WendyMcElroy.com

Oh Canada. From Reason: If Canada is 'Ripping Off' the U.S., Why Is It Falling Behind? Americans have been widening the prosperity gap with our neighbors for years. [Ed: Canada is not ripping U.S. off. One of the items Trump bases this claim upon is the unrequested defense protection allegedly provided by the States, simply by Canada being in proximity. A hospital down the street may as well charge me health care simply for its existence. At least the hospital makes me safer, probably--a statement cannot make about U.S. defense and foreign policy.] From Zero Hedge: Canada's Tariff Strategy Designed To Interfere With U.S. Midterm Elections From Newser: Canada's Retaliatory Tariffs Will Kick in at Midnight. Carney's office says he's not planning to call Trump. [Ed: that's last night. They are in effect today.]

From Jonathan Turley: The Passing of Luna Turley. [Ed: his beloved Goldendoodle.]

Arctic Cold War. From Andrew Korybko: Norway’s Seizure Of A Russian Research Vessel Brings The New Cold War To The Arctic From EnergyNews.pro: Norway Seizes Russian Ship as Naftogaz Demands Forced Sale [Ed: Naftogaz is Ukrainian state-owned energy group.]

Tony Greenstein. From Cage International: Unanimous acquittal of Tony Greenstein affirms supporting Palestinian liberation is not a crime, [Ed: a bit dated, but this is the first I've heard of this intriguing UK trial.] From antiwar: How Britain Tried To Rig the Trial of a Genocide Opponent – and Lost. [Ed: the superior article.]

From the Mises Institute: Get your free copy of this month’s free book, Murray Rothbard’s Economic Depressions: Their Cause and Cure.

Yemen. From Al Mayadeen English: Saree: Continued Saudi aggression against Yemen will not go unpunished. Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Yahya Saree says Saudi Arabia will face consequences for its aggression, as Yemeni forces down a Saudi CH4 drone over al-Jawf and strike a military convoy at al-Wadi'a. From AFP: Toll from Yemen clashes passes 300 as civilians flee homes."...toll from days of fighting between government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels." [Ed: sounds like they are fleeing from their own gov.]

From Being Stray: A Pit Bull Story that Needs Repeating

AI Coming After Your Retirement Funds? From Gadget Review: Larry Fink Says U.S. Will Need Roughly $10 Trillion Over the Next Decade to Build Out AI Infrastructure. Fink forecast $10 trillion in AI infrastructure spending drawing on retirement savings — but never called it mandatory. [Ed: be forewarned. Be prepared.] From Moneywise: Larry Fink says Americans’ retirement savings need to fund $10 trillion AI infrastructure demands. Protect your wealth. [Ed: from early August to show that this discussion is not a slip of the lips but an ongoing discussion.]

From the Hill: Hunter Biden: ‘I may have to’ run for president in 2028. [Ed: oh please, oh please, it would be so much fun!]

From Naked Capitalism: Germany’s Long Winter Begins. [Ed: fascinating insight into the catastrophic lay-off of 50,000 workers by Volkswagon.]

Iran. From Zero Hedge: Iran To Draw New "Restricted Zone" In Hormuz As Saudi Aramco Facility Hit Again, Oil Climbs. Brent crude reaches 6-week high... "...expected to include maps of the new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, likely to begin from where the US blockade of Iran starts and extending into areas of the Gulf."

From Garden and Gun: How a Lab Made Peace with a Lovestruck Siamese. A hunting dog adjusts to life in the city with two rowdy felines

From Mark Gerard Keenan Substack: The Green Energy Paradox: Saving Nature by Destroying It. "Now, apparently, we are going to save nature by digging up enormous quantities of it."

Germany. From the Gateway Pundit: HERE WE GO AGAIN: Germany’s AfD ROBBED of Victory as Mail-In Ballots Flip Results in Saxony-Anhalt. [Ed: I'd like a better source, but intriguing.] From Politico.EU: Musk celebrates, Tusk despairs: How the world reacted to the AfD’s election win. Love-in blossoms between the U.S. tech entrepreneur and the German far right. From Rabobank: Welcome To The World That Now Exists. We ended last week with the Dutch thinktank acknowledgement that "The world as we knew it no longer exists.” We start this week knowing many are going to be profoundly uncomfortable with the new world that replaces it...

