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

3:20 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 …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CNN, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, Washington Post, Politico, Featured stories, New York Times, Daily Signal, OnPolitics, The Daily Banter, The Daily Caller, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mediaite, TheBlaze.com, Hit & Run, Business Insider and The Huffington Post

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: Talking Points Memo, Bloomberg View, Featured stories, Hot Air, UPROXX, ABC News and CNN

Jelani Cobb / New Yorker:

What I Saw in Ferguson — Nothing that happened in Ferguson, Missouri, on the fourth night since Michael Brown died at the hands of a police officer there, dispelled the notion that this is a place where law enforcement is capable of gross overreaction. Just after sundown on Wednesday …

Discussion: Washington Post, Prairie Weather, Politico, Here & Now, KMOV-TV, The Huffington Post, Deadline and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Ashley Alman / The Huffington Post:

Huffington Post Reporter Arrested In Ferguson — The Huffington Post's Ryan J. Reilly and the Washington Post's Wesley Lowery were arrested Wednesday evening while covering the protests in Ferguson, Missouri after the death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, who was shot by a police officer last week.

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: Talking Points Memo, Mediaite, New York Times, PoliticusUSA, 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: Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, National Review, Poynter, Mediaite and No More Mister Nice Blog

Mary Katharine Ham / Hot Air:

Free societies require more of police than turning tough situations into militarized zones — There's a lot of bad going on in Ferguson, Missouri right now. Let me start with the shooting, several times over, by police of an unarmed young man. It is not in dispute that he was unarmed …

Discussion: RedState

Adam Serwer / msnbc.com:

In Ferguson, the blurred line between law enforcement and combat — The photograph shows a man with his hands raised in surrender or protest, and a clutch of police, clad in camouflage and body armor brandishing assault rifles. The patches on their shoulders read “police,” but they look like soldiers.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, The Raw Story, Gawker, Daily Kos, Independent Journal Review, Jezebel, Bloomberg View and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Burgess Everett / Politico: Claire McCaskill: ‘We need to demilitarize’

Stephanie Baumer / KMOV-TV:
Alderman Antonio French released from police custody in Ferguson

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Huffington Post, ABC News and Latest from Crooks and Liars

KSDK-TV:
Nine charged for alleged Ferguson looting

Discussion: National Review and Daily Kos

USA Today:
Pentagon fueled Ferguson confrontation: Column

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

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

Discussion: ThinkProgress, National Review, The Huffington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Verge, Mediaite, Washington Post, Mashable, Outside the Beltway, ABC News, The Raw Story, Vox and Hit & Run, more at Mediagazer »

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

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CNN, Washington Post and TIME

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

Discussion: Fox News, Newsweek and The Raw Story

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

Discussion: TalkLeft and Shakesville

Mark Berman / Washington Post:
Washington Post reporter arrested in Ferguson

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Firedoglake, USA Today, ThinkProgress, msnbc.com, The Intercept, Politico, Taylor Marsh, Mediaite, Hit & Run, The Raw Story, alicublog and Right Wing News, more at Mediagazer »

Matt Pearce / Los Angeles Times:
Two reporters briefly detained near protest in Ferguson, Mo.

Discussion: CNN, Business Insider, Firedoglake, KTLA, UPROXX and The Raw Story

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Harrowing Images Out of Ferguson

Discussion: St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Moderate Voice

Jamelle Bouie / Slate:
The Militarization of the Police — It's dangerous and wrong …

Discussion: Guardian, The Week, ThinkProgress, The New Republic, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Post, New York Times, Hot Air and Business Insider

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: Talking Points Memo, Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, TVNewser, The Huffington Post and FishbowlDC, more at Mediagazer »

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: Politico, Liberal Values, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Washington Post and New York Times

William Douglas / News, sports and weather …:
Clinton's lead over GOP candidates shrinking

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
How Money Warps U.S. Foreign Policy

Discussion: The Federalist, LewRockwell, The Boston Globe and Conservatives4Palin

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, The Moderate Voice, Washington Monthly, Roll Call, Hinterland Gazette, Mediaite and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: Daily Kos

Karoli / Latest from Crooks and Liars:

Ferguson Police Chief Turns To Hannity To Handle His PR — After a long day of crowd control and reporter arrests, the chief made an appearance on Sean Hannity's show to reassure everyone he had things under control. — Police Chief Thomas Jackson took a breather from all of his responsibilities …

Discussion: Slate and New York Times

Washington Post:

Obama administration shows little urgency for stemming Islamic State violence — Senior U.S. officials describe the threat posed by the Islamic State in chilling terms, but they have mounted a decidedly modest military campaign to check its advance through northern Iraq.

Discussion: Power Line and Booman Tribune

Mario Trujillo / The Hill: Obama prepares schools for migrant kids

New York Times:
Militants' Siege on Mountain in Iraq Is Over, Pentagon Says

Discussion: Guardian, BillMoyers.com, Hot Air and The Hugh Hewitt Show

New York Times:

Where We Came From, State by State — We charted how Americans have moved between states since 1900. See how your state has changed: — These charts were compiled using Census microdata obtained from ipums.org at the University of Minnesota Population Center.

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

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.