According to The Harris Poll, the US military again leads the list of institutions in which most Americans express “great confidence.” Small business, at 45 percent, is hard on the heels of the military, at 47 percent. And, if you combine the “great confidence” and “some confidence” percentages, small business moves ahead. Harris notes, too, that this is the “fourth year in a row that the [overall] Index has fallen.” The 2006 poll showed the overall confidence index at 52, while in 2002 it was 65 and has dropped each year since. Harris called the spike in 2002, the “rallying round the flag” index.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…

