memeorandum: Feds investigating break-in at county courthouse (Ana Ley/MySanAntonio.com)

2:40 PM ET, October 19, 2011

Top Items:

Why Perry went there — The Texas governor went into Tuesday night's debate looking for a reaction — and he got one.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, National Review, Hot Air, Booman Tribune, The New Republic, Hit & Run, Riehl World View, Michelle Malkin and Pat Dollard

Washington Post:

Washington Post-Pew Research Center Poll — This poll was conducted for The Washington Post and the Pew Research Center by telephone October 13 to 16, 2011, among a random national sample of 1,007 adults, including users of both conventional and cellular phones.

Discussion: GOP 12, Indecision Forever, Wonkette, Taegan Goddard's …, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway, Althouse and The Political Carnival

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

The dangers of accidental candor — After five debates in six weeks, these get-togethers for the Republican presidential candidates were quickly becoming sleep-inducing. Last night in Las Vegas, though, was at least lively — with time running out, someone lit a fire under the candidates' feet.

Discussion: 2012.talkingpointsmemo.com, FrumForum, Talking Points Memo, The Reality-Based Community, Daily Kos and Balloon Juice

John Feehery / Pundits Blog:

Bickering — Newt Gingrich had the line of the night toward the end of the debate when he complained that the moderator encouraged a level of bickering that could only make it harder for the GOP to get the White House. — I don't think Anderson Cooper was really trying to sink the Republican nominee for president in this debate.

Discussion: The Politico and CNN

E.J. Dionne Jr / Washington Post:

The Republican Bickersons — That was fun tonight. Attack, defend, attack and attack some more. Texas Gov. Rick Perry had some problems in tonight's Republican presidential debate, as he's had before — do we really want to “defund the United Nations”? — but he was a real presence this time …

Discussion: p m carpenter's commentary, National Review and Northern Reflections

The Politico:

Rick Perry vs. Mitt Romney: Now it's personal — LAS VEGAS - After months of diversions — sideshow candidates, Hamlet acts and straw polls — Tuesday night's sizzling Republican presidential showdown boiled the nomination fight down to its essentials: a deeply personal …

Discussion: CNN, The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, ABCNEWS, GOP 12, National Review, The Other McCain and Pajamas Media

New York Times:

Republican Presidential Candidates Debate in Las Vegas — LAS VEGAS — Mitt Romney came under withering attack from his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination at a debate here Tuesday night, with Gov. Rick Perry leading an intense and sometimes personal barrage …

Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:
Romney still the best at this, Perry not as bad, and the loser? Anderson Cooper

Discussion: The Huffington Post, A plain blog about politics, Political Mojo and Daily Kos

Washington Post:
Rick Perry better known, more disliked by GOP conservatives

Discussion: msnbc.com, Daily Kos, GOP 12 and The Politico

CNN:
Five things we learned from Tuesday's GOP debate

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Washington Wire

Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:

Reid says government jobs must take priority over private-sector jobs — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday said Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first responders.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, RedState, Michelle Malkin, Maggie's Farm, The Strata-Sphere, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, National Review, USA Today and Washington Wire

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators angry about Reid claim they're rooting for failure

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Weasel Zippers

Alicia M. Cohn / The Hill:
Obama pledges to keep fighting for jobs bill, veterans

Discussion: The Politico

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Ohio SB 5 Headed For Rejection

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's … and The Political Carnival

Andrew Restuccia / The Hill:
Reid seeking vote on Commerce nominee

Discussion: Michelle Malkin

Adrianne Jeffries / The New York Observer:

Real World: Occupy Wall Street? MTV Issues Casting Call for Protesters — Is Occupy Wall Street ready to start being real? Bunim/Murray Productions, the agency casting for MTV's Real World 27, appears to think the show Real World needs some real world drama: an ad appeared …

Discussion: Guardian, City Room, The Impolitic, Business Insider, New York Magazine, Danger Room, Shakesville, Vox Tablet, Deadline.com, Gothamist, Althouse, Runnin' Scared and The Informer

Sean Captaintoday / Fast Company:
The Demographics Of Occupy Wall Street

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, New York Times and Guardian

Dylan Stableford / Yahoo! News:
Naomi Wolf arrested while defending Occupy Wall Street protesters

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog and JammieWearingFool

Fars News Agency:
Occupy Wall Street Protesters Condemn Zionists for Economic Crisis in US

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:
GOP rips Dems for anti-Semitism in Occupy Wall Street protests

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Bloomberg:

