David Thacher
@dtha15.bsky.social
Professor studying police history, police reform, policy responses to serious mental illness, ethics. Richard Olney & John Dewey stan. Dad to a danseur and a goalie; married to a historic preservationist
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dthacher/index.html
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dthacher/index.html
🚨 PSA if you're in Detroit: If you didn't see this tonight, see it tomorrow.
They are doing Firebird. THEY ARE DOING FIREBIRD!
All the NYC peeps are excited, "Ooh DTH is reviving Firebird Spring 2026!" That's sweet.
In Detroit, we already saw it. It's fantastic.
detroitopera.org/show/dance-t...
They are doing Firebird. THEY ARE DOING FIREBIRD!
All the NYC peeps are excited, "Ooh DTH is reviving Firebird Spring 2026!" That's sweet.
In Detroit, we already saw it. It's fantastic.
detroitopera.org/show/dance-t...
Dance Theatre of Harlem - Detroit Opera
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a Detroit favorite returning to the Detroit Opera House after their 2023 performances. Arthur Mitchell created the company in New York City after making history in 1955 as t...
detroitopera.org
November 16, 2025 at 5:45 AM
🚨 PSA if you're in Detroit: If you didn't see this tonight, see it tomorrow.
They are doing Firebird. THEY ARE DOING FIREBIRD!
All the NYC peeps are excited, "Ooh DTH is reviving Firebird Spring 2026!" That's sweet.
In Detroit, we already saw it. It's fantastic.
detroitopera.org/show/dance-t...
They are doing Firebird. THEY ARE DOING FIREBIRD!
All the NYC peeps are excited, "Ooh DTH is reviving Firebird Spring 2026!" That's sweet.
In Detroit, we already saw it. It's fantastic.
detroitopera.org/show/dance-t...
Reposted by David Thacher
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield will become the first woman to be mayor of the city.
Mary Sheffield wins big, becomes Detroit's first woman mayor - Detroit Metro Times
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield will become the first woman mayor of the city after handily defeating Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. in Tuesday’s general election.
www.metrotimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield will become the first woman to be mayor of the city.
Great new piece from @jessicagillooly.bsky.social & @barryfriedman1.bsky.social on the role of 911 dispatchers in alternative response. Come for the incisive analysis of why the dispatch problem is hard and how to address it; stay for the sophisticated analysis of thick vs. thin rules.
Rethinking rules for 911: Dispatching alternative responders in Denver and San Francisco
Research Summary Alternatives to police response to 911 calls have emerged as a leading public safety reform strategy. A key policy implementation challenge lies in determining whether alternative r...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Great new piece from @jessicagillooly.bsky.social & @barryfriedman1.bsky.social on the role of 911 dispatchers in alternative response. Come for the incisive analysis of why the dispatch problem is hard and how to address it; stay for the sophisticated analysis of thick vs. thin rules.
my oldest is RFK's brain worm for halloween
November 1, 2025 at 1:35 AM
my oldest is RFK's brain worm for halloween
If a local police department lowered standards half this much, we'd be treated to a diatribe about how America has given up on merit.
NBC News finds that:
-- ICE has shortened its training from 13 weeks to six.
-- Nearly half of recruits couldn’t pass an open-book written exam.
-- Recruits "are supposed to attest" they can pass the physical-fitness test, which requires them to run ... 6 mph.
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
-- ICE has shortened its training from 13 weeks to six.
-- Nearly half of recruits couldn’t pass an open-book written exam.
-- Recruits "are supposed to attest" they can pass the physical-fitness test, which requires them to run ... 6 mph.
www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Some new ICE recruits have shown up to training without full vetting
The recruits have had criminal backgrounds or failed drug tests or were unable to meet physical or academic standards, raising concerns about the agency’s rush to hire immigration officers, sources to...
www.nbcnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 2:31 PM
If a local police department lowered standards half this much, we'd be treated to a diatribe about how America has given up on merit.
This is what Vance's office and Darrell Issa (R who represents nearby district) said yesterday, before shrapnel rained down on a CHP car during the artillery fire apnews.com/article/cali...
October 20, 2025 at 3:44 AM
This is what Vance's office and Darrell Issa (R who represents nearby district) said yesterday, before shrapnel rained down on a CHP car during the artillery fire apnews.com/article/cali...
goddamit these people are going to make me say positive things about gavin newsom
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/u...
