JIM TREACHER ON FACEBOOK: “The mainstream media is irreparably broken. Fortunately, the Internet was designed to route around damage.”

JONAH GOLDBERG: The Amazing Bubble of Liberal Creepiness. “What is most striking about this isn’t just the soft abuse of children or the sickening moral bullying the creators are trying to pull off, it’s that they think this sort of thing is persuasive in the first place.”

WHILE IT LASTS: Webcam from the Statue of Liberty, with sound.

‘IF YOU DO NOT SURVIVE:’ As Matt Drudge notes, the National Weather Service has issued a dramatic warning statement for those in the path of Sandy:

…AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM TO IMPACT THE AREA… SANDY IS EXPECTED TO SLAM INTO THE NEW JERSEY COAST LATER MONDAY NIGHT, BRINGING VERY HEAVY RAIN AND DAMAGING WINDS TO THE REGION.

THE STORM IS A LARGE ONE, THEREFORE DO NOT FOCUS ON THE EXACT CENTER OF THE STORM AS ALL AREAS WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS.

THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE AN HISTORIC STORM, WITH WIDESPREAD WIND DAMAGE AND POWER OUTAGES, INLAND AND COASTAL FLOODING, AND MASSIVE BEACH EROSION. THE COMBINATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN AND PROLONGED WIND
WILL CREATE THE POTENTIAL FOR LONG LASTING POWER OUTAGES AND SERIOUS FLOODING.

PREPARATIONS SHOULD BE WRAPPING UP AS CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO WORSEN TONIGHT AND ESPECIALLY ON MONDAY.

SOME IMPORTANT NOTES…

1. IF YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO EVACUATE A COASTAL LOCATION BY STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS, PLEASE DO SO.

2. IF YOU ARE RELUCTANT TO EVACUATE, AND YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO RODE OUT THE `62 STORM ON THE BARRIER ISLANDS, ASK THEM IF THEY COULD DO IT AGAIN.

3. IF YOU ARE RELUCTANT, THINK ABOUT YOUR LOVED ONES, THINK ABOUT THE EMERGENCY RESPONDERS WHO WILL BE UNABLE TO REACH YOU WHEN YOU MAKE THE PANICKED PHONE CALL TO BE RESCUED, THINK ABOUT THE RESCUE/RECOVERY TEAMS WHO WILL RESCUE YOU IF YOU ARE INJURED OR RECOVER YOUR REMAINS IF YOU DO NOT SURVIVE.

4. SANDY IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS STORM. THERE WILL BE MAJOR PROPERTY DAMAGE, INJURIES ARE PROBABLY UNAVOIDABLE, BUT THE GOAL IS ZERO FATALITIES.

5. IF YOU THINK THE STORM IS OVER-HYPED AND EXAGGERATED, PLEASE ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION.

WE WISH EVERYONE IN HARMS WAY ALL THE BEST. STAY SAFE!

Sound advice.

Of course, even though this report was written and issued by the National Weather Service, naturally for Buzzfeed, it’s merely an excuse to take a shot at Chris Christie:

(more…)

CAPTAIN’S JOURNAL: False Military Doctrine And The Benghazi Assault. “The notion that we don’t send our forces into harm’s way without knowing what’s going on is patently absurd and false. Simply said, it’s a lie. We deploy Army Rangers to take control of air fields and landing zones in potentially hostile environments, for which we do not know all of the desired information; we deploy Marine infantry into situations of potentially unknown threats all of the time all over the globe; each and every time a patrol left the outpost at the Korengal in Afghanistan, they were deploying into potentially deadly situations without specific and detailed knowledge of the situation.”

What, you don’t believe Leon Panetta?

BENGHAZI: McCain Suggests Response To Benghazi Attack Was Worse Than Watergate. “It is now the worst cover-up or incompetence I have ever observed in my life.”

MEDIA: al Qaqaa and Benghazi: That Was Then, and This Is Now. “It is hard to imagine how any newspaper could ignore, or even try to downplay, a story of this magnitude. Yet, if you rely on the New York Times for information, you know little about the battle of Benghazi, and nothing at all about the explosive account that emerged on Friday, fueled in part by the anger of the father of one of the dead American operatives.”

PROGRAMMERS: The Art World’s New Renegades?

FOR SANDY UPDATES, follow Brendan Loy on Twitter.

HISTORY: UK spy diaries offer glimpse of Cold War life.

MEMORY, WITHOUT A BRAIN?:  Seems impossible, but scientists at the University of Sydney claim their recent research shows that at least one type of slime exhibits a memory without a brain.    Making slime in the kitchen with my daughter now makes me think twice.

DON’T GET COCKY, KID: Bob Krumm: Does Ohio Really Matter? “The bottom line is that if Mitt Romney’s popular vote margin is large enough, no matter what happens in Ohio, some other state is going to play Belgium to Obama’s Maginot Line.”