All Things Ukraine. From Politico.EU: Poland’s anti-Ukrainian turn spills into violence. The number of crimes against Ukrainians in Poland is rising as right-wing Polish politicians ramp-up anti-Ukraine rhetoric. [Ed: several EU nations are closing their borders to Ukrainian migrants or otherwise turning hostile.] From Andrew Korybko: Why Won’t China Cut Ukraine Off From Drone-Related Sales?

Indonesia Volcanoes. From Intellinews: Indonesia on fire as four volcanoes erupt in 24 hours. From Fiji Village: Volcanic eruption leaves over 340,000 passengers stranded in Indonesia. [Ed: # of stranded varies from story to story but it is always a huge #.]

From Zero Hedge: 153 Million US And Canadian Driver’s Licenses Are Being Sold On A Russian Cybercrime Forum [Ed: no real defense against this, except checking mail, email, bills with a bit more suspicion.]

Israel. From Al Mayadeen English: 6 killed as IOF pound South Lebanon, destroy hospital, strike vehicles. Israeli occupation forces intensified attacks on southern Lebanon, pounding Nabatieh and surrounding areas, killing civilians, injuring journalists, and completely destroying Ghandour Hospital. From Biljana Vankovska: The Israelization of International Relations: A View from a Small Country. [Ed: I love these cultural glimpses behind the curtain.}

From Dog Time: Canine hero from Afghanistan nominated for Crufts honor.

German Saxony-Anhalt Elections: From Anadolu Agency: Germany's right-wing AfD set for victory in Saxony-Anhalt with record vote. Anti-immigrant AfD party set to win election with record 44% of vote in eastern state, as Chancellor Merz’s conservative CDU falls to historic low of 17.8%. [Ed: not clear whether another party will join in a coalition gov.] From the BBC: Germany's far-right AfD set for big win in eastern state, just short of majority.

From Euronews: Indonesia volcano erupts, cancelling hundreds of flights and stranding thousands

Tariffs. From Politico: Another potential headache for US data centers — Trump tariffs. The possibility of new duties is rattling the tech industry, which is already grappling with a shortage of high-end semiconductors. [Ed: could make development of data centers very difficult.]

From Garden and Gun: The Dog Who Lived Forever. How a long-lost companion became the stuff of legend

Lindsay Clancy Trial. From the Hill: When ‘12 Angry Men’ becomes one angry man. [Ed: by Jonathan Turley.] From Power Line: The Clancy Trial: Cultural Watershed, Legal Farce. [Ed: I give up. A mother murders 3 toddlers with her bare hands and she is the victim.]

From the Mises Institute: The Real Elites Vs. The Ruling Elites. Those who become "elites" through the initiation of violence, and through the looting of others, have always been frauds and imposters...

Ukraine-Russia. From Kyiv Post: Ukraine, US Plan Winter Aid and Post-War Guarantees in Kyiv. [Ed: according to Zelensky--pound of salt, here--the war will continue into winter with U.S. support.] From Naked Capitalism: The Newly Violent GUR-SBU Rivalry Is Ukraine’s Most Important Domestic Political Dynamic. [Ed: important.] From the Peacemaker: Schrödinger’s Russia and the Last Ukrainian. Propaganda watch with Kit Klarenberg

From Trending Politics: Massive Protests Erupt In Spain Following Illegal Alien Invasion. [Ed: this could topple far-left PM Sanchez, which would be a good thing.]

AR15s. From the SCOTUS blog: Court announces cases it will hear in December, including challenges to the constitutionality of bans on AR-15s. From Reason: Do You Have the Right To Possess an AR-15? The Supreme Court Will Soon Decide. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a pair of cases involving rifle restrictions imposed by Connecticut and Cook County, Illinois. [Ed: at the request of the Trump admin.] From Cato Institute: Viramontes v. Cook County Brief: The Second Amendment Protects AR-15s

From the Daily Mail: Extraordinary journey of the beloved dog with a deadly illness who walked 111 miles home after getting lost on the Appalachian Trail.

Big Picture Economics. From Macro Butler: The Sovereign Chain Gang. How every asset you own became handcuffed to a government promise. From Zero Hedge: Biggest 'Go Woke, Get Broke' Story Of A Generation: S&P Nukes Nike From Elite Blue-Chip Index.

