SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:57 P.M. ET: 

THE BONKERS WATCH – FROM DAILYWIRE:  Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election was so massive that it was equivalent to the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attacks in which approximately 3,000 Americans died.  “I think there a lot more connections that have yet to come to light,” Clinton told an audience in London on Sunday, BuzzFeed News reported. “If I had been elected I would have called for an independent commission to get to the bottom of it.”  Clinton proceeded to compare her election loss to the 9/11 attacks, citing “intelligence veterans.”  There's a time when the men in the white suits come, they take you to a lovely place with trees and hills, and they feed you oatmeal and little tablets.  And you stay there, and you don't make speeches.  For one presidential candidate we know, that tîme has come.  The husband can visit.

UNEXPECTED – FROM FOX:   Republican Roy Moore, the anti-Republican establishment candidate, is tied at 42 percent apiece with Democrat Doug Jones in the U.S. Senate race in deep-red Alabama.  A Fox News Poll also finds that among just the 53 percent of Alabama registered voters who are extremely or very interested in the race, Jones has a one-point edge over Moore (46-45 percent).  The special election to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is December 12.  The competitiveness of the race is striking.  Donald Trump won Alabama by 28 points in 2016, yet the Steve Bannon-backed Moore defeated the president’s favored candidate, incumbent Luther Strange, in the GOP primary.  A stunning poll result.  This was assumed to be an easy win for the GOP.  But Moore is a difficult, controversial character.  He correctly condemns the liberal attempt to rip religion from public life, but may well go, even for conservative Alabama, too far in the other direction.

WHAA...? FOR BEING A CLOWN? – FROM THE MIAMI HERALD:   As Halloween nears, many are considering clown pranks for fright night fun.  At least one sheriff’s office in the state says don’t even think of playing a creepy clown if your aim is mischief.  Volusia County Sheriff’s Office issued a stern warning on its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon.  “Warning to evil clowns and anyone considering creepy clown activity: We will not be there to save you if your intended target defends himself or herself, and you may face other penalties as well,” the post read.  The warning was issued after an 11-year-old boy told deputies Monday that he was nearly attacked in DeLand by a man dressed as a clown, WESH 2 reported. The boy told deputy Justin Lococo he was riding his bicycle and as he approached Pine Ridge High School, a clown jumped from behind a light pole and bushes and tried to grab him.  The boy used his metal selfie stick to whack the clown multiple times, he said.  This is what it's come to.  Even clowns have become dangerous.  And I'm not talking about John Kerry.

October 17,  2017