I have to wonder if the inhabitants of Gliese 851g, the newly discovered Earth-like planet in the vicinity of Libra, are speculating about the Gliese-like planet that their astronomers have just found. Or maybe they’ve known about us for a while and they’ve already dispatched a diplomatic emissary. Or an invasion fleet. Or maybe they’re just going to wait a couple hundred years to see if we can manage not to cook ourselves to death.

Does George Lucas have nothing better to do than endlessly fiddle with the Star Wars movies? His latest recycling project involves converting all six films into 3D. The first to get the treatment will be The Phantom Menace for a 2012 release. That movie was slap in the face to most old-school fans and I don’t expect it to be any better in three dimensions. I thought Lucas wanted to go back to making small, personal films again. Perhaps some of his friends could organize an intervention and put an end to this nonsense before he starts thinking about 3-Difying the Christmas special as well.

Polling of the gubernatorial race over the last week has supporters of all three major candidates gnashing their teeth. A Rasmussen poll had Democrats on edge when it showed Republican Tom Emmer with a slight lead. But over the weekend, a Star Tribune poll showing Dayton with a nine-point lead had Republicans crying foul. Independent candidate Horner also fares significantly better in the Strib poll, although he’s still well behind the other candidates. MinnPost has an excellent article up on the historical accuracy of the various polls. In short, the Strib gets it right more often than not while Rasmussen’s track record is more dubious. But the statistic that gives me the most comfort comes from Nate Silver at the essential FiveThirtyEight blog: his modeling shows that Dayton has a 78% chance of winning the election. I am by no means certain of the result and I’ll still be obsessively clicking on my web browser’s Reload button on Election Night, but I’m starting to think that this race might be the one bright spot in an otherwise dismal evening.

Today’s NY Times is running a series of articles profiling families that will benefit from protections in the Affordable Care Act that take effect today. One family has a daughter with a severe form of spinal muscular atrophy and they no longer have to worry about hitting the lifetime benefit cap. The Affordable Care Act prohibits insurance companies from placing lifetime caps on benefits, which means that this child and other people with severe disabilities will continue to receive the care they need.

Meanwhile, Republicans are gleefully pitching their plans to repeal the ACA with…something. Of course, they pledge to keep all the popular features of the law (like the ban on benefit caps and the prohibition of discrimination against people with preexisting conditions), but they are determined to repeal the mandate that everyone have insurance. Removal of the mandate will render those protections meaningless because insurers will be denied the healthier customer base that a mandate would provide, forcing the people who need coverage to pay exorbitant premiums. I doubt that Republicans will actually succeed in their plans, but this is just one example of the intellectually and ethically bankrupt thinking that will likely hold sway in the House for the next couple years.

Boardwalk Empire is HBO’s new prestige series set in Atlantic City at the dawn of the 1920s, just as Prohibition is becoming the law of the land. Nucky Thompson is the crooked county treasurer who is wasting no time setting in motion his plans to make sure that Atlantic City stays soaking wet. In the first episode, he strikes deals with the major Chicago and New York gangs to keep the booze flowing and soon learns that maintaining control of a criminal enterprise is no easy task. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the pilot is of a piece with his previous studies of the underworld–meticulous attention is paid to period detail and the violence is unapologetically graphic.

It’s difficult to assess a series based on one episode, but HBO seems to have struck gold again. The pilot does what a good pilot should–keep the viewer intrigued enough to watch the next episode. Steve Buscemi’s Nucky doesn’t give off the same sociopathic menace as a Tony Soprano; he’s less dramatic and more practical, although I expect he’ll become more faceted as the series progresses. Boardwalk Empire is also one of the most gorgeous television shows in recent memory. The cinematography and set design imbue the gaudy Jazz Age extravagance of Atlantic City with a hyperreal sheen.

HBO has already renewed the series for a second season, so there’s no need to worry that the story will come to a premature end. It’s well worth your time.