Here’s the Saturday open line. Two things worth noting:

* TRUMP TV: Good analysis by Ezra Klein of Donald Trump’s speech introducing his vice presidential running mate Mike Pence. It was a disjointed, bizarro Trump ramble, mostly about himself.

* SMALL WORLD DEPARTMENT: Been following the failed military coup in Turkey? If not, or even if so, you might not know there’s an Arkansas angle. Here’s the deal:

Turkish leader Erdogan wants the U.S. to extradite a Turkish man living in Pennsylvania, Muslim cleric Fethullah Gullen, as leader of the coup. And who is he? Diane Ravitch explains. He leads an organization that sponsors charter school chains and in that effort is a leader in obtaining visas for Turkish teachers to staff those charter schools. Where might you find Gulen-related charter schools with Turkish teachers? Right here in Little Rock, Arkansas. The blogger I’ve linked shows the various campuses of LISA Academy in Little Rock and North Little Rock (recently approved for an expansion in West Little Rock.) We’ve reported before on the connections. So if you believe Erdogan, the roots of the uprising he put down extend here.


More on Gulen charter schools here.