memeorandum: First look at US pay data, it's awful (David Cay Johnston)

7:20 PM ET, October 20, 2011

Top Items:

Rania El Gamal / Reuters:

Gaddafi captured and wounded near Sirte: NTC official — (Reuters) - Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs near his hometown of Sirte at dawn on Thursday, National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid said. — Majid reported the capture …

Kareem Fahim / New York Times:

Qaddafi Is Dead, Libyan Officials Say — TRIPOLI, Libya — Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the former Libyan strongman who fled into hiding after rebels toppled his regime two months ago in the Arab Spring's most tumultuous uprising, was killed Thursday as fighters battling the vestiges …

Aljazeera:

Muammar Gaddafi killed in gun battle — NTC military chief says toppled leader died of wounds following capture near his hometown of Sirte. — Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a NTC military chief, has confirmed that Muammar Gaddafi has died of his wounds after being captured near Sirte.

Discussion: BBC, FP Passport, Sky Dancing, iOwnTheWorld.com, Booman Tribune, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, Sic Semper Tyrannis, Boing Boing, Gothamist and Towleroad News #gay

Reuters:

Gaddafi's death - who pulled the trigger? — (Reuters) - Disturbing images of a blood-stained and shaken Muammar Gaddafi being jostled by angry fighters quickly circulated around the world after the Libyan dictator's dramatic death near his home town of Sirte.

Discussion: LewRockwell.com Blog, msnbc.com, Outside the Beltway, New Atlanticist and National Review

BBC:
2227: The New York Times Lens blog

Discussion: Washington Post, Guardian, Associated Press, The Birmingham, US Politics and New York Magazine

Guardian:
Muammar Gaddafi is dead, NTC says - live coverage

Discussion: Time, newsfeed.time.com, Global Spin, ABCNEWS, Wonkette, Mediaite, The Political Carnival, Tim Blair, The Moderate Voice, Gawker, The Lonely Conservative, UrbanGrounds, FP Passport, Fausta's Blog and Balloon Juice

Mirror.co.uk:
Gaddafi dead picture: Colonel Gaddafi photo appears to prove Libya dictator is dead

Discussion: Harry's Place and ANIMAL

The Daily Beast:

When Condi Met Gaddafi — In an exclusive excerpt from Condoleezza Rice's new memoir, ‘No Higher Honor,’ the former secretary of state tells all about her meeting with the recently killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi: his obsession with her, his WMD stockpile—and the infamous ‘tent.’

Discussion: Mediaite, New York Magazine and FP Passport

Jake Tapper / ABCNEWS:

Where Is Mitt Romney on Libya? — Have you had any difficulty discerning Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney's precise position on the US involvement in the NATO mission in Libya? — The one consistency has been criticism of President Obama. — But beyond that, he's seemed a bit all over the Libyan map.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, A plain blog about politics, The Hill, Booman Tribune and Ben Smith's Blog

ThinkProgress:
FLASHBACK: In His Book, Romney Attacked Obama's Foreign Policy For Appeasing Qaddafi

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Mediaite, Gawker and The Political Carnival

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
Romney aide on Libya: Credit to the Libyans, not Obama

Discussion: ABCNEWS and New York Times

Rasmussen Reports:

Iowa: Cain 28% Romney 21% Paul 10% — Reflecting national trends, businessman Herman Cain has now jumped to the front of the Republican pack in Iowa. — A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Iowa caucus-goers shows that Cain is in front with 28% followed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 21%.

Discussion: A plain blog about politics, Iowa Caucuses, The Strata-Sphere, Hot Air, Pajamas Media, Business Insider, Nice Deb, The Daily Dish, Indecision Forever, Outside the Beltway and Race 4 2012

Tom Jensen / Public Policy Polling:
Obama struggling in Ohio

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Maggie Haberman / The Politico:
Herman Cain lands Steve Grubbs in Iowa

Discussion: Race 4 2012

Manuel Roig-Franzia / Washington Post:

Marco Rubio's compelling family story embellishes facts, documents show — During his rise to political prominence, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) frequently repeated a compelling version of his family's history that had special resonance in South Florida. He was the son of exiles, he told audiences …

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog, The Political Carnival, US Politics and New York Magazine

Alex Alvarez / Mediaite:

Herman Cain Tells Piers Morgan That He Is Anti-Abortion, Yet Pro-Choice? — Tonight, Herman Cain sat down with CNN's Piers Morgan to discuss his stance on a variety of issues. And it would appear that, where abortion is concerned, Cain is “anti-abortion in all cases,” yet “pro-choice.”

Jonathan Bernstein / Washington Post:
Are Herman Cain's 15 minutes finally over?

Discussion: Iowa Caucuses, CNN, Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, The New Republic, Washington Monthly, PERRspectives, The Daily Dish and US Politics

Joshua Green / Business Week:
Herman Cain: Mine. Mine. Mine

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Daily Caller, Sky Dancing and The Political Carnival

Debbie Siegelbaum / The Hill:

FBI investigating assassination threat against Rep. Schilling — The FBI and Capitol Police are investigating an online threat made against Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.) offering a $75,000 reward for his assassination. — Schilling learned of the threat in an email alert Tuesday night, according to his spokeswoman, Andrea Pivarunas.

Discussion: CNN, The Gateway Pundit, The Caucus, Big Government, Gawker and Fire Andrea Mitchell!

