“Five hundred and thirty seven. The number of votes that changed the course of American history … If you’re thinking that your vote doesn’t count, that it won’t matter. Well, back then, there were probably at least 537 people who felt the same way.”

We get the Government we elect. Don't forget to vote. [More...]

Former President Bill Clinton is in town, campaigning for President Obama. At 5:30 pm, he held a campaign rally in Adams County, near Denver. At 7:30 pm, he will be at Denver's Manual High School.

On Thursday, President Obama will campaign in Boulder.

Sounds like a "Get Out the Vote" effort, since Denver, Boulder and Adams County are largely Democratic.

In Mitt Romney news, I just muted the TV. The same ad has come on twice in 15 minutes: an elderly woman talking about how Mitt gave the eulogy at her 14 year old son's funeral -- more than 30 years ago. That qualifies him to be President? It's sickening to see those making his campaign ads (in this case Crossroads) use this elderly woman and exploit her son's death. Is there anything Mitt Romney won't try and capitalize on? Mitt Romney: Capitalize and Privatize.

Judge Debra Nelson has rejected the state's second request for a gag order in the George Zimmerman case. The two page order is here.

By now, Martin family lawyer Benjamin Crump should have disclosed to the defense everyone who was present on March 19 when he recorded a telephone interview with Witness 8, referred to as "Dee Dee." ABC News reporter Matt Gutman has previously said he was there, as were the parents of Trayvon Martin, whom he described as "ashen-faced" while listening to the call. At the hearing on Friday, October 19, the Judge told Crump to disclose the names to Zimmerman's defense team within 10 days. Background here. [More...]

Here's an open thread, all topics welome.

A new Mitt Romney ad began airing over the weekend,

The 30-second spot shows cars being crushed as a narrator says Obama “sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China. Mitt Romney will fight for every American job.”

At a campaign event last week, the one at which Meatloaf butchered America the Beautiful, Romney said "he read a story somewhere" that "Jeep, now owned by the Italians, is thinking of moving all production to China... “I will fight for every good job in America, I’m going to fight to make sure trade is fair.”

Jeeps production is not being outsourced to China. Chrysler says it has no intention of moving production, even for the new Jeep Patriot. To the contrary, it says it is increasing production at its Toledo and Detroit plants, with up to 2,200 new jobs.[More...]

Mitt Romney is pathetic. He's holding a "storm relief" campaign event tomorrow -- in Ohio, with NASCAR driver Richard Petty and singer Randy Owen. Is there anything the shameless know-nothing won't exploit in his attempt to win the election? AmericaBlog has more.

Earlier today, as his MittMobile van drove around, supposedly collecting supplies, he asked people to donate canned goods and blankets. Had he bothered to check the Red Cross website, he would have seen this is exactly what the relief agencies advises against doing. It can actually impede aid efforts.

Hey, Mitt, if you want to help, how about writing a check and making a personal donation? Or better yet, staying out of the way.

On a lighter note, check out #romneystormtips and #mittstormtips on Twitter -- some funny ones below: [More..]

Here's the flooding of the Battery Tunnel earlier today. Lower New York is flooded. There are three feet of water on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange. [Added: Reports now say that is false.] There was an explosion at a Con Ed plant in lower Manhattan.

What's happening at MCC New York, on Foley Square, and MDC Brooklyn, New York's federal detention centers? [More...]

Update: 13 dead, 5 million without power.

The National Hurricane Center has downgraded Sandy from a hurricane to a post-tropical storm. The eye has just made landfall in Southern New Jersey.

Con Ed has cut power to all of lower Manhattan. More than 600,00 are without power in NYC, Westchester, Long Island and CT and will be for days. CNN says 2.2 million are without power in all of the affected states. The flooding is extensive and is expected to get worse.

How big is the storm surge?

"We are looking at the highest storm surges ever recorded" in the Northeast, said Jeff Masters, meteorology director for Weather Underground..... "The energy of the storm surge is off the charts, basically."

(Jackson Browne and Joan Baez.) Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit landfall today. Let us know how your are doing.

At least you don't have to deal with this group in charge:

Please send good thoughts to the inmates at Rikers Island and MCC Manhattan and MDC Brooklyn, and the thousands more in local county jails in the affected regions..

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Sending good thoughts to all of you in the path of Hurricane Sandy. Let us know how you are doing, especially if you were asked to evacuate but decided to stay put.

Although I'm safe and dry here in Colorado, TalkLeft's servers are near LaGuardia airport. If they go down, here is TalkLeft's backup site -- you may want to bookmark it now because otherwise it will be hard to find.

Some links: National Hurricane Center Sandy Advisories; The weather channel's Hurricane Sandy page; the Wall St Journal live updating page. On Twitter: The Weather Channel's Hurricane Central; @FEMA @CraigatFEMA @Readydotgov @RedCross @NHC_Atlantic

Mayor Bloomberg's response to a question about the protecting the inmates on Riker's Island: "Don't worry about anybody getting out." Is he term-limited yet? [More on the Rikers prisoners][More...]

Here's the same performance with better video but not as clear audio. Here's a Dylan/Rolling Thunder version from Norway, 2011. And an audio only version from the Live at Budokan album. [More...]

Hurricane Sandy could be the biggest storm to ever hit the United States. It could cover 800 miles and 50 to 60 million people.

A Tsunami has hit Hawaii. Evacuations are underway.

[Update 4:50 a.m.] Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to reporters:

– "The tsunami is arriving right now. I can't say how big it is because it's coming in as we speak."
"Typically the first wave is not the largest. Having inconvenienced everybody by making them evacuate in the middle of the night, I was hoping it would be bigger. The following waves I am sure will be bigger."

To all our friends on the east coast, and those in in Hawaii please be safe, and let us know how you are doing.