Whew. Friday. Today is Festival of Popular Delusions Day.
Brooks Brothers is facing tough times. The company is considering closing factories, one of which is located in Massachusetts. It would be a shame if they went under.
In 1968, as the country was bogged down in Vietnam, Walter Cronkite gave his dire assessment of the war effort to the American people on the evening news. Shortly afterward Lyndon Johnson decided not to seek reelection. “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America,” he was reported to have said. No one watches the evening news anymore. But if there is a comparable bell-weather these days it might be The Rock. And it looks like Trump has lost The Rock.
Condoleezza Rice is speaking out.
More on police unions from Ed Davis and Frank Hartmann. Brianne Fitzgerald is a nurse who works with Boston Police and she has some thoughts about the department. Patrick Skinner is a cop in Savannah and he wrote an op-ed describing his version of community policing. A local councillor in Minneapolis wants to abolish the police department in the city. And Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, discusses reform, noting that changing how the police operate, and reducing the scope of their responsibilities, will be complex and politically charged.
Qualified immunity is also on the table. People on both / sides of the ideological gap have questioned the legality and fairness of the practice and now the Supreme Court is considering taking a case to address the issue. That would be a game changer.
And even cop shows on TV are a hot-button issue. Reruns of Barney Miller may be just what the country needs.