From the Washington Examiner: Big Brother is going to college: The federal plan to track students for life. "In the name of making higher education more transparent, Congress is attempting to codify an unprecedented data-collection scheme. Instead of fixing our education system, it would be a disastrous, unnecessary breach of privacy."

From CNN: Without Charlie Kirk, Turning Point is building a future for his movement — and for JD Vance. [Ed: this could be a powerful boost to Vance's Presidential aspirations.]

Iceland. From the European Council on Foreign Relations: A no to the EU, not to Europe: What Icelanders actually voted on. "Icelanders voted no because of old, domestic reasons: fish, the currency and comfort with the status quo. The result was not a victory for the far-right—but the heated campaign is a warning sign for Icelandic political life." From Global Research: Iceland Was Right to Say No to the EU. From DW: NATO drills highlight Iceland's role in Arctic defense.

Climate Change...Again? From the National Review: Apocalypse Not: The World Is Not Going to End, Again. [Ed: on "the sky is falling" bill Gates.]

From Best Friends: Oklahoma shelter dog wins 5K race, gets adopted

From Cato Institute: President Trump’s 32nd Equity Stake Takes the Ownership Spree to Venezuela. "For more than a year, Cato scholars have warned that the Trump administration is turning the federal government into a shareholder in favored companies." [Ed: I have been making the same point for quite some while. The explicit monetary/ownership link between gov. and corps. is getting closer to the classic definition of fascism. And I don't throw that word around cavalierly.]

Freedom of the Press. From Daily Citizen: Nick Shirley Sues California for Squelching Freedom of the Press. [Ed: the legal representation seems to be America First Legal, working with John W. Howard of JW Howard Attorneys, An interesting case to follow.] From AP: Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing Stars and Stripes staffers over CBS interview.

From the Washington Times: U.S. tourism groups want to win Canadian visitors back. A testy trade war isn't helping [Ed: every time a prominent U.s. politician takes a nasty swipe at "Canadians", it is reported in headlines up here and it is taken quite badly. Needless hostility is being generated.] From the Daily Economy: Made in (North) America: Canada Is Not Our Enemy. The US factories that rely on Canadian steel, parts, energy, and expertise want President Trump not to make those inputs more expensive — and American producers less competitive.

From Just the News: From nepotism to phantom camps: Congress scrutinizes LA homeless authority's spending record. Since 2021, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has received more than $1 billion in federal funds, including $220 million just in 2024.

Iran. From Simplicius: Trouble in the Pentagon as Leaked Report Paints Iran Conflict as “Unsustainable” Called by some the “revolt of the generals”, a leak has exposed that a handful of senior US commanders have formally dissented against Hegseth while warning that US’s Middle East plans are unsustainable. From Al Jazeera: Iran touts military response as US maintains blockade, hits tankers. Tehran says the time for proportionate retaliation is over after a US strike on Iranian tankers inside the blockade line. [Ed: the tit-for-tat stage of the war is over. Escalation.] From the Washington Post: US energy secretary says Iran nuclear deal 'may not' happen anytime soon. [Ed: reader friendly.]

From Reason: Trump Is Expanding Executive Power. Democrats Are Already Eyeing the New Tools. Some Democrats are licking their chops over other economic powers that Trump has claimed for the presidency. [Ed: the party in power never seems to consider the gift they are handing to the oppostion...when the opposition next wins out.]

From the DoDo: Puppy Who Can’t Stand On Her Own Learns To Run

Maria Bartiromo. From the Hill: Bartiromo Lawyer: She Wasn't Fired From Fox. Attorney disputes reports amid questions over abrupt split. [Ed: she is one of my favorite broadcasters, despite her clear loyalty to Trump.]

From Pupvine: Frightened Stray Won’t Let Anyone Near Him On A Georgia Street Until Rescuers Make A Surprising Move

Big Picture Economics. From CNN: Volkswagen to slash half its vehicle lineup and 50,000 jobs in cost-cutting effort. From Mish Talk: Trump Threatens to Cancel Trade with World Unless the Fed Cuts Rates. [Ed: a must read.] From National Review: Trump Says More Insane Things About the Federal Reserve.
From Zero Hedge: Alarm Bells Ring As Global Food Prices Hit 2022 Highs, Perfect Storm Stokes New Inflation Shock. Barclays and JPMorgan have been warning...

