NATIONAL:

“Much too quickly after the death of big Mike Brown in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, the Trayvon Martin dream team — ambulance chasers Benjamin Crump and Daryl Parks, media hound Al Sharpton — descended on his still warm body like so many turkey vultures.” – American Thinker

“I am the Attorney General of the United States, but I am also a black man,” Holder told Ferguson residents at a community meeting. “I can remember being stopped on the New Jersey turnpike on two occasions and accused of speeding. Pulled over. … ‘Let me search your car’ … Go through the trunk of my car, look under the seats and all this kind of stuff. I remember how humiliating that was and how angry I was and the impact it had on me.” – USA Today

“British nationals who have travelled to fight for the Islamic State should be stripped of their British citizenship, Ukip leader Nigel Farage said.” – ITV

“Late Wednesday, just 24-hours after Islamic State militants released a video featuring the execution of American journalist James Foley, American officials revealed that they tried to rescue him and other American hostages in a ‘complicated operation.’ Unfortunately, however, that operation failed.” – Hot Air

“Is it just me, or did the presidency of Barack Obama end this week?” – John L. Smith/Las Vegas Review-Journal

“Washington’s response to the menace of school bake sales illustrates progressivism’s ratchet: The federal government subsidizes school lunches, so it must control the lunches’ contents, which validates regulation of what it calls ‘competitive foods,’ such as vending-machine snacks. Hence the need to close the bake-sale loophole, through which sugary cupcakes might sneak: Foods sold at fundraising bake sales must, with some exceptions, conform to federal standards.” – George Will/National Review

“The Democratic National Committee bested its Republican counterpart in fundraising for the month of July, bringing in almost $9.3 million to the Republican National Committee’s $8.4 million. But the RNC started August with more money in the bank, at $13.9 million to the DNC’s $9.6 million cash on hand.” – The Hill

“Russia is demanding that Bulgaria try harder to prevent vandalism of Soviet monuments, after yet another monument to Soviet troops in Sofia was spray-painted, ITAR-Tass reported.” – Moscow Times

“Credit where it is due: for once “No Drama Obama” showed some real anger and emotion. In addressing the nation about James Foley, President Obama had a level of righteousness in his voice he does not often have. While I think it unseemly that he was literally within ten minutes of his speech on a golf course, I appreciate the righteousness in his statement. But his words bother me greatly. His words expose why he can never beat ISIL.” – Erick Erickson/RedState

“Owners of a family farm in Schaghticoke, New York, are being fined $13,000 for refusing to allow a gay wedding ceremony to take place on their property in 2012, just one year after the state legalized same-sex nuptials.” – The Blaze

 

LOUISIANA:

“Just when pundits were starting to agree that the odds are tipping in favor of the Republicans winning control of the Senate this November, reports of inquiries about potential misconduct by Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu may make the embattled Red state Democrat’s re-election fight may be another nail in her party’s midterms coffin.” – Fox News

“The federal government must help pay nearly $1 million in court costs related to the ongoing civil trial of BP and its role in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal judge in New Orleans ordered this week.” – NOLA.com

“We are keeping an eye on the tropical wave east of the Lesser Antilles this morning.” – Fox 8 Live

“Contractors have completed a segment of the Morganza-to-the-Gulf levee tying into the Houma Navigation Canal south of Dulac. Terrebonne Levee District Director Reggie Dupre addressed the state’s Coastal Restoration and Protection Authority Board on Wednesday to update the parish’s progress in the footprint of the Morganza project. ” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“When it comes to the increase in state gross domestic product (GDP) for 2005-2013, Louisiana came out near the top.” – NOLA.com

“In his quickly approaching re-election bid, Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell of Elm Grove has a 59 percent favorable rating and a 15 percent unfavorable rating, according to a poll conducted by the Kitchens Group recently and paid for by the candidate.” – LAPolitics

“Unlike the first day of ‘qualifying,’ when the Secretary of State’s office was packed with protestors, supporters and candidates, the second of three days during which the state accepts the paperwork and fees to get their name on the ballot, has been quiet.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is endorsing Paul Dietzel II in the crowded race for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District.” – NOLA.com

“Ann Pace was delighted to hear Wednesday that a Baton Rouge state judge rejected condemned serial killer Derrick Todd Lee’s request for a new trial in the 2002 slaying of her daughter, Charlotte Murray Pace, but knows years more of appeals remain.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“LSU has had 28 all-conference picks during the past four seasons. Only three players – one a kicker – earned All-SEC honors more than once: Sam Montgomery, Morris Claiborne and Drew Alleman.” – USA Today