NATIONAL

“In his television interview, Mr Mottaghi also gave succour to western critics of the proposed nuclear deal, which has seen the White House pursue a more conciliatory line with Tehran than some of America’s European allies in the negotiating team, comprising the five permanent members of the UN security council and Germany. ‘The US negotiating team are mainly there to speak on Iran’s behalf with other members of the 5+1 countries and convince them of a deal,’ he said.” – UK Telegraph

“We’re in a goddamn free fall here.” – The American Interest

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted the impending nuclear deal between the P5+1 world powers and the Iranian regime, calling the accord a historically bad agreement that lets Iran race towards nuclear weapons development.” – Breitbart

“Conservatives need to get over this ‘chicken little’ syndrome where the sky is continually falling. Morbid pessimism is not helpful. We need fewer conservative grim reapers and more Churchills or Lincolns rallying the nation to live up to its highest principles, not declaring the battle lost in the midst of conflict.” – The Federalist

“It’s all very tiresome to discuss, but we must because for six years Barack Obama has been throwing bricks through the glass storefront windows of ally after ally: Britain, France, German, the Czech Republic, Egypt, even little Albania, and lately of course, Israel. And at first blush it’s not at all apparent that the next administration or the one after that can clean it all up. Only, in that conversation, we shouldn’t make the mistake of biting on the baited hooks the intellectual and their outriders in the media drag in the water in front of us about issues from secret CIA prisons to the purported American assassination of Allende.” – American Thinker

“Critics say that Indiana’s RFRA amounts to a license to discriminate; it isn’t — far from being a blanket grant of immunity, it simply allows religious liberties to be raised as a defense in lawsuits. That religious liberties may be offered as a defense is not a guarantee that this defense will be accepted by a court.” – National Review

“The argument over what Pence has thus signed becomes not only intellectual, but visceral, vitriolic, ugly. Both sides dig in, because each thinks the other is flatly wrong — in their hearts, and on the facts. And the debate rages on, sometimes spiraling to a place so far away from the law itself.” – Indianapolis Star

“Those who would use the power of the state to force people to act against sincere religious faith should turn around, stop whining, walk down the street to another baker — and get a life.” – Quin Hillyer/National Review

“Is 2.2% an acceptable rate of economic growth? No, but don’t take my word for it. By the Obama administration’s own standards, it has been a failure.” – Power Line

“The good news is that these sorts of perversions always burn themselves out-they’re too untethered to reality. Eventually people realize that the radicalism is really about just one thing: power. And once people begin to challenge the dogmas, they collapse in a cascade. Because as they lose their power to exact a price for criticism, they attract more of it. The bad news is that these radical revolutions can deal out a great amount of harm before they are discredited.” – Weekly Standard

LOUISIANA

“U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, both said they wouldn’t pursue the impeachment of President Barack Obama, only because it would leave Vice President Joe Biden in charge. Vitter and Graves said a Biden presidency would be just as bad — possibly worse — than the current situation.” – NOLA.com

“Federal public defenders have been granted more time to work on the appeal for former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who is serving a 10-year sentence for corruption.” – Lake Charles American Press

“On Thursday night, freshman Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-Alto, one of the delegation’s physicians, administered medical treatment to a young military veteran on his flight from Washington to Atlanta, according to the Monroe News Star.” – NOLA.com

“Members of the House Appropriations Committee are questioning whether the Republican governor has provided spending plans that might work through the final six months of Jindal’s term but that could leave them with a financial mess in the second half of the fiscal year after Jindal is term-limited and gone from office.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Politicians looking to ‘enhance revenue’ without raising taxes might want to take a close look at Louisiana, where Governor Bobby Jindal may have found the promised land of conservative tax policy. He’s promoting a plan to raise $526 million without a tax increase. His trick: Turn refundable business credits into non-refundable credits.” – Christian Science Monitor

“A Baton Rouge judge has thrown out one of Louisiana’s lawsuits challenging the Common Core standards, Education Superintendent John White said Monday (March 30).” – NOLA.com

“At 7 a.m. Tuesday, Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s Mid City emergency room will close, pulling the plug on what hospital officials call a financial money pit that threatened hospital operations.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Houma-Thibodaux’s loss of 2,600 jobs from December to January was one of its biggest in years, but much of the decline is seasonal and has nothing to do with a decline in oil prices.” – Houma Courier

“Louisiana’s roads and bridges are beset by dwindling dollars, pressing needs and the lack of any sweeping solutions on the horizon. Even amid a $12.3 billion backlog of transportation infrastructure projects, nearly $91 million — roughly equal to 3 cents of the state’s 20-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax — is set to be diverted to the State Police and other services.” – Baton Rouge Advocate

“Shell has announced that it is opening its second and third liquefied natural gas lanes in the United States at TravelCenters of America fueling stations in Lafayette and Baytown, Texas.” – Lafayette Advertiser