China. From Al Jazeera: China’s Xi urges new Middle East security framework during rare Egypt visit. Chinese, Egyptian leaders discuss the US-Israel war on Iran, which has prompted regional powers to rethink defence. [Ed: rare for Xi to visit anywhere outside of China in person.] From the New Arab: China wants to help Egypt build out a local AI industry. The US isn’t happy. The White House is trying to rally US tech firms to counter Huawei's bid, which would give China's AI industry a foothold in the region for the first time. [Ed: this would be a game changer.

From the Guardian: Reform UK suspends two senior officials after undercover report on donations. Revelations are further blow to Nigel Farage before conference speech, with Labour reporting party to police. [Ed: Farage is bungling things badly.] From Channel 4: Exclusive: Nigel Farage filmed undercover celebrating secret new foreign donations. [Ed: refer to previous comment.]

From Dog Beast: An Old Man Wakes Up From Coma After Hearing His Dog Barking

Upcoming Election. From Governing: Map: The States With the Highest Rates of Mail Voting. From Jonathan Turley: “Hurry Up and Die”: Michigan Democrat Joins Other Radicals in Scrubbing Social Media of Past Statements.

From Reason: The Right to Trial is Vanishing. Could Bolder Juries Save It? A new campaign by the Cato Institute aims to educate jurors on their right to vote their conscience against unjust laws and sentences. {Ed: jury nullification.]

Ukraine-Russia. From Black Mountain Analysis: The Geopolitical Trap: Structural Incentives Prolonging the War in Ukraine. From Moon of Alabama: Inside The Fight Of MI6 And CIA Proxies Over Who Is To Lead Ukraine [Ed: between the UK and US.] From RT: Trump envoys Witkoff and Kushner land in Moscow. The pair are expected to travel to Kiev after talks in the Russian capital as Washington pushes for a settlement to the Ukraine conflict. [Ed: Trump is already talking about getting back $ sent to Ukraine. Nonsense talk but it sets a mood.]

From Charles Hugh Smith Substack: Our Tragicomic Parody of a Functional Economy.

From Best Friends: Oklahoma shelter dog wins 5K race, gets adopted

Germany's Upcoming Election. From Politico.EU: Friedrich Merz will lose Sunday’s regional election — whatever the result [Ed: election today.] From CNN: Germany’s far-right AfD is poised for power – and split on whether to cozy up to Trump. [Ed: they will align with Trump. I'd bet on it, and I am very careful with $.]


An outright win for the far right in Saxony-Anhalt will hurt Merz. But things will also be messy if his party has to form coalitions with left-wingers to box out the AfD.

From France24: Shady surgeons and Nigeria organ harvesting. Senegal Begins Countdown to Africa’s First Default Since 2023 Streamline. [Ed: video.]

AI. From Reuters: "A swarm of rogue OpenAI agents hijacked a German website this spring and transformed it into a bulletin board for other AI agents, according to ?new research published Friday and two people familiar with the matter," [Ed: how many more do we not know about?] From Marcus on AI: Pause OpenAI, now, Quite simply, they can no longer be trusted. [Ed: a must read.] From Men's Journal: When Robots Attack: Humanoid Goes After a Store Customer. A humanoid robot goes on the attack after it has an interesting “confrontation” with a real human.

Iran. From YNet News: Jordan keeps quiet under Iranian missile fire and this may be why. King Abdullah has long cultivated ties with Washington to bolster Jordan’s security; now, under repeated Iranian missile attacks, the kingdom is showing restraint as its strategic role also makes it a target.

From Naked Capitalism:'Why ‘Entitlements’ Cuts May Succeed

From Dog Heirs: Neglected Dog Finds New Life and an Unexpected Bond With Two Bear Cubs

From Euronews: New Black Sea blockade fuels fears of food crisis and migration wave. " The escalation in the Black Sea has reignited fears among Europeans that Russia will seek to weaponise food supply chains to trigger a migration wave and undermine support for Ukraine."

