Category: Uncategorized

Pennsylvania Primary Redux: Was It Decisive?

[April 23, 2008, 3:37 a.m., Chicago, IL)

The question I posed at the top of my Pennsylvania Primary blog entries, (its title, if you will), was “The Pennsylvania Primary on April 22^nd: Will It Be Decisive?” The Keystone State vote is now in; the answer to that question is no.

Indiana’s vote lies ahead. Twenty-five per cent of Indiana voters are in the Chicago media mart. It’s similar to Ohio and Pennsylvania in its make-up and it will be a crucial state. While North Carolina, which has a large African American population and some affluent areas, looks good for Obama, Indiana shapes up to be much more like Pennsylvania or Ohio, so Hillary might well win in Indiana, but it, too, will be a close race. Just as Pennsylvania was expected to go for Clinton, North Carolina is expected to go for Obama.

Barack Obama did not receive a death blow in Pennsylvania, but Jeffrey Toobin and other analysts have said (on CNN Election Eve coverage), “This victory may convince Super Delegates that he has problems with blue-collar voters, Catholic voters. They’re asking themselves, “Do we have a damaged candidate here?'” Indiana is becoming a pivotal state, as Obama himself acknowledged.

Barack Obama needs to stay ahead in the Super Delegate counts. He needs to keep his momentum going. Having two-thirds of Catholic voters in Pennsylvania vote for Hillary (69% to 31%, specifically), as well as white male voters voting for Hillary 55% to 45% for Obama, is not good news.

What happened on April 21^st, however, was what was expected. In Philadelphia, the Obama supporters came out, including black voters and he won big in the city, 65% to Clinton’s 35%. The southeast did well for Obama, as did Delaware and Chester County. Clinton’s big victory came in Bucks County (suburb of Philadelphia), and in rural areas like Allentown and Erie and “the T,” (discussed in my original article.) She won the senior vote, the white male vote, the Catholic vote and 57% of the Jewish vote. (Only 7% of the state’s voters are Jewish.) All this courtesy of John King’s blue map (The Magic Touch or the “wonder wall” as they call it) on CNN Election Coverage.

The thing to remember about Hillary Clinton, as one analyst on CNN said, is that “She’s in it to spin it.” Hillary and Bill have a well-known reputation for going to almost any lengths to win. She went negative on Barack Big Time in Pennsylvania, and, distasteful as that seems to much of the country, we’re bound to see more of it. In fact, those inside Barack Obama’s campaign are urging him to become more negative in defending his lead. Keep in mind, if Hillary “spins” the need to “seat” Florida’s voters ( she’s the Mother Theresa of Florida, worrying overtime about their disenfranchisement), where both names appeared on the ballot, at least, (which they did not in Michigan), and, if you add in Pennsylvania’s popular vote, the popular vote margin becomes closer: 15,117,521 for Clinton, or 47%, with 15,390,196 for Obama, or 48%. (4% go to “other”). Is pulling within range by changing the rules in the middle of the game fair? Isn’t this cheating? Of course it’s not fair, and 6 of 10 voters polled have said that they think Hillary Clinton is “untrustworthy” in CNN polls. It’s not fair to suddenly become so concerned about the poor disenfranchised Florida (or Michigan) voters that both candidates agreed to punish early on, but “she’s in it to spin it,” and, now that she’s behind, why not change the rules so that she can seize the nomination from the grasp of the rightful winner? [Hey! It happened to me in East Moline’s 1^st Ward, as I proved in a challenge ordered by a Republican judge, and it happens in elections every year (Al Gore in Florida, anyone?)]

After Pennsylvania was called for Hillary, she made a plea for donations and raised $2 and ½ million dollars from new donors. The money will help Hillary to spread her new message that she’s better with blue collar voters, white folks, Latinos, old people, and Catholics than Obama is and help her to put forth the doubt that Obama can win nationally. In fact, she has already done this, asking why Obama couldn’t “close the deal” before Pennsylvania was over.

