NATIONAL

“If you reread the tweet, you will see that I stated that an expert in the field – a psychoanalyst with decades of experience – compared the ‘psychological characteristics’ of the two individuals, and that I was struck by his analysis. There do appear to be commonalities.” – MRC

“It is a supreme irony of modern American life that the political movement that terms itself ‘progressive’ is, in the economic realm at least, increasingly passionate about the status quo. Speaking today about the burgeoning ‘gig economy,’ presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton could not help herself but to set modernity firmly within aging ideological tram-lines. Developments such as AirBnB, Zaarly, Uber, DogVacay, and RelayRides, Clinton conceded, are not likely to ‘go away’ any time soon. But they are worrying nonetheless. Indeed, the ‘sharing economy,’ she proposed, is ‘polarizing’ and it is disruptive — guilty of no less than ‘displacing or downgrading blue-collar jobs.’ Technological advances, she concluded, must not ‘determine our destiny.'” – National Review

“A new model of the Sun’s solar cycle is producing unprecedentedly accurate predictions of irregularities within the Sun’s 11-year heartbeat. The model draws on dynamo effects in two layers of the Sun, one close to the surface and one deep within its convection zone. Predictions from the model suggest that solar activity will fall by 60 per cent during the 2030s to conditions last seen during the ‘mini ice age’ that began in 1645.” – Science Daily

“Negotiators failed to meet the standard of achieving ‘anytime, anywhere’ access that several members of the United States Congress had demanded as a part of any nuclear deal. Instead, in the event Iran objects to an IAEA request for access to a specific site, a ‘clock’ will begin that grants the two sides 14 days to negotiate. If that period expires without any resolution reached directly between Iran and the IAEA, the Joint Commission would have seven days to advise them on a way forward. Iran would then have three days to comply with the commission’s final advice, bringing the total time on the clock to 24 days… ‘We don’t think that ‘anytime, anywhere’ inspections are feasible,’ the official said. ‘It’s just not something that happens anywhere in the world.'” – Jerusalem Post

“All you need to do to make sense of this deal is believe, as the White House obviously does, that attacking Iran’s enrichment facilities would be a worse outcome than Iran building a bomb. That’s it. The great shining ‘achievement’ of the deal isn’t that it eliminates Iran’s program — it doesn’t — but that it removes any remaining domestic pressure on Obama to further escalate with Iran, either by sanctions or military strike, to stop it.” – Hot Air

“Iranians posting across social media platforms are elated that Iran and six world powers reached a historic nuclear deal Tuesday after almost a decade of negotiations. The agreement limits Iranian nuclear activity in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
Iranians are declaring online that the deal is a victory, posting ‎#IranWinsPeace in thousands of tweets and Instagram posts since Monday.” – Vocativ

“Somewhere Frank Marshall Davis must be smiling. Barack Obama toasted what he always wanted, the decline of the West, as our president finally rolled over and made a big nuclear deal with Iran, giving the ayatollah virtually everything he could have dreamed of, let alone needed — including control over nuclear inspections, making them meaningless — and getting nothing in return.” – Roger L. Simon/PJ Media

“The U.S. and its allies are faced with four major threats, and they are as diverse and yet as akin as the proverbial apocalyptic horsemen.” – Victor Davis Hanson/National Review

“You have probably heard by now the story about a young man brutally murdered on a DC Metro train while the other passengers cowered in the corners and didn’t lift a finger to keep him from being carved to pieces before their eyes. It’s just another story that makes us feel like we’re sinking back into the bad old days of the 1970s, when criminals ruled the streets and the good citizens were too frightened to stand up to them.” – The Federalist

“After assuring everyone that 1) Trump was never going to run in the first place and 2) once he declared that he would run they insisted he would get nowhere, we now find that these whiz-bangs were wrong on both counts. Trump is in the race and he has surged to the top of the polls, drawing huge crowds. By chance, here in my home Central Pennsylvania county, a race to fill a vacancy in the state legislature in an August 4th election has Republican candidate Greg Rothman knocking on doors in this traditionally Republican district. Rothman tells me he has knocked on 3,100 doors thus far — and while he’s there to talk state issues residents in this area are volunteering to him that they support… Donald Trump.” – Jeffrey Lord/American Spectator

LOUISIANA

“The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry has released its scorecard from the 2015 legislative session, and the results are not pretty for many Louisiana lawmakers — even those who have traditionally sided with the business interest group.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Opponents of the proposed removal of Confederate memorials in New Orleans are using social media to organize the fight to keep them where they stand. What started out as an effort to keep the statue of Robert E. Lee atop his column in Lee Circle, has expanded its mission to include defending all of the statues and monuments dedicated to the Confederacy.” – NOLA.com

“But more than a thousand people on Facebook disagree. The page is ‘West Monroe High School Rebel Mascot Change‘ and is calling for just that. Page administrators say the mascot is harmful and causes suffering. Those admins declined to interview with us on camera but did submit a written statement:” – KNOE

“One St. Bernard Parish employee who is a state witness against St. Bernard President Dave Peralta has been fired by the administration and another has been suspended, according to government officials.” – NOLA.com

“The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating numerous complaints of overcrowding and poor crowd control during a Panic! at the Disco concert Saturday night at Blue Bayou/Dixie Landin’ park. The band drew larger-than-normal crowds and concertgoers expressed concerns on Facebook about their safety.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Someone pointed out to my friend’s mama that a slight majority of Americans support same-sex marriage — and that even here in Louisiana, it’s supported by a majority of the state’s residents under the age of 50. Like it or not, this is the future. I told my own parents that they won’t live to see it, but I expect to see well before my own demise some of the churches in town performing gay weddings, because a majority of the people in the congregations will see no problem with it. That’s just the way things are now. I think a lot of conservative Christians, especially Southerners, live in a bubble, and don’t see how things have changed all around them.” – Rod Dreher/American Conservative

“The chief executive officer at Milestone Academy, a struggling Louisiana charter, was hired in July 2014 to clean up the school’s act. But he racked up $13,000 on a school credit card in the past year, and many of the charges raise eyebrows, according to The Hechinger Report.” – NOLA.com

“Seth Fontenot could soon be back before a judge for re-sentencing in the 2013 shooting death of 15-year-old Austin Rivault and injuries to two other teenagers, but it’s uncertain whether there will be any substantive change in a 13-month prison sentence that prosecutors and the victims’ family members decried as too lenient.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Two city leaders have promised to try and kill a barge cleaning facility from building along the river south of LSU by changing city zoning laws.” – WBRZ

“The 2015 Miss USA pageant Sunday garnered fewer than 1 million viewers, an all-time low, according to numbers released Tuesday by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information on what consumers watch on television.” – Baton Rouge Advocate