You’ve seen the pictures of the protests in Ferguson, Mo., after the police shooting of Michael Brown. And you’ve seen the pictures of the police dressed in the latest military gear, in camo, driving armored vehicles, with big guns facing down the protesters. It’s not just tear gas any more and riot gear. It’s the full militarization of the police. How did this come to be? And what does it mean for our country? Jamelle Bouie tells the story in Slate. And James Fallows offers more in the Atlantic.
Greg Howard’s take on Ferguson: America is not for black people. Via Concourse.
Meanwhile in Ferguson, now they’re arresting reporters, too. A first-person account from Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery.
Colorado state Sen. Randy Baumgardner says Native Americans would have loved fracking because, after all, they followed the “burning waters.” Via the National Journal.
As Doyle McManus writes in the Los Angeles Times, make no mistake, we’re back at war in Iraq.
Can you inherit trauma? A grandmother and her granddaughter and Hiroshima. Via the New Yorker.
The darkest side of social media: Robin Williams’s daughter Zelda driven off Twitter by a couple of trolls. Via the Washington Post.
Colorado Secretary of State candidate Wayne Williams says thanks, but no thanks to campaign contribution from the Republican State Leadership Committee, a tax-exempt 527 political organization which cannot contribute directly to candidates under current campaign finance law. “It didn’t meet all the technical requirements so we’re sending it back to them,” Williams said. Should’ve just registered as a political action committee… Via the Gazette.
New report shows more rural Coloradans on food stamps than urban residents. Physical proximity to food production ≠ accessibility. Via the Durango Herald.
[Photo from Ferguson, Mo., by Ryan J. Reilly via Twitter.]