No one has been able to explain why the Catholic vote went 2/3 for Hillary Clinton. Thirty-seven % of the voters in Pennsylvania are Catholic, but neither Hillary nor Bill is Catholic. Pennsylvania voted much like Ohio before it. Here are the theories for this I’ve heard: 1) the Nun theory. Nuns are (generally) mature, white women. Those are Hillary’s supporters, so perhaps nuns convinced their charges to vote for the first woman with a real shot at becoming her party’s Presidential nominee. Let us not forget that Roman Catholic nuns have been in the forefront of many national movements that require women to stand up and be counted; if you’re able to remember the Vietnam War, you will know that both priests and nuns demonstrated, at times, to stop the slaughter (Father Daniel Berrigan, et. al.), and there have been other issues of conscience that have brought forth either outright or tacit support from this group of independent women

(2) Catholics are big on forgiveness, confession and guilt and strongly disapprove of divorce (I know; I’m a Catholic). When her philandering husband publicly humiliated Hillary, she didn’t bail on him, but “stood by her man.” Some felt she should have served him with divorce papers ASAP, but she did not. She held her head high, bit her lip, and suffered in silence. This period was perhaps the peak of Hillary’s personal popularity, as even those who had castigated her previously felt sorry for the poor “wronged and humiliated” wife. While we can all speculate on whether the Clinton liaison is a “marriage” in the traditional sense of the word, or more of a business partnership, we may be seeing the traditional Catholic virtues emerging in response to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. It’s just a theory; add yours, if you have one.

Over 320,000 new Democrats, up 8% in Pennsylvania have spoken. What they said did not really surprise pollsters, who were already anticipating a Clinton win there. The Clinton side “spins” the win as huge for her, because of the Big State argument (I can carry the Big States like Pennsylvania, and you, Barack Obama, cannot. Nyaaah. Nyaaah, nyaaah, nyaaah!)

The Obama campaign has run a fairer and cleaner campaign, to date. No negative attack ads. No attempt to change rules that were agreed upon by all in advance, like the Vegas voters voting in casinos or the seating of Michigan and Florida delegations, who are being punished for moving their caucuses and primaries up in defiance of the national Democratic Party (I have to ask: Dr, Dean….you’re a smart man? How did you and/or yours come up with that bonehead idea? Surely you could see something like this coming?) No pious mouthing(s) about the poor disenfranchised Michigan and Florida voters, made in order to seize their votes, by the Obama camp.

Obama, himself, said that Clinton would win Pennsylvania before the votes were in, but also said “we’ll do better than people expect.” Narrowing the gap from 20 or 30% to 10% qualifies and is exactly what he predicted.

As Obama closed a 20-point polling gap. David Gergen, political analyst for CNN said, “He was closing in on her and as he was closing, not only did he stall, but he actually got hurt.”

The entire Democratic Party is going to have a “stalling” problem and get hurt if they can’t get their candidate picked by June. Representative Patrick Murphy (D, PA), said, “We need to all come together. I hope it’s not a brokered convention.” There will only be 8 weeks between the end of the conventions and the actual election, so it would be to the advantage of the Democratic party to know who is going to be their pick by June, as John McCain is sitting pretty in that department right now, watching the Democratic fight with great amusement, no doubt.

The 300 Super Delegates are looking pretty important right about now, as they have for months. I’m wondering if John Edwards will come into play somehow in the North Carolina contest that looms? And what about Florida and Michigan? Remember, Folks: “she’s in it to spin it.”

Pennsylvania Election Eve Thoughts

By Connie Wilson

On April 21, 2008

In Uncategorized

Just a word to the wise about the posts you will see on Associated Content, should you be interested. I was one of four corresopndents from “Associated Content” (www.associatedcontent.com) asked to “blog” during the evening’s election night returns, posting every 15 minutes or so. Today, I posted a “preliminary” article, outlining the problems faced by each candidate in winning and analyzing the areas and demographics of the Keystone State that will prove pivotal to a win for either candidate.
Be sure to check it out on Associated Content, which wants “exclusivity” for the piece(s).

Musings from Cancun

By Connie Wilson

On April 11, 2008

In Uncategorized

Now that we have spent almost one full week in the beautiful, balmy weather of Cancun, Mexico, some of our party is beginning to wonder about how, exactly, they are going to get back, since American Airlines is/was the carrier of choice after our first choice (ATA) went bankrupt just days before our flight. Now, American Airlines has canceled numerous flights, and the question is, “How do I get there from here?”

