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DON SURBER: Why Pence Doesn’t Matter — And Does.

THOUGHTS ON THE TURKISH COUP ATTEMPT FROM JEFF CARTER:

There are no black and white answers surrounding Turkey. Yes, the President is a strongman. There will be a lot more bloodshed in Turkey. Erdogan isn’t a prime example of a tolerant leader. But, last night on Twitter even the Kurds who he is bitter enemies with were speaking up for democracy. The Kurds didn’t support the coup. Erdogan’s political opponents didn’t support the coup. That tells you something I think. The Turks do value democracy. Democracy is messy sometimes.

Another very interesting thing that happened last night. The military took over broadcasters. Erdogan, who has tried to severely restrict Twitter and Facebook, took to Facebook Live to communicate to his supporters.

Again, it just makes me think the best way to fight and win against radical terrorists is through a powerful network, not hierarchy. The way we are fighting today via vertical silos that have trouble communicating is not a way to win.

True.

“PENCE GETS SCHLONGED.”

NATIONALISTS AND COSMOPOLITANS: How Samuel Huntington Predicted Our Political Moment. “According to Huntington, postwar globalization had given rise to a new class of ‘global citizens’ at the highest echelons of American academia, industry, and (bipartisan) politics—a ‘de-nationalized’ elite whose ‘attitudes and behavior contrast with the overwhelming patriotism and nationalistic identification of the rest of the American public.’ The jet-setting cosmopolitans tended to be far more supportive of free trade, open immigration, and activist foreign policy than most Americans. Huntington described this wide and allegedly growing gap as a major source of the decline in trust in democratic institutions since the 1960s.”

HILLARY: CAN YOU IMAGINE ELECTING A VINDICTIVE MAN WHO MIGHT SEND THE IRS AFTER HIS CRITICS?

Yes. We. Can!

“WE ARE AT WAR:” “Listening to many commentators on the cable news stations last night talking about the terrorist attack in Nice, I kept hearing the phrases: ‘We’re at war.’ ‘This is World War III.’ ‘This is war,’” Neo-Neocon writes, adding that “My reaction was, ‘Where’ve you been since the morning of September 11, 2001?’ We have been at war since then, whether you realized it or not.”

Or as the legendary “Twitter Laureate” of Texas, Justice Don Willett tweeted yesterday:

YOU SPELLED ‘MAN-CAUSED DISASTER’ WRONG: Tolerating the Risk of Attacks Like Nice Is Obama’s Policy.

A COLD WAR MYSTERY SOLVED: Why Did Jimmy Carter Save The Space Shuttle?

HEAL THYSELF, CHICAGO. Chicago Sun-Times Tries to Lecture Cleveland on Gun Violence. Editors think they know what’s wrong with Cleveland’s gun laws, but they can’t combat gun violence on their own streets.

HE CHOSE…POORLY:  Piers Morgan tries to ‘shame’ Dana Loesch for NRA ad … BIG mistake.

SCRATCH A GREEN.

(Unexpectedly.)

CNN: TURKEY’S PRESIDENT DECLARES UPRISING OVER; AT LEAST 42 KILLED DURING COUP ATTEMPT.

That’s not quite a Saddam or Castro-level body count (yet), but it should go far in earning Erdogan plenty of respect in the CNN home office.

Related: The body count is higher according to the Daily Mail: ‘They will pay a heavy price for their treason’: Up to 100 Turkish soldiers surrender on Bosphorus Bridge after their military coup fails, ending with 60 dead and President Erdogan vowing revenge.

BLOOMBERG: Erdogan Lands in Istanbul as Leaders Claim Coup Foiled.

LOOKING BACK AT PETE TOWNSHEND’S SCOOP ALBUM FROM 1983: I have some thoughts on the album that heralded the home music recording revolution, and anticipated the Blogosphere, over at Ed Driscoll.com.

IT’S SHOCKING IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND THE DIVERSITY OF THE GOP: WaPo: The first female space shuttle commander will speak at the GOP convention. Huh?

OUR PRESIDENT IS NOTHING IF NOT PREDICTABLE: Supporting “democracy”: Obama, Turkey, & Honduras, deja vu all over again.

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THE ANSWER: NOT A LOT. And at this stage, a lot of what we think we know is wrong. Turkish Military Coup: What We Know.

Related: What’s Going On In Turkey.

Also: Turkish Coup Live Blog.

I LIKE PETER THIEL: Eccentric Gay Billionaire Peter Thiel Gets Prime Speaking Slot at GOP Convention.

I SUSPECT GLENN’S RIGHT. If the coup fails then Erdogan’s opposition is weakened, even those decent folks who didn’t have an inkling. Which leads to the flip side: Erdogan gains strength. Here is a thought that is not a new thought: The deep concern about Erdogan isn’t his Islamism, it’s his creeping authoritarianism. Sure, there may well be some overlap between these concerns. However, Erdogan has taken a very hard line against Al Qaeda. That’s an empirical fact. That said, I’m not the only observer who sees his “creeping authoritarian coup” as a threat to Turkey’s secular republic. Check out references to Sultan Recep.

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BAD TIMING: Studio Pulls Ads for Bastille Day Action Movie after Nice Terror Attack.

A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT THE TURKISH COUP: (1) It seems to have caught the U.S. government by surprise. We get caught by surprise a lot, but I wonder if in this case it means that Putin’s behind it? (2) If Putin’s behind it, there’s probably a backup plan to liquidate Erdogan; (3) If the coup fails, as with Venezuela in 2002, the dictatorship will come back much worse; and (4) At least this is good timing for my paper on coups in America.

Also, I guess it’s a good time to plug Austin Bay’s book on Kemal Ataturk and the foundations of the secular Turkish state.

WAPO COLUMNIST: ‘GHOSTBUSTERS’ HATERS ARE ‘VIRGIN LOSERS:’

The feminists seem to think that if they can just call enough Americans “misogynists” and “sexists,” their all-female Ghostbusters reboot will be successful.

Since that hasn’t worked yet, Washington Post columnist Kristen Page-Kirby has a new insult to try out. In her review of the film, she wrote that “’Ghostbusters’ is pretty funny and anyone who says otherwise is a virgin loser who lives in his mom’s basement.”

Wow, so that’s where the Hollywood Reporter and the Chicago Sun-Times publish from. Who knew?! Speaking of which, does Jeff Bezos know that his paper is smearing at least half his customers?

THIS IS WHAT THE 21ST CENTURY WAS SUPPOSED TO FEATURE: This Nuclear-Powered Supersonic Airliner Concept Is A Beautiful Dream.