Artillery Shell Detonated Over Interstate 5 During Marines’ Celebration, California Officials Say
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 2:38 AM
goddamit these people are going to make me say positive things about gavin newsom
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/u...
MIT rejects the compact 🙌
The U.S. Department of Education recently sent MIT and eight other institutions a proposed “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education," along with a letter asking that MIT review the document.
mit.imodules.com
October 10, 2025 at 2:24 PM
MIT rejects the compact 🙌
Wait, I didn't originally notice this, but the opinion in the federal case that forced Newark PD to allow Muslim officers to wear beards was written by....Samuel Alito 🙃
law.justia.com/cases/federa...
law.justia.com/cases/federa...
I've seen a lot of comments on how this is silly & hypocritical for a guy with lots of tattoos, but it's also potentially an attack on diversity and equal protection. One reason to be more permissive about things like facial hair is to accommodate people from a wide range of religious traditions.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says "no more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression."
October 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Wait, I didn't originally notice this, but the opinion in the federal case that forced Newark PD to allow Muslim officers to wear beards was written by....Samuel Alito 🙃
law.justia.com/cases/federa...
law.justia.com/cases/federa...
I've seen a lot of comments on how this is silly & hypocritical for a guy with lots of tattoos, but it's also potentially an attack on diversity and equal protection. One reason to be more permissive about things like facial hair is to accommodate people from a wide range of religious traditions.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says "no more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression."
Hegseth says 'no more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression'
Hegseth said the Pentagon would crack down on "grooming standards." "No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression," he vowed. "We’re going to
www.nbcnews.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:43 PM
I've seen a lot of comments on how this is silly & hypocritical for a guy with lots of tattoos, but it's also potentially an attack on diversity and equal protection. One reason to be more permissive about things like facial hair is to accommodate people from a wide range of religious traditions.
In an average local police department this kind of behavior by an officer could get them fired, prosecuted, and sued. (Compare this case for example www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/n...)
I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)
September 26, 2025 at 3:04 AM
In an average local police department this kind of behavior by an officer could get them fired, prosecuted, and sued. (Compare this case for example www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/n...)
Some planners were debating a zoning code question on their group chat, and I suggested that they should have an LLM turn it into a rap battle. I am happy to report that I have finally found a good use for LLMs.
September 24, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Some planners were debating a zoning code question on their group chat, and I suggested that they should have an LLM turn it into a rap battle. I am happy to report that I have finally found a good use for LLMs.
Reposted by David Thacher
The New Yorker asked me “how bad” today’s Supreme Court ruling was. I boiled it down to one paragraph:
link.newyorker.com/view/5bda429...
link.newyorker.com/view/5bda429...
September 8, 2025 at 9:52 PM
The New Yorker asked me “how bad” today’s Supreme Court ruling was. I boiled it down to one paragraph:
link.newyorker.com/view/5bda429...
link.newyorker.com/view/5bda429...
Latour is PISSED today
September 2, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Latour is PISSED today
Like how hard is it to say, "I'm so sorry for your loss. We are lucky that these brave men and women lived among us"? Instead, he brags about what a great signature he has and makes fun of Biden for using the autopen. The guy simply cannot be a normal human being, ever.
This is a disgusting display of Trump's narcissism, his lies. In front of the people who lost their sons & daughters & brothers & sisters 4 years ago today, he rambles on about the gold trim he added to the white house and tries to score political points with new lies.
WATCH: President Trump Hosts Gold Star Families In The Oval Office
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
youtu.be
August 28, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Like how hard is it to say, "I'm so sorry for your loss. We are lucky that these brave men and women lived among us"? Instead, he brags about what a great signature he has and makes fun of Biden for using the autopen. The guy simply cannot be a normal human being, ever.
This is a disgusting display of Trump's narcissism, his lies. In front of the people who lost their sons & daughters & brothers & sisters 4 years ago today, he rambles on about the gold trim he added to the white house and tries to score political points with new lies.
WATCH: President Trump Hosts Gold Star Families In The Oval Office
YouTube video by Forbes Breaking News
youtu.be
August 27, 2025 at 1:43 AM
This is a disgusting display of Trump's narcissism, his lies. In front of the people who lost their sons & daughters & brothers & sisters 4 years ago today, he rambles on about the gold trim he added to the white house and tries to score political points with new lies.
