KURT SCHLICHTER: Obama Is Too Incompetent To Pull Off A Coup.

NEW “TERRITORIES” IN THE BRAIN IDENTIFIED: Research has identified 97 new “cortical territories” and provided “finer grain details” of four properties of the human brain: architecture, function, connectivity and topography. Most of these newly identified territories “reside in regions of higher cognitive function,” which means these newly identified regions play absolutely no role in formulating the Democratic Party’s sub-reptilian politics of hate or informing editorial decisions at the ameoba-level propaganda sheet published under the name Rolling Stone.

Here’s the NATURE MAGAZINE pdf.

LIFE IN THE 21ST CENTURY: Beware Of Twitter Robots Telling People How To Vote.

TURKISH PRESIDENT ERDOGAN HAS GONE TOO FAR: When I wrote my weekly Creators Syndicate column yesterday I thought he might. The column concludes with this line:

…Erdogan retained his power because the Turkish people believe in their democracy. If he has any sense of his duties and his place in history, he will curb his quest for personal power and commit himself to protecting the system that saved him.

In the last 24 hours, he has done just the opposite. When I wrote the column the 6,000 figure for security personnel actually under arrest was the firmest figure I could find. The total number under arrest was believed to be over 8,000. According to this CNN report those numbers are up a bit (9,400 in the CNN report). Most news reports say Erdogan has purged 50,000 to 60,000 people — ie, fired people from their jobs. The purge figure includes suspended police and other security personnel.

Here is a Turkish news website (in English) I read: hurriyetdailynews.com

A current article says the government has arrested two people for praising the coup on social media.

HMMMMM: RNC Rumor Mill: Roger Ailes Could Replace Manafort as Trump Campaign Manager.

R.I.P., FAWN LIEBOWITZ.

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MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Turkey’s New Sultan: Erdogan compared democracy to a streetcar: ‘When you come to your stop, you get off.’

UH-OH: Bourbon Boom Creates Spirits Shortage.

The resurgence of cocktails has led to a 315-percent spike in Kentucky bourbon production since 1999. The industry, however, is struggling to keep up. Whiskey needs a few years to age and many distilleries didn’t anticipate today’s demand.

For example, the Buffalo Trace Distillery is suffering from a shortage. Freddie Johnson said the company’s high end brands, like Pappy Van Winkle, need more than 20 years to age.

“The bourbon aging in the warehouse right now is really for the bourbon of tomorrow and the bourbons that were enjoying today is the bourbon of a generation before,” said Johnson.

Because there is not enough Pappy to meet demand, some online liquor stores are re-selling bottles for 10 times their retail value.

There’s no need to panic until some ambitious politician proposes a government solution.

TAMARA KEEL: How Do You Test Handgun Reliability?

IRS WORKER COMMITS IDENTITY THEFT: Hack theft, not hacking. In the sense Lois Lerner was an Obama-Clinton political hack. Also an IRS worker nabbed on bribery charges and another on defrauding the government. OK, just three crimes (just three!), but the IRS is in desperate need of reform. Here’s the Inspector General Report for complete details (July 20 section of the report).

WAIT, I THOUGHT READING COSMO WAS A SIGN OF WHITE PRIVILEGE: Cosmo Writer Says Defending Melania Is A Sign of White Privilege.

LIVEBLOGGING THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION — DAY 3.

WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT SCIENTISTS? Scientists Determine How Much Pot Is in a Joint.

WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS TO THE DECADE THAT NEVER ENDS: Stuntman to attempt Evel Knievel’s failed 1974 launch over Snake River.

Someday, we’ll see a pop culture that’s moved beyond the 1970s. If we live long enough.

FIRST-TERM HAWAII CONGRESSMAN MARK TAKAI DIES AT 49, following battle with pancreatic cancer.

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: Papa John’s upgraded on belief civil unrest is encouraging more pizza delivery:

Papa John’s International Inc. was upgraded to overweight from sector weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets with analysts expressing the surprising* view that diners, concerned about political and civil unrest, are choosing to stay home for pizza delivery rather than head out for a meal.

Papa John’s price target is $80, or about 16% above its current trading level.

“After speaking with several large operators and industry contacts, we believe the recent decline in casual dining restaurant segment fundamentals—traffic down 3% to 5% the past several weeks—may be the result of consumers eating more at home amid the current political/social backdrop, which we believe could last through the November election,” KeyBanc analysts wrote in a note published Tuesday.

Shades of Faith Popcorn’s “Cocooning” thesis from her much-hyped 1991 book, The Popcorn Report, written, not at all coincidentally, at the perigee of the Dinkins era in New York. Cocooning as a trend seemed to go a bit by the wayside after Rudy Giuliani began revitalizing New York law enforcement, and crime in general began to fall in the US during the Contract with America mid-1990s. I wonder if the post-Obama era will experience as quick a turnaround?

* AKA, Unexpectedly.

MY USA TODAY COLUMN: Turkey’s new sultan: Erdogan compared democracy to a streetcar: ‘When you come to your stop, you get off.’

CONCERN-TROLL OF THE DAY: Reporters troubled by Republicans chanting “lock her up!” about Hillary.

I’m sure that never happened during the latter days of Watergate or Bush #43.

Oh wait! Flashback: Democrat activist rushes San Francisco convention stage in October of 2008, attempts to put handcuffs on Karl Rove.

More seriously, see also: Lefty lawfare against Tom Delay and Rick Perry.

UNEXPECTEDLY: The Obama administration’s new overtime regulation seems to be hurting the very workers it aimed to help.

What we need is a law against unintended consequences.

WORLD’S SMALLEST HARD DISK: Scientists have written data one atom at a time, creating incredibly efficient storage.

AT AMAZON, bestsellers in Patio, Lawn & Garden.

Plus, bestsellers in Appliances.

A TALE OF TWO MOMS: “Remember how Maureen Dowd talked about Patricia Smith’s ‘absolute moral authority?’ No, I don’t remember that either.”

GOOD: I.V.F. Does Not Raise Breast Cancer Risk, Study Shows.

BREAKING: Two members of Turkey’s constitutional court arrested.

The two constitutional court members were among a group of 113 officials from the judiciary formally arrested on Wednesday, NTV said. Formal charges were also brought against President Tayyip Erdogan’s chief aide-de-camp, it said.

It is now estimated that 60,000 “soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended, detained or are under investigation” since Erdogan purge began.