memeorandum: Gingrich brushes off Freddie, leads Republican race: poll (Jeff Mason/Reuters)

3:15 PM ET, November 20, 2011

Top Items:

Candice M. Giove / New York Post:

Occupy Wall Street protesters stay at $700-a-night hotel — Hell no, we won't go — unless we get goose down pillows. — A key Occupy Wall Street leader and another protester who leads a double life as a businessman ditched fetid tents and church basements for rooms at a luxurious hotel …

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Daily Mail, Jammie Wearing Fools, Weasel Zippers, RedState and The Lonely Conservative

Stephanie Baer / The Daily Californian:

Man throws aluminum water bottle at UC Berkeley student's face — A man threw an aluminum water bottle at a UC Berkeley student Thursday evening on campus, causing minor injuries to the victim's face. — At about 5:09 p.m., the female student was approached by a man at …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys

Zombie / The PJ Tatler:

Berkeley woman assaulted for NOT joining OWS protest — Looks like the “Join us or else!” mentality is growing violent at Occupy Cal in Berkeley, where an (apparent) OWS protester assaulted a female student when she gave the wrong answer about going to the Occupation protest:

Discussion: The Jawa Report, Weasel Zippers, The Lonely Conservative and The Gateway Pundit

Mike Allen / The Politico:

SUPERCOMMITTEE PLANS TO ADMIT FAILURE MONDAY, LIKELY WITH TERSE STATEMENT: ‘This marriage is over’ — ALL 12 MEMBERS HAVEN'T MET IN WEEKS: Hail Mary offers continue today — Biden bday — BACKSTAGE - HOW THE SUPERCOMMITTEE FLUNKED: The supercommittee last met Nov. 1 - three weeks ago!

Discussion: The New Republic

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

Discussion: CNN and Lynn Sweet

Jamie Klatell / Ballot Box:
Social issues take center stage for GOP candidates in Iowa

Discussion: Hot Air, Outside the Beltway and CNN

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
Romney Shifts in Iowa, Playing to Win Quickly

Discussion: Campaign 2012, The Caucus, Washington Post, National Review, Iowa Caucuses and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Lhfang / The Second Alarm:

Breaking Video: UC Davis Chancellor Emerges From Press Conf, Tells Me She Didn't Feel Threatened — Pepper sprayed UC Davis student addresses 1,000 other students, talks about his meeting with Kotehi to end the standstill. — **UPDATE** Switched out low-quality video for better version.

Discussion: CNN, ThinkProgress, L.A. NOW, The Lede, FOX40 News Headlines, Sacramento Bee, US Politics, Gawker, The BRAD BLOG, Runnin' Scared, Hullabaloo and Boing Boing

Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online:
Too Much Violence and Pepper Spray at the OWS Protests

Discussion: Firedoglake, Salon, Boing Boing, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Outside the Beltway, Prairie Weather, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Huffington Post, Hullabaloo and Gawker

Peter Moskos / Washington Monthly:
Dumb-ass Training and the U.C. Davis Pepper Spray Incident: Thoughts From a Fromer Cop

Discussion: Associated Press, The Atlantic Online, naked capitalism, ThinkProgress, Sacramento Bee, Washington's Blog and Balloon Juice

Brian Stelter / The Lede:
U.C. Davis Calls for Investigation After Pepper Spraying

Discussion: The Second Alarm, The Atlantic Online, Los Angeles Times, US Politics, NPR, Balloon Juice, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, Firedoglake, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and The BRAD BLOG

David Segal / New York Times:

After Law School, Associates Learn to Be Lawyers — PHILADELPHIA — The lesson today — the ins and outs of closing a deal — seems lifted from Corporate Lawyering 101. — “How do you get a merger done?” asks Scott B. Connolly, an attorney. — There is silence from three well-dressed people …

Discussion: Balkinization, pandagon.net, The Volokh Conspiracy and PrawfsBlawg

Akhil Reed Amar / Slate:
Paying Students To Quit Law School

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money

Bloomberg:

Kyl Expresses Doubt Supercommittee Will Reach Deficit Agreement — Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) — A member of the congressional supercommittee expressed doubt that the panel would reach an agreement on a U.S. deficit-reduction package by its Nov. 23 deadline. — Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican …

Discussion: americanthinker.com

CNN:
Aides: ‘Super Committee’ likely to announce failure to reach debt deal

Discussion: CBS News and The Hill

Jamie Klatell / The Hill:
Supercommittee slows to a standstill

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and The Politico

Lori Montgomery / Washington Post:

Supercommittee likely to admit defeat on debt deal — The congressional committee tasked with reducing the federal deficit is poised to admit defeat as soon as Monday, and its unfinished business will set up a year-end battle over emergency jobless benefits and an expiring payroll tax holiday.

Discussion: The Politico, Washington Monthly, Hot Air, Roll Call, TalkLeft, The Moderate Voice, CNN, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Calculated Risk and Booman Tribune

Jeff Mason / Reuters:

Gingrich brushes off Freddie, leads Republican race: poll — (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has roared into the lead of the Republican nominating race, brushing off concerns about his work for a troubled housing company, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and National Review

David Rose / Daily Mail:

BBC's Mr Climate Change accepted £15,000 in grants from university rocked by global warning scandal — A senior BBC journalist accepted £15,000 in grants from the university at the heart of the ‘Climategate’ scandal - and later went on to cover the story without declaring an interest to viewers.

Discussion: Biased BBC, NewsBusters.org, Telegraph and americanthinker.com

Patrick B. Pexton / Washington Post:

Was George Will influenced by his wife's work for the GOP? — The Post's prickly, Pulitzer Prize-winning, conservative columnist George F. Will is one-half of a Washington political power couple. His wife, Mari Maseng Will, is a longtime Republican operative who was President Reagan's final …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Amy Bingham / ABCNEWS:

Warren Buffett Tells Congress To Raise Taxes On Wealthy — Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., speaks during an interview with Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., July 8, 2011.

Discussion: Ace of Spades HQ, Scared Monkeys, Michelle Malkin and American Thinker