WHAT COULD GO WRONG? D.C. approves law to allow licensed students to consume medical marijuana at school.

Just don’t show up at school with tobacco products or, heaven forbid, a vape pen.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek,’ and Comedy Brilliance.

Having spent most of my adult life in the comedy business, I’m a bit picky when it comes to sitcoms and whatever else is put forth as humor on television, especially in recent years. Veep bores me. The Big Bang Theory was painful. Modern Family has its moments, I will admit. I do like The Good Place.

Schitt’s Creek, however, is the funniest non-animated thing I’ve seen on television in a long time, and I’m afraid I may never see anything this good again. O’Hara is absolutely unreal. The show was created by her old SCTV colleague Eugene Levy and his son Daniel. If Levy didn’t write this part for his old friend, she immediately made it look as if it were written for her.

Great show.

HEINLEIN’S CRAZY YEARS (CONT’D): Genetic Modification of Crops Is ‘Rape,’ Botanist Says.

THIS DOESN’T GET MUCH PLAY IN THE PRESS; WHY IS HARDLY A MYSTERY: Trump’s economic advantage within the Democratic base.

While those figures wrote the headlines, overlooked ones told the broader economic story. The unemployment rate stayed at historically low levels of just 3.7 percent. Simultaneously, labor force participation continued to rise, reaching 63.2 percent, while average hourly earnings have increased by 3.2 percent over the last year.

For the large majority of Americans, these are the real economic variables, the DJIA or GDP being relevant only in so far as they affect these basic household ones. The reason is simple: For a prolonged period, having a job has been a dicey question for too many.

It is through that prism, and particularly in comparison with this recent past, that the current economy looks so good for Trump.

At the same point during the Obama administration, and almost two years (Q3 of 2009) after the economy had begun growing again, August 2011 unemployment stood at 9.1 percent. There were 14 million unemployed then, compared to today’s 6 million.

Even comparing August 2016, President Obama’s eighth year in office, Trump’s economy looks strong. Just three years ago, unemployment was 4.9 percent, the number of unemployed were 7.8 million — almost 2 million more than today.

Additionally, those higher figures came despite a lower labor force participation rate: 62.8 percent versus 63.2 percent today. This resulted in 6.3 million fewer Americans working then: 151.6 million versus 157.9 million today. To cap it, in August 2016, hourly wages had increased just 2.4 percent over the previous year, compared to 3.2 percent today.

The secondary comparisons are just as telling.

Lots of good data — read the whole thing.

Related, from yesterday: Trump’s 2020 Game Plan Preview.

NIFTY: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works ‘Project Riot’ demos F-35 multi-domain ops. “During the demonstration, called Project Riot, an F-35 detected a long-range missile launch with its onboard sensors and shared the information through the U-2 to the air defense commander on the ground, enabling the commander to quickly make the decision to target the threat.”

NOT A GOOD LOOK FOR BEIJING: Hong Kong cancels National Day fireworks on Oct 1 as protests continue. “The upcoming National Day celebrations⁠ which include a flag-raising event⁠ will mark 70 years of the People’s Republic of China.”

NOT A SONIC ATTACK THEN: Neurotoxin may have caused diplomats’ illness in Cuba.

The study was the first to include diplomats for whom there was baseline medical testing from before their postings in Havana, so as to better compare with the tests from afterwards. Canada started implementing the practice after diplomats first started complaining of sickness.

The researchers said they had detected different levels of brain damage in an area that causes symptoms reported by the diplomats and which is susceptible to neurotoxins. They then concluded that cholinesterase, a key enzyme required for the proper functioning of the nervous system, was being blocked there.

Some pesticides work by inhibiting cholinesterase, the report said, and during the 2016-2018 period when diplomats became ill normal fumigation in Cuba was stepped up due to the Zika epidemic in the Caribbean.

Bad, but if true it’s easier to deal with going forward than some mystery weapon.

OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY: Sanders Shrugs Off Projected ‘Green New Deal’ Job Losses.

Bernie wants an omelet, and you’re the egg.

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! That Was Quick: Women’s March Drops Anti-Semite It Brought in to Replace Its Other Anti-Semites.

Easy call: They’ll hire someone whose inherent awfulness is a little lower profile.

THEY’RE BLUFFING: Iran envoy: ‘All-out war’ to result if hit for Saudi attack.

I don’t want to go to war with Iran, but a simple promise to back the Saudis (or even an Arab-Israeli coalition) with intel and supplies might be a low-risk way to call their bluff.

PARTY LIKE IT’S 1979: How Democrats can raise taxes without technically raising taxes.

Short version: Eliminate indexing tax rates to inflation.

The argument in favor of indexing is that it eliminates “bracket creep.” That’s when more of a taxpayers’ income gets pushed into a higher bracket each year simply due to inflation, and not because of any underlying real increase in the money they take home.

Plenty of economists and experts argue bracket creep damages the economy: By shoving people into higher tax rates, even though their pay hasn’t increased, bracket creep discourages economic activity and slows down growth. Furthermore, America endured a brutal run of inflation during the 1970s. By 1980, the annual rate of price increase had briefly topped 13 percent, according to the traditional measure of inflation. As you can imagine, lots of people were attracted to the idea of neutralizing bracket creep.

Here’s the problem with that logic: If your economy is experiencing high inflation, like what we went through under Carter, then it needs to slow down.

Somebody needs to explain stagflation — what was actually going on in 1980 — to this dunce.

GET YOUR SHOTS. I’M GETTING MINE AND MY BOYS’ THIS WEEKEND. The 2019 Flu Season Will Suck for America (Just Ask Australia). “Australians are sneezing and coughing and getting hospitalized. Now is the time for American to get their shots and brace for a really bad influenza season.”