From the DoDo: Marine Sees Stray Dog In Afghanistan And Knows What He Has To Do. "He wagged his tail and it blew me away."

AI. From Twitchy: Bernie Sanders Introduces Legislation to Pause AI Development in US Immediately [Ed: this is no longer possible. Gov.-funded AI, perhaps.] From Cato Blog: Senator Wyden’s AI Tax Could Push Data Center Tax Rates Above 100 Percent. [Ed: yet another way to prevent any AI development.] From Blood in the Machine: Why office workers are turning against AI. "Whether or not you like AI at work ultimately boils down to a question of power."

From FOX: Zohran Mamdani gives influencers special access as Signal use raises records-law questions. Mamdani’s ‘influencer army’ pushes his NYC agenda and programs — with taxpayers footing some of the bill

From Happy Whisker: California Pit Bull Lost Her Puppies, But A Tiny Flood Survivor Gave Her Heart Exactly What It Needed

From the Washington Examiner: Putin orders pause in Ukraine strikes as Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow

From the High Wire: The Invisible Lighthouse "...an unhackable communication line."

From the DoDo: Woman Looks In Back Seat And Is Shocked To See A Puppy Optical Illusion

From Governing: When Your Call Center Is Inside a Prison Governing. "Oklahoma allowed private companies to employ incarcerated workers for outside calling campaigns, including work that ultimately reached a presidential campaign."

Iran. From the New York Post: Oman quietly rejects Iran’s pitch for Strait of Hormuz fees — despite IRGC claim of deal "...averting a clash with President Trump." From Arab News: Trump says US may hit Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain soon. "Pickaxe Mountain is located near the Natanz uranium enrichment facility and features heavily fortified tunnel complexes."

From the Daily Cartoonist: Magazine Deathwatch: Now Its The Saturday Evening Post. [Ed: after 205 years.]

From the Los Angeles Times: He calls himself California’s Luigi Mangione. An arson suspect’s rallying cry sparks furor. [Ed: reader friendly.]

From Doog Lovers: The Remarkable Journey of a Grumpy Dog Who Found Love and Friendship Through Squirrels in the Park

Elections/voting. From New York Post: Darwin Rivera Flores and why California’s voting system is a wretched mess [Ed: fascinating read, at least for me.] From the Guardian: US judge extends block on Trump order to restrict mail-in voting. Indira Talwani’s ruling presents major setback for president as first states begin to send out mail ballots for midterms. [Ed: the mail-in ballots are starting to go out.] From Naked Capitalism: Colonel Wilkerson: Trump Admin Preparing Insurrection Act, Martial Law Ahead of Midterms. [Ed: this is still in the rumor stage but the rumor is gaining legs.]

From Reason: Maryland Synagogue Challenges Restrictive Gun Law

From American Greatness: Another ActBlue Official Pleads Fifth In House Probe of Alleged Foreign Donations. "We have an entity here with ActBlue, that has raised roughly $20 billion since its creation..." [Ed: this story is just beginning.]

From I Heart Dogs: Someone Recommended Shooting Them. Now Ellie & Jett Are Safe, Loved, And Thriving

From Quoth the Raven:The Rush To Pull Gold Out Of The U.S.

Upcoming U.S. Election. From ProPublica: New Mail Voting Rules Moved Forward Despite USPS Officials’ Concerns About Mass Disenfranchisement. In internal meetings, officials worried the rules they were drafting could delay or block ballots from reaching large swaths of eligible voters for the upcoming midterms. [Ed: the chances of violence in the street re: this election are going up.] From Wired: ICE Plans to Pay $5 Million to Create National Voting Database. As part of a broader DHS surge to investigate alleged voter fraud, ICE has announced it plans to pay up to $5 million to create what amounts to a federal voter database. "...said it would withhold emergency preparedness and counter terrorism funding from states who refused to implement White House policies on elections." From the Hill: DOJ Presses Supreme Court on Trump's Mail Ballot Rules. A judge has frozen implementation of administration's plan. [Ed: whoa. I doubt if this can be resolved in time. One state starts mailing out ballots today.] From Courthouse News: Supreme Court refuses to put proof-of-citizenship amendment on Michigan ballot. The justices were asked to intervene in a Michigan ballot fight after the invalidation of signatures tanked a proof-of-citizenship amendment.

