BLAST FROM THE PAST: I ran across this in the archives, a memory of when Barack Obama was still a PorkBuster. Talk about change.

WARNING OF YEN DEVALUATION: Andrew Evans-Pritchard in the Telegraph: Japan to join currency wars as exports slump.

CHANGE SAME: CNN: Obama’s plan not “significantly new,” just same old stuff repackaged. “Reporting the release of the new Obama agenda two weeks out from the election, CNN’s Jessica Yellin came out visibly annoyed: ‘There’s not anything significantly new in here, it’s just all compiled in a nice booklet now.'”

OBAMA’S (NON) “PLAN”:   (1) Stay the course (more of the same); (2) and besides, everything is hunky dory and getting better each day!! [insert rainbows and unicorns here].  Listen and read for yourself.  It can be summed up in one word (sound):  Cha-ching!!!

OKAY, BUT IT CAN’T CARRY A TUNE: Beluga whale imitates his keepers’ voices.

TRUMP SAYS HE HAS OCTOBER SURPRISE:  Donald Trump told Fox & Friends that he’ll reveal a “bombshell” on Obama tomorrow (Wed.).  Hmmm…….  This election season is zany– I guess because the stakes are so high.

RASMUSSEN: Romney 50, Obama 46.

UPDATE: Video: Romney wins CBS Focus Group in Ohio. “The silent sadness of the CBS newswoman’s face at 0:29… hilarious. So funny that these newsfolk don’t activate actorly skills to project the appearance of professionalism and neutrality.”

ANOTHER UPDATE: Rasmussen Swing-State Poll: Romney 50, Obama 45.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN ON PREFERENCE CASCADES: Will cocooned liberals be surprised by Romney? (Bumped).

THE JEWISH VOTE & THE BRADLEY EFFECT:  Ira Sharkansky at the Jerusalem Post suggests that there may be a “Bradley effect” at play among Jewish voters in the presidential election.  His definition of the Bradley effect is somewhat different, I think, than the typical one offered– namely, that voters will say they are going to vote for a non-white candidate, only to vote against the non-white candidate in the privacy of the voter booth.  The implication, then, is that there is some racial animosity going on.

But what Sharkansky suggests is actually something different, methinks: That Jewish voters will publicly maintain their allegiance to President Obama, but end up voting against him this November– not because he’s black, but because of his overtly anti-Israeli actions.  It’s a  symptom of political correctness syndrome, a nasty, ubiquitous, and contagious disease.

In an email exchange with an American Jewish colleague, Sharkansky received this confession:

My best friends would disown me, and I would lose all credibility and professional effectiveness, if I came out of the closet as an Obama-skeptic, let alone a potential Romney voter.

Ah, sweet, sweet political correctness!  Just ask black Republican congressional contender Mia love.  Or actress Stacey Dash.

ROBERT SAMUELSON: Obamacare’s rhetoric vs. its reality. “Obamacare has faded as a campaign issue, perhaps because it doesn’t suit either the president or Mitt Romney. It’s not popular, a minus for Barack Obama. Its resemblance to Romney’s Massachusetts program is a minus for him. But Obamacare’s relentless march to full-fledged introduction in 2014 demonstrates that, for all its good intentions, it will make the health-care system more confusing (see above), costly and contentious. It won’t control health spending — the system’s main problem — and will weaken job creation. . . . The argument about Obamacare is often framed as a moral issue. It’s the caring and compassionate against the cruel and heartless. That’s the rhetoric; the reality is different.”

STOP THE PRESSES:  Obama has a plan.  (Okay, it’s a stupid plan, but it’s a plan.)

ALPHA CENTAURI and the New Astronomy.

OBAMA VOTERS, EXPLAINED:  A postage stamp is sufficient to write what these people know about the economy.  Warning — Link goes to Democratic Underground.  But for your horrified perusal, here is an excerpt from the bucket of fail:

Let’s say that you have the ability to print your currency using your computer printer, and every merchant accepted your printouts as a valid exchange for goods and services. You need to pick up your dry cleaning? You printout a $20 bill and your cleaners hand over your garments without question. Same would be true for your mortgage, groceries, car note, etc. Your creditors even accept your printouts as payment on your debts.

Given this, how can you ever be broke? Answer, you cannot be broke. The U.S. government is not in debt simply because it can create currency to pay off the debt, and our creditors gladly accept our currency as payment on our debts. You see, the world needs our dollars because the world needs oil, and in order to buy oil, you need dollars, which means that the world needs to stockpile dollars, and that means that the U.S. can print all of the money that it wants without incurring massive hikes in interest rates to attract lenders.

WHY didn’t I think of that before?  We have a color printer.  This silly thing called a job?  Bah.  I’m printing money.  HOW is it possible these people live in the same world we do and understand so little?  HOW?

IGNORANT PRESIDENT IS IGNORANT: About Those Horses And Ships.

THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN:  Brought to you by the letter “B”:

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN RELIGION:  An intriguing blog post in the Jerusalem Post notes the Obama Administration’s unmistakeable pattern of political correctness–flowing toward Islam and away from Israel.   Are Jewish voters in the U.S. noticing this, or does their liberalism trump their Judaism?

ELENA KAGAN: “I’m hoping to bag myself an antelope.”

AT AMAZON, coupons galore in Electronics.

PAUL BEDARD: D’oh: Obama ads boost enthusiasm for Romney.

GOVERNMENT HEALTHCARE: Toxic Joint Implants Improved By EU Regulators On The Take.

TWO NETWORKS IN ONE: Chris Matthews to Romney Supporter: Benghazi WAS All About YouTube Video, ‘Read the Newspaper!’

…Or watch video at MSNBC.com.

NOT EXACTLY AN ENDORSEMENT: How Dating In Your 20s Is Like Reality TV.

Two weeks from today. Quincy, Illinois, 2009. Taken with the Panasonic Lumix LX-3.

OBAMA LINE ABOUT HORSES, BAYONETS FAILS FACT-CHECK. And the Navy calls submarines boats, not ships.

RELATED: “Speaking of Bayonets… this is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, MISTER President — Note the equipment used there.”