IF TRUMP’S SO UNPOPULAR, why haven’t Democrats capitalized on it?

AT AMAZON, save in Storage and Home Organization.

Plus, late summer savings in Patio Lawn and Garden.

ANTIFA BOMBER arrested in Houston.

FULL TEXT OF TRUMP’S SPEECH. My own take: Go big or go home. 4,000 extra troops is an Obama-like approach.

BOB MCMANUS: Trouble Again at Sea: The collision of the USS John S. McCain is more evidence of a beleaguered Navy. “The idea that two Navy destroyers—the legendary greyhounds of the sea, lean, swift, and agile—could be run down and severely damaged by lumbering merchant vessels within two months is preposterously unlikely. Yet it has happened.”

Plus: “Considering the Navy’s current state, it should perhaps not be as surprising as it is. Today’s Navy has far fewer ships than it needs to carry out its assigned duties; its sailors are over-deployed and under-rested; its equipment is often obsolescent, and it is emerging from eight years under the leadership of a Navy secretary, Ray Mabus, whose social-justice priorities almost always took precedence over tradition, morale, training, and operational readiness.” Less of that, please.

LINDSEY GRAHAM ON FOX NEWS COMMENTING ON TRUMP’S AFGHANISTAN SPEECH: “General Obama was a lousy general.” Heh. More later.

BECAUSE PENN STATE’S UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION HAS PROVEN ITSELF SO GOOD AT HANDLING SEXUAL MISCONDUCT? Penn State president: ‘Self-governance’ for fraternities and sororities needs to end.

HOW MANY NURSES DOES IT TAKE to change a patient’s blood. “The rising demand for dialysis has led to a boom in outpatient clinics that specialize in it. Two companies in particular — DaVita, which operates 286 dialysis centers in California, and Fresenius Medical Care, which operates 127 — have captured 70% of the market nationally, turning the decline in kidney health into billions of dollars in annual profits. Those centers and their profits are now the subject of a pitched battle in Sacramento over proposals to supplement federal regulations on the centers with new state requirements. Unfortunately, the proposals would raise the cost of dialysis without necessarily improving it.” Shocking, that.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Trump Hysteria and An Eclipse: Welcome to the “Crazy Years.”

I THOUGHT THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED: Pets may not improve kids’ health despite previous findings, according to new study.

THIS IS A BOON FOR DRUGMAKERS, I GUESS: Many more children will suddenly be diagnosed with high blood pressure. “The guidelines include updated blood pressure tables based on normal-weight children for more precise classifications of hypertension. As a result, more children will be categorized as needing treatment.” Plus: “The new recommendation is that ambulatory blood pressure should become standard practice in children after any abnormal in office reading, Flynn said.”

THIS IS TRUE FOR EVERYTHING EXCEPT TULLAMORE DEW, WHICH IS DEFINITELY BETTER NEAT: Chemists confirm that whiskey really does taste better with a splash of water.

ATTACK INTO THE AMBUSH: Ohio Judge Returns Fire After He Is Ambushed on Way to Court.

A judge in Ohio who was shot and injured in an ambush-style attack outside of a courthouse early on Monday managed to return fire with his own handgun before the suspect was shot dead by a probation officer nearby, officials said.

“This was ambush or attempted murder on our judge,” Sheriff Fred J. Abdalla said in an emotional interview with reporters that was broadcast on television.

The shooting took place just after 8 a.m. at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Steubenville when Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese Jr. was walking toward the building, the city manager, James Mavromatis, told a news conference.

Two suspects were waiting for the judge in a car at a bank parking lot, he said. One of the men got out of the car and opened fire, hitting the judge, Mr. Mavromatis said in a news conference that was broadcast live on WTOV.

The judge returned fire, and a probation officer nearby also opened fire at the attacker, killing the man, Mr. Mavromatis said. The other suspect was taken into custody.

The motive “was not immediately clear.”

REMEDIAL HUMANITY 101: Evergreen State College Adds Required Workshop on Civil Disagreement.

LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: One Statistics Professor Was Just Banned By Google: Here Is His Story. “Fear is running wild about who is next and on what other social media platforms.”

I really think we need more antitrust scrutiny of these tech giants.

CHANGE MORE OF THE SAME: Democrats Need a Message, Not a Program.

HEADLINES FROM 2011: It’s Time To Take Bitcoin And Blockchain Technology Seriously.

Going back two decades, James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg predicted cryptocurrency (and much more) in their fin de siècle peek into the future, The Sovereign Individual. Much of their work has held up frighteningly well.

IN SOME CASES MORE THAN OTHERS:

● Shot: Charlie Daniels: Removing Confederate Statues Is Like ISIS Wrecking History.

—The Daily Beast, Friday.

● Chaser: Houston man charged with trying to plant bomb at Confederate statue in Hermann Park.

—The Houston Chronicle, today.

More on the suspect involved in the Chronicle’s story from Ken White of the Popehat legal blog at the PJM Hot Mic today, including this possibility: “That scenario — we gave dudebrah a break and he showed up later with explosives — is culturally a top prosecutorial fear.”

21ST CENTURY HEADLINES: Elon Musk backs call for global ban on killer robots.

SAD: This Is The Last Dodge Viper.

AT AMAZON, save in Health and Personal Care.

Plus, deals in Kitchen and Housewares.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Trump Hysteria and An Eclipse: Welcome to the “Crazy Years.”

BLUE ON BLUE: BLM member tells Antifa to take their masks off and get out of his city. They punch him and accuse him of being a cop.

Video at the link.

QUESTION ASKED AND ANSWERED:

● Shot: Why can’t tech firms shut down terrorists as fast as they do Nazis?

—New York Post editorial, yesterday.

● Chaser: ‘No Enemies on the Left’ Is Still the Mantra of Too Many Liberals.

—John Fund, NRO, today.