On police reform...

We as Americans have a problem with the police. Systemic racism. Corruption. The Thin Blue Line. A lot of people no longer trust the police. I'm one of them. The last time I had to call 911, it took over 20 minutes for the officers to respond, and even then they disregarded the description I have the dispatcher and just arbitrarily accosted the first black man they saw at 10th and Commerce (waiting for the bus while black is a crime apparently).

There have been calls to refund the police. I don't think that's the best idea. It's seems more like a knee jerk reaction. The police may be a festering cesspool of corruption, but they're still a vital service to society. What we need it's a disciplined police force. And that needs to start from the beginning. The standards to be a police officer need to be raised. The job is tough, but we need to raise the bar even higher. Before actually training to be a police officer, let each candidate go through Marine Corps boot camp. And let the drill instructors wash them out at will. 

And once they get their badge, the standards still need to be kept high. If they're going to have power over life and death, then they need to be held to a higher standard of behavior. Police officers ought to be in greater fear of internal affairs than any thug they may face on the street. And the police department should not be a union shop. Far too often, officers' unions are used to stand in the way accountability for misconduct.

As a society, we face a problem of systemic racism, corruption, and general lack of accountability from the police. And the leadership needs to from a pair...