memeorandum: Lindsey Graham: The Confederate flag is “part of who we are” in South Carolina — even if “it's a racist symbol” (Scott Eric Kaufman/Salon)

8:55 PM ET, June 19, 2015

Top Items:

Daniel Arkin / NBC News:

Shooter Almost Backed Out Because ‘Everyone Was So Nice’ — Dylann Roof, the man accused of gunning down nine parishioners at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, has been charged with nine counts of murder and illegal weapons possession, police said.

Discussion: fox8.com, Washington Post, WIAT-TV, Mashable, TODAY.com, American Spectator, Talking Points Memo, KFOR-TV, FOX31 Denver, Bloomberg Business, Raw Story, Guardian, Power Line, Mediaite, Daily Mail, NPR and New York Times

Brian Tashman / Right Wing Watch:

Rick Perry: Charleston Shooting An ‘Accident’ Due To Drug Use, Manipulated By Obama To Ban Guns — In an interview today with Steve Malzberg of Newsmax, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry described the mass shooting at an African American church in Charleston earlier this week as an “accident” …

Discussion: Raw Story, Guardian, Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, The Bob and Chez Show and Business Insider

Ed Payne / CNN:

Story highlights — (CNN)[Breaking news update at 7:27 a.m. ET] — Dylann Roof has confessed to authorities to shooting and killing nine people this week at a historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, two law enforcement officials said Friday.

Scott Eric Kaufman / Salon:

Lindsey Graham: The Confederate flag is “part of who we are” in South Carolina — even if “it's a racist symbol” — He didn't say why only the American and state — but not the Confederate — flag were at half-staff today — South Carolina senator and Republican presidential candidate Lindsey Graham …

Discussion: Agence France-Presse, Right Wing Watch and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Colin Campbell / Business Insider:

Rick Perry's campaign says he misspoke about Charleston shooting — Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (R) presidential campaign told Business Insider on Friday that he misspoke when he referred to the recent mass killing in Charleston, South Carolina, as an “accident.”

Discussion: Mediaite and Salon

Erick Erickson / RedState:

The Conversation We Won't Have — Dylann Roof appears more evil than disturbed. Perhaps he had mental health issues. But at some point we just need to call him evil. White supremacy and segregation are evils. He appears to have believed in both. People who believe in white supremacy …

Discussion: Advocate

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:

Jeb Bush: 'I Don't Know' If Charleston Shooting Was Racially Motivated — As more becomes clear about the motives of the man believed to be behind the Charleston church shooting, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was hesitant to connect Dylann Storm Roof's alleged actions to any racial prejudice.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, The Daily Beast, Yahoo Politics, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, Guardian and Fox News

Liz Kreutz / ABC News:

Hillary Clinton Suggests Donald Trump-Like Comments Can ‘Trigger’ Events Like Charleston … Hillary Clinton didn't call The Donald out by name, but she suggested in an interview Thursday that comments like ones the real estate tycoon-turned-Republican presidential candidate made during …

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette, BizPac Review, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Mediaite and Bloomberg Business

David Remnick / New Yorker:

Charleston and the Age of Obama — Between 1882 and 1968, the year Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, three thousand four hundred and forty-six black men, women, and children were lynched in this country—a practice so vicious and frequent that Mark Twain was moved, in 1901 …

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Times, Washington Post, The Federalist and Balloon Juice

ABC News:
Dylann Roof's Uncle Would ‘Push Button’ Himself If Nephew Receives Death Penalty

Discussion: The Huffington Post, WIAT-TV, Slantpoint, Mashable, WRIC-TV, Daily Mail, Hinterland Gazette, The Moderate Voice, Guardian, Outside the Beltway and The Intercept

Jesse Byrnes / The Hill:
Lindsey Graham defends Confederate flag: ‘It works here’

Discussion: News+Opinion …, Hot Air, Mother Jones, Slantpoint, Outside the Beltway, CNN, The Week, msnbc.com, Washington Post and ABC News

Wall Street Journal:
The Charleston Shooting — An echo of 52 years ago, but also a crucial difference.