Really, don’t get cocky. It’s all about showing up. Save the crowing until the showing’s done. Which doesn’t mean I don’t hope he’s right.

UPDATE: Reader Russ Meyer writes: “I’m glad the polls look good for Romney, but please ask people to remember that we all thought the Obamacare decision would go the right way as well, and we were then crushed when it didn’t. Things look great, but we can’t get cocky.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Chris Lynch writes: “When the post election postmortem is done I think the numbers will show that in state after state many more Democrats will have voted for the federal offices of Senator or Congressman than voted for the Democrat at the top of the ticket. These folks may not vote for Mitt Romney but by not voting for Barack Obama they will be widening the gap which will be the difference between a slim victory and a landslide. The fiscal policies and the shame of what happened at Benghazi may keep even the most strident Democrat from voting for Obama.” Well, we’ll know soon.

SEN. RON JOHNSON ON BENGHAZI: “The American People Have The Right To Know.” “It was either misleading or is incompetent. I think we are finding out it was probably both, misleading and incompetence on the part of this administration. The American people have the right to know.”

THE SILENCE ON BENGHAZI IS DEAFENING:  Of the 5 major Sunday news shows today, only Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace thought it was important enough to raise.   Absolutely disgusting.

HARRY REID’S GRAVEYARD:  A damning editorial by the Wall St. Journal about the U.S. Senate under Harry Reid’s leadership and the imperative of gaining Republican control of that chamber.  The editors conclude:

But if it’s big and bold that voters want, House Republicans have passed it. What stands in their way are Senate Democrats. One reason the Reagan policy revolution became law in 1981 is because Republicans scared enough Democrats into cooperating by picking up a net gain of 12 Senate seats in 1980 to gain control 53-46.

If voters want to break the gridlock of the past two years and start addressing the country’s urgent fiscal and economic problems, they’re going to have to elect a Republican Senate as well as Mr. Romney.

The Republicans need a net pickup of 4 Senate seats.  The Massachusetts race between Republican incumbent Scott Brown and challenger Elizabeth Warren may be the key. 

WAPO: “President Obama has a problem with independents. And it’s not a small problem. In the last three releases of the tracking poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, Obama has trailed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney among independent voters by between 16 and 20 percentage points. That’s a striking reversal from 2008, when Obama won independent voters, who made up 29 percent of the electorate, by eight points over Sen. John McCain of Arizona.”

WELL, IT’S CHEAPER THAN NETJETS: Startup Offers Private Jet Ride-Sharing, But Cost Is Still Sky-High. “Turns out you don’t have to be part of the 1 percent to fly in a private jet after all. At least that’s the claim of the guy who has turned the limo industry on its head with the car-service dispatch app Uber. Thanks to newly launched BlackJet, anyone can book a seat on a private jet to take them across the United States. Wait, did we say anyone? We mean anyone who can afford to pay $7,000 for a round-trip flight — and have been invited to use the service.” Still a bit pricey for an impecunious law professor such as myself.

TRICK OR TREAT?:  Which will it be on Nov. 6th:  More Obama tricks, or a real Romney treat?

HEH.

AT AMAZON, Markdowns on Levis’ 501 Jeans for Men.

Also, today only: Up to 60% Off Zumba DVDs, Apparel, Shoes, and More.

THE PANETTA DOCTRINE: And why it fails on multiple levels.

RELATED: “So what does the President do when he takes responsibility?”

Hit Vegas, of course.

NEAL STEPHENSON SPOKE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON LAW SCHOOL recently, about his novel Reamde. You can see the video here.

There’s an audio version here.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: How To Support Rand Simberg and CEI Against Michael Mann.

SULLY SAYS WHAT? “You put a map of the Civil War over this electoral map, you’ve got the Civil War…”

Or, maybe you don’t. But you do have someone channeling the epic meltdown by ABC’s Carole Simpson immediately after the 2004 presidential election (on an ABC show, to boot).

Besides — are we the Confederacy or the Weimar Republic? It’s not easy keeping track of all of the negative historical metaphors that describe America in Andrew’s mind.

Also from today’s edition of ABC’s This Week:

ANDREW SULLIVAN, DAILY BEAST: Well, I’m sorry, but Romney was a severe conservative from January to October, and now he’s a new candidate.

Perhaps Romney realized that moving to the center for the general election would better differentiate himself from the other conservative in the presidential race.

UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Andrew knows even less about American history than he knows about American culture and politics, something he’s demonstrated repeatedly. He should stick to his core area of expertise, forensic obstetrics.

ANOTHER UPDATE (FROM GLENN): Reader Hal Duston writes: “If George W. Bush was Hindenburg, who is Barack Obama? Just wondering.” Heh. Maybe it’s not just American history he’s ignorant of . . . .

SANDY STORM SURGE APPROACHES worst-case scenario.