A SENSE OF PROPORTION? – AT 8:21 A.M. ET:  We note first that President Obama never sent representatives to the funeral of Margaret Thatcher, one of the great British prime ministers.  But there will be reps at another funeral.  From CNN: 

CNN) -- The White House is sending three officials to Michael Brown's funeral Monday, including one who attended high school with his mother.

Brown,18, was fatally shot on August 9 by officer Darren Wilson while walking down the streets of Ferguson, Missouri.

His death sparked days of violent protests in the St. Louis suburb. In the past three days, things have calmed down, and the town is slowly coming back to life.

The officials attending the funeral are Broderick Johnson, who leads the White House's My Brother's Keeper Task Force. He'll be joined by Marlon Marshall, a St. Louis native who attended high school with Brown's mother, and Heather Foster. Both Marshall and Foster are part of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Brown will be eulogized at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis.

Two weeks after the shooting sparked violent protests, the mood turned more tranquil Saturday with smaller crowds and lots of music. Gone were police in riot gear glaring at defiant protesters. The tear gas, rubber bullets and Molotov cocktails were nowhere to be seen, either.

In their place were clusters of officers, hanging around businesses, chatting with one another.
Race has been at the forefront of the tensions; Brown was African-American and the officer who shot him is white.

St. Louis authorities released details of the racial and gender makeup of the grand jury, which started hearing testimony on Wednesday.

It comprises six white men, three white women, two black women and one black man, said Paul Fox, the administrator for the St. Louis County Circuit Court.

St. Louis County is 70% white and 24% black, according to last year's estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau.

COMMENT:  Look, if this sinking administration wants to send representatives to the funeral, fine.  But they should realize how many Americans will feel excluded, especially the families of other teenagers who have been killed who weren't politically useful. 

Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy.  It is disgraceful.  This man is low-life and a racial agitator.  But I guess the family wanted a celebrity preacher.  We in New York had our fill of this guy.  But Eric Holder apparently likes him.

August 24, 2014