Last Call

Here's your scary Halloween story for the night:  The Most Wrong Man In America is predicting a Romney landslide.  And he actually used the term “landslide”.

Voters have figured out that President Obama has no message, no agenda and not even much of an explanation for what he has done over the past four years. His campaign is based entirely on persuading people that Mitt Romney is a uniquely bad man, entirely dedicated to the rich, ignorant of the problems of the average person. As long as he could run his negative ads, the campaign at least kept voters away from the Romney bandwagon. But once we all met Mitt Romney for three 90-minute debates, we got to know him — and to like him. He was not the monster Obama depicted, but a reasonable person for whom we could vote.

You have to love his awesome little bubble of unreality.

Or will the Romney momentum grow and wash into formerly safe Democratic territory in New Jersey and Oregon?

Nice choice of phrase, Dick.  And sure, Romney will get 350 EVs because ARGLE AND THE BLARGLE.  Even better, he’s calling for the GOP to pick up six Senate seats in the wake of Romney’s long, long coattails.

I mean, why wouldn’t we give Morris the benefit of the doubt over Nate Silver or this empty can of Diet Coke with Lime?  Morris has a long, long track record of being completely full of garbage.  But it’s a long track record, so Nate Silver is a wimp because SHUT UP LIBTARDS.

So yes, now that Toesucker here has called it for Romney, President Obama is spiking that there football.

Scary stuff.

Rocked You Like A Hurricane

I'm going to have to agree with Alyssa Rosenberg about the morbid practice of sending reporters into storms.

There was something supremely strange yesterday about the spectacle of CNN’s chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, standing outside in Atlantic City and getting battered by the rain from Hurricane Sandy. It’s odd enough that news networks drop all other subjects, foreign and domestic, when a big storm bears down on the U.S. (not that such storms shouldn’t be covered). But there’s something particularly strange about the decision to focus on on-the-ground reporters, rather than on reporting on actual disaster management, most of the decisions about which are made inside government and non-profit offices, rather than at the edge of bodies of water. And it’s particularly strange that we’ve focused on making reporters take risks that carry with them very little possible information reward.

And of course it's not the information reward that matters,we just like seeing the poor miserable people on the TV screen get blown around and occasionally they might even die or something.  We're ghouls on Halloween.



CHUNKY. 

Guys This Is Quality Denial Here, Not That Cheap Crap

The wingers have their new marching orders for the rest of the week:  early voting numbers that favor the Democrats don't matter, because SHUT UP LIBTARDS.

Democrats more than Republicans are getting their most loyal supporters to vote early, but with polls showing a close race among those who have voted so far, concerns are being raised about a GOP tsunami on the actual Election Day, next Tuesday.

According to a GOP analysis of early voting and absentee ballot requests provided to Secrets, the Democrats are turning out their most reliable, or so-called "high propensity voters" than Republicans, leaving fewer for Election Day. The GOP is pushing weaker supporters to vote early, expecting high enthusiasm to drive their regular supporters to the polls next week.

And on Election Day, no Democrats will actually vote. 

From the beginning, I've questioned the strategic choices of the Romney campaign. I think they've made dozens of wrongheaded decisions. They have completely failed to emphasize certain issues which would've helped them with key constituencies, they've reacted in knee jerk fashion to attacks, and they allowed Romney to be defined negatively in the late summer in a way which could still prove too large an obstacle to overcome. But as much as I question their strategic minds, it's been clear from day one that Romney's operational prowess is second to none, and getting out the vote isn't a question of strategy but operation. Even given that the state Republican parties are shouldering much of this effort, and even given all the advantages Team Obama was likely to have in that arena, if Team Romney could end up close to matching them in this respect, we could be looking at an undertow election like none we've seen before. This would reflect not so much a groundswell as a cave-in, one where independents did not shift to Romney but away from Obama, where the bottom truly drops out of the Obama effort, and the story the left focuses on for the next year is why in the world those people stayed home.

So yeah, Republicans figure all of us are going to just not bother to show up and let the GOP run the country into the ground.  This is in fact their master plan for winning next week.

This is really their entire plan.  If you consider all the voter intimidation and suppression, it's literally their entire plan.

Luckily, we actually can do something about it.

Privacy Stupidity - Who Needs Warrants?

