The Persian Puzzle: As President Trump weighs how tough to be on Iran, he has appointed a hawkish new national security adviser, his fourth after just 2 ½ years as President. Robert O’Brien has been the State Department’s chief hostage negotiator.

  Trump has both threatened military action and said he is reluctant to use it. Yesterday he told reporters, “And you know, there’s plenty of time to do some dastardly things. It’s very easy to start.”

 Saudi authorities displayed wreckage of weapons used to attack their oil facilities saying they say are clearly identifiable as Iranian. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the attacks were “an act of war.” Some of the harshest military options include strikes on Iran’s Abadan oil refinery, one of the world’s largest, or Kharg Island, the country’s biggest oil export facility, but doing that could lead to a Middle east mess.

 Non-violent possibilities include cyber-attacks and even tougher economic sanctions.

   Iran’s foreign minister responded saying any attack on his country would lead to all-out war. They have a powerful military.

  As for Robert O’Brien, the new national security adviser, Jonathan Stevenson, a former member of the National Security Council, writes in The NY Times, “The president seems to have found a compliant, behind-the-scenes worker bee better suited to Mr. Trump’s domineering temperament. His appointment may signal the death knell of any hope to check the president’s worst foreign-policy impulses.”

Loss of Face:Facing what may be a tough fight for re-election, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is apologizing for wearing brownface and blackface after a yearbook picture surfaced showing him at an “Arabian Nights” party in 2001. 

  The picture taken while Trudeau was a teacher at the private West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver, shows the then-29-year-old wearing a feathered turban, his face darkened.   “I attended an end-of-year gala where the theme was Arabian nights. I dressed up in an Aladdin costume and put makeup on,” Trudeau said at a news conference yesterday. “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have known better, but I didn’t, and I’m really sorry.”

 Trudeau also admitted wearing blackface in high school while immitating Harry Belafonte and singing the song “Day-O” at a talent show.

   The handsome and charming Trudeau is losing his glow. Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer called the brownface photo “an act of open mockery and racism.”

Special Interest:The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point yesterday, its second cut since late July in an effort to stave off recession. Fed officials say they expect one more cut this year, based on economic projections. 

  The economy is weakening. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, “Our eyes are open, we’re watching the situation.”

  Nevertheless, President Trump used Twitter to attack the Fed chairman he appointed. He said, “Jay Powell and the Federal Reserve Fail Again. No ‘guts,’ no sense, no vision! A terrible communicator!”

Under Water: Beaumont and much of Southeast Texas isbeing inundated with as much two or more feet of rain dumped by Tropical Depression Imelda. 

Streets and the ground floors of buildings are flooded, and many roads are impassable.

  Beaumont got an average of 12 inches of rain in 12 hours. One rain gauge in Jefferson County recorded a total of 33.6 inches.

The News Roundup:The Pentagon says it has paid $184,000 over the last two years to house flight crews at President Trump’s Scotland golf resort. —As more cases of vaping-related illness are reported, CNN, CBSand Viacomare barring advertisements by e-cigarette companies.— Fights broke out in Beverly Hills yesterday as pro and anti-Trump demonstrators mingled outside the venue where the President attended fund-raiser.

Cuppa Joe:It’s been quite a while since someone in the Pacific Northwest got the idea to have barely dressed young women serve customers at coffee kiosks. The so-called “bikini baristas” have been popular with male customers and a bane to local city officials who have tried to regulate them.

  Now a Seattle kiosk is featuring shirtless young men wearing only short shorts and a bow tie like a Playboy bunny. The motto at Dreamboyz Espresso; “Hot Guys Serving Hot Coffee.”

We’ll be at Starbucks.

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