From a reader after last night’s Pats loss: “I suspect someone somewhere in the analytics community has validated the premise that if you are playing not to lose, you are more likely to lose.”

When I was a cub reporter way back when, the police blotter was by far the most popular feature of the weekly paper where I worked. They remain popular to this day, digitally and in dwindling print. … But this Globe story does raise an interesting issue of whether media outlets should be printing unfiltered police accounts of events. I think the Lexington newspaper cited in the article has found a correct balance: print the blotters with some editing changes that include not publishing suspects’ names. Sounds fair to me. … 

Btw – One of the greatest practitioners of police-blotter writing: Universal Hub.

The Globe’s Dan Glaun and Sean Cotter have a good piece on the paramilitary-style training at the State Police Academy, where Enrique Delago-Garcia recently died after a boxing exercise. Says one former cadet of the ridiculously over-the-top training program at the academy, ‘It starts there — the whole culture.’ And it’s a culture that’s helped produce scandal after scandal at State Police. It’s a culture that, from the very start, has prioritized brawn over brains, weeding out potentially excellent troopers who just weren’t macho enough for their boot-camp-style instructors.

Btw: Worried about police departments becoming overly militarized in general? Read the Globe article and all the source comments. It all starts in the hiring-and-training process.

Btw II: The Hub Blog mind drifts to this quote from the Untouchables, when beat-cop Jim Malone (aka Sean Connery) says of finding ethically sound police officers: “If you’re afraid of getting a rotten apple, don’t go to the barrel. Get it off the tree.” 

The NYT’s David French gets closer to explaining a non-policy MAGA mindset than anyone I’ve read in a while. Basically, many MAGA types enjoy taking pokes at the establishment, saying outrageous things and seeing the reactions, hitting body-politic nerves every chance they get, provoking progressives in particular, etc. etc. There’s a cynical gleefulness and sense of belonging among many MAGA believers, as French notes. … But I’d add there’s also a little bit of the anarchist and libertarian in many MAGA types. I know this is generally true because I’ve talked to a number of Trump-supporter friends who, after readily acknowledging Trump’s obnoxious and toxic flaws, almost invariably say “I don’t care. I just want change.” I.e., there’s a strong anti-establishment, anti-status quo element to MAGA-dom, combined with an unmistakable anti-leftist obsession that finds comfort in seeking out and mocking progressive pronouncements and actions (see Instapundit on any given day to verify this point) …

The problem is, of course, these MAGA types don’t recognize their own anger/fury and how their words and actions are causing deep and lasting harm to a country they say they love. They also don’t see how they’re radicalizing and strengthening the resolve of their political opponents (or “enemies,” as some call them).

The state’s Cannabis Control Commission is becoming a case study on how an organization can descend into near complete dysfunction by relentless scheming, backbiting and office politicking by just a handful of key players. The Globe has the latest CCC update. … There may indeed be some organizational problems that legislators need to address. But it sure looks like this is mostly about personalities, not organizational flow charts, and that will make it harder to fix short of firing the entire lot and starting from scratch.

Btw: The CCC and State Police are not too far apart in their consistent dysfunction. See post immediately below.

The Globe’s Adrian Walker says the feds need to step in to investigate the death of a cadet at the State Police academy, long known for its harsh training practices that critics say regularly cross the line into savage hazing. … Separately, the Globe reports a close friend of Enrique Delgado-Garcia says the now deceased cadet used the word “torture” to describe his training.

See my previous posts on State Police academy controversies below (“State Police trainee dies: Why?”) and here (scroll down to June 26).

I initially scoffed when the media prominently reported on Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, as if it was a serious political event worthy of major coverage. I scoff no more. The Globe has convincing local voter registration numbers that show Swift has serious clout…

It’s sad and depressing to read this NYT piece about the growing alarm abroad over the future of American democracy. … 

Update – And they’re worried up north in Canada, too.

Dan Kennedy has a disturbing post on the extremist Libertarian Party of New Hampshire and its recent gross tweet: “Anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.” … A spokesman for the group told the Globe that the organization “believes that the journalists at the Boston Globe are as evil as rapists or murderers.” Wow. I’m embarrassed I didn’t see these stories sooner …

Combined with the latest attempted assassination of Donald Trump and the arrest of neo-Nazis who had prepared an assassination “hit list” that included former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins, Kennedy concludes: “We are living through a terrifying moment, and it’s not going to end on Election Day.” 

Btw: I think the NH Libertarian incident proves Jeff Jacoby’s recent hunch was obviously correct: Hard-core MAGA supporters have taken over the Libertarian Party in general. It’s certainly not the same party that featured Gary Johnson of New Mexico and Bill Weld of Massachusetts at the top of its ticket in 2016.

His Teamsters are balking at endorsing Harris. … One apparent complaint against Harris among rank-and-file Teamsters: immigration.  O’Brien, who somewhat infamously spoke at the RNC this past summer, said an endorsement decision, one way or the other, could come by tomorrow.

Update – O’Brien has gone the non-endorsement route. And, make no mistake, that’s a plus for Trump, not Harris. Very disappointing.