CNET has learned that U.S. District Judge William Griesbach ruled that it was reasonable for Drug Enforcement Administration agents to enter rural property without permission -- and without a warrant -- to install multiple "covert digital surveillance cameras" in hopes of uncovering evidence that 30 to 40 marijuana plants were being grown.

This is the latest case to highlight how advances in technology are causing the legal system to rethink how Americans' privacy rights are protected by law. In January, the Supreme Court rejected warrantless GPS tracking after previously rejecting warrantless thermal imaging, but it has not yet ruled on warrantless cell phone tracking or warrantless use of surveillance cameras placed on private property without permission.

Yesterday Griesbach adopted a recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge William Callahan dated October 9. That recommendation said that the DEA's warrantless surveillance did not violate the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and requires that warrants describe the place that's being searched.

"The Supreme Court has upheld the use of technology as a substitute for ordinary police surveillance," Callahan wrote.

Dangerous precedents are being set and upheld.  I don't want to get all tinfoil hat on you, but if we don't get some protection from our own government and police, we will never enjoy a private conversation again. This is unforgivable.

Stupidity Begets Stupidity

The child was hit with the taser probes during a demonstration earlier this year at Tularosa Elementary School, where Officer Christopher Webb spoke to groups of students in the school playground about gun and taser safety.

While Webb claimed the taser “accidentally discharged,” the victim’s lawyers charge that the cop was recklessly joking around with students when the boy was struck with two electrified barbs.

Webb reportedly asked a group of students who would like to clean his patrol unit. While a group of boys said they would, the victim--identified as “R.D.” by his lawyers--“jokingly said that he did not want to clean the patrol unit,” according to a Santa Fe District Court lawsuit.

In response, Webb allegedly pointed his taser at the boy and said, “Let me show you what happens to people who do not listen to the police.” The 44-year-old cop then fired his Taser X26 model.

You can't make this stuff up, folks.  The lawsuit seems a bit dramatic, but holy cow... what cop says something like that and fires a weapon at a child?  Aren't you always supposed to treat your weapon like it's loaded?

Idiot.  Jackass.

Snow White And The Seven Jawas

And Disney has bought Lucasfilm LTD for $4 billion and change, with the promise of a seventh Star Wars film in 2015.

Disney has acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. The film studio was previously owned entirely by George Lucas, the creator of the iconic Star Wars and Indiana Jones series. Lucas will continue to work at Lucasfilm, serving as creative consultant.

Star Wars: Episode 7 is planned for release in 2015, followed by Episodes 8 and 9. Disney hopes to continue releasing new Star Wars feature films every two to three years.

“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next,” Lucas said in a statement. “It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime.”

Lucas said he was confident that Kathleen Kennedy, the current co-chairman of Lucasfilm, will continue to successfully expand the franchise after becoming the new president of the film studio. Kennedy will report to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn.

“Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products,” Lucas added.

It can't be worse than midichlorians, pod racing, and Jar-Jar Binks. I say, bring it.

The Kitchen Sink

Democratic party aligned Super PAC American Bridge takes off the gloves and goes right after tying Mitt Romney to the more odious Republican opinions on women.

The American Bridge spot ties Romney to Rep. Todd Akin's (R-MO) "legitmate rape" comment (used to justify oppostion to aboriton rights in the case of rape), Rep. Joe Walsh's (R-IL) contention that a woman's life cannot be at risk due pregnancy (used to justify health exemptions for a total ban on abortion rights) and Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock's line about rape, conception and God's will. Viewers are directed to Bridge's BindersFullOfWomen.com microsite, which includes more videos on GOP positions on rape and abortion.

Romney favors eceptions to abortion bans in the case of rape, incest and when the mother's life is at risk, but his attempts to moderate himself against the most conservative voices in his party on the issue have been difficult thanks to the Akins and Mourdocks of the world as the Bridge ad illustrates.

You think?

And no, there's no daylight between Mitt and Todd Akin or Richard Mourdock.  Mitt Romney himself has made that perfectly clear.

StupidiNews!

• As the remains of Hurricane Sandy churn north across New England and Canada today, New York and New Jersey are slowly starting cleanup.
• The Mexican national accused of killing Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in the Operation Fast and Furious shootout is now pleading guilty to the crime.
• Mexico City's newest subway line opening this week is expected to cut commute times in half.
• Wall Street is back open for business on Wednesday after being shut down by weather for the first time in 124 years.
• Google's Enhanced Voice search app is now on Apple's iOS store as it competes with Siri.