The great unmasking

A terrific Tuesday. 110 days down, 255 to go until 2022.

Pat Robertson is no Walter Cronkite. But his recent remarks might indicate a shifting of opinion by middle America on unconditional support for law enforcement, similar to the country’s shift on Vietnam after Cronkite’s report on the Tet Offensive.

I think it’s time to reconsider the need for outdoor masks. On my walks, I still put my mask on when people with masks approach, out of politeness if nothing else. But if they don’t have a mask on I don’t bother. Inside is a different story. Here are takes on the issue from Dr. Paul Sax, infectious disease specialist at Brigham and Women’s and Dr. Ashish K. Jha from Brown University School of Public Health. Shannon Palus, writing in Slate, rounds up additional expert opinion on the mask question.

In Louisiana, 60 kids were gathered at a party. An argument broke out. Nine people were shot. In Chicago thirty shots were fired in the middle of the afternoon at a McDonalds drive-through. A 7 year old girl was killed. W.T.F.?

It was an obscure race but what happened with the Boston recount? The numbers were small but the discrepancies weren’t. Actually, maybe in the grand scheme of things they were. For once I think I might agree with Galvin.

And I would go on record saying that Philip Roth was by far the greatest American novelist of the last century. He was a powerful writer of fiction and he wrote a lot of books. Which one should you read? The Times has some suggestions for newbies. They’re all good. But go for American Pastoral (breathtaking), Operation Shylock (intriguing), or, if you’re open to being shocked, Sabbath’s Theater (shocking). Remember, it’s fiction.