Herman Cain, Mitt Romney lead new Iowa Poll  —  DES MOINES, Iowa - Herman Cain and Mitt Romney top The Des Moines Register's new Iowa Poll, with the retired pizza executive edging the former Massachusetts governor 23 percent to 22 percent in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

Dear Ben: It's Time for Your Volcker Moment  —  IN October 1979, inflation was running at more than 10 percent a year, and the Federal Reserve's gradual interest rate increases weren't solving the problem.  So Paul Volcker, the Fed chairman, dramatically changed how monetary policy was conducted.

Denial In Depth  —  Columbia Journalism Review has a takedown of a “study” from American Enterprise Institute purporting to show that inequality hasn't increased, after all.  What's striking is the way AEI doesn't even resort to the usual practice of concocting misleading numbers …

‘Occupy’ demonstrators battle wind and cold as storm moves in  —  New York (CNN) — Demonstrators encamped in a Lower Manhattan park faced New York's first snow storm of the season Saturday without the benefit of propane tanks and generators that they had been using to cook food and keep warm.

Occupy Denver protesters, law enforcement officers clash; 20 arrested  —  In the most violent Saturday in more than a month of Occupy Denver demonstrations and marches, Denver police fired mace and pepper balls at a crowd of protesters in Civic Center today and arrested 20 people.

Cain tells Paul supporters to ‘be respectful’ during speech  —  (CNN) — Herman Cain spoke to a rowdy crowd of supporters in Alabama Saturday - they just weren't all his.  —  Trying to make a point about foreign policy, Cain was loudly interrupted by spectators in the crowd waving Ron Paul signs and yelling, “That is absurd.”

Occupy Oakland: inspiration, frustration at return  —  OAKLAND — Dozens of new tents sprang up outside Oakland City Hall on Friday, a sight that encouraged some Occupy Wall Street supporters but infuriated others, who expressed frustration at the city's about-face on the encampment.

Population Bomb Epic Fail  —  On Monday, the world's 7 billionth person is expected to be born.  Somewhere.  Look for the media and the usual worn-out handwringers to strike up the usual dirge.  I'm sure Paul Ehrlich has a full dance card for the day.  The “Tom Friedman Random Column Generator” …

What the Costumes Reveal  —  On Friday, the law firm of Steven J. Baum threw a Halloween party.  The firm, which is located near Buffalo, is what is commonly referred to as a “foreclosure mill” firm, meaning it represents banks and mortgage servicers as they attempt to foreclose on homeowners and evict them from their homes.

Rocket fire rocks south  —  South under fire again in wake of IAF attack in Gaza: Alarm sounds in various southern communities.  Man hit by shrapnel in Gan Yavne; rocket hits school courtyard in Ashdod.  Second barrage targets residential building, one injured.  Islamic Jihad claims responsibility

Message to the 99%: Help Stop the 1% From Using the Super Committee to Rob the American People  —  The 1% is using the super-secret Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (a.k.a. the Super Committee), to reach directly into the pockets of the 99% and steal hundreds of billions of dollars from them.

Pelosi, in pitch to donors, sees ‘turning point’ for Dems in 2012 House races  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is seeking a surge of Democratic campaign donations before the next Federal Election Commission fundraising deadline, claiming that Democrats can reach a “turning point” in their bid to reclaim the majority.

GOP getting in way of change, Biden tells Democrats, teachers union  —  (Jacob Langston, Orlando Sentinel / October 28, 2011)  —  Vice President Joe Biden turned a dinner speech to Florida Democrats at Walt Disney World into a pep rally Friday night, blasting Republicans as obstructionists …