LIZ SHELD’S MORNING BRIEF: Trump’s Tax Reform Dinner, NorKs Get Sanctions and Much, Much More.

KID ROCK: ‘Pretty funny how scared I have them.’

Musician Kid Rock on Monday defended himself against charges of racism from a Detroit-based civil rights group, claiming he wouldn’t be facing such attacks were he not considering a run for the U.S. Senate.

A Detroit-based affiliate of the National Action Network said last week it would protest Kid Rock’s six-show run opening the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit this week, aiming to get the concerts canceled.

Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, said in a statement that people should ignore “the garbage the extreme left is trying to create!”

“They are trying to use the old confederate flag BS, etc. to stir the pot, when we all know none of this would be going on if I were not thinking of running for office. Pretty funny how scared I have them all and their only agenda is to try and label people / me racist who do not agree or cower to them!!” wrote Ritchie, who lives in Clarkston.

“My track record in Detroit and Michigan speaks for itself, and I would dare anyone talking trash to put theirs up against mine.”

In closing, he said, “I LOVE BLACK PEOPLE!!”

The Senate could do far worse — and has.

UNDERCOVER IN NORTH KOREA: ‘All Paths Lead to Catastrophe.’

From novelist and journalist Suki Kim who lived and worked in the North, risking her life to report on the regime and its people:

Nothing will change because it’s an unworkable problem. It’s very dishonest to think this can be solved. North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons. Never.

The only way North Korea can be dealt with is if this regime is not the way it is. No agreements are ever honored because North Korea just doesn’t do that. It’s a land of lies. So why keep making agreements with someone who’s never going to honor those agreements?

And ultimately what all the countries surrounding North Korea want is a regime change. What they’re doing is pretending to have an agreement saying they do not want a regime change, but pursuing regime change anyway.

Despite it all you have to constantly do engagement efforts, throwing information in there. That’s the only option. There’s no other way North Korea will change. Nothing will ever change without the outside pouring some resources in there.

It’s past time for China to step up.

DON’T BE WEEVILS: Google Bias Against Leading Conservative Websites—Including PJM—Is Real.

SARAH HOYT REPORTS FROM PARIS: Non-Muslims Get Special Terrorism Screening — by Muslims.

VIDEO: Bill Maher Is So Excited That It Was Republicans in the Way of These Hurricanes.

NEWS YOU CAN CHEW: A Quest for the Great European Cheeseburger.

Isn’t that cultural appropriation?

NICE, YET CREEPY: Tesla remotely extends the range of some cars to help with Irma.

Tesla sometimes sells cars with more hardware battery capacity than is initially available for use by customers, offering the additional capacity as a subsequent software update. For example, Tesla has sold Model S cars rated 60D—the 60 stands for 60kWh of energy storage—that actually have 75kWh batteries. Owners of these vehicles can pay Tesla $9,000 to unlock the extra 15kWh of storage capacity.

But last week, Tesla decided to temporarily make this extra capacity available even to Floridians who hadn’t paid for the upgrade to ensure they had enough range to get out of Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma. A Tesla spokesperson confirmed the change to Eletrek. The extra 15kWh should give the vehicles an additional 30 to 40 miles of range.

Presumably, their vehicles will get a downgrade once hurricane season is over.

That was a great gesture, but what else can Tesla control remotely?

AS SURELY AS NIGHT FOLLOWS DAY: Obamacare Repeal Is Dead. Here Come the Bailouts.

Those of us who argued back in 2009-10 that ObamaCare was welfare for Big Insurance will get the last, bitter laugh.

BRIDGET JOHNSON: Previously Unseen 9/11 Hijacker Warning: ‘Your Blood is Delicious for Us and Your Meat Cheap.’

TONI AIRAKSINEN: Why Sexism Can’t Explain the Student Loan Gender Gap.

THE NEW REPUBLIC: This Weather Is Not Normal. And It Will Only Get Worse.

Isn’t that what they said in 2005?

UPDATE (From Ed): Yes.

DAILY CALLER EXCLUSIVE: Gowdy Wonders If Democrats Are ‘Fearful’ Trump Dossier Is ‘A Piece Of Fiction.’

In an interview with The Daily Caller, the House Intelligence Committee member addressed claims from his Democratic colleagues and some in the media that he and his fellow Republicans are attempting to discredit the dossier and its author, former British spy Christopher Steele, in order to help Trump.

“I don’t know why anyone — from [California Rep.] Adam Schiff, to Vanity Fair, to Rachel Maddow — would not be curious whether or not the world’s premier law enforcement agency relied upon a dossier in connection with an investigation without vetting it,” Gowdy told TheDC on Friday.

“For the life of me I don’t understand why they are focused on this,” Gowdy says of the Democratic pushback, “unless they are fearful that the bureau did rely on a piece of fiction.”

By most recent accounts, they have every right to be.

SECDEF MATTIS ON 9/11 ANNIVERSARY: Terrorists Learned ‘Americans are Not Made of Cotton Candy.’

