SIGN ME UP: Could Gab Finally Be the Free Speech Twitter Alternative?

DON’T DO STUPID SH*T: NATO’s Foothold in Eastern Med Is Faltering.

While China and Russia are providing Greece and Turkey with much needed support, their involvement could compromise Western security. Athens and Ankara may side with Beijing and Moscow when it comes to NATO security concerns involving China, North Korea and Russia, for example, if they become too dependent on Chinese and Russian assistance. It would take just one country withholding support to prevent an action by NATO that is not in the interest of China or Russia since NATO only takes action when every member agrees.

Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu has already made some worrying remarks about Turkey’s NATO membership. Cavusoglu has publicly justified Turkey’s growing relationship with Russia bystating, “Turkey wanted to cooperate with NATO members up to this point. But the results we got did not satisfy us. Therefore, it is natural to look for other options.” This is concerning because NATO relations with Russia have been strained since Moscow invaded Ukraine and increased its aggressive behavior on the alliance’s eastern flank. A NATO member making such statements suggests that Turkey finds more value in a closer relationship with Russia. Minister Cavusoglu also warned that “if the West loses Turkey one day, it will not be because of Turkey’s relations with Russia, China or the Islamic world, but rather because of themselves.” The West must address Turkey’s concerns to prevent the loss of a geopolitically significant ally.

Obama wanted us out of the Middle East, and after seven years we’re well on our way — but it won’t stop there.

ROLL CALL: Curt Schilling Floats Challenge to Elizabeth Warren: Former Red Sox pitcher wants to take out Massachusetts Democratic senator.

Do it. If Mike Ditka had gone ahead with his Senate run, we’d have been spared President Obama.

MICHAEL BARONE: Is the end of white Christian America a good thing?

Well, it is for wide swatches of the far left. (QED.) But it’s also a reminder of ExJon’s tweet of the decade:

LOOKING OUT FOR THE LITTLE GUY: Small business owner: FDA rules threaten Florida heritage of hand-rolled cigars.

The FDA recently released its long-dreaded rule that asserted the agency’s authority to regulate a wide variety of nicotine-delivery products. Much of the media attention zeroed in on the fairly new vaping, or “e-cigarette,” industry. By the FDA’s own admission, its new rule would make 98.5 percent of those products on the market illegal. What has been largely missed by the media, but not the small business owners like my wife and me, is that these regulations would devastate the hand-rolled cigar industry.

The new FDA rules would force all new premium cigars to undergo a “pre-market review process.” This process requires that manufacturers prove their products meet certain requirements before they can go to market by submitting hundreds if not thousands of hours of paperwork per product. Since the FDA defines new cigars to include new blends, which can change seasonally for smaller manufacturers, the compliance costs could overwhelm many small-cigar businesses.

This isn’t about promoting health; it’s about securing money and power.

EXCUSES, EXCUSES. Merkel: Germany Had Islamic Extremism Before Refugee Influx.

Merkel said late Wednesday that “the phenomenon of Islamist terrorism by IS isn’t a phenomenon that came to us with the refugees, it’s one that we had before too.”

She conceded, however, “it can be seen that there are attempts to win over refugees (for terrorism), or we had the case of Paris, where refugees were deliberately smuggled in by IS.”

Merkel was speaking at a campaign event in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where her Christian Democrats face strong competition from the nationalist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party in state elections on Sept. 4.

The country was shaken by a string of attacks in July, two of which were the first in Germany claimed by the Islamic State group. In those, only the attackers — both asylum-seekers — were killed.

Would she try treating lung cancer with Marlboros?

THE HILL: Trump hurts GOP, but probably not enough to flip House.

Trump’s combative campaign is hurting Republicans down the ballot — but not enough to flip control of the House in November.

The House advantage has shifted steadily in favor of the Democrats since Trump won the GOP nomination, in the eyes of leading election handicappers.

Yet Democrats still appear far short of flipping the 30 seats they’d need to win back the lower chamber. The GOP’s 247 seats represents the party’s largest majority since before the Great Depression.

