Daily Bafflements

• “It may be odd for a Labour Prime Minister and a Republican President to have a common political interest, but we do!” wrote former British prime minister Tony Blair in a memo to president George W. Bush. With so much Corbyn bashing making the rounds, it’s a little hard to think back to a time when Republicans actually liked the Labour Party. But the recently released Chilcot report—which, at 2.6 million words, can hardly be accused of not being thorough enough—sheds new light on Blair’s disastrous career and provides ample evidence to support his nickname across the pond: “Washington’s poodle.” 

• Alton Sterling, 37, was fatally shot by police officers in Baton Rouge on Tuesday, making him the 558th civilian to be killed by police in the United States this year. According to eyewitness accounts, officers shot Sterling after noticing he was carrying a gun—his right, of course, in a state that permits open carry. But don’t expect the National Rifle Association to defend Sterling’s right to bear arms: as Corey Pein pointed out a few years ago, they’ve made it clear in the past that their interpretation of the Second Amendment applies only to white gun owners.

• Then again, conservatives in and around Baton Rouge have never been ones for acknowledging the role of race in, well, anything. 

• “Hostess is counting on Twinkies’ strong brand sparking a youth rebellion to the healthy food movement as it moves toward a public offering later this year.”