The “there” in question is either Chicago or Atlanta, both of which sound like they are having less glorious weather than Cancun, Mexico! With the daughter in school in Nashville, Tennessee, the CNN weather reports of tornadoes in that area, plus the news that tornadoes touched down in Iowa (the home state) are distressing.

Tried to call the youngest child on her cell phone in Nashville from the Lobster Dinner Cruise the other night, but she tells me (online) that she was at her boyfriend’s concert. His band was playing. She also tells me that she is (probably) going to become an Assistant Manager (of sorts) for a band called “Moon Taxi” that she is very “high” on. She is still interning with Rick Clark Productions and helping select music for at least 3 movies, plus receiving a Producer’s Credit for an XM/Sirius radio show for Mr. Clark. She’s even feeding the pet cat (“Keeks”) while Rick is in Santa Monica on business. Busy, busy, busy!

The impressions of the United States from another country, while far away, are interesting. The violence towards a teacher in a Baltimore classroom, caught on cellphone video and posted to the internet, illustrates the disrespect towards teachers in the classroom and the need for reform in the nation’s schools. The President of the Teachers’ Union in Baltimore (MD) spoke, saying that the policy has Principals urged to cut down on suspensions, so unruly students sent to the Principal are just sent back to class. I remember this technique from 1985, so is there anything new about that? She went on to say that there needs to be an “alternative school” or a different facility where aggressive, disobedient, unruly students can be sent, to isolate them from the general population of students and teachers. This has been in effect in both the Davenport (Ia) and Rock Island and Moline (IL) schools for years, so I wonder why Baltimore has no such system? Of course, it was the alternative school in Moline, Illinois, that was the breeding ground for the youths who cold-bloodedly murdered a fellow student in the Sarah Kolb case, about 3 years ago. The schools are not getting the message that the 21st Century requires different sort(s) of schooling from those of the agrarian past. Better use of facilities. More computer usage and teaching. Greater emphasis on math and science. All have been indicated by national studies, but the old practice(s) of loading up classrooms with up to 35 students continue. As a long-time Sylvan Learning Center owner/operator, to me, it seems obvious that the number of students assigned to teachers needs to come down. Perhaps 3 to 1 (Sylvan’s ratio) is not realistic in a public school, but certainly 35 to 1 is even less realistic. If we had back the money being spent on the Iraq (and Afghanistan) Wars, just think what innovative change could take place in our schools, rather than this “fill in the bubble” testing emphasis that has added nothing, but, arguably, taken much away from real teaching and real learning. Most teachers I know personally (and I know a lot of them) are praying for the days when “No child left behind” becomes “A program left behind.”

But I digress. Last night, we scoped out 3 relatively new eating places in the Cancun area, all built since the disastrous hurricane of a couple years back. First was Porto Madera, which we have eaten at previously. It is an Argentinian steakhouse, with high prices, but great ambience. I had the shish-ka-bob (which is called “brochettes” on the menu) and it was HUGE!

Next, we wandered to a brand-new restaurant open only 3 months. Name: “Harry’s Bar and Grill,” a tribute to Ernest Hemingway’s famed Key West hang-out. This is an extremely romantic get-away, with a great view of the lagoon and a pricey menu. There is a fake waterfall, 3 fountains lighted in the lagoon itself that spout water, and….for your tableside snack while having a drink: crisp bacon. (Weird). A beautiful place.

The last place (3 in a row, geographically) was entitled Grill 14 and was similarly romantic in tone, but the entire menu was printed ONLY in Spanish and there was an abundant presence of sushi on the menu. It was far less crowded than either of the first two mentioned, although the approach to the restaurant, itself, is very romantic. I would say a drink in this one might suffice, as the menu did not support the eating habits of two Midwesterners who don’t care for sushi and don’t read Spanish well-enough to know what they are ordering. Three very nice new additions to Cancun’s dining life, however, since our visit of one year ago.

