The President statement yesterday in Las Vegas on the Administration’s new refinancing initiative was circumspect about their claims. There’s a debate now about how effective and far reaching this will be, with some arguing it could have a significant economic effect, and others far more skeptical.

With the Euro nations needing resolution of the debt crisis, we’re seeing the outlines and the magnitude of the solution they’re working towards. A huge haircut for bondholders of Greek debt, a huge recapitalization of the banks who take the hit, and enough firepower in the bailout mechanism to keep the contagion spreading to Italy, Spain, and further. They may even ask the Chinese to help.

In Oakland’s Frank Ogawa Plaza (renamed Oscar Grant Park by the occupiers), the folks at Occupy Oakland were attacked by Oakland police about 4 am this morning. The police surrounded the camp with vans, hummers and riot cops, declared the camp an “unlawful assembly” and proceeded to use smoke bombs to force the camp to disperse. Downtown Oakland was sealed off with Oakland City Center reportedly shut down to prevent people from coming down to protest the eviction.

The News Roundup from Monday night, October 24, 2011 — more on the Administration’s refi plan, Tunisian elections, GOP opposes jobs and infrastructure to prevent tiny tax on tiny number of rich, Ambassador Ford comes home, Libya, Occupy coverage, Herman Cain’s campaign, and much more . . .

• Better late than never, cont’d.
• If you thought HAMP was bad…facepalm.
• The war on drugs goes to Mexico.
• Suck it, Rick Scott.
• Men in their 60s: “kids.”

This woman and her husband can barely make it paycheck to paycheck and they have two daughters. The mother does not work. She could get a job but has figured out they save money if she doesn’t work: I am 27 years old and have worked since I was 14. My husband and I are [...]

The Vatican has expressed an opinion on financial reform, and the Pope is on the side of the 99%…the left side in fact. This may come as a bit of a surprise to some, specifically XTC fans.

Dire Straits – Solid Rock

What’s happened to newspapers didn’t happen because Craiglist stole all the classified ads away. It didn’t happen because Teh Kidz want all your base to belong to them. For all the jerking off about the iPhone and the iPad and the new 24-hour news cycle and TMZ and whatever, newspaper companies got into trouble because a bunch of guys were more interested in enriching themselves than in serving their readers.

Muslim-hating WaPo bigot-blogger Jennifer Rubin is again very displeased with President Obama, because he has the audacity to want to withdraw the troops from Iraq before we have had the opportunity to drain all the oil that lies beneath the sand and kill all the people who live above it. Will Petraeus save us?