BROADENING THE BATTLESPACE: Wargaming the Electoral College: Trump’s 2020 Game Plan Preview.

CHIEF WARREN CHEEKBONES WILL PUT A STOP TO THIS: Government to Scrutinize Contractors Who Claimed ‘Native American’ Ancestry Without Basis.

BETSY MCCAUGHEY: Dems’ Health Care Whoppers.

Whopper 1: Obamacare is affordable. Joe Biden’s running a television ad in Iowa pledging to stand by Obamacare because “every American deserves affordable health care.” Iowans aren’t going to buy that. They’re not hayseeds.

Truth: In Iowa, 90% of Obamacare customers who paid their own way in 2014 have dropped their coverage. Obamacare is affordable only if you qualify for a subsidy. Middle-class people who earn too much to get taxpayer-funded help can’t afford to stay enrolled. They “have taken it on the chin,” reports Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation. Why is the number of uninsured in America suddenly rising again? Blame Obamacare for pricing the middle class out of insurance.

Much more at the link.

I COULD HAVE SWORN DISSENT WAS PATRIOTIC: Leftwing Activists Rage at Heretical Democratic Senators.

OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY: Omar: Make MLK’s ‘Vision a Reality’ and Guarantee Americans Federal Jobs.

NOW: Obama: ‘Watching TV or reading social media’ not helpful for presidents.

THEN: Presidential television: What are Obama’s favorite shows?

The buzz started last week after the state dinner for the president of France, when President Obama pulled aside the chief executive officer of HBO and asked for a favor.

Some who were there say that Obama tracked him down and asked for copies of “True Detective” and “Game of Thrones,” which is about to start its fourth season and apparently Obama wanted a preview

He may be the leader of the free world, but when it comes to unwinding, President Obama is a lot like us. The president tunes in to tune out and, when he needs his television, step aside.

Later in the week the president tweeted about another one of his favorite shows, which depicts a Washington very different from his own.

That’s different because Lightbringer.

RICH LOWRY: The Ridiculous Campaign Against Vaping.

In announcing his flavored vaping ban, Cuomo said that “many of these other products have no control on them whatsoever,” which is by definition true because they are black-market products. We could make the risky products involved illegal, if they weren’t already illegal.

The problem with the flavor bans — and especially a San Francisco-style outright ban — is its effect on adult e-cigarette users.

About 11 million adults vape, and some percentage of them are former smokers or would be smoking in the absence of e-cigarettes. A robust study in the United Kingdom found that vaping is twice as effective as other common nicotine replacements in getting smokers to quit. The flavors, according to surveys of users, are a big draw for smokers quitting traditional cigarettes.

Anything that pushes e-cigarette users back into conventional smoking (now at a new low of 14 percent of adults) is bad for public health. It’s manifestly absurd to ban vaping products and leave cigarettes, including flavored cigarettes, on the market.

Read the whole thing.

SHE SEEMS NICE: Ilhan Omar’s Husband No Longer Works for Minneapolis Councilwoman. Sources Say Omar Asked for Him to Be Fired.

HEADLINE OF THE DAY: Kavanaugh Farce Explodes In A Shower Of Radioactive Clowns.

PRIVACY: You watch TV. Your TV watches back.

I set up each smart TV as most people do: by tapping “OK” with the remote to each on-screen prompt. Then using software from Princeton University called the IoT Inspector, I watched how each model transmitted data. Lots went flying from streaming apps and their advertising partners. But even when I switched to a live broadcast signal, I could see each TV sending out reports as often as once per second.

Many TV makers say tracking what we watch helps them provide helpful personalized recommendations. Right, and people read Playboy for the articles. TV tracking is mostly about filling in a missing chunk of data about our lives for advertisers and media companies. I tracked down some of the firms that buy it from TV makers. They told me it makes TVs more like Facebook, where content can be measured and ads can be better targeted and tracked for performance.

And just as on Facebook, things can turn creepy.

Can?

AS YOUNG AS 12: Young Venezuelan ball players ‘wanted to stay’ in U.S.

Two days after returning to Maracaibo, Salcedo woke up in the middle of the night after a power outage knocked out his fan, leaving him tossing and turning in the Caribbean heat.

He was so tired the next day that his mother, 44-year-old single homemaker Diana Nunez, had to browbeat him into doing his workout routine, which includes a makeshift weightlifting session with two sand-filled bottles strung to a pole.

Nunez said she used to serve her son beef or chicken every day, but lately she can only buy meat three times a week.

Unlike the well-manicured U.S. ballparks, the field where Cacique Mara practices has no grass. A pump that used to irrigate it was stolen two years ago and lights, which once allowed teams to practice at night, have been out for years.

Remember, if you’re opposed to socialism, it’s because you don’t care about the children.

HMM: China to deploy Sharp Sword stealth drone for new Type 001A aircraft carrier.

The Sharp Sword was one of two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) seen in photos of a weekend rehearsal in Beijing for the upcoming National Day military parade on October 1. The insider said the new aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, would be equipped with a reconnaissance version of the Sharp Sword drone when it entered service.

A second military source, from the Chinese navy, also confirmed that the stealth drone would be deployed for the aircraft carrier and said it was significant since it would help to close the technology gap with the US Navy.

It takes more than slick technology to make a navy that can actually fight.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Will Kamala Harris Be the First Big Name Off the Board? “Now, it appears that the Harris campaign is turning to what is generally considered a desperation play: putting all of her eggs in the Iowa basket.”