memeorandum: First Thoughts: Drip, drip, drip (First Read/msnbc.com)

3:40 PM ET, November 2, 2011

Top Items:

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Attorney says Cain violated deal, allowing accuser to speak — The lawyer for one of the women who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment said his client may get a chance to speak publicly about the allegations because the GOP presidential candidate violated the confidentiality agreement between the two.

Discussion: CNN, Firedoglake, Shot in the Dark, The Other McCain and The PJ Tatler

New York Times:

Cain Accuser Got a Year's Salary in Severance Pay — WASHINGTON — The National Restaurant Association gave $35,000 — a year's salary — in severance pay to a female staff member in the late 1990s after an encounter with Herman Cain, its chief executive at the time, made her uncomfortable working there …

Jerry Bohnen / www.ktok.com:

Oklahoma Consultant Claims He Witnessed Cain Harassment — Predicts end of Cain Presidential campaign if woman is allowed to talk publicly.

Discussion: Erick's blog, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit, Little Green Footballs, Hot Air, Instapundit, The PJ Tatler, nation.foxnews.com and Guardian

Maureen Dowd / New York Times:

Cain Not Able — We have the starchy guy — tall, handsome, intelligent and rich, with a baronial estate — who's hard to warm up to. And we have the spontaneous guy, who's charming and easy to warm up to — until it turns out that he has an unsavory pattern with young women and a suspect relationship with facts.

Discussion: The Politico, NewsBusters.org blogs, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos and Prairie Weather

Suzanne Garment / The Politico:

Cain reaction: Not by the book — Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain, in handling the sexual harassment allegations recently surfaced by Politico, has already broken every rule in the book on how to deal with a political scandal. — As we have now learned over two days …

Discussion: Althouse and CNN

First Read / msnbc.com:
First Thoughts: Drip, drip, drip

Discussion: Salon.com, New York Magazine, Washington Post and The Caucus

Associated Press:
Bachmann: GOP can't have nominee with ‘surprises’

Discussion: The Hill, Ballot Box, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, GOP 12, Iowa Caucuses, The Caucus and Swampland

Alexander Burns / The Politico:
Herman Cain brushes off harassment questions

Discussion: Mediaite

Kurt Schlichter / New York Post:
Facts are optional — When you consider that, more than a decade ago …

Discussion: National Review, Gawker, PointOfLaw Forum and New York Magazine

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:
TRENDING: Cain gets testy with reporters

Discussion: The Daily Caller and GOP 12

Will Rahn / The Daily Caller:

NYC arrest records: Many Occupy Wall Street protesters live in luxury — Many “Occupy Wall Street” protesters arrested in New York City “occupy” more luxurious homes than their “99 percent” rhetoric might suggest, a Daily Caller investigation has found. — For each of the 984 Occupy Wall …

Discussion: New York Post, The Jawa Report, Indecision Forever, Wake up America, The Mahablog, Weasel Zippers, nation.foxnews.com, OWS Exposed, No More Mister Nice Blog, Betsy's Page, JammieWearingFool, americanthinker.com, UrbanGrounds, Don Surber, Atlas Shrugs, Verum Serum, The Lonely Conservative and ThinkProgress

Jonathan Lemire / NY Daily News:

Bloomberg strikes tougher tone on Occupy Wall Street — City may take “action” against protesters disrupting quality of life — NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg strikes his toughest tone yet against the Occupy Wall Street protesters. — Mayor Bloomberg struck a tougher tone …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Reuters: Occupy Wall Street finds money brings problems too

Russell Berman / The Hill:

‘Are you kidding me?’ Boehner says US not better off under Obama — It's safe to say Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) does not agree with President Obama's suggestion on Tuesday that Americans are better off now than they were when he took office. — “Are you kidding me?!”

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Monthly, CNN and Weasel Zippers

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Obama: We're better off with my policies than four years ago

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah, The Crawdad Hole and The PJ Tatler

RealClearPolitics Video Log:
Obama On Bad Economy: “I'm Less Interested In Allocating Blame”

Discussion: Michelle Malkin and nation.foxnews.com

Rasmussen Reports:

South Carolina: Cain 33% Romney 23% Gingrich 15% — In South Carolina, businessman Herman Cain leads the GOP field with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ten points behind. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is the only other candidate in double digits.

Discussion: Hot Air, Washington Wire, Campaign 2012, GOP 12 and National Review

Steven Shepard / NationalJournal.com:
Obama Gets a Bump in New Quinnipiac Poll

Discussion: CNN, Outside the Beltway, Washington Wire, Mediaite, Hot Air, nation.foxnews.com and 2012 Decoded

New York Times:

Mr. Corzine's Big Bet — Why did Jon S. Corzine make the risky bets that have now plunged MF Global Holdings into bankruptcy court? We don't know, but the likely explanations are disturbing. — Over the past year, most investors have been fleeing the sovereign debt of Spain, Italy and other euro-zone basket cases.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Confluence, Dealbreaker and Pundit Press

Ben White / The Politico:
Industry mind meld: What happened to Corzine? …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, DealBook, Business Insider and ThinkProgress

FBI:

North Georgia Men Arrested, Charged in Plots to Purchase Explosives, Silencer and to Manufacture a Biological Toxin … ATLANTA—Frederick Thomas, 73, of Cleveland, Ga.; Dan Roberts, 67, of Toccoa, Ga.; Ray H. Adams, 65, of Toccoa; and Samuel J. Crump, 68, of Toccoa, were arrested today relating …

