AFGHANISTAN // President Trump will address the nation tonight at 9 p.m. EDT on Afghanistan. Here’s a summary of the different options he might consider: http://cvote.it/2wfFvr9
BORDER // President Trump is scheduled to visit a Marine Corps base in Arizona along the U.S.-Mexico border, before attending a rally in Phoenix. It’s possible that Trump will use the rally to back Kelli Ward, who is challenging Sen. Jeff Flake, R-AZ, in the 2018 Senate primary. Flake is a Trump foe. http://cvote.it/2wfP5KR
PROTEST // There weren’t really many neo-nazis or white supremacists at a “free speech rally” in Boston on Sunday. There were, though, thousands of peaceful protesters ready to denounce hate. Makes you wonder if the media is exaggerating and hyping the number of white supremacists just to earn more viewers and clicks. But Boston was not perfectly peaceful. A cadre of radical left-wing counter protesters from the Antifa movement threw bottles of urine at police officers, the Boston police commissioner confirmed. http://cvote.it/2vVU1Sg
WHITE HOUSE // Steve Bannon is out of the White House and back at his helm at Breitbart News. And friends say Bannon wants to target Republicans who are thwarting Trump’s agenda. http://cvote.it/2wg5Zcm
STATUES // Gov. Larry Hogan ordered the removal of the statue of Chief Justice Roger Taney, who wrote the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision which upheld slavery. Taney was the first Catholic to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. (It should be noted that Taney was not a Confederate.) The statue was removed from the Maryland State House grounds at 2 a.m. Saturday morning, without any public notice. http://cvote.it/2wfrIB5
STATUES // While many Catholics aren’t very proud of Taney’s legacy, they are proud of St. Junipero Serra. But the mobs have not spared the saints. We’re not surprised, are we? Vandals defaced a statue of St. Junipero Serra near the San Fernando Mission in northern Los Angeles. His face was painted red and the word “MURDER” was written on his body. Heaven, help us. St. Junipero Serra has long been praised as the Apostle of California. http://cvote.it/2wftB0v
STATUES // George Neumayr calls the current iconoclastic fervor an orgy of self-righteousness: “One wonders what entitles this generation to speak so confidently about past evils given its inability to recognize present ones. Modern America is awash in the blood of millions of aborted children — a monstrous evil we’re told is as central to the modern lifestyle as slavery was to the ancient one.” http://cvote.it/2wg2ceS
DEMOCRATS // President Trump is languishing in low approval ratings, but Democrats seem incapable of capitalizing. The Democratic National Committee just had the worst month of fundraising in a decade in July. http://cvote.it/2wf7PKd
DISCOVERY // Billionaire Paul Allen led a search team that found the lost World War II cruiser Indianapolis in the Philippine Sea — 72 years after two torpedoes from a Japanese submarine sunk the ship. http://cvote.it/2wfzYkJ
CATHOLIC // The original plan of the Islamic terrorists in Barcelona was to blow up the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia and slaughter hundreds in a “spectacular” blast. http://cvote.it/2wg3pmq
CATHOLIC // Richmond’s Bishop Francis Xavier DiLorenzo passes away at age 75. http://cvote.it/2vVvZqx
SAINT // Saint Pius X – http://cvote.it/dailysaint
DAILY MASS // “Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.” (Ps 106:4) – http://cvote.it/Daily-Readings
ECLIPSE // Catholic parishes and schools happy to be in the path of the solar eclipse. http://cvote.it/2vVkQpX