Chris Minor / WQAD-TV:
Congressman Schilling asked to lay low after online threat offering assassination reward

Discussion: St. Louis Beacon and The Politico

David Cay Johnston:

First look at US pay data, it's awful — Anyone who wants to understand the enduring nature of Occupy Wall Street and similar protests across the country need only look at the first official data on 2010 paychecks, which the U.S. government posted on the Internet on Wednesday.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, ssa.gov, Opinion L.A., Daily Kos, Prairie Weather, The Big Picture, ThinkProgress, Hullabaloo, AFL-CIO NOW BLOG, Political Mojo, Economist's View and Shakesville

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

A Tale Of Two Presidents — A reader writes: … And this time, the Arab world loves us as well. — To rid the world of Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki and Moammar Qaddafi within six months: if Obama were a Republican, he'd be on Mount Rushmore by now.

Discussion: The Political Carnival, Ben Smith's Blog and The Daily Caller

New York Times:
News Analysis: Qaddafi's Death Is Latest Victory for New U.S. Approach to War

Discussion: The Mahablog

Alastair Gale / Korea Real Time:

Occupy Wall Street Gets Pyongyang's Backing … You could see this one coming. — North Korea's state news agency weighed in on the Occupy Wall Street protests Thursday, highlighting the “stern judgment” of “millions of people” against a capitalist system that “brings exploitation …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Paddy Johnson:
Occupy Museums! Speaking out in front of the Cannons

Discussion: Gothamist, ANIMAL, The Mahablog, City Room, Pirate's Cove and Business Insider

Mike Lillis / The Hill:

Pelosi's silent treatment shows breaks with President Obama — For House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), disagreement with President Obama often takes the form of silence. — While rank-and-file House Democrats have been outspoken in taking the White House to task over issues …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Mike Allen / The Politico:
Melody Barnes leaving White House

Discussion: Washington Post

Pema Levy / TAPPED:

In Defense of Rachel Maddow — After Jon Stewart's Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington, D.C., last year, Rachel Maddow convinced Stewart to sit down with her for over an hour to discuss politics and the media. She dedicated her entire show that night to the interview.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Online and The New Republic

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:

The GOP's ‘Thank America Last’ crowd — Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) appeared on Fox News this morning to respond to reports of Moammar Gadhafi's demise. His first instinct wasn't to thank American troops, but rather, to thank French troops. — “Today's not a day to point fingers,” the right-wing Florida senator said.

The Right Sphere:

OccupyWallStreet Protesters Go On Private Property And Threaten To Disrupt Business — Here's something you never saw at a Tea Party event, rally, or gathering. — I'm actually amazed that this guy left that restaurant with a full mouth of teeth. The guy at the end of the video …

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Spencerackerman / Attackerman:

The Post-Gadhafi Journalism You Will Read In The Next 72 Hours — 1. Why Gadhafi's Death Vindicates “Leading From Behind” (Tom Friedman) — 2. Gadhafi's Death Shows The U.S. Was Never Really “Leading From Behind” (Anne-Marie Slaughter) — 3. There Is Still More To Do In Libya (Any Washington Post op-ed)

Discussion: Danger Room, FrumForum and A plain blog about politics

Washington Wire:

Perry Campaign Chartered a Plane Used in Drug-Smuggling Ring — The campaign of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, which said Wednesday it had underpaid wealthy donors for use of their private jets, has another ticklish plane problem. … For a campaign swing that started late last month …

Discussion: The Hill, ABCNEWS, Pajamas Media and The Caucus

Kevin Drum / Political Mojo:

Illegal Immigration and the Left — Ryan Bonneville writes that there's really nothing Barack Obama can do to placate the right-wing illegal immigration crowd. No matter what he does, it will never be enough. Then this: … Well, the reason I don't have a big problem …

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Crooked Timber

Doug MacDiarmid / KLFY-TV:

Law Bans Cash for Second Hand Transactions — Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything. — But that's not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, The Raw Story, Pajamas Media, Balloon Juice, LewRockwell.com Blog, Hit & Run and Sipsey Street Irregulars

Peter Hermann / Baltimore Sun:

‘Occupy’ memo could discourage victims from reporting assaults — Protest group says it wants to be self-contained community — Efforts by the Occupy Baltimore protest group to evolve into a self-contained, self-governing community have erupted into controversy with the distribution …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Don Surber, iOwnTheWorld.com, Weasel Zippers and JammieWearingFool

Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:

Foreigners' Sweetener: Buy House, Get a Visa — The reeling housing market has come to this: To shore it up, two Senators are preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Business Insider, msnbc.com, The Politico and Marginal Revolution

David Kestenbaum / NPR:

What If We Paid Off The Debt? The Secret Government Report — Planet Money has obtained a secret government report outlining what once looked like a potential crisis: The possibility that the U.S. government might pay off its entire debt. — It sounds ridiculous today.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and Business Insider

Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:

The GOP's ludicrous claim about their jobs bill — “The entire plan will not add one penny to the federal debt, while creating 5 million new jobs.” — “Paul said the bill would create 5 million new jobs—although he did not offer a specific time frame.” — Politicians love to make claims …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Prairie Weather and Daily Kos

The Politico:

ActBlue to begin listing super PACs - Big spending third Q reports trickling in - MW&E snags four - Hensarling brings in the big guns — EXCLUSIVE ... ACTBLUE TO BEGIN LISTING SUPER PACS: Dave and Abby Phillip report that ActBlue, the nation's premier online Democratic fundraising organization …

Discussion: ThinkProgress

Andrew Breitbart / Big Journalism:

Source: ABC Reporter's Life Allegedly Threatened at Occupy Oakland; ‘We Shoot White Bitches Like You Around Here’ — Early yesterday morning, we received a tip from a reader in the San Francisco East Bay area who informed us that a local reporter's life had been threatened by an activist at the Occupy Oakland demonstration.