JIM GERAGHTY: Democrats Ask New Jersey Secretary of State to Ignore Mismatched Signatures on Absentee Ballot Requests. “Those ballots, could, presumably, be used to overcome any narrow lead by Republican Chris Christie over Democrat Jon Corzine on Election Day.”

Call it the “ACORN Rule.”

TAKE THAT, SENATE: The House Nationalized Healthcare Bill is 1,990 pages long. That’s roughly 33% longer than the Senate bill.

UPDATE: Access Denied. Plus this: “This is a public space on the steps of the Capitol and the Mall.” But as with “public healthcare,” some members of the public turn out to be more equal than others.

IN THE MAIL: Strip Mauled. From the creator of Chicks in Chainmail.

TWO SHOT AT L.A. SYNAGOGUE: “Officer Rosario Herrera says a black man with a handgun entered the synagogue at about 6:20 a.m. Thursday and shot two people. Police are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.”

I remarked last night that we seem to have had a lot of counterterror activity lately. No particular reason to think this is connected, but note this. Also this. But most likely it’s just a coincidence.

YOUR ANALYSIS IS FLAWED; IT DOESN’T REACH OUR DESIRED CONCLUSION: Kerry wants Law Library report on Honduras retracted. “A month ago, the Law Library of Congress reviewed the removal of Manuel Zelaya from his post as President of Honduras, an act that the Obama administration called a ‘coup’ and demanded reversed for its illegality. To the embarrassment of the White House and State Department, the Congressional body determined that Honduras acted lawfully in removing Zelaya for his crimes against their constitution, although they determined that his exile broke Honduran law. Now John Kerry wants the Law Library to retract its findings, apparently trying to rewrite history to hide the facts of the case.”

Knoxville, Tennessee. Krutch Park reflected in the window of the S&W Grand Restaurant on Gay Street.

IF FOX ISN’T A “LEGITIMATE NEWS OUTLET,” does that mean the Obama Administration will go after them using Campaign Finance laws? Not until the second term, probably.

KENNETH ANDERSON: UN Special Rapporteur Criticizes US Predator Program in UN Speech.

If it’s working, it must violate some international law somehow.

BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: Obama unhappy with criticism of his NYC date night.

STEPHEN LANDSBURG IS tackling the big questions.

Oh, okay, and also promoting his book.

NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS: First-time jobless claims drop less than expected. “The report comes the same day the Commerce Department said the economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the July-September quarter, snapping a streak of four straight quarters of decline. But the economy isn’t growing quickly enough to spur much hiring.”

LARRY KUDLOW: Economic Freedom Fighters Must Unite.

INSTAVISION: I talk with Sen. Lamar Alexander about the Obama White House, enemies lists and modern politics.

POLITICO: Nervous W.H. intervened in N.J. race; top Obama adviser now in charge. “One of President Barack Obama’s key political advisers has become the central strategist in New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s bruising campaign for re-election, a race the White House desperately wants to win to avert the consequences for its own agenda of a Republican winning in a traditionally Democratic state.”

DID SOMEBODY lie to Newt Gingrich?

UPDATE: But see this.

To my mind, it’s more important — as noted in the Lamar Alexander interview above — that people not divide into permanently warring camps than that anything in particular happen in this election. The nice thing about NY-23 is that it’s an opportunity to send a message at low cost, but the cost won’t be low if it produces long-running enmity. Instead, it should be a spur for people to get involved in politics at the state and local level now, rather than complaining about the nominees later. Follow Bill Whittle’s advice!

GOOD NEWS: U.S. Economy Is Growing Once Again. But here’s a cautionary note: “But we don’t think that rate of growth is sustainable because it is distorted by all the government stimulus. The challenge here is to get organic growth – growth that isn’t helped by fiscal steroids.”

FOR HALLOWEEN: Slutty Nun costumes?

OLD HAT:

Democrats in Washington have a bigger problem: Their party is looking so yesterday.

In a world defined by nearly 100,000 iPhone apps, a world of seemingly limitless, self-defined choice, the Democrats are pushing the biggest, fattest, one-size-fits all legislation since 1965. And they brag this will complete the dream Franklin D. Roosevelt had in 1939.

The culture still believes the U.S. has a hipster for president. But the Obama health-care bill, and maybe this whole administration, is starting to look totally out of sync with the new zeitgeist, the spirit of the age.

Everything about the health-care exercise is looking very old hat, starting with the old guys working on it. Max Baucus, Patrick Leahy, Pete Stark—all were elected to Congress in the 1970s, and live on as the immortals in Washington’s Forever Land. But it’s more than the fact that Congress looks old. The health-care bill is big, complex, incomprehensible and coercive—all the things people hate nowadays.

Well, except for people in Washington. (Via The Virginian).

YOU MUST GIVE UP HOT SHOWERS TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS USED AGAINST YOU. “This Friday, taxpayer funded researchers will brief politicians in Congress on how to improve their approval ratings by avoiding face-to-face townhall meetings with voters.”

Don Surber comments: “After reading this, I am sure many people will lay down their pitchforks and torches — and pick up their tar and feathers.” That’s starting to sound like a theme . . . .

YOU LIE? A.P.: Feds Overstated Stimulus Jobs By Thousands:

WASHINGTON — The federal government overstated by thousands the number of jobs created or saved with contracts awarded to businesses under President Barack Obama’s economic recovery program, according to an Associated Press review of employment data in the plan’s first progress report.
——
For example:

• A company working with the Federal Communications Commission reported that stimulus money paid for 4,231 jobs, when about 1,000 were produced.

• A Georgia community college reported creating 280 jobs with recovery money, but none was created from stimulus spending.

• A Florida child care center said its stimulus money saved 129 jobs but used the money on raises for existing employees.

Perhaps this will stimulate some skepticism where their health care claims are concerned.

WHAT EVERY WOMAN NEEDS: “A new lipgloss from British cosmetics company 2LoveMyLips comes with a spike detector to identify GHB and ketamine in drinks.” Reportedly, it’s “already a hit in Britain.”

A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH for the Ares 1-X prototype.

CONFUCIAN WISDOM from Jeff Flake.

DO ALL CHINESE LOOK ALIKE to Anita Dunn? “Obama Communications Director Anita Dunn says she was only cribbing from Lee Atwater when she approvingly quoted from Mao Tse-Tung in a graduation speech. … Funny thing, though. I can’t find a place where Atwater cited Mao. I can find lots of places where Atwater referenced Sun Tzu, whose Art of War he supposedly carried around in dog eared form.”