Brickbat: White Like Me

Matthew Furlong will join the Cheshire police department in England after a tribunal found the department discriminated against him in hiring because he is white and heterosexual. Furlong, who has has a degree in physics, reportedly aced the interview before being rejected because the department was using "positive discrimination" to increase the number of non-whites and sexual minorities in its ranks. The tribunal said such measures can only be used to decide between equally qualified candidates. Deputy Chief Constable Julie Cooke said the department will change its hiring policies as a result of the tribunal ruling but said the policy of positive discrimination was put in place "with the best of intentions."