memeorandum: More Ferguson witnesses speak (CNN)

1:35 AM ET, August 15, 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 …

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: Politico, Hot Air, Washington Post, White House.gov Blog, Firedoglake and New York Times

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:

Opportunism knocks in Missouri — Add Rand Paul's name to the list of opportunists seeking to exploit for political purposes the tragic shooting of young Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The race-hustlers populate the list, of course. So does President Obama who sees a topic …

Discussion: Popular Mechanics, Politico and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Lucy McCalmont / Politico:

Eric Holder ‘concerned’ over Ferguson — Attorney General Eric Holder released a new statement Thursday regarding the escalating tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, saying such unrest “cannot continue,” but expressed concerns over the actions of local law enforcement.

Discussion: Colorlines and The Last Refuge

Matthew Harwood / Salon:

One nation under SWAT: How America's police became an occupying force — If the situation in Ferguson has taught us one thing, it's that things are getting very, very scary — Jason Westcott was afraid. — One night last fall, he discovered via Facebook that a friend of a friend …

Discussion: Daily Kos, msnbc.com and The Raw Story

Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:

Civil Rights Icon Compares Ferguson To Montgomery Freedom Riders, Calls For Martial Law — Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who nearly 40 years ago suffered a fractured skull as police officers attacked civil rights protesters with dogs and billy clubs in Selma, Alabama, denounced the police treatment …

Discussion: New York Times, BBC, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill … and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill and Mashable

USA Today:
Pentagon fueled Ferguson confrontation: Column

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

Zachary Roth / msnbc.com:
Ferguson's lack of diversity goes way beyond its cops

Discussion: NewsBusters and The Daily Banter

Jack Jenkins / ThinkProgress:
Ferguson Faith Leaders Take To The Streets, March With Protestors

Discussion: Religion News Service and St. Louis Public Radio

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Losing perspective in Ferguson

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Banter, Talking Points Memo, SPJ News, Washington Post, Roger Ailes, National Review, Poynter, Taylor Marsh and The Huffington Post, more at Mediagazer »

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

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

Catherine Thompson / Talking Points Memo:
Scarborough: Reporters Detained In Ferguson Just ‘Want To Get On TV’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: Gawker, Daily Kos, UPROXX, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and The Raw Story

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

Discussion: Politico

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

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

Discussion: msnbc.com, The Huffington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and CNN

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

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Washington Post, Brains and Eggs, Prairie Weather, The Huffington Post, Global Voices, Here & Now, Deadline, ThinkProgress, KMOV-TV, Jezebel, Colorlines, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos, Hot Air and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »

Taylor Wofford / Newsweek:
How America's Police Became an Army: The 1033 Program

Discussion: Washington Post, Balloon Juice, The Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

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

Discussion: Washington Post and Politico

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

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

Discussion: NewsBusters

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
Did MSNBC's Ticker Just Confirm That Chuck Todd Is Taking Over ‘Meet The Press’?

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

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: Power Line, Hot Air and Independent Journal Review

Charlie Spiering / BREITBART.COM:

PHOTOGRAPHER DELETES OBAMA DANCING PHOTO AFTER GOING VIRAL — A Martha's Vineyard photographer quietly deleted photographs of President Obama dancing during a birthday party after they went viral online. — Editorial and fine art photographer Elizabeth Cecil posted two photos of the president …

Discussion: Hot Air

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

Carrie Budoff Brown / Politico:

Close — President Barack Obama really wanted to take a vacation. But then the world intervened. — The president's plan to snag two weeks off in Martha's Vineyard has been an utter failure, marking his worst attempt at relaxation since the Detroit underwear bomber consumed his 2009 Christmas holiday in Hawaii.

Discussion: RedState

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

Hayley Tsukayama / Washington Post:

Twitter vows to “improve our policies” after Robin Williams' daughter is bullied off the network — Internet trolls bullied Robin Williams' daughter off of Twitter and Instagram just days after her father's death. A handful of Twitter users sent Zelda Williams messages on Twitter that blamed …

Discussion: New York Times, Gawker, The Verge, Shakesville, BuzzMachine and The Daily Banter