CHART: Americans Support Occupy Wall Street, Oppose Tea Party  —  The new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows that Americans support the Occupy Wall Street protests by a two-to-one margin (37 percent in favor, 18 percent opposed) while more Americans view the Tea Party negatively (28 percent in favor, 41 percent opposed).

Jackson, Jr: Obama should ‘declare a national emergency,’ add jobs with ‘extra-constitutional’ action  —  Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. told The Daily Caller on Wednesday that congressional opposition to the American Jobs Act is akin to the Confederate “states in rebellion.”

Anita Perry reflects on campaign's ‘rough month’  —  Anita Perry, wife of Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate, Rick Perry gave a personal and emotional speech that focused on faith at North Greenville University in South Carolina.  —  By NBC's Ali Weinberg

9-9-9 Plan Would Almost Double Taxes on Middle Class  —  Herman Cain is running on three numbers: 9-9-9.  —  “Nine percent corporate business flat tax, nine percent income flat tax and a nine percent national sales tax,” he said, explaining the plan once again during Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate.

A Campaign Windfall for 4 Republicans Who Voted for Same-Sex Marriage  —  ALBANY — As the State Legislature this year debated the legalization of same-sex marriage, a group of wealthy financiers who support both gay rights and Republican causes offered a reassurance to Republican lawmakers …

The Declining Hotness of Flight Attendants  —  Glen Whitman asks why there are fewer startlingly beautiful flight attendants any more: … As a libertarianish economics blogger, I would love if this story were true.  But I'm skeptical.  Stewardesses used to be subject to all sorts …

Raising Eyebrows  —  IT wasn't quite the slip-up (or slip-down, as it were) most people expect during a presidential campaign, but whatever happened to Ron Paul's eyebrows at Tuesday's night debate certainly caught some viewers' attention.  —  For those of you not yet riveted by the Republican race …

Scott Brown web message mirrors 2002 Elizabeth Dole speech  —  WASHINGTON - A Democratic group has unearthed a bit of inspirational autobiography on Senator Scott Brown's official website that was lifted verbatim from a 2002 campaign speech by Elizabeth Dole.

Hedge fund billionaire gets 11-year sentence in fraud case  —  Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge fund billionaire at the center of one of the largest insider trading cases in history, was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan.

We fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas, former detective testifies  —  A former NYPD narcotics detective snared in a corruption scandal testified it was common practice to fabricate drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas.

Ink-Stained Vigilante  —  An ugly moment during last night's Republican debate.  —  Commenting on the latest Republican debate, E.J. “Baghdad Bob” Dionne of the Washington Post observes: “Newt [Gingrich] was at his most outrageous and undisciplined, notably when he said …

I Am Not Your Mirror Image  —  Russ Roberts tries to debunk my explanation of the reasons to believe in a broadly Keynesian view of the world — and reveals more than he intended.  —  First, a few points.  Roberts treats my statement that we have a lot of evidence on the effects of monetary policy …

Five questions for Rick Perry  —  Perry spoke to a large crowd at the Des Moines Register Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair last month.  (Justin Hayworth/The Des Moines Register)  —  1. You've been criticized over the racial slur that a rock once bore outside the hunting camp you leased …

How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into Americans  —  An insider's six-step plan to fix Congress  —  ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED, American voters went to the polls in November 2010 to “take back” their country.  Just as they had done in 2008.  And 2006.  And repeatedly for decades …