Iran. From antiwar: The Iran War’s Costly Cycle of Retaliation.

Bishkek summit. From Al Jazeera: SCO slams attacks, sanctions on Iran: Key takeaways from Bishkek summit. The SCO started in 1996 and accounts for 43 percent of the world’s population and 23 percent of the global economy. [Ed: and, yet, being ignored by the West.] From Son of the New American Revolution: The Bishkek Declaration: What the SCO Signed, and Why India’s Name on It Matters. "The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation closed its 26th heads-of-state summit in Bishkek on September 1 with a joint statement — the Bishkek Declaration — timed to the bloc’s 25th anniversary and signed by the leaders of all ten member states."

From FOX 8: Dog saves owner from fire that destroyed his house: ‘She was terrified’

From TechCrunch: Uber is laying off 10% of staff, or 3,300 people From Labor Notes: ‘Treated Worse than Cattle’: 2,500 Tyson Workers Laid Off, Plant Shutters Overnight. [Ed: sounds like Tyson handled the firings as poorly as possible.]

From Washington Examiner: Mitch McConnell set to return to Senate after Labor Day, James Comer says. [Ed: but Comer has not spoken to him personally.]

Bartiromo No Longer at FOX. From the Guardian: Fox News Media abruptly ousts longtime anchor Maria Bartiromo. Bartiromo had been a host at the network for more than a decade and Fox gave no explanation for the decision. [Ed: damn. both Brad and I enjoyed her shows. She is very good...and you can't say this about a lot of broadcasters.] From the Hindustan Times: Why was Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo fired by the network? Could she join Trump at White House? Maria Bartiromo is leaving Fox after 12.5 years, with the network announcing her exit. Speculation grows that she may join the Trump administration. [Ed: her people deny the Trump rumor...but they might deny it even if true.] From X, Dylan Byers: The Maria Bartiromo backstory... [Ed: cannot vouch for accuracy, of course.]

From the Epoch Times: Justice Department Launches New Anti-Fraud Division. This comes amid estimates that fraud targeting federal funds could amount to one-quarter of current deficits.

From Laughing Squid: Special Needs Dog With Piercing Eyes Who No One Wanted Finds a Caring Home and New Friends

From Jonathan Turley: Supreme Irony: Congressional Democrats Seek to Reform Institution That is More Popular Than They Are

DSA. From Legal Insurrection: El-Sayed’s Sister Said The Quiet Part Out Loud About Activist Profs. “We have to realize that there are people who do not view teaching as their calling. They are not in academia to teach. They’re in academia to politicize.” [Ed: and to get a cushy job at which you pretend to work.]

Ukraine-Russia Cold War. From Andrew Korybko: Ukraine Might Be Planning A Sustained “Operation Spiderweb” Against Russia’s Air Hubs. [Ed: Zelensky is declaring state terrorism against the world.] From RT: Norway seizes Russian Arctic science vessel at Kiev’s request. "The Professor Molchanov was the only vessel operating a direct passenger link between the Russian mainland and Svalbard."

From Jonathan Turley: The Texas Trotsky? Talarico Declares Capitalism an “Oppressive System” that Must Be “Dismantled”

Oil, Gas, et al. From CNBC: Chevron to expand in Venezuela operations, doubling production through $7 billion investment [Ed: all that's needed for Chevron to profit is gov. backing with military guns pointed at the deal.] From Moon of Alabama: Cause And Effect Of High Diesel Prices.

From Schneier on Security: AI Agents Are Now Emailing Me with Their Security Concerns. [Ed: fascinating.]I'd suspect a spoof but Schneier isn't the sort.] From Krebs on Security: FBI Probes Service Selling 153M+ Drivers Licenses. "A new identity theft service launched on the dark web this week is selling digital scans of more than 153 million drivers licenses from people in the United States and Canada."

From Zero Hedge: "Save Us From Our Traitor Gov't": Massive Madrid Protests Erupt Over Socialist Regime's Handling Of Ceuta Invasion. "A united Ceuta will never be defeated." [Ed: this could bring down the Spanish gov. No great loss.]

From Daily Paws: Border Collie Named Pepper Takes Bus Home By Herself After Getting Lost in Park