WE SHOULD PUT A STIFF EXCISE TAX ON THE BLUE AREAS TO DISCOURAGE DEVELOPMENT: Map Shows Where Sea Level Rise Will Drown American Cities.

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EVERYONE AT TONIGHT’S DEBATE SHOULD BE ASKED IF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY NEEDS TO DO MORE ABOUT ITS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROBLEM: Levin Staffer Arrested for Allegedly Beating Lover With Shovel.

Baltimore City Police arrested an aide to Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., at around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 8 for criminal domestic violence charges.

Tim Foster, a native of Henderson, Ky., brutally beat his male lover with a small black and red shovel, according to a police report obtained by CQ Roll Call, leaving the victim hospitalized with abrasions and bruises on his upper back, neck and torso.

The dispute started around 12:30 a.m. inside a Northwest Baltimore home, when Foster, 32, got into a verbal argument with the 39-year-old black male identified as his boyfriend.

Foster put his boyfriend in a choke hold and stated, “I want to kill you. Die dirty faggy,” the man later told police. Foster released him, then allegedly grabbed a stainless kitchen knife. As the boyfriend fled toward the stairs, Foster chased him and warned, “When you reach the fifth step, I am going to stab you.”

Foster lunged at his boyfriend with the knife. But Foster’s wife “got in the way” and the knife then fell to the floor, the report states.

The boyfriend told police he attempted to escape the property, but was again assaulted by Foster.

But somehow this sort of thing only reflects on a party when it’s done by Republicans.

THE FUTURE: More Life, Less Death. Let’s hope.

YOU’RE WELCOME?: “The Mullahs Say Thanks.”  The Wall Street Journal editorial board opines today on the diplomatic and political fallout (pun intended) from the Iran nuclear deal:

President Obama and his foreign-policy admirers—a dwindling lot—hoped that the nuclear deal would make Iran more open to cooperation in the Middle East and with the U.S. Mark this down as another case in which the world is disappointing the American President.

Iran’s judiciary on Monday announced thatJason Rezaian, the Washington Post’s Tehran correspondent, has been convicted. He was on trial for “espionage.” . . .

The timing of the conviction won’t escape students of history. Friday was the 444th day of his captivity. That was the number of days U.S. diplomats in Iran spent as hostages following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Mr. Rezaian’s conviction three days later is the mullah equivalent of mailing a dead fish to an adversary. . . .

On Sunday the regime tested a new long-range, guided ballistic missile code-named Emad (“Pillar”) in violation of the nuclear deal. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231—which passed shortly after the agreement to harmonize its provisions with international law—prohibits Iran from conducting ballistic-missile work for eight years.

But the mullahs are nothing if not impatient, and the Islamic Republic has already made clear that it doesn’t intend to abide by the provisions of Resolution 2231 it dislikes. Testifying before the Senate over the summer, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly vowed to sanction Iran if it cheated on missiles. Well, here’s an early test case, Mr. Secretary.

The more likely outcome is that the Obama Administration will find a way to explain that the missile test doesn’t violate the nuclear accord that Mr. Obama considers a crowning achievement. . . .

But hey, Iran violating a nuclear deal by immediately testing ballistic missiles shouldn’t worry anyone. Nothing to see here.

TO BOLDLY GO WHERE FOX BUTTERFIELD HAS GONE BEFORE: The Economist asks, “America’s crime rate declined for years, while prison admissions continued to climb. Why?”

It’s a question as old as time. Or at least the New York Times.

THE CHANGING FACE OF ROBOTICS.

FEEL THE BERN: WHY NO PROGRESSIVE INQUISITORS AT THE DEMOCRATIC DEBATE? “I would pay good money to have a moderator up on that stage tonight who would consider it his or her sworn duty to make all the candidates applaud the Occupy movement as modern-day Founding Fathers, call for the confiscation of privately-held guns, explain that abortion should be legal until you can see the baby’s eyes, and whatnot.”

In other words, given CNN’s role as Democratic operatives with bylines and lavalier mics, to ask the question is to answer it.

THE STUPID PARTY DOESN’T EARN ITS NICKNAME FOR NOTHING: Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) Calls Himself and Left-Leaning Republicans the ‘Governing Wing’ — And that’s exactly why he shouldn’t govern anything.

Read the whole thing.

RUN, LARRY, RUN! Larry Lessig Hints He Might Run for President as an Independent, Because Democratic Party is Excluding Him from October 13 Debate.