U.S. Capital Now Richer Than Silicon Valley — Federal employees whose compensation averages more than $126,000 and the nation's greatest concentration of lawyers helped Washington edge out San Jose as the wealthiest U.S. metropolitan area, government data show.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, Campaign 2012, Gawker, msnbc.com and Pajamas Media

Mj Lee / The Politico:
Census: D.C. is country's wealthiest area

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Marginal Revolution

ABCNEWS:

Animals Loose in Ohio: Town Under Lockdown — An Ohio town is under lockdown as dozens of wild animals including bears, wolves and tigers have escaped from a private preserve are and are on the loose after the owner of the preserve has been found dead. — Terry Thompson of Zanesville …

Discussion: Pat Dollard, New York Magazine and CBS Cleveland

Moni Basu / CNN:
Deputies forced to shoot escaped exotic animals in Ohio

Discussion: Hot Air, Gothamist and Gawker

Ana Ley / MySanAntonio.com:

Feds investigating break-in at county courthouse — aley@express-news.net — metro - An RV used by the suspects in the alleged break-in at the Bexar County Courthouse remains parked outside the courthouse moments before it was towed away by authorities in San Antonio on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011.

Discussion: CBS News, Associated Press, Reuters and Hot Air

Jim Forsyth / WOAI-TV:
Terror Link Downplayed in Courthouse Break-In

Discussion: Pajamas Media, Jihad Watch and BLACKFIVE

Jenna Hiller / KSAT-TV:
Bexar County Courthouse Break-In May Have Been Prank

Discussion: KENS, Jihad Watch and Atlas Shrugs

Dennis Cauchon / USA Today:

Student loan debt hits record levels — Students and workers seeking retraining are borrowing extraordinary amounts of money through federal loan programs, potentially putting a huge burden on the backs of young people looking for jobs and trying to start careers.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Politico, Washington Post, Moneyland, Need to Know | PBS, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, LewRockwell.com Blog and Shakesville

Phil Izzo / Real Time Economics:

What Percent Are You? — To get the full experience of this page, please upgrade your Flash Plugin — The Occupy Wall Street movement seeks to speak for the bottom 99% of the population by income, which includes pretty much everyone who makes less than $500,000 a year.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Online, Metropolis, Mogulite, Weasel Zippers and Gawker

Alex Seitz-Wald / ThinkProgress:

GOP Rep. Asked Paper To Keep Town Hall Secret, Selected Residents Who Were Invited — Freshman Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) told a town hall gathering Monday that “the whole purpose” of the meeting “is to hear from you.” But apparently Herrera Beutler isn't interested in hearing from everyone.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Lee Hughes / Columbian:
Politician didn't want event touted

Discussion: The Politico

Rebecca Rosenberg / New York Post:

Protest mob is enjoying rich diet — They may sleep in the park, but they eat like kings. — Hundreds of grimy protesters laying siege to Wall Street and stuffed into the now-smelly Zuccotti Park dine each night on gourmet meals prepared by a former hotel chef using only the finest organic ingredients.

Discussion: MyFox Boston, New York Magazine, Pajamas Media and JammieWearingFool

NY Daily News:

Occupy Wall St. pepper-spray cop Anthony Bologna loses 10 vacation days for violating NYPD rules — NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna was disciplined Tuesday for pepper-spraying two female protesters in the notorious YouTube video seen around the world.

Discussion: Gawker, Firedoglake and iOwnTheWorld.com

Al Baker / New York Times:
Commander Who Pepper-Sprayed Protesters Faces Disciplinary Charge

Discussion: ANIMAL, Runnin' Scared, LewRockwell.com Blog and Balloon Juice

Jared Bernstein / On the Economy:

9-9-9 in One (Really Long) Graph — In my previous post decrying the extreme redistribution of the tax burden from the wealthy to everyone else, I had to use two graphs to tell the story. I couldn't fit the increase in tax liabilities for the bottom 80% on the same graph that includes …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Atlantic Online and Washington Post

Sam Youngman / Ballot Box:

President Obama's strategy on jobs is working — even if Americans aren't — It's certainly not pretty, but darn if it doesn't appear to be working. — President Obama's newfound message discipline on jobs and his two-pronged attack on the GOP are providing the beleaguered president …

Discussion: Don Surber

Zombie / Pajamas Media:

Spew Anti-Semitism at Occupy Rally — Get Fired — Remember Patricia McAllister, the LA school district employee we featured recently who said at the Occupy Los Angeles protest that “Zionist Jews should be run out of the country”? — Well, looks like Zionist Jews must be in charge of the LA schools too …