Lobster Dinner Cruise in Cancun Lagoon Lovely

By Connie Wilson

On April 10, 2008

In Uncategorized

I can reliably report, from the eighty-degree weather of Cancun, Mexico, that the lobster cruise on the good ship “Columbus” was lovely. The shore from the vantage point of the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink 2-hour cruise (priced about $75 per person) was gorgeous. It was windy, true, but what do you expect on a wooden boat that was damaged during the hurricane but restored and sails again? We’ve done this cruise about 5 times, and it never fails to impress. Tonight’s music was provided by a “live” saxophone player with accompaniment (pre-recorded) and the Mexican maitre de/MC apparently thought he was Don Ho reincarnated. He spent most of his time trying to make the evening “romantic,” which two women from Michigan found amusing, since they didn’t know it would be quite so, well, romantic. The cruise included pick-up and delivery to and from our hotel, but it is no longer sponsored by the Royal Resorts, so it was difficult to find out who, where and when this cruise went off. But find it we did.

While here, I read in “USA Today” that Bettendorf’s city fathers are being asked to re-zone the Abbey Hotel so that it can become a drug rehabilitation clinic at $15,000 to $20,000 a month or some such. I remember when the former Trappist monastery was being bought by a rich California investor and rehabbed into the hotel it now is. The last high school reunion (Alleman) that my husband and I attended was held there, and the food was wonderful, with the fanciest touches this side of the former “Charles Michel” restaurant in downtown Moline (now defunct).

While appreciating that competition from the nearby “Isle of Capri” riverboat hotel and casino might well be crushing, the riverboat in Bettendorf has been there for a long time. Surely the hotel developers thought of that before sinking so much money into the renovation of this old building, complete with lovely lights outlining its frame at night?

I can’t imagine the nearby residential residents being thrilled at the idea of a drug rehabilitation center entering their neighborhood. (I used to drive through this particular neighborhood every day on my way to my former business office at 1035 Lincoln Road, the Sylvan Learning Center’s old offices and still the offices of Sylvan’s Prometric Testing Service (now sold off to a New York concern). This is a middle-class neighborhood of mostly ranch-style homes.

Tomorrow, Ixcaret at 8:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. at night: Mexico’s answer to America’s tourist wonderlands. I’m not going, but many in the party are.

What Will the Iraq War Ultimately Cost?

By Connie Wilson

On March 24, 2008

In Politics, Uncategorized

With the recent news that America’s casualties in Iraq have reached 4,000 dead soldiers, we should be asking ourselves, “What is this war costing us, not only in the tragic deaths of our brave soldiers, but in (borrowed) dollars and cents?”

The April, 2008, issue of Vanity Fair (“The $3 Trillion War” by Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes, p. 147) lays it out for us. Before the war, President Bush’s economic adviser suggested that the war might cost $200 billion. Then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld called that “baloney.” Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz suggested that increased oil revenues would allow Iraq to pay for its own post-war reconstruction (also “baloney”). The team of Rumsfeld and Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Douglas pegged the war in the $50 to $60 billion range back then, back five full years as of March 19, 2008.

So, how much is this war really costing American taxpayers?

A lot. At least close to $800 billion and rising. The Administration has already asked for $200 billion to pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in fiscal year 2008. And it’s not going to get better, Folks; it’s going to get worse: much, much worse.

According to the Vanity Fair article (p. 148), “But even the $600 billion number is disingenuous, which is to say false. The true cost of the war in Iraq, according to our calculations, will, by the time America has extricated itself, exceed $3 trillion.”

First, there are issues with the “accrual” versus “cash” accounting system used to explain costs. Another relevant quote: “In the case of the Iraq war, the future obligations are huge. They include the cost of replacing military equipment, which is being used up at 6 to 10 times the peacetime rate. They also include the cost of providing health care and disability payments for our returning troops.”

Almost every Democratic candidate campaigning in Iowa before the Iowa caucuses in January (especially Senator Joe Biden) pointed out the huge cost of caring for our wounded young men and women, who are being saved, because of advancements in medicine, at rates that far outstrip anything seen in any previous war. If you look back at my previous Joe Biden article, there are some specifics there.

