Good morning and happy Labor Day Eve Eve Eve Eve! We’re taking the weekend off to celebrate, so don’t go hunting for an issue of the Elective on Monday. Before we dive into the news today, here’s a look at what really matters:

• A giant corporation got cyberbullied into reversing course on its dumb new logo.

• Will Smith sullied his otherwise stellar reputation by using AI to make the crowd look bigger in a concert video.

• People in Valencia, Spain, took part in the 78th annual gigantic tomato food fight.

• A real estate listing in Argentina showed a piece of looted Nazi art on the wall ... that promptly vanished before cops showed up to raid the joint.

That’s pretty much everything, no?

LAW

🧯 Did Trump just ban flag burning?

President Trump went all-in this week on finally solving a problem that has plagued America for generations. He signed an executive order on Monday directing the Department of Justice to … begin prosecuting protestors who burn American flags.

• According to the president, “If you burn a flag, you get one year in jail, no early exits, no nothing.”

Is that legal? In a landmark 1989 case called Texas v. Johnson, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that flag burning is protected free speech under the First Amendment. Before that decision made them unenforceable, nearly every state had a law banning the practice.

• A few states (guess where) took it a step further and also banned desecration of the Confederate flag.

So it’s illegal? Not exactly. According to JD Vance, Trump’s order “is consistent with Texas v. Johnson.” The actual text of it is way different from the president’s quote about tossing hippies in the slammer.

• It basically just directs the Department of Justice to prioritize taking down people who burn the flag in ways that are “consistent with the First Amendment.”

• In other words, normal illegal things, like destroying property, setting things on fire, and disturbing the peace.

Someone’s bound to sue over this, but it may end up in court either way. The order allows Attorney General Pam Bondi to “pursue litigation” on how the First Amendment affects flag burning.

• For his part, Vance also noted that he disagreed with the ruling in Texas v. Johnson. He cited a dissent that claimed bans on flag burning were "justified" due to the "almost mystical reverence" people place on the flag.

This crusade isn’t new. Following the controversial decision in Texas v. Johnson, the bipartisan forces of Big Flag™ spent the ‘90s and ‘00s trying to pass a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to ban burning (or otherwise desecrating) Old Glory.

• It hit the required 2/3 vote in the House five times, but never passed that bar in the Senate and never got sent to the states for ratification.

One guy has already been arrested for burning a flag across the street from the White House. Buuuut police didn’t cite Trump’s order. They got him for violating a law that bans lighting fires in public parks.

Anyway, over on the political front:

• Democrats on Tuesday picked up a Republican-leaning Iowa State Senate seat, breaking the GOP’s supermajority in the chamber.

• Republicans are inching toward changing Senate rules to make confirming presidential nominees easier.

• A state judge in Utah said the state’s congressional map violates state rules against gerrymandering and must be redrawn.

GOVERNMENT

💰️ President Trump, who's not a big fan of the Federal Reserve's current leadership, fired Board of Governors member Lisa Cook on Monday. She responded with a "No, thanks," and filed a lawsuit claiming her (attempted) firing was illegal. Federal law says members of the Fed's board can only be fired "for cause" (aka: wrongdoing), which Cook claims Trump doesn't have. Trump, of course, disagrees. His administration has accused Cook of mortgage fraud for claiming two separate houses as her primary residence on loan applications. No charges have been filed, and the law isn't super clear on whether an allegation alone counts as "cause." This will end up in court soon enough, right alongside several similar firings Trump has made this year as he seeks to overturn laws that insulate many federal agencies from presidential control.

🔎 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is reinstating the old practice of "neighborhood checks" when vetting immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship. The process is legal, but has (mostly) been dormant since 1991. Instead of relying on FBI background checks, USCIS agents will conduct on-the-ground investigations. That could involve letters of recommendation and interviews with neighbors and business associates. Proponents of the move say it's all about ensuring immigrants have the "good moral character" that federal law already requires. In contrast, opponents say the process is too labor-intensive and fear it will discourage people from pursuing citizenship.

CABINET

🗄️ Trump holds Cabinet meeting, thrilling all involved

It’s pretty much a universal truth that meetings are the worst part of any job. That’s as true for normies sitting through some hot new HR drivel as it is for high-level government officials falling asleep during Cabinet meetings. Sadly, the meetings remain.

