memeorandum: Obama's duty to act (NY Daily News)

10:40 AM ET, August 21, 2014

Top Items:

Rukmini Callimachi / New York Times:

ISIS Demanded Ransom From U.S. Before Killing Reporter — Kneeling in the dirt in a desert somewhere in the Middle East, James Foley lost his life this week at the hands of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Before pulling out the knife used to decapitate him, his masked executioner explained …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, ABC News, Consortiumnews.com, Daily Mail, ABC News, Telegraph, Gawker, Business Insider, Associated Press, Independent Journal Review, Yahoo! News and The Huffington Post

Jon Lee Anderson / New Yorker:

The Men Who Killed James Foley — A video showing the beheading, by a black-garbed executioner, of the American journalist James Foley is the latest in a series of sickening acts that the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS, has visited on the world in recent months.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal

NY Daily News:

Obama's duty to act — After the savage slaughter of an American, staying the course is no longer an option — Americans can only pray that President Obama was as serious as a drone strike when he vowed the United States would “see that justice is done” for the beheading of American journalist James Foley.

Discussion: Power Line

Kendall Breitman / Politico:

Dick Cheney: Magnify James Foley by ‘a million’ — Former Vice President Dick Cheney is predicting that the beheading of American journalist James Foley is just the start of more violence if President Barack Obama doesn't “deal with this crisis” in Iraq. — “The ISIS organization in charge …

Discussion: Truth Revolt

New York Times:

In Raid to Save Foley and Other Hostages, U.S. Found None — EDGARTOWN, Mass. — A secret nighttime military mission authorized by President Obama to rescue Americans held captive in Syria failed early this summer when a team of two dozen Delta Force commandos raided an oil refinery …

Discussion: Daily Mail, Washington Post, BillMoyers.com, Hot Air, Guardian, Clash Daily, No More Mister Nice Blog, Taylor Marsh and The Daily Caller

Kristina Wong / The Hill:

Pete King: Beheading was ‘declaration of war’ — Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) on Wednesday said the beheading of American journalist James Foley by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was effectively “a declaration of war” and called for a stronger U.S. military response.

Discussion: The Week

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Obama returns to golf course after condemning ISIS

Discussion: Instapundit, Power Line and Hit & Run

ABC News:
US Military Launched Secret Rescue Operation in Syria for James Foley, Other Americans

Discussion: Washington Post, Gawker, Mediaite, The Raw Story, abc7.com, Hit & Run, Yahoo! News and PUNDITGUY

defense.gov:
Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary RADM John Kirby on Attempted Rescue Operation

Discussion: TalkLeft

Washington Post:
Transcript: President Obama's remarks on the execution of journalist James Foley by Islamic State

Discussion: Power Line, AEIdeas, RedState, The Federalist, Weekly Standard, Committee to Protect …, Business Insider and Hit & Run

Washington Post:
Obama denounces killing of journalist James Foley and pledges ‘justice’

Discussion: Guardian, Power Line, Business Insider, National Review, RT, Defense One, The Huffington Post and The Moderate Voice, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:
Obama, ‘Appalled’ by Beheading, Will Continue Airstrikes

Discussion: Watchdog.org, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, RealClearPolitics Video Log, Poynter, PandoDaily and Runnin' Scared, more at Mediagazer »

John Kerry / US Department of State:
Murder of James Foley

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and TalkLeft

Hollie McKay / Fox News:

Missouri cop was badly beaten before shooting Michael Brown, says source — Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer whose fatal shooting of Michael Brown touched off more than a week of demonstrations, suffered severe facial injuries, including an orbital (eye socket) fracture …

Discussion: Scared Monkeys, The Mahablog, The Daily Caller, Daily Mail, The Last Refuge, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Little Green Footballs, Mediaite, Hit & Run, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Hot Air, The PJ Tatler and FOX2now.com

ABC News:
Ferguson Cop Had ‘Serious Facial Injury,’ Source Tells ABC News

Discussion: New York Times, Guardian, FiveThirtyEight and Scared Monkeys

KFVS-TV:

Councilman under fire for posting what some call ‘racist photos’ on Facebook … POPLAR BLUFF, MO (KFVS) - — A Poplar Bluff city councilman is under fire for posting what some are calling racist photos of President Obama on his Facebook page. — The issue was brought up at Monday night's city council meeting.

Discussion: The Raw Story

Ahiza Garcia / Talking Points Memo:
Missouri Councilman Explains Racist Facebook Posts: ‘I Was A Very Active Republican’

Discussion: Liberaland

Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:

By Any Means Necessary — The Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — has endured so many near-death experiences that digging into the details of still another effort to demolish it is admittedly not an inviting prospect. (My own reaction, I confess, to hearing some months back about the latest legal challenge …

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Prairie Weather

CBS Charlotte:

High School Student Claims She Was Suspended For Saying ‘Bless You’ After Classmate Sneezed — DYER COUNTY, Tenn. (CBS Charlotte) - A high school student was allegedly suspended after breaking a class rule of saying “bless you” after a classmate sneezed. — Kendra Turner, a senior …

Discussion: RedState, Daily Signal, Independent Journal Review, Mediaite, Truth Revolt and Hit & Run

WWBT-TV:
High school student says he was arrested for killing dinosaur in class assignment

Discussion: Hit & Run and Instapundit

Colby Itkowitz / Washington Post:

Answering question on Israel, Bernie Sanders tells townhall hecklers to ‘shut up!’ — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has little patience for being heckled. — The self-described “socialist,” often named as a liberal alternative to Hillary Clinton in 2016, fought with constituents over Israel …

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Israel Matzav

Chris McDaniel / St. Louis Public Radio:

St. Louis Police Release Video, Calls From City Shooting — On Tuesday, two officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department shot and killed Kajieme Powell, who was 25 years old. — Powell was suspected of shoplifting energy drinks and donuts from a convenience store.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Shakesville, Guardian, RT, Daily Mail, Hinterland Gazette, Mashable, Mediaite, The Raw Story, Gawker, The News Commenter and Slate, more at Mediagazer »

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

Contempt [Updated] — In recent months, Barack Obama has crossed an important threshold. He has always shown contempt for his opponents; now he shows contempt for his supporters. He has quit pretending to be a leader, and more or less quit pretending to be a president.

Discussion: Ed Driscoll, Washington Post, The PJ Tatler and New York Times

Rebecca Riffkin / Gallup:

Americans' Satisfaction With Job Security at New High — Satisfaction with many job aspects returns to high pre-recession levels — WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the U.S., 58% of full- or part-time workers are completely satisfied with their job security. This represents an increase …

Discussion: Washington Post and National Review

Linda Killian / Wall Street Journal:

Florida's New Redistricting Plan: Round Two — Florida Circuit Court Judge Terry Lewis heard arguments Wednesday about whether to throw out the Florida Legislature's redrawn congressional map, which critics say unfairly advantages Republicans, hurts minority voters and is unconstitutional.