memeorandum: The Roberts Court's Surprising Move Leftward (New York Times)

5:30 PM ET, June 23, 2015

Top Items:

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

Rand Paul: Confederate Flag “Inescapably A Symbol Of Human Bondage And Slavery” — “... I think to every African-American in the country it's a symbolism of slavery to them and now it's a symbol of murder for this young man and so I think it's times to put it in a museum.” — Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Hit & Run, New York Times, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo and Bloomberg Business

Fred Lucas / TheBlaze.com:

Hillary Clinton Not Talking About '92 Clinton-Gore Confederate Campaign Button — It's unclear if the Clinton-Gore Confederate flag campaign button that has been prominent on social media was an official part of their 1992 presidential campaign. — And Hillary Clinton isn't clarifying …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, AOL Article, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, BizPac Review, Daily Mail and Washington Post

Politico:

Inside the Republican reversal on the Confederate flag — South Carolina Gov. Haley began informing people Friday of her decision, while Sen. Graham worked the phones with business leaders. — John McCain has expressed regret in hindsight over his own statements during his 2000 campaign that the Confederate flag was a state issue.

Discussion: ABC News, Washington Post, Slate, FishbowlDC, Reuters, BuzzFeed, Hullabaloo, The Federalist, Bloomberg Business, The Atlantic, New York Times, Outside the Beltway and Gizmodo

Dave Boucher / Tennessean.com:

TN leaders: Remove Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from Capitol — The bust of a Confederate general and leading figure in the early days of the Ku Klux Klan should be removed from the Tennessee statehouse, top Tennessee Democrats and the state Republican Party chairman said Monday.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Nashville Public Radio, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Baltimore Sun, Politico, Daily Mail, NBC News, Raw Story, Occidental Dissent, New York Times and GOP.com

Business Insider:

Confederate flag sales are skyrocketing — UPDATE 2:38 ET: Amazon has taken down Confederate merchandise from its site. — Amazon's sales of Confederate flags have skyrocketed by more than 3,000% in the past 24 hours. — People are snatching up the flags online after several major retailers …

Discussion: Al Jazeera America, Gizmodo, The Verge, The Stranger …, Hit & Run, Boing Boing and Mediaite

Glenn Smith / Post and Courier:

Survey finds divide, silence on Confederate flag issue in Legislature — The Post and Courier conducted a survey of House and Senate members to determine how much support exists for removing the Confederate flag from the Statehouse grounds. Many have not yet responded.

Discussion: Fox News, NBC News, AIM, ThinkProgress, The Huffington Post, ABC News, Daily Kos, Washington Post, msnbc.com and No More Mister Nice Blog, more at Mediagazer »

Tierney Sneed / Talking Points Memo:
Neo-Confederate Group Mobilizes To Defend Confederate Battle Flag

Discussion: New York Times, PoliticusUSA, Daily Kos, Fusion, AMERICAblog News and Facebook

governor.virginia.gov:
In the Wake of U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Governor Begins Process to Remove Confederate Flag …

Discussion: KHOU-TV, Talking Points Memo, New York Times, NPR, Gizmodo, WGN-TV and Associated Press

The Huffington Post:
As Governor, Bill Clinton Kept ‘Confederate’ Star On The Arkansas Flag

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Weekly Standard, Washington Post, Mediaite, RedState, Washington Free Beacon, NPR, Hot Air and New York Times

David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
The Fight Against Confederate Symbols Spreads

Discussion: MySanAntonio.com, timesfreepress.com, Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, Politico, Tennessean.com, FOX News Radio and Boing Boing

Washington Post:
Virginia's McAuliffe plans to phase out Confederate flag license plate

Discussion: CNN, NBC News, Slantpoint, Bloomberg Business, Mediaite and The Daily Caller

Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
Congratulations! You Oppose The Confederate Flag. Now What?

Discussion: The Atlantic, The Texas Tribune, AOL Article, The Daily Caller and alicublog

Inae Oh / Mother Jones:
Mississippi House Speaker: Time to Remove Confederate Symbol from State Flag

Discussion: The Clarion Ledger, Guardian, New York Times, Bloomberg View, USA Today and Daily Kos

Sen. Ted Cruz / BREITBART.COM:

Exclusive — Ted Cruz: Obamatrade Enmeshed in Corrupt, Backroom Dealings — The American people do not trust President Obama. And they do not trust Republican leadership in Congress. And the reason is simple: for far too long, politicians in Washington have not told the truth.

