ANOTHER SUMMER RECOVERY BUST: Chicago PMI Slumps Suggesting “June’s Momentum Was Only A Temporary Revival”

MARINES WITH FRICKIN LASERS ATTACHED TO THEIR PLANES: Marine General wants energy weapons on the F-35B.

ALLIES: Turkey summons US envoy over remarks on Syria operation.

“It has been underlined that such statements are by no means acceptable and that they do not comply with the alliance relationship,” read a statement issued by Tanju Bilgiç, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, late on Aug. 30.

Bilgiç’s statement came after Ash Carter, the U.S. secretary of defense; Brett McGurk, the U.S. special envoy on the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); and spokespersons from the Department of Defense and the White House each urged Turkey to stop clashing with the PYD.

Turkey’s concerns over such remarks were dispatched to Bass by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ferdiun Sinirlioğlu on Aug. 30.

“The objectives of the Euphrates Shield Operations are known,” Bilgiç said, adding that Turkey would continue until all “terror groups” are pushed away from the Turkish border so that they will not be able to “pose a threat to Turkish citizens.”

Translation: Turkey will continue using the ISIS threat as an excuse to pound Syria’s Kurdish fighters.

THANK GOODNESS WE PUT THE GROWNUPS BACK IN CHARGE: IRS doesn’t tell 1M taxpayers that illegals stole their Social Security numbers.

The IRS has discovered more than 1 million Americans whose Social Security numbers were stolen by illegal immigrants, but officials never bothered to tell the taxpayers themselves, the agency’s inspector general said in a withering new report released Tuesday.

Investigators first alerted the IRS to the problem five years ago, but it’s still not fixed, the inspector general said, and a pilot program meant to test a solution was canceled — and fell woefully short anyway.

It’s only other people’s money.

CUE WORLD’S SMALLEST VIOLIN: Bill Clinton eyes exit from charity that has shaped legacy.

When Bill Clinton told the staff of his global charity he would have to step down if Hillary Clinton won the White House, he was vividly clear about how that felt: Worse than a root canal, he said.

For Clinton, the foundation that bears his name has shaped much of his post-White House legacy, helping transform him from a popular yet scandal-tainted former president into an international philanthropist and humanitarian.

The Clinton Foundation’s charitable works amounted to just “15% of its revenues while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, and just 6.4% in the first year after it.” In 2013 he Foundation spent as much on travel for its executives and staff as it did on charitable grants.

It’s easy to see why giving that up would be painful, but it isn’t as though being First Spouse doesn’t come with perks of its own.

RICHARD LAWSON: The Mad, Dark Genius of Gene Wilder.

Watching Wilder’s line delivery now, it seems strikingly modern, full of pathos and syncopated wit—not something you always associate with comedies that existed pre-, for lack of a better word, snark. But his performances also suggest something lost, a shading and seriousness that gave the comedy genre a little more shape—some true, genuine edge. Not many contemporary, leading comedic movie stars infuse their work with the danger that Wilder did, instead choosing to be affable and relatable. There always was an eerie relatability to Wilder’s characters, but he also showed you something new and offbeat, keeping the viewer nervous and on their toes, wanting more. His comedy managed to be subtle and completely out-there, a rare talent that we’re not likely to see matched again.

There’s a reason Wilder’s collaborations with Mel Brooks have held up better than any other Brooks movies, and that reason is Gene Wilder.

If you’re a fan, read the whole thing.

KIM JONG-UN SHUFFLES CABINET: North Korea Has Executed a Deputy Premier, Seoul Reports

Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for the South’s Unification Ministry, said at a news briefing that the South Korean government had used various means to confirm the execution of Kim Yong-jin, the deputy premier, and the purge of Kim Yong-chol, the head of the United Front Department of the ruling Workers’ Party, which handles relations with, as well as spying operations against, South Korea. Choe Hui, a deputy chief of the party’s Propaganda and Agitation Department, was also banished for re-education, Mr. Jeong said.

Mr. Jeong provided no further details, including when the reported punishments were believed to have taken place or how South Korea had learned of them. But in a later briefing, a senior Unification Ministry official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said that Kim Jong-un had found fault with the 63-year-old deputy premier’s “disrespectful posture” during a meeting that Mr. Kim oversaw in late June.

Disrespectful posture?

Kim Yong-jin was reportedly executed by firing squad back in July, which may or may not be a step up from execution by anti-aircraft gun.

UPDATE: It seems as though Kim did indeed go with execution-by-anti-aircraft-gun yet again.

WELL, GOOD: California Legislature Adopts Bill That Would Make It Tougher for Government to Take Your Stuff.

