October 19, 2026

HEY, IT’S A THOUGHT:

Posted at 8:06 am by Glenn Reynolds

ANDY KESSLER: Have Some Manners, People: We’re too deep in the era of ‘me, me, me’ to care about common decency and courtesy. “I’m not pining for a return to the Victorian era, but politeness and decency should include respect, common interest and nailing a spike into today’s rampant narcissism. Many of my incoming emails are as courteous as a mule kick to the head. I’m used to it, but please don’t dictate a response to this column on your next flight.”

Well, it’s hard to be polite in this environment:

Posted at 8:00 am by Glenn Reynolds

EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY (RUSSO-UKRAINE WAR EDITION): Blaze at St. Petersburg oil sites as Kyiv launches more than 1,000 drones at Russia. “One person was killed, and five more were wounded in the attack, which sparked fires at both the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot, said local Gov. Alexander Beglov. A logistics center belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a data center for local tech giant VK were also targeted, both companies confirmed.”

Posted at 7:32 am by Stephen Green

October 18, 2026

BUY GUNS AND AMMUNITION, BECAUSE IF THIS HAPPENS WE’RE LOOKING AT CIVIL WAR:

Posted at 10:51 pm by Glenn Reynolds

GENEROSITY IS WASTED ON THE EVIL.

Posted at 10:08 pm by Glenn Reynolds

OPEN THREAD: Make me proud.

Posted at 9:30 pm by Glenn Reynolds

OH, TO BE IN ENGLAND: Mother referred to Prevent for ‘over-identifying with Israel.’

When Holly Passmore heard a knock at her front door at about 11am on July 4 last year, she assumed it was an Amazon delivery.

Instead, the 44-year-old mother-of-two from County Durham found two plain-clothes police officers on her doorstep wanting to know why she had recently visited Israel.

“They said it was a safeguarding matter,” recalled Ms Passmore, who cares for her nine-year-old son, Rex, who has severe autism, while studying for a master’s degree.

She assumed they were concerned she had taken her son into a war zone.

“I said, ‘Well, my son didn’t go to Israel. He stayed here with my mum and my daughter, who’s 20’,” she recalled. But the female officer replied: “No this is about you – because you may be at risk of manipulation.”

The officers from Durham Constabulary were investigating an anonymous referral to Prevent, the Government’s counter-extremism programme.

British authorities once again do the meme:

Posted at 8:14 pm by Ed Driscoll

INDEED:

UPDATE:

Plus:

I predict extra sanctimony.

Posted at 7:41 pm by Glenn Reynolds

NOW WILL THE FRENCH GET SERIOUS?

Posted at 6:46 pm by Stephen Green

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: Read this before you buy the ‘blue tsunami’ hype.

The news is awash these days with poll-inspired expectations about Democrats winning big in next month’s midterm elections. USA Today declared the other day that “the expected blue wave could be even bigger than expected, and could not only give Democrats control of the House, but also the Senate.” Even more expansively, Huffington Post proclaimed: “Historic victories are seemingly within grasp” for Democrats.

And yet, solid reasons exist for treating such poll-based narratives cautiously, even warily, given that surveys are inherently fragile instruments for measuring an ephemeral electorate. As data journalist Nate Silver has noted, “It’s not unreasonable to approach election polls from a position of mild — maybe even more-than-mild — skepticism.”

This is not to say poll-driven expectations are bound for error. They might be accurate; the Democrats might enjoy a “blue tsunami” of electoral success next month.

But there are compelling reasons for tempering pre-election headiness — reasons that are rooted in polling’s checkered past. The following summary of recent shortcomings in election polling offers context and justification for tapping the brakes about poll-driven high hopes this year.

Read the whole thing – and don’t get cocky, to coin an Insta-phrase.

Earlier:

Posted at 6:45 pm by Ed Driscoll