memeorandum: Losing perspective in Ferguson (Dylan Byers/Politico)

7:15 PM ET, August 14, 2014

Top Items:

Sen. Rand Paul / TIME:

Rand Paul: We Must Demilitarize the Police — Anyone who thinks that race does not skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention. And the root of the problem is big government. — The shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown is an awful tragedy …

Bloomberg:

St. Louis County Police to Be Removed From Ferguson: Clay — Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will announce that St. Louis County law enforcement will be relieved of duty in Ferguson, which has been roiled by protests after the shooting death by police of an unarmed teenager, according to Representative William Lacy Clay.

Discussion: Washington Post, UPROXX, Hot Air, addictinginfo.org, Bloomberg View, Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, ABC News and CNN

The United States Department of Justice:

Statement by Attorney General Eric Holder on Latest Developments in Ferguson, Missouri — Attorney General Eric Holder released the following statement Thursday following his meeting earlier today with President Obama to discuss the latest developments in Ferguson, Missouri:

Discussion: Firedoglake, White House.gov Blog and New York Times

Burgess Everett / Politico:

Claire McCaskill: ‘We need to demilitarize’ — Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill is calling for the “demilitarization” of the police in Ferguson, Missouri, deeming the response by law enforcement “the problem instead of the solution.” — McCaskill, who was in Ferguson on Thursday morning meeting …

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times and Mashable

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:
Eric Holder ‘concerned’ over Ferguson

Discussion: The Last Refuge and Colorlines

The Huffington Post:
State Senator To Ferguson Police: ‘Will I Get Tear-Gassed Again?’

Discussion: Mediaite, USA Today, KMOV-TV, Mashable and ThinkProgress

Dylan Scott / Talking Points Memo:
Ferguson's Police Got Free Military Gear Straight From The Pentagon

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Newsweek, Fox News, lehighvalleylive.com, The Raw Story and Guardian

Ashley Killough / CNN:
Rand Paul on Ferguson: Police too militarized

Discussion: Politico and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Adam Serwer / msnbc.com:
In Ferguson, the blurred line between law enforcement and combat

Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Raw Story, ThinkProgress, Gawker, Daily Kos, Firedoglake, Colorlines, Independent Journal Review and Jezebel

David Nakamura / Washington Post:
White House walks a careful line on Ferguson

Discussion: New York Times and Wall Street Journal

Washington Post:
Even before Michael Brown's slaying in Ferguson, racial questions hung over police

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Colorlines, The Huffington Post, New York Times, Gawker, Outside the Beltway, ThinkProgress, National Review, The Raw Story, The Verge, susiemadrak.com, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mediaite, The Daily Beast and Hit & Run, more at Mediagazer »

Ross Kaminsky / American Spectator:
Ferguson on Fire — As the suicide of Robin Williams …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, Washington Post and Colorlines, more at Mediagazer »

USA Today:
Pentagon fueled Ferguson confrontation: Column

Discussion: National Review, The New Republic, Featured stories, The Intercept, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo, KSDK-TV, The Hill, Daily RFT, The Raw Story, Washington Post, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, RedState, Crooked Timber, ABC News, BillMoyers.com and The Lead with Jake Tapper

Catalina Camia / OnPolitics:
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon criticized for slow Ferguson response

Discussion: msnbc.com, Washington Post, Colorlines and National Review

Mary Katharine Ham / Hot Air:
Free societies require more of police than turning tough situations into militarized zones

Discussion: RedState, Mediaite, alicublog, The Raw Story and Washington Post, more at Mediagazer »

Brian Stelter / CNNMoney.com:

“Meet the Press:” Gregory out, Todd in — NBC will name Chuck Todd the new host of “Meet the Press” as soon as Thursday afternoon, according to people with direct knowledge of the network's plans. — The sources confirmed widespread speculation that David Gregory, who moderated the show …

Discussion: Politico, Taylor Marsh, The Daily Caller, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, The Huffington Post, Outside the Beltway, Booman Tribune, TVNewser and FishbowlDC, more at Mediagazer »

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Did MSNBC's Ticker Just Confirm That Chuck Todd Is Taking Over ‘Meet The Press’? — CNN's Brian Stelter reported that NBC could officially name Chuck Todd as the new host of “Meet the Press” as early as Thursday afternoon. But confirmation of the change may have gone largely unnoticed.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, TVNewser and FishbowlDC, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Chuck Todd to replace David Gregory on ‘Meet The Press’

Discussion: NewsBusters

Casey Nolen / KSDK-TV:

TV crews hit by bean bags, tear gas — AL JAZEERA AMERICA TV crews were overcome with tear gas fired near their vehicle in Ferguson, Missouri, Wednesday night. Minutes later, police took down the crew's light kit, and pointed their camera at the ground. KSDK — CONNECT

