Cain leads nationally  —  Yesterday PPP released numbers showing Herman Cain leading Mitt Romney 30-22 in Iowa and our monthly look at the national picture finds the exact same numbers.  Cain is up 30-22 on Romney with Newt Gingrich sneaking past Rick Perry for 3rd place at 15% to Perry's 14% …

My Advice to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters  —  Hit bankers where it hurts  —  I've been down to “Occupy Wall Street” twice now, and I love it.  The protests building at Liberty Square and spreading over Lower Manhattan are a great thing, the logical answer to the Tea Party and a long-overdue middle finger to the financial elite.

A Modest Proposal: Call Obstruction What It Is  —  Here is the headline in the online home page of the NYT, about Obama's “pass this jobs bill, pass it now” proposal.  Note the word “fails”:  —  The subhead and the rest of the article make clear that more Senators voted for the bill than against it — 50 to 49.

N.H.'s Bill Gardner to Nevada: Drop dead  —  Bill Gardner just flipped the Republicans the bird.  Again.  —  In a three-page statement released Wednesday afternoon, the New Hampshire secretary of state reiterated his independence and said he'll move the primary up as far as necessary …

Charles Schumer: ‘Impossible’ for Democrats to lose Senate in 2012  —  (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)  —  A top Democrat said it's “almost impossible” Republicans will take over the Senate majority in 2012.  —  Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), his party's former campaign chairman …

Perry Botches U.S. Revolution Century  —  Texas Governor Rick Perry energetically bounded into the Beta Theta Pi fraternity on Dartmouth College's campus after Tuesday night's debate, but when he was asked a question about states' rights, he slipped up on the dates for when the American Revolution was fought.

Wall Street Journal circulation scam claims senior Murdoch executive  —  Andrew Langhoff resigns as European publishing chief after exposure of secret channels of cash to help boost sales figures  —  One of Rupert Murdoch's most senior European executives has resigned following Guardian inquiries …

Issa Issues Subpoena to Holder in Fast and Furious Investigation  —  Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a subpoena Wednesday to Attorney General Eric Holder as part of his investigation into the gun trafficking operation known as “Fast and Furious.”

Biden Warns of More Rapes and Murders If Jobs Bill Is Not Passed  —  In Flint, Michigan, Vice President Joe Biden suggested that more rapes and murders could occur if President Barack Obama's jobs bill is not passed.  —  “In 2008, when Flint had 265 sworn officers on their police force …

All the Single Ladies  —  IN 2001, WHEN I was 28, I broke up with my boyfriend.  Allan and I had been together for three years, and there was no good reason to end things.  He was (and remains) an exceptional person, intelligent, good-looking, loyal, kind.

Apologies Not Accepted  —  Leadership: Leaked cables show Japan nixed a presidential apology to Hiroshima and Nagasaki for using nukes to end the overseas contingency operation known as World War II.  Will the next president apologize for the current one?  —  The obsessive need of this president …

Conceding One to the Critics  —  As readers of this site have no doubt noticed, I'm not one who is greatly troubled by hostile criticism.  —  On the other hand, sometimes the critics make a valid point.  When they do, I'm not too obstinate to concede.  —  For years, I've shared …

Herman Cain consultant: 9-9-9 wouldn't be accepted  —  Herman Cain expressed confidence at Tuesday's debate that his much-touted “9-9-9” plan to revamp the tax code would pass Congress, but the paid campaign consultant who scored the plan for Cain said the idea was more of a theory …

Buffett made $62,855,038 last year  —  NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett this week showed a little more leg in his campaign to get Congress to raise taxes on the uber-rich.  —  In a letter to Republican Rep. Tim Huelskamp Tuesday, Buffett revealed that his adjusted gross income …

Wall Street's Gullible Occupiers  —  The protesters have been sold a bill of goods.  Reckless government policies, not private greed, brought about the housing bubble and resulting financial crisis.  —  There is no mystery where the Occupy Wall Street movement came from …

New York squeegee king Greg (Grover) Washington busted for a staggering 186th time  —  The squeegee king of New York was dethroned, at least temporarily, after a heated face-off with drivers Tuesday in Murray Hill, police said.  —  Greg (Grover) Washington - busted for a staggering 186th time …

Keynesianism And Big Government  —  Russ Roberts offers the hyper-nihilistic take on macroeconomic stabilization policy debates: … That seems insane to me.  Did George W Bush sign a 100 percent tax cuts stimulus bill in 2008 because he favored bigger government?  That doesn't sound right to me.

Global warning: climate sceptics are winning the battle  —  Father of the green movement says scientists lack PR skills to make public listen  —  Climate sceptics are winning the argument with the public over global warming, the world's most celebrated climate scientist, James Hansen of NASA, said in London yesterday.

A conspiracy only Bachmann could create  —  As tempting as it is to simply ignore Michele Bachmann's nonsense, there was one gem from last night's debate that I really enjoyed. … What's amusing about this is how truly ridiculous Bachmann's silly conspiracy theory — and imaginary exchange with the president — really is.

Jeffress Denounces Gays As Promiscuous, Manipulative And Abnormal  —  Robert Jeffress' criticism of the Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Mormon faiths has gained increasing attention since he endorsed and introduced Rick Perry at last week's Values Voter Summit.

Rep. Joe Walsh: I had ‘verbal’ deal not to pay child support  —  U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) says he hasn't paid his court-ordered child support because he and his ex-wife reached a “verbal agreement” three years ago that he could stop paying her child support.