SO NOW THERE’S THIS TO WORRY ABOUT: Hackers could program sex robots to kill.

But what a way to go?

LOTS MORE MISTER NICE GUY: Mitt Romney planning to run for Senate if Orrin Hatch retires.

WHAT CAN DONALD TRUMP LEARN FROM MARCO RUBIO? Beware of deals with Chuck Schumer.

YOU MIGHT NOT BE INTERESTED IN THE GLEICHSCHALTUNG, BUT THE GLEICHSCHALTUNG IS INTERESTED IN YOU: Michigan Farmer Prohibited From Selling Apples Because He Opposes Same Sex Marriage.

EXPERTS — WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT THEM? Will China and Russia support oil sanctions on North Korea? Experts are skeptical.

HMM: Did a Saudi prince secretly visit Israel?

According to a report by the Israel Broadcasting Corporation, a senior member of the Saudi royal family held high-level talks with Israeli officials during a clandestine trip to the Jewish state.

“A prince from the Royal Court visited the country in secret over the past few days and discussed the idea of pushing regional peace forward with a number of senior Israeli officials,” the IBC reported, citing the Russian Sputnik media outlet.

Both Israeli and Saudi foreign ministries refused to comment on the report.

The report came a day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu claimed that relations between Israel and the Arab world were better than ever before in Israel’s history.

“What’s happening now with the Arab bloc states has never before happened in our history – even when we signed agreements,” said Netanyahu.

“What we have now is greater than anything else during any other period in Israel’s history.”

On Sunday, the IUVM Online Arabic news outlet identified the Saudi official who reportedly visited Israel as Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia and heir apparent to the throne.

If the mystery guest was the newly-installed Crown Prince, then his visit is very big news indeed.

TRUMP: We Should Consider “Getting Rid Of The Debt Ceiling Altogether.”

That’s not a bad idea. The debt ceiling isn’t actually a ceiling, since it can be raised at will — and serves almost exclusively as a political grandstanding vehicle.

SMALL WARS JOURNAL: Iranian Unconventional Warfare in Yemen.

This conflict represents a complex proxy war between Iran and the U.S./Saudi coalition. Iran provides support directly to the Houthis, but also via its proxy Hezbollah (both deny providing any support), while the U.S. provides support to Saudi Arabia in its operations in Yemen, which include both direct military action and foreign internal defense in support of the Yemeni government.

Complicating the analysis is the fact that rival armed groups, including local affiliates of Al Qaida and Daesh, are also fighting against the Yemeni government and sometimes each other, and that other states are providing support to the government. This creates a highly unstable security environment, which the Houthis could benefit from, but it makes planning more difficult and increases the number of possible adversaries. However, instability in Yemen is itself a valuable objective for the Iranian sponsor, since this creates friction for Saudi Arabia, other Sunni states, and the U.S., all of which represent a bloc against which Iran is seeking to balance.

Perhaps the old Arab adage is actually “The enemy of my enemy is my enemy,” but something got gained in the translation.

STIFF COMPETITION: Are These Residents the Dumbest People in Florida?

A BIT OF THE OLD ULTRAVIOLENCE: Several Antifa Members Arrested After Assaulting Police Officers During Portland ‘Protest.’

Portland Stands United Against Hate (PSUAH) held a peaceful assembly and march that started and concluded at Terry Schrunk Plaza.

Additional demonstrators gathered for protests at Waterfront Park and officers located and seized multiple weapons. Groups that gathered at Waterfront Park escalated in behavior, and threw rocks, irritant smoke bombs and other projectiles. As the demonstrators moved west, they continued to throw projectiles at officers. Two police officers sustained minor injuries as a result of today’s protest.

Throughout the afternoon, the Portland Police Bureau provided information and updates on Twitter, including photos of the many weapons and items seized throughout the day.

I’m sure there must be a word for black-clad, masked thugs who use street violence to achieve their political ends.

ALIVE WITH DISPLEASURE: New York’s Mayor Gives Smokers Another Reason Not to Quit.

Since the electronic cigarette arrived around 2010, the rate of smoking in America has plummeted. Yet progressive do-gooders are now throwing tobacco a lifeline. Last month New York Mayor Bill de Blasio signed new restrictions on e-cigarettes. A limited number of vendors will need licenses to sell them, and vaping will be banned from many apartment common areas. This will only push smokers away from the most promising method for kicking their deadly habit.

In Britain, public-health authorities have encouraged smokers to switch to safer alternatives. E-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine as a vapor, are about 95% less harmful than smoking, according to a 2015 review by England’s health agency. The Royal College of Physicians, Britain’s pre-eminent medical authority, has warned that it would be “irrational and immoral” to discourage smokers from switching.

But the U.S. is doing just that. The Food and Drug Administration has misclassified e-cigarettes as a “tobacco product,” drawn up regulations that could eventually outlaw most products now on the market, and barred e-cig companies from mentioning any health advantages over smoking.

The Left’s war on science is literally killing people.