Discussion: Guardian, Talking Points Memo, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, New York Times, The Raw Story, Poynter and TwitLonger, more at Mediagazer »

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Losing perspective in Ferguson — The popular line on Ferguson, Missouri — the site of ongoing protests over the police shooting of an 18-year-old African-American — is that it's become an American Iraq. The Huffington Post banner reads “Baghdad USA.” Lydia Polgreen, deputy International editor …

Discussion: Mediaite, Roger Ailes, Washington Post, Poynter, The Daily Banter, Here & Now, SPJ News, Talking Points Memo, National Review and No More Mister Nice Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Jelani Cobb / New Yorker:
What I Saw in Ferguson — Nothing that happened in Ferguson …

Discussion: Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Deadline, Here & Now, ThinkProgress, Prairie Weather, KMOV-TV, The Daily Caller, ABC News, Colorlines and Jezebel, more at Mediagazer »

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Politico's Media Reporter Says Arrested Journalists 'Aren't Heroes'

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

Ashley Alman / The Huffington Post:
Huffington Post Reporter Arrested In Ferguson

Allie Jones / Gawker:
Joe Scarborough: Reporters Arrested in Ferguson Just Want Attention

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, UPROXX, Washington Post and Hullabaloo

New York Times:

Where We Came From, State by State — Charts showing how Americans have moved between states for 112 years. — BLURRING PARTY LINES | AUGUST 14, 12:23 AM — Welcome to Rhode Island, America's Least Polarized State — Wonder what Washington might look like if it were less polarized?

Discussion: Here & Now, Washington Center …, City Desk and ImmigrationProf Blog

Brent Budowsky / The Hill:

Clinton hurt 2014 Dems — Democrats face potentially catastrophic midterm elections that could leave Republicans and conservatives in control of the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court. Yet while Democrats face a political state of emergency, Hillary Clinton this week launched …

Discussion: News, sports and weather …, Outside the Beltway, Liberal Values, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post and New York Times

Mike Allen / Politico: Open Mike: Inside Ready for Hillary

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:
Obama Stifled Hillary's Syria Plans and Ignored Her Iraq Warnings for Years

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, Wall Street Journal and Conservatives4Palin

Mario Trujillo / The Hill:

Police chief rips Obama remarks — The executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police criticized President Obama Thursday for his remarks about law enforcement in Ferguson, Mo. — “I would contend that discussing police tactics from Martha's Vineyard is not helpful to ultimately calming the situation …

Discussion: Independent Journal Review

Washington Post:
Transcript: Obama's remarks on unrest in Ferguson, Mo., and Iraq

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, New York Times, TalkLeft and Shakesville

Kyle Mantyla / Right Wing Watch:

Steve King: Since Ferguson Rioters Are All Of The Same ‘Continental Origin,’ Racial Profiling Is Not A Concern — Rep. Steve King appeared on Newsmax TV yesterday, where host J.D. Hayworth asked him about the rising tensions in Ferguson, Missouri and the call by members of the Congressional Black Caucus …

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Roll Call, CNN, BuzzFeed, Mediaite, Daily Kos, Hinterland Gazette, Washington Monthly and The Moderate Voice

Ahiza Garcia / Talking Points Memo:
Rep. Steve King: Ferguson Protestors Are Of A Single ‘Continental Origin’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: Daily Kos

Tim Arango / New York Times:

Maliki Agrees to Relinquish Power in Iraq — BAGHDAD — Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Thursday night that he had agreed to relinquish power, state television reported, potentially ending a crisis in which his deployment of extra security forces around the capital had raised worries of a military coup.

Discussion: National Review

Reuters:

Maliki finally steps aside as Iraq Sunni leader sees U.S. help — (Reuters) - Nuri al-Maliki finally bowed to pressure with Iraq and beyond on Thursday and stepped down as prime minister, paving the way for a new coalition that world and regional powers hope can quash a Sunni Islamist insurgency that threatens Baghdad.

Discussion: TalkLeft

Washington Post:
Obama administration shows little urgency for stemming Islamic State violence

Discussion: Questions and Observations, Power Line and Booman Tribune

Jodi Kantor / New York Times:

As Work Shifts Vary, Family's Only Constant Is Chaos — Like increasing numbers of low-income mothers and fathers, Ms. Navarro is at the center of a new collision that pits sophisticated workplace technology against some fundamental requirements of parenting, with particularly harsh consequences for poor single mothers.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post and Balloon Juice

Wall Street Journal:

Israel Outflanks White House Over Gaza — The Obama administration has tightened control on arms transfers to Israel since learning last month that the Israeli military had been securing supplies of ammunition from the Pentagon without its approval.