THE WAR ROOM: Saudi Arabia shut down a critical oil pipeline across the Arabian peninsula following a drone attack on the pipe, causing the barrel price of oil to briefly jump to $110.

  The attack came from Iraqi territory but is believed to have been launched by some kind of Iranian affiliate. Iraq asked Saudi Arabia not to retaliate while they investigate who did it.

  The Saudi pipeline attack and shutdown has the potential to seriously raise the price of oil. Saudi oil shipments are squeezed to the west on the Persian Gulf by the war with Iran, and now in the east by movements of Houthi rebels in Yemen putting the pinch on the entryway to the Red Sea.

ECON 101: The price of diesel fuel has reached an average of $6 a gallon, a significant development that will ripple through the economy as the cost of transporting goods rises.

  The NY Times published an online graphic tracking the spike in prices for basic goods in just the past few years. A pound of steak that was $8 in 2019 is $13 now. Beef is up 96 percent since 2012 and bread is up 46 percent over that same period.

  Interestingly, clothing is up only 9 percent since 2012 and appliances are actually down 3 percent.

CAMPAIGN OF FEAR: Republican politicians around the country are running campaigns of fear about a Muslim takeover and that their Democrat opponents are communists.

  Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, one of the dumbest members of Congress, called Michigan  senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a “terrorist.” Tuberville posted, “Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed is a RADICAL ISLAMIST who will do everything he can to destroy America.” 

  NPR reports that, “Ads around the country for state and federal campaigns have featured themes on combating ‘Radical Islam’ and ‘Sharia law,’ and insisting that ‘Islamic movements have taken a foothold.’”

  South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace posted that, “Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a trojan horse, and a threat to both national security and our republic.”

  If a Democratic candidate is not Muslim then they are a communist in the minds of Republicans afraid of losing control. President Trump said at the Republican convention in Dallas this week that, “It’s going to be a communist country if they win.” 

  The NY Times counted at least 60 times a speaker at the convention mentioned communism or communists. Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana claimed, “Next year the communists will be in Congress — that’s what’s so frightening.”

INFINITE SCROLL:

— In his campaign to re-do how the Smithsonian portrays America, President Trump posted a demand that the museum remove a modernist sculpture from its front steps and ultimately replace it with a “30-foot ‘Colossus statue’ of the Father of Our Country,” George Washington.

  Trump claims that, “Under recently ended leadership, the Smithsonian created a ‘Center for Restorative History,’ and commissioned a ‘Decolonization Plan,’ to focus attention overwhelmingly on those who have been oppressed, but there is almost no attention paid to those who triumphed over great oppression, and against great odds.”

  Trump also seems to dislike modern art. He’s a literalist.

— Trump posted that, “The $5,000 Trump Dividend, given to all Adults in the United States due to the fact that our Country is taking in Trillions of Dollars of Economic Development, Investment, and Pure SUCCESS, is being criticized by “Dumocrats” who are hoping that it never happens — But it will!”

  He promises to reward the taxpayers with taxpayer money.

  Trump’s promise is contingent upon maintaining a majority in the House and Senate but he has previously reneged on promises to pay citizens dividends on tariff income and savings from the Department of Government Efficiency.

GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF IT: The contractor who refurbished the Lincoln memorial reflecting pool says that the failure of the bottom surfacing was the result of errors in workmanship and materials, not vandalism as President Trump has repeatedly claimed.

  Atlantic Industrial Coatings in an August 14^th report admitted problems in both the design and the execution of the renovation, according to documents reviewed by the NY Times. The Justice Department filed charges against several people accusing them of vandalizing the pool, and later dismissed them.

  Atlantic admits that workers did not properly apply the primer that would make the “American Flag Blue” liner stick to the bottom. The company also said that the repair plan laid out in the contract called for the layers of liner to include two chemicals that turned out to be incompatible.

  The company is repairing the pool under warranty and President Trump has not withdrawn his claims that the peeling bottom coating was the result of vandalism.  

THE SPIN RACK: Television’s “Judge Judy,” who has presided over an entertainment version of small claims court for 30 years, is passing the gavel to her son, Adam Levy. At age 83 Judy Sheindlin  said, ““I don’t want to do hair and makeup anymore.” —  Singer Lady Gaga has had a baby with her fiancé, Michael Polansky. Gaga is 40. Name and sex of the baby have not been revealed. — Nashville’s airport is going to be re-named after the late Dolly Parton.

BELOW THE FOLD: The CBS magazine show “60 Minutes,” which went on the air 59 years ago with three correspondent hosts, kicks off its 59^th season tomorrow night with a re-vamped format and a cast of 10, some of whom are previously known to the American public.

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