Fred Kaplan writes in Slate that although everyone hates ISIS — it seems, in fact, to be unanimous– the United States should not bomb ISIS in Syria, not unless there’s a coalition army to support there. The problem is there’s no one in Syria to support, and the only one who stands to gain is Bashar Al Assad. As of now, Kaplan writes, there’s no strategy that can work in Syria, and Barack Obama is right to concentrate on putting together a coalition to take out ISIS in Iraq.
In the New Yorker, Amy Davidson writes on Shirley Sotloff’s deeply moving plea to the “caliph” to spare the life of her son Steven, a journalist who is held captive by ISIS.
Will Republicans shut down the government again – and possibly cost them their chance to retake the Senate? Molly Ball says it’s possible. Via the Atlantic.
What’s a corporate tax inversion? It’s when Burger King wants to have it their way, as Vox explains at length.
From Lynn, Mass., a mayor comes to Washington to complain of immigrant children flooding her city fro the border. Or are they just fabricated scapegoats? Via Dana Milbank in the Washington Post.
Josh Barro writes in the New York Times that if you don’t want him to recline in his seat, you’ll have to pay him. The Guardian wonders if that’s really the answer.
ESPN says it made a mistake by pondering what Michael Sam did in the shower. Uh, yeah. Via the Washington Post.
Law professor Glenn Reynolds warned about the militarization of the cops in 2006. No one listened. Now he worries about the militarization of police attitude. Via USA Today.
Comedy relief: In which Jon Stewart obliterates Fox News (who else) for its tone-deaf coverage of Ferguson and the death of Michael Brown. Via the Washington Post.
The whole world is watching — though that might not actually be the case, it’s a mindset. Colorado Springs police officers will don body-worn cameras starting Oct. 1. The policy change comes in response to a recent study at the University of Cambridge that shows the use of cameras reduced the rate of use-of-force incidents by nearly 60 percent and complaints involving police officers by nearly 90 percent. Via the Gazette.
You’re fired: the Pueblo Board of County Commissioners voted 3-0 on Wednesday to lay off county Transportation Director Greg Severance after unsavory e-mails between him and three city council members surfaced a few weeks ago. The e-mails show Severance coaching the council members on city trash policy, which really pissed off private trash collectors in the city. One of the council members resigned; two others face recall. Via the Pueblo Chieftain.
[Photo, roadside mural of Bashar Al Assad along Damascus highway in 2008 by James Gordon via Flickr/Creative Commons.]