California’s state forfeiture laws are already more protective of property owners than those of most other states. Under current state law, the evidentiary standard in most civil forfeiture cases is “beyond a reasonable doubt” and a conviction is required; only in drug cases dealing with seized cash of more than $25,000 is that standard lowered to clear and convincing evidence.

Unlike many states and the federal government, in innocent owner cases, California law establishes that the state bears the burden—as it should—of proving that a property owner “consented to the use of the property with knowledge that it would be or was used for a purpose for which forfeiture is permitted.”

But California law is not perfect. Law enforcement agencies that engage in property seizures, as well as the prosecutors who handle forfeiture cases, are able to receive a combined total of 66.25 percent of any resulting proceeds. This direct financial interest in the outcomes of cases not only creates a conflict of interest, it has the potential to warp the priorities of law enforcement officials.

Civil asset forfeiture is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Governor Jerry Brown should sign this bill into law.

IT’S ON: Trump announces surprise meeting with Mexican President.

“I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow,” Trump tweeted as reports swirled that Trump was mulling a last-minute trip to Mexico.

Hillary Clinton is also invited to meet Nieto, but so far has chosen to “blast Trump’s Mexico visit.”

OOPS: Minnesota Gun Buyback Program Misfires.

A Minnesota program to buy up guns in exchange for Visa gift cards has been less successful than anticipated. The guns collected were mostly homemade, unused or antiquated firearms rather than the street guns authorities had hoped to remove from the street.

There were two locations “buying back” the guns but both had to close down early when officials ran out of $25,000 in gift cards.

Apparently people participating in the buyback program were smarter than the officials running it.

That’s no surprise. Considering that a decent handgun starts at a few hundred dollars, how many firearms did they think they were going to get “off the streets” for $25,000?

WELL, WELL, WELL: Now 30 BENGHAZI-related emails have been recovered from Hillary’s server – and they weren’t in the batch she turned over to the State Department.

ASKING THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: Is Your Son’s Penis Too Small or Is He Just Overweight?

What will the New York Times have us fretting about next?

ALL I’VE GOT’S THIS SUNNY AFTERNOON: Apple Ordered by EU to Repay $14.5 Billion in Irish Tax Breaks.

CEO Tim Cook says he’s “confident that the Commission’s order will be reversed.“

WELL, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY, YOU KNOW: F-35 to Control Armed Attack Drones.

In the future, drones may be fully operated from the cockpit of advanced fighter jets such as the Joint Strike Fighter or F-22, Air Force Chief Scientist Greg Zacharias told Scout Warrior in an interview.

“The more autonomy and intelligence you can put on these vehicles, the more useful they will become,” he said.

This development could greatly enhance mission scope, flexibility and effectiveness by enabling a fighter jet to conduct a mission with more weapons, sensors, targeting technology and cargo, Zacharias explained.

Another neat trick would be if a drone could be piloted to run interference on incoming anti-aircraft missiles, acting as a sort of a kamikaze countermeasure.

WHAT’S GOING TO BE BETTER THAN NIXON APPEARING ON LAUGH-IN? THIS:

My @dancingabc partner, @EmmaSlaterDance, is a great teacher but she’s got her work cut out for her. #DWTS pic.twitter.com/vmusTqXXCe

— Rick Perry (@GovernorPerry) August 30, 2016

Good luck, Governor.

SPEED BUMP ON THE ROAD TO A DEMOCRATIC SENATE: Signs of Trouble in Ohio As Dems Delay Senate Ad Buys.

A Democratic outside group is canceling the first two weeks of its advertising in the Ohio Senate race, a sign that national Democrats are increasingly pessimistic about Gov. Ted Strickland’s campaign against Republican incumbent Sen. Rob Portman.

Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC with ties to Democratic Leader Harry Reid that is Democrats’ main outside spending group for Senate races, is delaying its initial fall advertising in the race, according to two ad buying sources who requested anonymity. The group was slated to begin fall advertising on September 6, but is now delaying its reservations through September 19.

The news comes the day after the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee delayed its advertising in the race from September 13 until September 22, according to The Washington Post, though the DSCC is still spending to help fund an ad run by Strickland’s campaign.

Trump’s poll numbers in Ohio seem to have halted their free fall, too.

THE JAYVEE IS PLAYING MORE LIKE KOBE EVERY DAY: IS Gaining Foothold in Yemen.

WITH HIS MIGHTY PHONE AND PEN: Obama Will Sign Climate Accord Without Congressional Approval.

Father knows best.

WELL, GOOD: Egypt Cracks Down On Female Genital Mutilation.

Awful as Egypt’s military junta can be, it’s still a huge step up from the Muslim Brotherhood, which offered to mutilate girls for a “nominal fee as part of their community services.”