Discussion: National Journal, Trail Blazers Blog, The Hill, The Nation, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, CNN, TPNN, Daily Mail, Hot Air, Politico, RedState and Hullabaloo

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Senate advances fast-track trade bill for Obama — The Senate on Tuesday voted to advance President Obama's trade agenda, approving a measure to end debate on fast-track authority. — The 60-37 motion sets up a vote on final passage on Wednesday. If the Senate approves fast-track …

Discussion: Bloomberg Business, Washington Monthly, Mother Jones, Politico, The Gateway Pundit and Common Dreams

Jonathan Weisman / New York Times:
Senate Hands a Victory to Obama on Trade Pact

Discussion: The Stranger …, Washington Post, Pew Research Center, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Balloon Juice, Roll Call and RedState

Manu Raju / Politico:
Cruz reverses support for TPA trade bill, blasts GOP leaders

Discussion: Washington Post and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Suffolk University:

NH GOP Poll Shows Bush the Early Leader, While Trump Advances — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (14 percent) leads businessman Donald Trump (11 percent) in the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary contest, according to a poll from the Suffolk University Political Research Center.

Discussion: Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, FITSNews, Real Clear Politics, Politico, New York Times, Washington Times and The Daily Caller

Reid J. Epstein / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Surges in Popularity in N.H., Taking Second Place in Suffolk Poll

Discussion: The Hill and Outside the Beltway

Jordain Carney / The Hill:

Reid seeks expanded gun background checks — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called Tuesday for Congress to expand background checks for gun purchases in the wake of a shooting in Charleston, S.C., last week that left nine dead. — “The United States is the only advanced country …

Discussion: Politico and Daily Kos

Politico:

Harry Reid calls for expanded background checks — Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is pushing for a vote on gun-control measures, including expanded background checks, in light of the mass shooting last week at an African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine people were killed.

Discussion: Political Wire and NBC News

New York Times:

The Roberts Court's Surprising Move Leftward — This term so far shows potential for a greater percentage of liberal decisions than any since 1969. — Decisions … The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has been a conservative court.

Discussion: Balkinization and Liberaland

Damon Root / Hit & Run:
The Kelo Debacle Turns 10

Discussion: Orange County Register, National Review, Cafe Hayek, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post

Caroline Bologna / The Huffington Post:

Charleston Dad's Viral Photo Captures Love In The Aftermath Of Tragedy — On Sunday June 21, local parishioners from churches across the Charleston area took part in “Charleston United,” an emotional prayer and worship gathering to honor the victims of the Emanuel A.M.E. Church shooting.

Discussion: John Nettles Jr, Slantpoint, New York's PIX11 and FOX31 Denver

Patrick O'Connor / Wall Street Journal:

WSJ/NBC Poll Finds Hillary Clinton in a Strong Position — She has firm grip on Democratic nomination and leads three GOP rivals, new survey shows — Hillary Clinton has emerged from the rocky launch of her second presidential bid with a firm grip on Democratic voters and leads …

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Guardian, Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, Taylor Marsh, Politico and Hinterland Gazette

NBC News:
First Read: The Most Important Number in NBC/WSJ Poll

Discussion: USA Today, Washington Post, NBC News, Shakesville and OnPolitics

Julie Hirschfeld Davis / New York Times:

Obama Ordering Changes in U.S. Hostage Policies — WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday will announce that the government will no longer threaten criminal prosecution of the families of American hostages who are held abroad by groups like the Islamic State if they attempt to pay ransom for the release of their loved ones.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Washington Post and Business Insider

Foreign Policy:
Hostage Review Will Make It Easier for Families to Pay Ransoms

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico and Mashable

Patrick Kulp / Mashable:

Pampers shows how smiling babies bring out the best in people — Pampers wants to highlight the way babies can brighten the days of everyone around them. — The diaper company's new ad, entitled “Better for Baby” is a two-and-a-half-minute montage of warm smiles, thoughtful gestures …

Discussion: FOX31 Denver and WTVR-TV

Gillian Telling / EW.com:

EIGHT IS ENOUGH ACTOR DICK VAN PATTEN HAS DIED — Dick Van Patten, the star of TV's Eight is Enough, has died. He was 86. — “I am sorry to report this sad news,” his rep said in a statement released to media Tuesday. “His family will not be doing any press at this time.”

Discussion: American Spectator, Shakesville, New York's PIX11, myfox8.com and KFOR-TV

Alastair Jamieson / NBC News:

Prison Worker Joyce Mitchell to Husband: ‘I Was Over My Head’ — New York prison worker Joyce Mitchell told her husband she was in over her head as part of a plot to free two killers who remain on the run, he told NBC News in an exclusive interview. — Speaking to TODAY's Matt Lauer …