Wiretap: What we know about the shooter who killed three cops in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge shooter

What we know about the shooter who killed three cops in Baton Rouge: He served in Iraq as a Marine. He was from Missouri. He said that shooting the five policeman in Dallas was “justice” in a YouTube posting. He also said, “It’s a time for peace, but it’s a time for war, and most of the times when you want peace, you got to go to war. You see what I’m saying?” Via The Washington Post.

Unheard plea

In the days after five police officers were killed in Dallas, Montrell Jackson wrote a Facebook post about being black and a cop in Baton Rouge. “I swear to God I love this city,” he wrote, “but I wonder if this city loves me.” On Sunday, he was among the three Baton Rouge officers killed. Via The New York Times.

Guns at GOP

In Cleveland, the president of the police union asked the governor to declare a state of emergency and ban the open carry of weapons as the Republican convention begins. Gov. John Kasich’s spokesperson said he didn’t have the authority to do it. Via The Chicago Tribune.

The purge

The coup in Turkey is over, writes Dexter Filkins in The New Yorker, and now the purge begins. Thousands have been arrested by those loyal to President Erdogan, and thousands more will be.

The worst democracy

One liberal in Turkey summed it up this way as the military coup was being crushed: “The worst democracy is better than the best coup.” Via The New York Times.

Regret of the Deal

Trump’s ghostwriter for “The Art of the Deal” very much regrets the myth that he helped create. He says if he were to write the book today, he’d call it “The Sociopath.” Via The New Yorker.

Unfit to lead

Ezra Klein: Trump’s speech introducing Mike Pence as his Vice President — in which he barely mentioned Pence — shows why Trump should never be president.  Via Vox.

Highlight reel

In case you missed the Trump-Pence interview on 60 Minutes, here are some highlights. Via The Washington Post.

Trump gets Nice

Joan Vennochi: On the attack in Nice, Trump gets it and Clinton doesn’t, at least in the way it matters politically. Via The Boston Globe.

Where the devil is

Or, to put it another way: Trump’s one unbreakable rule on policy is to always skip the details. Via Politico.

Photo credit: Seth Werkheiser, Creative Commons, Flickr