President Trump held a three-hour, televised doozy of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Let’s take a look at what each Cabinet secretary said they were up to — after they heaped job insurance praise on the boss, that is:

State: Marco Rubio was just happy to be there. He’s more excited about Labor Day than usual because he has “four jobs” right now.

Defense: Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon is refocusing itself to become a “merit-based, gender-neutral, colorblind” war machine and trumpeted his move to resupply America’s munitions stockpiles.

Justice: Attorney General Pam Bondi lauded her department for getting a guilty plea out of Sinaloa Cartel cofounder (and El Chapo pal) El Mayo.

Treasury: Scott Bessent touted his department for taking in "record tariff revenues" and said that cash was helping reduce the monthly budget deficit. Meanwhile, Trump made good on his threat and doubled tariffs on imports from India to 50%.

Interior: Doug Burgum said he changed a rule to make it easier for U.S. Park Police (National Mall cops, mostly) to chase down drivers who flee after being pulled over.

Health and Human Services: RFK is working with other departments to fight against wind farms off the East Coast and, yes, “save whales.” He also said he's on track to uncover the causes of autism by next month.

Agriculture: Brooke Rollins basically just droned on about Labor Day, representing farmers, and her son going to Texas A&M.

Education: Linda McMahon said states are finding “innovative” ways for community colleges, middle schools, and high schools to work together on “workforce training.”

Transportation: Sean Duffy said the USDOT will recommend wind turbines be built at least 1.2 miles from highways and railroads for safety reasons.

Energy: Chris Wright praised cheap energy for keeping the American Dream alive and said he canceled a Biden-era plan to close old power plants.

Veterans Affairs: Doug Collins said the VA is working to cut its backlog of work and expand service hours on evenings and weekends.

Homeland Security: According to Kristi Noem, 1.6 million illegal immigrants have voluntarily left the country, and "zero” have entered the U.S. in the past three months.

Housing and Urban Development: Scott Turner talked about the "dignity of work" and work requirements for able-bodied residents of public housing.

Commerce: Howard Lutnick said he and Trump are working on a deal to get the federal government an ownership stake in any patent created using federal research dollars. He also said Commerce is working to put all of its new economic stats “on the blockchain.”

Labor: Lori Chavez-DeRemer claimed that more than 2 million jobs have been created for "native-born" Americans and said she has expanded federal grants for blue-collar apprenticeships.

TRIVIA

Massachusetts gave the public a chance to submit design ideas for its new state flag. Finalists will be reviewed by alleged "experts" this afternoon, despite “dinosaur carrying coffee from Dunkin” being the obvious winner. Most state flags suck pretty hard, but redesigns are becoming more common. Which U.S. state most recently redesigned its flag?

Hint: No Republican has won it in a presidential race since 1972.

BRIEFS

● President Trump ordered flags on government buildings to half-staff until sunset on Sunday “as a mark of respect” after someone killed two praying students at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. Seventeen others were hurt, including three adults in their 80s.

● Seven people were arrested for camping out inside Microsoft President Brad Smith’s office in protest of the company’s alleged work with Israel. Police later found that the protestors had planted “listening devices” in Smith’s office.

● Denmark’s foreign minister summoned America’s top diplomat in the country (not currently an ambassador) after a Wednesday news report accused people connected to President Trump of carrying out a secret influence operation in Greenland.

● Activists say airlines are using dummy call signs and blocking tail numbers to hide information about the deportation flights they’re running for the Trump administration. About 6,000 flights have taken place this year, a 41% increase over 2024.

● Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s fight to stay in the U.S. continued this week when his lawyers filed a motion to renew his claim of asylum. The Trump administration claims the Salvadoran man is a human trafficker and has threatened to deport him to Uganda.

QUOTE

ANSWER

We’re looking for the original home of the L.A. Lakers, the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and the home of almost-VP Tim Walz. Minnesota’s redesigned flag became official on May 11, 2024.

That just beats Utah, which got a new flag in March 2024. Mississippi joined the New Flag Club in early 2021, Illinois is working on a redesign now, and voters in Maine last year decided they’d rather keep their ugly flag instead of getting a cool new one.