memeorandum: Neighbors ‘not surprised’ ‘hippie’ left family to join Wall Street protesters (New York Post)

3:05 PM ET, October 22, 2011

Top Items:

Neighbors ‘not surprised’ ‘hippie’ left family to join Wall Street protesters — By BOBBY MARTINEZ in DeLand, Fla., and LIZ SADLER in New York — The Florida mom who ditched her banker husband and four kids to live in Zuccotti Park squalor is a hippie homemaker whose neighbors are horrified …

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Runnin' Scared, Don Surber, JammieWearingFool, Gothamist, Althouse, Fire Andrea Mitchell!, nation.foxnews.com and iOwnTheWorld.com

Adam Andrzejewski / Big Government:

Lech Walesa Not Attending #OccupyWallStreet in New York After Discovering Hard-Left Organizers — The Polish champion of freedom and liberty, founder of Solidarity, winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, and first President of modern Poland Lech Walesa had been rumored to possibly be traveling …

Discussion: Wake up America, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The Gateway Pundit

Matt Yglesias / The New Republic:

How Occupy Wall Street Is a Rational Response to a System That's Failed — The basic economic premise of modern American liberalism, as I understand it, is that with appropriate regulation and taxation a market economy can be made broadly beneficial to the overwhelming majority of citizens.

Discussion: American Power, The Gateway Pundit, Booman Tribune, Crooked Timber, Prairie Weather and ThinkProgress

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

How the Obama administration bungled the Iraq withdrawal negotiations — The Obama administration is claiming it always intended to withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of this year, in line with the president's announcement today, but in fact several parts of the administration appeared …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Wake up America, American Spectator, The White House, americanthinker.com, CBS San Francisco and National Review

New York Times:

Despite Difficult Talks, U.S. and Iraq Had Expected Some American Troops to Stay — BAGHDAD — President Obama's announcement on Friday that all American troops would leave Iraq by the end of the year was an occasion for celebration for many, but some top American military officials were dismayed …

Discussion: Hot Air, Booman Tribune, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog and Ben Smith's Blog

Ewen MacAskill / Guardian:
Iraq rejects US request to maintain bases after troop withdrawal

Discussion: Prairie Weather and The Gateway Pundit

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Romney Opposes Troop Withdrawal From Iraq (UPDATED)

Discussion: Opinion L.A., Zandar Versus The Stupid and 2012 US Elections

Ben Feller / ABCNEWS:
Iraq War Over, US Troops Coming Home, Obama Says

Discussion: The News Tribune and The Politico

Spencer Ackerman / Danger Room:
The Iraq War Ain't Over, No Matter What Obama Says

Discussion: Firedoglake, Political Mojo, The Daily Dish, Wonkette, thenation.com/blogs/163255, Hullabaloo, New York Times and Outside the Beltway

Frederick W. Kagan / The Enterprise Blog:
Obama abandons Iraq

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Maggie's Farm, The Atlantic Online, American Spectator and Washington Post

Richard Wolf / USA Today:
News analysis: Obama builds on national security record

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Emily Friedman / ABCNEWS:

Tea Party Activist Christine O'Donnell Donates to Romney, Says Movement Isn't Being Fair to Him — Christine O'Donnell, the former Republican Senate candidate and a Tea Party favorite during the 2010 election, said in an exclusive interview with ABC News that she has not only given money …

Kate Zernike / New York Times:

Wall St. Protest Isn't Like Ours, Tea Party Says — At a Republican candidate forum outside Fort Worth last week, a Tea Party activist turned Senate candidate proclaimed the Occupy Wall Street protesters “unemployed, uneducated and uninformed.” To which the conservative radio host moderating …

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog and Prairie Weather

Matthew Yglesias / ThinkProgress:

Public Parks Should Be Occupied — Lurking at the end of an article about how McPherson Square is a more friendly tent camp cite than Freedom Plaza, Lydia DePillis offers a more provocative point: … New York City doesn't have this problem, but Washington, DC and some other American cities …

Lydia DePillis / Housing Complex: Want to Hold A Revolution? Don't Do it In Freedom Plaza.

Brett Zongker / The Huffington Post:

‘World Of Opera’ Dumped By NPR Because Host Participated In Occupy DC Protest … Npr , National Public Radio , Lisa Simeone , Occupy Dc , Occupy Wall Street , Wdav , World Of Opera , Media News — WASHINGTON — NPR will no longer distribute the member station-produced program “World of Opera” …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and War Is A Crime .org

Telegraph:

St Paul's Cathedral announces closure due to ‘Occupy’ protesters — It seemed a gesture of Christian tolerance when a clergyman at St Paul's Cathedral told police to allow anti-capitalist protesters camped outside to continue their demonstration. — But the alliance appeared …

Discussion: Power Line

Spiegel Online:

Estonia Lives the European Dream — The Estonians, with little debt, an enthusiastic attitude toward Europe and a stoic approach to austerity measures, are a model EU nation in the midst of a crisis. They live in a digital republic defined by a business-friendly atmosphere and government transparency …

Discussion: RedState

Eli Clifton / ThinkProgress:

Iraq By The Numbers: The World's Costliest Cakewalk — Powell's infamous presentation at the U.N. — The Obama administration's announcement of a withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Iraq by the end of the year offers the possibility of a definitive conclusion for the U.S. military's involvement in Iraq.

Discussion: The BRAD BLOG