memeorandum: Coroner Is Said to Rule James Brady's Death a Homicide, 33 Years After a Shooting (Nick Corasaniti/New York Times)

8:30 AM ET, August 9, 2014

Top Items:

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Obama on America and the World — President Obama's hair is definitely grayer these days, and no doubt trying to manage foreign policy in a world of increasing disorder accounts for at least half of those gray hairs. (The Tea Party can claim the other half.)

Discussion: The Times of Israel, TalkLeft and Prairie Weather

Jacob Siegel / The Daily Beast:

Obama's Iraq Plan Has a Killer Flaw—and Airstrikes Alone May Not Save It — The U.S. gambled on local militias to keep ISIS in check. The president's authorization of airstrikes is an admission that bet didn't pay off. — Friday morning, with a humanitarian mission already underway …

Discussion: The American Conservative, The New Republic, Hot Air, National Review, New Yorker, Business Insider, Washington Post, his vorpal sword, Democracy in America, Informed Comment, The Moderate Voice, The Dish, Saudi Gazette, Spectator, VodkaPundit, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press and McClatchy Washington Bureau

New York Times:

Preventing a Slaughter in Iraq — The catastrophe of Iraq has been growing steadily worse for weeks, but by Thursday, it became impossible for the United States and other civilized nations to ignore it. Iraq's bloodthirsty Sunni extremists were threatening the extermination of tens …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, RedState, Defense One, The Atlantic Online and Guardian

VICE News:

The Islamic State (Part 1) — The Islamic State, a hardline Sunni jihadist group that formerly had ties to al Qaeda, has conquered large swathes of Iraq and Syria. Previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the group has announced their intention to reestablish …

Discussion: Telegraph, Reuters, Business Insider, Washington Post and Lawfare, more at Mediagazer »

Josh Rogin / The Daily Beast:

McCain Calls Obama's ‘Pinprick’ Iraq Strikes ‘Meaningless’ and ‘Almost Worse Than Nothing’ — President Obama's limited strikes on ISIS in northern Iraq are “pinpricks” that are “meaningless” and “worse than nothing,” according to one of his fiercest foreign policy critics, Sen. John McCain.

Discussion: National Review, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Peter Beinart / The Atlantic Online:
America's Moral Obligations in Iraq

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Commentary Magazine and The Dish

Jamie Weinstein / The Daily Caller:
ISIS Threatens America: ‘We Will Raise The Flag Of Allah In The White House’

Discussion: CNN, Telegraph, Business Insider and Western Journalism

Ahiza Garcia / Talking Points Memo:

Husband Of Connecticut Judicial Candidate: ‘I Am Pro-White’ — A Democratic candidate for a judicial seat in Plainfield, Conn. was forced to answer questions about her husband this week after a watchdog group exposed his ties to the white supremacist movement.

Discussion: One People's Project … and Mindweapons in Ragnarok

The Bulletin:

Probate candidate's husband admits to history with white supremacy movement — The husband of a Plainfield attorney running for a probate judge seat was a member of a prominent neo-Nazi group for several years, according to watchdog groups, and currently maintains a pro-white online blog.

Discussion: Mindweapons in Ragnarok, Liberaland, The Raw Story and Mediaite

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

Coroner Is Said to Rule James Brady's Death a Homicide, 33 Years After a Shooting — WASHINGTON — The death this week of James S. Brady, the former White House press secretary, has been ruled a homicide 33 years after he was wounded in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, police department officials here said Friday.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway and Althouse

Elianayjohnson / National Review:

Booker Staffer Tells Booker Opponent to ‘Suck It’ — One staffer in Cory Booker's Senate office has a message for his opponent: “Suck it.” — That's certainly at odds with Booker's reputation for politeness and collegiality, but when Booker's opponent, the former Reagan-administration official Jeff Bell …

Discussion: RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Talking Points Memo

Eliana Johnson / National Review:
Don't Give Booker a Pass

Discussion: Weekly Standard

Alan Blinder / New York Times:

Tiny Lead for Incumbent in Tennessee Primary Vote — MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Less than two years after tawdry details of his divorce and extramarital relationships burst into public view, Representative Scott DesJarlais, Republican of Tennessee, held a minuscule advantage on Friday …

Lizette Alvarez / New York Times:

Florida Redraws an Election Map That Was Ruled to Be Unconstitutional — MIAMI — With Florida's election schedule in disarray after a judge ruled the state's congressional map unconstitutional, state lawmakers moved one step closer to resolving the uncertainty during a special session on Friday in Tallahassee.

Sam Biddle / Valleywag:

Smiling Young White People Make App for Avoiding Black Neighborhoods — Is there any way to keep white people from using computers, before this whole planet is ruined? I ask because the two enterprising white entrepreneurs above just made yet another app for avoiding non-white areas of your town—and it's really taking off!

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hinterland Gazette, DCist, Shakesville, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Unfogged and The Raw Story

Tennessean.com:

'SNL's Victoria Jackson falls to incumbents — Victoria Jackson, the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member who has made a name for herself as an active tea party participant, conservative activist and outspoken opponent of President Barack Obama, has lost her bid to win a spot on the Williamson County Commission.

Discussion: Victoria Jackson, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway and The Raw Story