“In the House, I have yet to see evidence that Republicans are tanking as a result of Trump being on the ballot,” said David Wasserman, an expert on House races at the Cook Political Report.

Election analysts emphasize that a wave election delivering power back to the Democrats remains possible. But Wasserman put the odds at only between 10 and 20 percent and predicts Democrats will pick up between 10 and 20 House seats — far shy of the 30 needed to win back control.

It’s 2016, so the balance of the House will probably be determined by space aliens.

PATTY HEARST: THE ORIGINAL CELEBRITY RADICAL.

Well, I’d go with Leonard Bernstein, but to be fair, he just wanted bankroll the Black Panthers, not go out on terrorist runs with them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP. THANKS, EGON: “Would remind all that this material is classified. So this is leaking of classified material,” tweets…Hillary for America’s communications director Jennifer Palmieri. Cluelessness? Chutzpah? You make the call!

ED RENDELL: Clinton Foundation should be disbanded if Clinton wins.

And, since it’s basically just an influence-peddling operation, it will disband itself if Clinton loses.

I HAVE A WEAK SPOT FOR BLACK CATS: And I can tell you they’re almost impossible to photograph, which is why we have one decent photograph of the late great Petronius the Arbiter and so far none of Euclid-cat.  This woman is not just doing something good, she’s doing something amazing. Woman Photographs Black Shelter Cats to Help Them Get Adopted.

THANK HEAVENS AMERICANS CAN DO THINGS DESPITE THEIR GOVERNMENT: Meet The Heroes Of The ‘Cajun Navy’ Who Are Saving Many Lives As Louisiana Floods.

THE REST OF US DEMAND THAT SJWs SHUT THEIR YAPS ALREADY: SJWs Demand ‘Deus Ex‘ Video Game Not Let Gamers Make ‘Immoral’ Decisions.  Feminists, they morphed into the Temperance League so gradually that THEY haven’t noticed.  The rest of us have though.  Oh, have we ever.

BECAUSE MONEY LAUNDERING: $400 Million Payment to Iran Looking More Like Ransom for American Prisoners

IN THAT IT IS ESSENTIALLY A RANSOM: $400 Million Payment to Iran Looking More Like Ransom for American Prisoners.

WELL, WE MUST BE UNDERSTANDING.  HE FIDDLES EVEN WORSE THAN HE GOLFS: President Barack Obama emerged from his Martha’s Vineyard vacation for a fundraiser, but he didn’t mention any of the devastating events currently affecting the United States.

OF COURSE HE DID. INTELLECTUAL CONSISTENCY IS FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE: EXPOSED: ‘Climate crusader’ California governor Jerry Brown took huge sums of money from “big oil”.

OF COURSE SHE DOES: These intellectual prostitutes always do. Wonkette Writer Forgives Bill Clinton For Rape … Because It Was the ’80s!

IT’S ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL YOU KILL YOUR OWN GRANDAD: Professor solved time-reversal violation.  On the serious side, this is fun, but … like a certain branch of mathematics, more or less a beautiful thought experiment.  (Don’t tell my husband I said that.)

YES, THIS IS CORSICA, LAND OF NAPOLEON, AND YET THE FEEL OF THIS IS OF A SIGN OF THINGS TO COME: Corsica brawl: Five hurt in clashes on French beach.

HELLO COMMIES, WHEN EVEN THE AP REVILES YOU, IT’S TIME TO GIVE UP: Communist Group Members Go to Milwaukee to Help With the Revolution.  Alternate intro “Of course they did.”

THE AUTHOR IS YOUNG.  DESPAIR IS NORMAL TO THE YOUNG: He ignores several contrary trends.  That said, he’s absolutely right about the Clintons, and the would-be-noblemen.  

HOW TO REDUCE BURGLARIES: Family becomes firing squad as intruder is shot by almost every member of the household.

OBAMA’S ON VACATION, BUT THESE GUYS ARE STEPPING UP: “Cajun Navy” of Privately-Owned Boats Patrolling Flood-Stricken Louisiana to Save People and Animals.

Flashback: American Dunkirk. More on that here.

LONG-TERM TEST: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe. Oil consumption?