QUESTION ASKED: How Can You Love Guns Knowing They Kill So Many People?

HE WHO CONTROLS THE PAST CONTROLS THE FUTURE: Turkey sets conditions for German access to Incirlik.

Turkey says German MPs can visit the airbase if the Berlin government stops trying to distort Turkish history. German politicians have been blocked from touring the facility, where their own military is stationed.

Turkish Foreign Minster Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the Ankara government would allow a German delegation to visit the Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey “if Germany takes the necessary steps.”

But his comments, following a meeting with his Dutch counterpart Bert Koenders in Ankara Monday, didn’t specify what concrete steps Turkey would want taken.

Cavusoglu added that those who try to “manipulate” Turkish history “in an unfair manner,” would not receive permission to visit the facility, where German troops, six German surveillance jets, and a refueling tanker are part of the US-led coalition fighting “Islamic State” (IS) militants.

Ankara is trying to force Germany to whitewash the 1915 Armenian Genocide from its history books.

PRESIDENT ASH CARTER: Turkey and Syrian Kurdish forces ‘should stop fighting’

“We have called upon Turkey … to stay focused on the fight against ISIL and not to engage Syrian Defence Forces (SDF), and we have had a number of contacts over the last several days,” Carter said.

“We have called on both sides to not fight with one another, to continue to focus the fight on ISIL … That is the basis of our cooperation with both of them – specifically not to engage.”

The SDF is a group of fighters formed to fight against ISIL and is led by the YPG.

Turkey said on Monday it would continue to target the YPG if it failed to retreat east of the Euphrates River.

ISIS is a problem for Ankara, but the Kurds are the enemy.

ANALYSIS: TRUE. Clinton’s Economic Plan Will Lead Us Over a Cliff.

One of the dumbest statements in modern times was Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s declaration that “the best way to stimulate the economy” is through food stamps and unemployment insurance.

This economic mumbo jumbo defies basic common sense and helps explain why we still have more than 40 million Americans on food stamps — evidently, the more that get free food, the more prosperous we become. This is the crux of the continuing curse of Keynesian economics, which says that the more the government spends, the more the economy grows. A dollar of government spending leads to as much as two dollars of additional economic output, according to Professor Pelosi.

Hillary Clinton is apparently one of Mrs. Pelosi’s A students. The entire Clinton recovery agenda is to spend $1 trillion more on government public works programs, free day care and college education, and expanded entitlements. She would raise investment and personal income tax rates (paid by many small businesses) to finance all of this.

Hillary has been parading around a study by economist Mark Zandi of Moodys, which claims that this fairy dust will mean happy days are here again. He claims millions of new jobs and billions in added output. But Mr. Zandi has been one of the wrongest economists in America for the past decade.

If we could spend our way to prosperity, then the last 16 years — when the federal debt nearly quadrupled — would be looked back on much more fondly.

THAT MEANS IT’S WORKING: ObamaCare coverage options disappearing across country, report finds.

The Kaiser Family Foundation study found that overall, 31 percent of counties will have just a single insurance option within the Affordable Care Act exchanges. That’s up from 7 percent this year — and underscores a problem many analysts have been warning about for years.

Further, about six in 10 counties could have two or fewer marketplace insurers in 2017, with the “bulk of the increase in single-insurer counties” the result of UnitedHealth Group’s exit, the study, released Sunday, reveals.

Indeed, six years after ObamaCare was signed into law, America’s major medical insurers, concerned about their own bottom line, have started to pull the plug on a variety of services and options available to consumers. Citing major losses, the top five insurers – Humana, Anthem, Aetna, UnitedHealth Group, and Blue Cross Blue Shield – have threatened to pull out of the exchanges and have selectively started to do so in many counties.

In other words, by next year nearly a third of American counties will already be on virtual single-payer.

GANGSTER GOVERNMENT: Union Admits ‘Blacklist’ Rule Gives Them New ‘Leverage’ Against Companies.

When President Barack Obama signed the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order it was couched as promoting “safe, healthy, fair, and effective workplaces.”

Under the order, and the new final regulations and guidance issued August 25, federal contractors must disclose mere allegations of federal labor violations, potentially locking them out of federal contracts without giving them a chance to challenge the charges.

But improving workplace safety or insuring compliance with the 14 laws and executive orders wasn’t the real motivation for the E.O.

If you pull back the curtain it is clear the order has nothing to do with improving federal contracting and everything to do with giving unions more tools for them to use against employers.

One of the key objections the U.S. Chamber has made all along about the president’s Executive Order is that it would hand the administration’s friends in the organized labor movement a powerful new tool for harassing and pressuring employers into rolling over to their demands.

It’s almost as though Barack Obama has turned the Federal government into a giant shakedown operation.