Breaking the stranglehold of woke culture by cancelling....George Balanchine and Martha Graham 🤔
Kennedy Center Fires Dance Director After Questions About Programming
www.nytimes.com
August 23, 2025 at 2:58 AM
Breaking the stranglehold of woke culture by cancelling....George Balanchine and Martha Graham 🤔
Reposted by David Thacher
Last week, Boston received a letter from AG Bondi threatening to prosecute officials and withhold funds unless we cooperate with carrying out mass deportations.
The US Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.
The US Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.
August 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Last week, Boston received a letter from AG Bondi threatening to prosecute officials and withhold funds unless we cooperate with carrying out mass deportations.
The US Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.
The US Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.
I appreciate what they're doing here to save HUD-VASH ("Lovett said HUD-VASH 'is not Housing First' because participants are required to work with a case manager") and I hope it's a wedge for others to preserve their own programs. But this was always how HF worked; here is Tsemberis:
August 19, 2025 at 2:03 PM
I appreciate what they're doing here to save HUD-VASH ("Lovett said HUD-VASH 'is not Housing First' because participants are required to work with a case manager") and I hope it's a wedge for others to preserve their own programs. But this was always how HF worked; here is Tsemberis:
Cannot resist posting that I have actually been to Kiruna! And hiked up Mt. Kebnekaise
In a two-day, highly choreographed media spectacle, the Kiruna Church and its belfry are being moved east along a 5-kilometer route to a new city center in northern Sweden.
How do you move a beloved Swedish church down the road? With prayer, engineering and some Eurovision
The Kiruna Church and its belfry are being moved along a 5-kilometer route east to a new city center in northern Sweden as part of the town’s relocation.
bit.ly
August 19, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Cannot resist posting that I have actually been to Kiruna! And hiked up Mt. Kebnekaise
As these involuntary commitment laws roll in, it's increasingly clear to me that there's no magic criteria to distinguish people-who-should-be-committed from people-who-shouldn't. Like any infringement on rights, commitment should be a last resort. All that matters is: Have we tried everything else?
Why Texas is expanding its reasons people can be detained for mental illness
Starting Sept. 1, the inability to recognize one’s psychiatric condition, or anosognosia, will be grounds to detain an individual if it could lead to harm.
www.houstonchronicle.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:15 AM
As these involuntary commitment laws roll in, it's increasingly clear to me that there's no magic criteria to distinguish people-who-should-be-committed from people-who-shouldn't. Like any infringement on rights, commitment should be a last resort. All that matters is: Have we tried everything else?
my 17yo and his dance friend just watched all of the harry potter movies straight through (with a 4 hour break for sleep)
August 18, 2025 at 10:27 PM
my 17yo and his dance friend just watched all of the harry potter movies straight through (with a 4 hour break for sleep)
Very informative. Among other things, the lack of data in this area is appalling. "We largely don’t even have simple counts as to how often psychiatric holds are happening." This is one of the most profound forms of state authority there is, and we don't even keep track of how often it's used.
Q&A with Pim Welle on the New York Fed Staff Report on Involuntary Hospitalization
“I’ve worked on many things in my life, and I have never once found a problem with such depth and complexity.” @pim-well.bsky.social
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/q-and-a-wi...
“I’ve worked on many things in my life, and I have never once found a problem with such depth and complexity.” @pim-well.bsky.social
www.psychiatrymargins.com/p/q-and-a-wi...
Q&A with Pim Welle on the New York Fed Staff Report on Involuntary Hospitalization
“I’ve worked on many things in my life, and I have never once found a problem with such depth and complexity.”
www.psychiatrymargins.com
August 16, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Very informative. Among other things, the lack of data in this area is appalling. "We largely don’t even have simple counts as to how often psychiatric holds are happening." This is one of the most profound forms of state authority there is, and we don't even keep track of how often it's used.
FINALLY some good news.
The Nine-banded Armadillo might be headed towards Michigan
A new study suggests the Nine-banded Armadillo is migrating towards Michigan.
www.wilx.com
August 16, 2025 at 3:11 AM
FINALLY some good news.