Discussion: myfox8.com, The Huffington Post, Daily Kos, Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo and Balloon Juice

Jeff Guo / Washington Post:
The legal loophole that allowed Dylann Roof to get a gun

Discussion: The Federalist, Infowars, Daily Kos, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo and National Review

New York Times:
In Charleston, Raw Emotion at Hearing for Suspect in Church Shooting

Discussion: theGrio, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, The Stranger …, Slantpoint, ABC News and Associated Press

Justin Wm / Washington Post:
Why South Carolina's Confederate flag isn't at half-mast after church shooting

Post and Courier:
Despite mourning, statehouse Confederate battle flag remains at full staff

Discussion: Slantpoint, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Salon, New York Times, Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, PoliticusUSA, Hinterland Gazette, Political Insider blog and NBC News

Washington Post:
For accused killer Dylann Roof, a life that had quietly drifted off track

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Associated Press, The Other McCain, Shakesville, CBS Atlanta, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller, Daily Mail and Wall Street Journal

The Huffington Post:
Jeb Bush: 'I Don't Know What Was On The Mind' Of Charleston Shooter

Discussion: Infowars, Talking Points Memo, Slantpoint, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, Guardian, Daily Kos, Bloomberg View, Raw Story, Washington Post, Florida Today, Mother Jones, WESH-TV, Mashable and ThinkProgress

Ali Dukakis / ABC News:
Lindsey Graham Says SC Church Shooting Suspect Dylann Roof Was His Niece's Classmate

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Hit & Run, CNN, Slantpoint, Raw Story and Mediaite

Google Public Policy Blog:

“Revenge porn” and Search — We've heard many troubling stories of “revenge porn”: an ex-partner seeking to publicly humiliate a person by posting private images of them, or hackers stealing and distributing images from victims' accounts. Some images even end up on “sextortion” …

Discussion: The Hill, The Verge, Consumerist, Fusion and NBC News

Paul Lewis / Guardian:

Inside the mind of Bernie Sanders: unbowed, unchanged, and unafraid of a good fight — He is the rising star of the battle to be the Democratic nominee for president. But who is the real Bernie Sanders? His close friends and family shed new light on what is motivating the 73-year-old senator …

Discussion: The Hill, Common Dreams, The Daily Signal and The Daily Caller

Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly:
Ballot Access Problem For Bernie Sanders?

Discussion: Washington Post and Democratic Strategist

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

Here's The Video A Tea Party Group Made That Implies Oral Sex Between A Panda And Hillary Clinton — WASHINGTON — BuzzFeed News has obtained parts of the video produced by Tea Party group FreedomWorks several years ago that features two female interns dressed up as a panda bear and Hillary Clinton …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Politico, Hullabaloo and Wall Street Journal

Zac Anderson / Local News from Sarasota Herald-Tribune:

Rubio fundraiser canceled in Sarasota — SARASOTA - A fundraiser planned for Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio tonight in Sarasota has been canceled, with backers saying they want to reschedule the event in the fall when more seasonal residents are in town.

Discussion: Naked Politics

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg Business:

Turmoil Only Sure Thing If Supreme Court Rejects Gay Marriage — A victory at the U.S. Supreme Court on same-sex marriage would be a historic moment for gay rights. Defeat would bring legal pandemonium. — The high court will decide by the end of the month whether the Constitution gives gays the right to marry.

Discussion: The Hill, ABC News and Wall Street Journal

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:

Clinton Camp Blasts Republicans For Religion Attack — WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta went on the offensive on Friday against Republicans who have seized on a remark Clinton made in April about the need for some religious beliefs to change in the context of women's rights.

Discussion: SOOPERMEXICAN

Allison Sherry / Star Tribune:

Michele Bachmann is still in a race - for money — Fundraising goes on, and so does her spending. — U.S. Rep.Michele Bachmann spoke to family, friends and supporters during a tribute at Monticello High Friday, April 11, 2014, in Monticello, MN. — TEXT SIZE

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Daily Kos

David Nakamura / Washington Post:

In L.A., Obama addresses Washington's dysfunction: ‘I did not say I would fix it’ — BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — President Obama wrapped up a day he began with an angry and frustrated reaction to the mass killings in Charleston, S.C., by acknowledging that he has been unable to change the culture …

Discussion: Political Insider blog, RedState, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Moe Lane

Cincinnati.com:

Chief: ‘CPD lost one of its best today’ — Sonny Kim, a 27-year veteran with the Cincinnati Police Department was shot and killed Friday morning during a shootout in Madisonville, leaving the department in mourning and a neighborhood on edge. — Kim, 48, had immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1973.

Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Todd Starnes / Fox News:

Huckabee: If Somebody in That Prayer Meeting Had a Conceal Carry... President Obama had a moment to bring healing to the nation, but he chose to play politics instead, using the terrible massacre in Charleston to call for a crackdown on guns. — Everything with this administration is about politics.

Discussion: Hinterland Gazette and Joe. My. God.