Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Rick Santorum heading the Republican ticket come November but, dudes, having run through the Bachmann, Perry, Cain, Gingrich campaign bromances we’re starting to get the feeling that you’re just fucking with us out of sheer boredom and the horror of hours spent alone in an Iowa hotel room with an empty honor bar (“God help me, I even drank the Keystone Light… Someone please save me.”).

Occupy Raleigh is thrilled to receive this support package from Occupy Supply. Today we will begin handing out the clothing as is needed. Those staying at the camp the most will have priority for the warmest supplies first, however everyone will be able to have something to help fill in whatever winter clothing niche is most lacking. This kind of support does wonders for morale. It gives a tangible reminder of how widespread this struggle is. Its reinforces the notion that many of us are banding together in this struggle. I often say that one of the great advantages of the 99% is that there are so many of us with different ideas, abilities, talents, resources, and knowledge. Not everyone can occupy but everyone can find some way to support the movement. Occupy Supply is a wonderful example and reminder of this.

Barring some incredibly unusual developments, Mitt Romney is on track to win big in the New Hampshire primary. All recent polls give him a massive double digit lead.

An Occupy Congress action is scheduled for January 17, 2012, outside Capitol Hill. It has been reported, also by the Post, that a permit application was submitted to the Park Service. So, it would seem the Capitol Police will now have power over this demonstration when it happens on January 17. (Whether they would be in charge of approving a permit or not for this event is unclear).

With less than a week until the Iowa Caucuses, things are looking for good for Mitt Romney. The recent polls find him leading in the state or coming in a close second behind Ron Paul. Either would be a positive outcome for the Romney campaign.

Yes, of course Newt Gingrich was a lobbyist, because that’s the only reason political figures get paid millions of dollars by corporations. It’s not to give advice. They have large payrolls with all the strategists they’ll ever need. The only thing they don’t have are front men to make sure their strategies get put into action on Capitol Hill.

Maybe this is the new big plan for the economy: sell as many weapons to the Middle East as possible. Let a million Rosie the Riveters bloom. That this buildup endangers an entire region, one holding the keys to the current energy infrastructure of the world, is just a sidelight to this, I guess.

DC residents should ask the city and police what kind of crime and safety problems have actually arisen since the group began camping. DC residents should ask if there should be as many police on patrol as there typically are. And, DC residents should ask if the city can cut back on the number of officers so officers can get back to patrolling neighborhoods where their presence is actually needed.

In my post on the economy in 2012, I questioned whether the fourth or fifth prediction of a “bottom” in housing was accurate. As if to slap me in the face with statistics, a report today showed pending home sales at their highest point in a year and a half. But that only takes us to the middle of 2010, not exactly boom times for the housing market. In addition, there’s a growing trend of pending sales getting called off at the last minute, which means a lot of these sales will not come to fruition.

Branding is not everything in politics, it is important.