Recent history demonstrates that if President Barack Obama, arguably the most powerful person on planet Earth, wants to prioritize almost anything little can stand in his way. Why, then, is Shaker Aamer not home in London with his wife and four children?

For the cover story of our Aug. 2 issue, Jim Rutenberg wrote about efforts over the last 50 years to dismantle the protections in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the landmark piece of legislation that cleared barriers between black voters and the ballot. The story surveyed a broad sweep of history and characters, from United States Chief Justice John Roberts to ordinary citizens like 94-year-old Rosanell Eaton, a plaintiff in the current North Carolina case arguing to repeal voting restrictions enacted in 2013. The magazine received an unusual volume of responses to this article, most notably from President Barack Obama.

Jeb "But we do need to convey that we are serious, that we are determined to help local forces take back their country."  That's his plan? 'Local forces'- ISIS, al Sadr militias, Kurds, Shiites, Sunnis, Syrian army, Iraq army, al Nusra, Hezbollah, Alawites, al Qeada, Iranian Quds in Iraq, or the US backed Division 30?  And whose country?

As if there are not a number of problems in Ferguson....the White fascists? are showing up armed to the teeth.

WHAT A MESS?

I have to ensure that the link to Think Progress works:

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/08/11/3690259/white-armed-militiamen-appear-in-ferguson-after-state-of-emergency-declared/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tptop3

The Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders was shoved aside by several Black Lives Matter activists and eventually had to leave an event in Seattle without giving his speech....When the crowd asked the activists to allow Sanders to speak, one activist called the crowd “white supremacist liberals”, according to event participants.

Is there any evidence these people are being put up to harass Sanders by some veiled subterfuge of the 1%?

You cannot make this stuff up. You. Can. Not. Make this shit up. You just can't.

State Rep. Todd Courser planned the distribution of a fictional email alleging he had sex with a male prostitute in a bid to conceal his relationship with Rep. Cindy Gamrat, according to audio recordings obtained by The Detroit News.

Courser, a Lapeer Republican, said on one recording the email was designed to create “a complete smear campaign” of exaggerated, false claims about him and Gamrat so a public revelation about the legislators’ relationship would seem “mild by comparison.”

The soundcloud recording is a must listen.

Will somebody please save Michigan, my Michigan?

Even the state teabaggers are asking for the two of them to step down.

This is a big deal. His support was crucial, and his opposition will prove more than problematic for Obama.

There is an interesting case out of Santa Ana this month where police officers were allegedly caught on camera wolfing down pot products in a raid on a medical marijuana dispensary. The officer reportedly disabled all but one of the security cameras. 

"Former President Bill Clinton encouraged Donald Trump to become more involved in GOP politics in a phone call a few weeks before the "Apprentice" star declared his presidential campaign, The Washington Post reported."
 

... And that wily ol' Bill Clinton, says to Trump, "Whatever you do, don't throw yourself into that Presidential Briar Patch ..."

hahahaha   I love this story. 

While I've posted that I thought the Black Lives Matter protest at NN was a political mistake I think it was a trivial mistake and not worth all the discussion and critique they got from it. This is an extremely comprehensive analysis of the BLM movement showing them in a positive light. Considering the overblown criticism they've received it's definitely worth reading.

The Saudi-registered Embraer Phenom 300 jet was attempting to land at Blackbushe airport..when it crashed.....it was carrying three relatives of Osama Bin Laden. They were named as Rajaa Hashim, Osama’s stepmother; Sana Bin Laden, his half-sister, and her husband Zuhair Hashim....It is the third time members of the Bin Laden family have been killed in a plane crash. Mohammed bin Laden, Osama’s father, was killed when his Beechcraft 18 crashed in Saudi Arabia in 1967 while on his way to marry his 23rd wife. Salem bin Laden, the half-brother of Osama, died in 1988 when his aircraft drifted into high-voltage power lines in San Antonio, Texas.

Firedoglake is going to change. It sounds like Jane is hanging up her boxing gloves. She has had several major health issues that she has survived.  The latest was a hip replacement. 

As many of you know, Firedoglake has been on hiatus for eight months while I recovered from hip replacement surgery. During that time I’ve been contemplating what the next chapter should be for the website. After some personal reflection, I have decided to pass the torch on to Kevin Gosztola and Brian Sonenstein, who will launch their own media organization called Shadowproof that will build on the success of FDL.

Kevin, who has continued to publish to FDL during hiatus, will be the organization’s Managing Editor. You might know him from the work he has done covering Chelsea Manning, John Kiriakou, and other whistleblower cases. His Dissenter column was an enormous success at FDL, and he will continue to publish the column at Shadowproof.