Related: Why Is Lawrence Lessig Missing From Tonight’s CNN Debate?

And here’s my column on how Democrats are squelching Lessig.

UPDATE: Reminder: CNN Debate Moderator Was Member of Clinton Global Initiative.

A NEW TEENAGE PROBLEM: Compulsive Texting.

“OUTSIDER” GOP CANDIDATES BEATING CLINTON HANDILY: The latest Fox News poll, released today, shows that the three “outsider” GOP presidential candidates–Trump, Fiorina and Carson–would all beat Hillary Clinton if the election were held today.  Carson is +11; Trump is +5; and Fiorina is +3.  Jeb! is +4 as well.

These numbers suggest Clinton’s campaign is in serious trouble, but also suggest–contrary to earlier reports–that the raw, politically incorrect positions espoused by outsiders like Trump, Fiorina and Carson could garner enough votes to beat Clinton in the general election.

If Biden enters the race, however, the same poll indicates he would enjoy an early lead over each of these GOP candidates, at least for a little while.

FIREARMS HISTORY: The Dyer Multi-Caliber Rifle: The Gun That Could Fire Anything.

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: ‘Of course, this is a circus, it looks ridiculous from the outside. But what you see when you look at each one of these men is pain and fear – that they have been living in situations where they have been lonely.’

TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 887.

FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORMED: Army Sec: American Women Could Be Required to Register for Draft if Combat Jobs Integrated.

FRONTIERS OF FABULISM: Robert Redford’s Dan Rather Film So Bad That CBS Is Ripping It.

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE UPDATE: Central Asian Officials Say They’re Worried About Taliban’s Spread.

Despite failing to take Kunduz last week, the Taliban is advancing across Afghanistan, seemingly undeterred by U.S.-trained forces. Although a Russian return to Afghanistan seems unlikely, Central Asian officials have been making statements that could eventually justify Kremlin involvement. The Financial Times reports on the words of Kyrgyzstan’s prime minister, who claims his country is fortifying its borders, and Tajikistan’s president, who reportedly has expressed concerns to Putin about the skirmishes along his country’s borders. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the members of which Moscow promises to protect. Russia could use that relationship to justify attacks against the Taliban.
Nor are these the only officials mentioned in the story: Afghanistan’s vice-president Abdul Rashid Dostum went to Russia and Grozny, “where he met Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Mr Kadyrov wrote on his Instagram account that Kabul needed help from Russia — ‘as in Syria’ — to prevent Isis establishing a foothold…”

Just about the last thing the White House needs is Putin sending fighter jets to Afghanistan. Of course, Russia would have a tough time affording another war effort and, for all we know, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are simply complaining about the Taliban as part of a Moscow-coordinated effort to make NATO look bad.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter says NATO is considering adjusting its Afghanistan withdrawal timeline, but the White House has not announced new plans. Ultimately, whether the Taliban truly threatens other countries or not, President Obama’s failure to stabilize Afghanistan gives a nice boost to the America-as-diminished-world-power narrative.

It’s almost like Obama doesn’t mind that.

OKAY, SO LONG AS I GET TO PAY CAYMAN TAXES BUT LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES: The Case for Getting Rid of Borders—Completely: No defensible moral framework regards foreigners as less deserving of rights than people born in the right place at the right time.

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BUT SHE WON’T, BECAUSE LIES AND FALSE CHARGES OF RACISM ARE BASICALLY HER ENTIRE PORTFOLIO: Susan Rice Should Apologize to Netanyahu for Charges of Racism: Accusations that Bibi-Obama rift is fueled by racism are outrageous and must be denounced.

THEY NEED TO OVERCOME THEIR PREJUDICED STEREOTYPES AND EMBRACE DIVERSITY: Many Professors Anxious About Legally Armed Students in Their Classrooms. I’m sure that many professors in the past were uncomfortable about having women, or blacks, or openly gay students in their classrooms, too. But happily, progress marches on and people’s visceral fears and dislikes weren’t allowed to rule.

TEACH WOMEN NOT TO RAPE! (CONT’D): Volunteer Rialto choir teacher held in sex crimes case. “Veronica Lopez, 44, a Rialto resident, was booked Saturday into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on felony charges of annoying or molesting a child under 18, oral copulation with a minor and possession of child pornography.”

PETRAEUS AND O’HANLON ARE SETTING THE BAR PRETTY HIGH, BASED ON RECENT HISTORY: Acting like adults, focusing on economic growth should be at the top of the policy agenda for U.S. leaders.