Discussion: New York Times, The Jawa Report, The Atlantic Online, emptywheel, Sipsey Street Irregulars, Campaign 2012 and Nation Now

Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
GA Terrorism Suspects Allegedly Wanted To Make Fox Expert's Blood-Soaked Novel A Reality

Discussion: Sipsey Street Irregulars, Political Mojo and The Raw Story

Adam Serwer / Political Mojo:
Four Senior Citizens Plotted Killing Spree At A Waffle House

Discussion: Salon.com, Associated Press and Balloon Juice

Mercury News:

Crowd swells at peaceful Occupy Oakland general strike rally — OAKLAND — About 1,000 demonstrators blocked the intersection of 12th Street and Broadway late Wednesday morning, as the Occupy Oakland general strike marched in a loop around downtown Oakland following a peaceful rally …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Lede, And, yes, I DO take … and OB Rag

Associated Press:
“Occupy Oakland” strike gains big labor support

Discussion: Firedoglake, Los Angeles Times and The Heritage Foundation

Conn Carroll / Campaign 2012:
Occupy Oakland flash mob dance preview

Discussion: TheBlaze.com, Rortybomb, The Crawdad Hole, Pundit & Pundette, Weasel Zippers and Occupy Oakland

Boston Herald:

Rick Perry's giddy speech raises eyebrows, questions — FORT WORTH, Texas — A spirited and giggling Texas Gov. Rick Perry showed up to deliver a speech in Manchester, N.H., on Friday and the resulting video became a YouTube hit Monday. — His campaign insists Perry was simply “being passionate …

Discussion: Sky Dancing and Simply Left BehindThe …

Geneva Sands-Sadowitz / The Hill:
Perry blames editing for viral ‘drunk’ video, said it was a ‘good speech’

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and Ballot Box

Joel Herrick / Shanghaiist:

GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain unaware China has nukes — In an interview on PBS's Newshour with Judy Woodruff, GOP Presidential candidate and former Godfather's Pizza CEO Herman Cain was asked whether he views China as a potential military threat to the United States.

Discussion: Hot Air, The Huffington Post, Online NewsHour, ThinkProgress, The Caucus, Washington Monthly, Business Insider, RedState, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Wonkette and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:
“Peace Through Strength, And Clarity:” Cain Says He Believes China May Have Nukes One Day In the Future

Discussion: The Right Scoop, Nature, Riehl World View, The Mahablog, The PJ Tatler, Political Mojo and Freedom's Lighthouse

Stephanie Condon / CBS News:
Herman Cain incorrectly suggests China doesn't have nuclear capability

Discussion: Firedoglake and Just An Earth-Bound Misfit, I

Kevin Drum / Political Mojo:

A Conversation About Greece — Here's a cleaned-up version of a conversation I just had about Greece's sudden U-turn on the rescue deal negotiated just last week. Enjoy. — Are the Greeks crazy? — No, they're just at the end of their tether. Europe is asking them to adopt more austerity than they're willing to bear.

Discussion: Suburban Guerrilla, US Politics, Marginal Revolution and Patterico's Pontifications

Digby / Hullabaloo:
Greece — For those of us who find the Greece/Euro situation …

Discussion: Foreign Policy, Paul Krugman and AMERICAN FUTURE

Landon Thomas Jr / New York Times:
Plan to Leave Euro for Drachma Gains Support in Greece

Discussion: Firedoglake, Newshoggers.com, naked capitalism, The Agonist and prospect.org/blog/beat-press

David Jolly / New York Times:

Charlie Hebdo, French Magazine, Firebombed — PARIS — The office of a French satirical magazine here was badly damaged by a firebomb early on Wednesday, the publisher said, after it published a spoof issue “guest edited” by the Prophet Muhammad to salute the victory of an Islamist party in Tunisian elections.

Discussion: Jihad Watch, The Gateway Pundit, www.thetakeaway.org, iOwnTheWorld.com, Gawker and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

BBC:
Attack on French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo

Discussion: Harry's Place, Business Insider, Jihad Watch, Biased BBC, The Jawa Report, Atlas Shrugs, americanthinker.com and Pundit Press

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

For immediate release — Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in September indicates that economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, reflecting in part a reversal of the temporary factors that had weighed on growth earlier in the year.

Discussion: Calculated Risk, ThinkProgress, The Atlantic Online, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, MarketBeat, Guardian and The Raw Story

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:

The Case Against David Brooks, Man of the Privileged Few — I don't think it's too strident to demand at this point that David Brooks be hauled up before a jury consisting of everyone else in America and forced to defend himself against several million counts of being an insufferable twat in a public place.

Discussion: blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Grasping Reality …, The Impolitic, alicublog, driftglass, The Huffington Post, Balloon Juice and New York Times

Jim Dwyer / New York Times:

Dismal Tale of Arrest for Tiniest of Crimes — The arresting officer came by the cell, Samantha Zucker said, to make snide remarks about finding her with a friend in Riverside Park after its 1 a.m. closing. — For instance: — “He was telling me that I needed to get a new boyfriend …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Gothamist and Prairie Weather

Phil Mattingly / Bloomberg:

Lawmakers to Propose Transaction Tax for Financial Firms Modeled on Europe — Two U.S. lawmakers will introduce measures to impose a transaction tax on financial firms that resembles a proposal released by the European Union. — Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, and Representative Peter DeFazio …

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Enterprise Blog, MarketBeat, Shakesville and The Gateway Pundit