paso
ATF Fast and Furious guns turned up in El Paso
Discussion:
The Washington Independent
Joe Kemp / NY Daily News:
Shocking video shows attempted murder of teen outside Brooklyn McDonald's — Three toughs pulled off a choreographed plan to pass a gun between them like a hot potato before one of them opened fire at a teen outside a Brooklyn McDonald's - and all of it was caught on camera.
Discussion:
ANIMAL, Runnin' Scared and Gothamist
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Democrats Dispirited About Voting in 2012 — Republicans' enthusiasm for voting matches 2004 and exceeds 2008 — PRINCETON, NJ — In thinking about the 2012 presidential election, 45% of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic say they are more enthusiastic about voting than usual …
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
Americans reject the right's bogus ‘class warfare’ charge — It's become an article of faith among conservatives — and even some neutral commentators — that Obama'a newly aggressive populism and call for tax hikes on the rich is “class warfare,” a nakedly partisan play for the Democratic base …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
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Peyton M. Craighill / Washington Post:
Fewer than 1 in 3 say Obama favors the ‘have-nots,’ but many say GOP helps the ‘haves’
Fewer than 1 in 3 say Obama favors the ‘have-nots,’ but many say GOP helps the ‘haves’
Discussion:
THEROOT.COM and Daily Kos
Michael Lewis / Vanity Fair:
California and Bust — The smart money says the U.S. economy will splinter, with some states thriving, some states not, and all eyes are on California as the nightmare scenario. After a hair-raising visit with former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who explains why the Golden State has cratered …
Discussion:
FT Alphaville and Gawker
Eva Rodriguez / Washington Post:
Obama may have more than five votes to uphold health-care law — The Obama administration's decision on Wednesday to seek review of a lower court's ruling on the constitutionality of its signature health-care program almost guarantees a Supreme Court decision by next June. And the administration is predicting victory.
Discussion:
Booman Tribune, The Atlantic Online, The Heritage Foundation, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway and Balloon Juice
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Joe Biden: The economy belongs to us, not Bush — Vice President Joe Biden said in a live interview with Miami public radio station WLRN Thursday that the Obama administration - not the Bush administration - now has ownership of the struggling U.S. economy.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Michelle Malkin, Examiner, Pajamas Media and National Review
Jonathan Turley / Los Angeles Times:
Obama: A disaster for civil liberties — He may prove the most disastrous president in our history in terms of civil liberties. — President Obama failed to close Guantanamo Bay, continued warrantless surveillance and military tribunals and asserted the right to kill U.S. citizens he views as terrorists.
Discussion:
Political Mojo, Opinion L.A., The Atlantic Online and Cato @ Liberty
Scottrose / pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com:
Breaking: anti-gay N.C. Senator Forrester falsifies credentials - and an open letter to the lawmaker — NOTE FROM PAM: It's sad that a lawmaker, namely North Carolina State Senator James Forrester, is so blinded by ignorance and bigotry that he embarrasses himself — and his cause …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Holy Bullies …, Good As You and Joe. My. God.
Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:
More Than 300,000 Ohio Voters Submit Petition Suspending Gov. Kasich's Anti-Voter Law — Earlier this year, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed a sweeping bill intended to make it harder to vote in his states' elections. Kasich's anti-voter law drastically cuts back on early voting and erects …
Discussion:
Firedoglake and The Political Carnival
KFSN-TV:
Teacher penalizes students for saying “bless you” — FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — A Northern California teacher says he doesn't want to hear a common courtesy in his classroom. — He's even lowering students' grades if they say “bless you” after someone sneezes.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Examiner and Alan Colmes' Liberaland
FIRE:
UW-Stout Chancellor Doubles Down on Censorship of ‘Firefly’ and Anti-Fascism Posters — The chancellor of University of Wisconsin-Stout (UWS) has declared that he will not defend faculty First Amendment rights from censorship. UWS censored theater professor James Miller's poster featuring …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, National Review, Techdirt, The Daily Caller and Joanne Jacobs
Bloomberg:
U.S. Decries Salaries, Staffing in New UN Budget — The Obama administration told the United Nations that too few of its 10,307 workers are being cut and average salaries, currently $119,000 a year, have risen “dramatically.” — The U.S. ambassador for UN management and reform …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Pajamas Media
Sam Baker / Healthwatch:
Draft spending bill would defund Obama healthcare law — House Republicans released a draft spending bill Thursday that would cut off funding for many parts of the healthcare reform law, though the bill remains deadlocked in the Appropriations Committee. — The draft legislation would attempt to derail implementation of the law.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Politico, The Page, Daily Kos and TPMDC
Daniel Strauss / Ballot Box:
Huntsman campaign moves HQ to New Hampshire — The Huntsman campaign announced Thursday that its headquarters would move from Florida to New Hampshire. — The move from Orlando to Manchester comes after a pair of polls showed the former Utah governor gaining modest traction in the early primary state …
Discussion:
CNN
Daily Mail:
Ladies and gentleman, we are currently cruising down Wall Street because we are fed up with our bosses! Pilots stage protest — Wall Street saw yet another surge in protesters today - as hundreds of Continental and United Airlines pilots demonstrated in New York City's financial district.
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and The Agonist
New York Post:
Exclusive: Crook busted after robbing same bank for third day in row — Now that's customer loyalty. — A greedy bank robber starred in his own criminal version of “Groundhog Day” — holding up the same downtown Sovereign branch on three consecutive days before he was finally busted yesterday, police sources told The Post yesterday.
Discussion:
Gothamist