Bloomberg: ‘Plain and simple,’ Congress caused the mortgage crisis, not the banks  —  Photo via British Prime Minister's Office flickr stream.  — Owners of the park at the center of the Occupy Wall Street protests are losing patience, but what can they do?  —  11:03 am Nov. 1, 20111Add a comment

Herman Cain's accuser wants to tell her side of story, lawyer says  —  Win McNamee/GETTY IMAGES - Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain speaks at the National Press Club October 31, 2011 in Washington, DC.  During a question and answer portion of the program, Cain called the accusations …

Why is Greece turning down the “bailout”  —  Make no mistake about it, the decision to hold a “referendum” is a decision to turn down the deal altogether.  The referendum will never be held.  It is scheduled for January and the current deal, which is not even a worked out deal, won't be on the table by then.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE CITIZENS OF OAKLAND FROM THE OAKLAND POLICE OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION  —  Oakland, Ca.  —  We represent the 645 police officers who work hard every day to protect the citizens of Oakland.  We, too, are the 99% fighting for better working conditions, fair treatment …

Official: MF Global admitted using client money  —  WASHINGTON—MF Global, the failed securities firm led by Jon Corzine, admitted using clients' money as its financial troubles mounted, a federal official says.  —  An MF Global executive admitted that to federal regulators in a phone call early Monday …

Rick Perry on Viral Video: ‘I Felt Good, Felt Great’  —  DES MOINES, IOWA - Texas Governor Rick Perry said he he “felt good, felt great” during a weekend event in New Hampshire.  Video of Perry giving the freewheeling speech went viral this week and was parodied on late night TV …

Graduates Versus Oligarchs  —  Dean Baker raises an important point here: it's really awfully late in the game to be saying that the important inequality issue is college graduates versus non-graduates.  It's not clear that this was ever true, and it certainly hasn't been true for a while.

Obama to decide Keystone XL project  —  President Barack Obama indicated Tuesday he'll be making the final call on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline that would run from Alberta to Texas.  —  In an interview with Omaha, Neb., station KETV, Obama said the State Department …

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)  —  The live webinar will begin at 11:00 a.m. EDT and will end at approximately 12:00.  Questions for the panelists may be submitted at any point during the webinar.  —  What Is NAEP?  —  The National Assessment of Educational Progress …

Man arrested for child sex assault at Occupy Dallas camp  —  DALLAS — Dallas police have arrested a man who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor at the Occupy Dallas campsite downtown.  —  Richard Armstrong, 24, was charged with sexual assault of child and failure to register as a sex offender.

Occupying Overpasses  —  These signs went up in Los Angeles during rush hour on Friday, with at least three of them staying up through the weekend.  By the time they all come down they'll have been seen by at least a half a million people - probably more.  —  The signs were made using cardboard …

Democrats vow to block spending riders  —  House Democrats on Tuesday attacked “blatantly partisan” policy provisions Republicans are pushing in routine funding bills that would repeal health care reform and environmental regulations.  —  In a letter to Speaker John Boehner …

Brooklyn Detective Convicted of Planting Drugs on Innocent People  —  The New York Police Department, already saddled with corruption scandals, saw its image further tainted on Tuesday with the conviction of a police detective for planting drugs on a woman and her boyfriend.

Chick-Fil-A Donated Nearly $2 Million To Anti-Gay Groups In 2009  —  Earlier this year, Chick-fil-A became embroiled in a controversy surrounding its donations to anti-gay groups.  Though Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy denied having an “agenda against anyone,” an Equality Matters investigation discovered …

Snowe looking safer  —  Olympia Snowe's prospects for winning the Republican nomination for another term as Senator from Maine are looking the best they have in two years, in what could be a sign of Tea Party fever dwindling.  —  In October of 2009 only 31% of Maine GOP voters stood with Snowe …

Republicans Shift Focus From Jobs To God  —  Republicans may be trying to focus their messaging on jobs and the economy — and hammering President Barack Obama for campaigning — but they still have time for some red meat base-baiting on the House floor.  —  To wit: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's …