The problem is, these brave soldiers’ lives are being saved, but many are horribly wounded and many that are “whole” will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The already over-burdened Veterans’ Administration system is just not equipped to handle the wave of returning soldiers with major problems, both physical and psychological. Problems with V.A. coverage have forced many soldiers to purchase their own health insurance. In 2000, the Veterans’ Administration had a backlog of 228,000 pending compensation claims; today, the number is over 400,000. It takes an average of six months to process an initial claim and, if a veteran appeals, as 14% do, it takes another 2 years to process the appeals, while the veteran waits in limbo for needed health care. The V.A. has run out of money and it takes more than 30 days for a seriously wounded veteran even to be seen by a doctor. (Figures from Vanity Fair, April, 2008, p. 148).

We have relied on the National Guard in this war, and that has taken workers from the civilian labor force and imposed burdens on many families whose loved ones have been called to serve. This is a hidden cost of the war. Another “hidden” cost of the war comes about because the Administration has requested nearly all the money to fight the war in the form of “emergency” funding, which then makes the money given free from standard budgetary caps or vigorous scrutiny. When we read stories of pallets of cash being flown to Iraq and then disappearing (and we have), we have the “emergency” nature of the funding to thank…or blame…for that. The Vanity Fair piece (“The $3 Trillion War”) calls this entire method of paying for the war “budgetary sleight of hand that makes a mockery of the democratic budget process.” (p. 148).

Casualties: The Pentagon has its own peculiar method of counting casualties. It classified more than half of those who had to be evacuated from Iraq as non-combat casualties (p. 150), because the Pentagon splits hairs when deciding who was killed in the war and who was merely killed in a tank accident on their way to the war, for example.

At least 2.1 million individuals will have been sent to Iraq before the war ends. When we consider that 44% of the Gulf War Veterans (a war that only lasted a few weeks) have applied for disability compensation and almost 90% of their claims were approved, we can see that this is going to be an expensive post-war. (Today, we spend $4.3 billion per year paying disability compensations for Gulf War Veterans, Vanity Fair, page 150, as are the figures in the previous two sentences).

The Vietnam War cost the United States an estimated $560 to $805 billion (in 2006 dollars) and 58,000 Americans died there, as did one million Vietnamese. (Mother Jones, “Apocalypse Then, November/December 2007, p. 47). Twenty years after Vietnam, 15% of Vietnam veterans still suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (Mother Jones, “Apocalypse Then,” November/December 2007, page 47).

Here’s another Big Eye-Opener: we have borrowed the money to finance this war, primarily from countries like China, and we will have to pay the money back with interest. The interest, over only 10 years, will add $615 billion to the cost of the war, pushing the cost into the $2.8 trillion ballpark. (Vanity Fair, p. 150). As the authors of the Vanity Fair piece (Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes) conclude (p. 153), “The price in blood has been paid by members of the volunteer military. The price in treasure has been financed entirely by borrowing…Deficit spending gives the illusion that the laws of economics can be repealed. They cannot.”

Another Big News Flash, for me, regarded how much “the surge” has cost. McCain is very “high” on the surge while on the campaign trail, telling us how well he says it has worked, but he fails to mention that the cost quoted to the American taxpayer footing the bill was for only four months of expenses, while the surge has and will go on for far longer than that. The surge was supposed to cost $5.6 billion in January of 2007 when we deployed another 21,500 troops. (Vanity Fair, April 2008, “The $3 Trillion War”) However, that cost was for deploying combat troops alone. The cost will be closer to $11 billion (also for four months) when the other 15,000 combat-support troops are factored in, with the surge continuing for 12 to 24 months. (p. 153, Vanity Fair article). Since we are now entering April, obviously the price tag we were given for only four months of “the surge” is going to be much higher.

When you consider how many bridges won’t get repaired in this country and how many roads and schools and other infra-structure improvements will not be able to be made in this country because of the cost of this war, you have to factor in a figure that is a “realistic but conservative estimate (for the war’s macro-economic impact) of roughly $1.9 trillion.” (Vanity Fair, p. 153).

To sum up, using the words of Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes who did such a good job of laying it all out for us this month:”Thus, the total cost of the war ranged from $2.8 trillion in strictly budgetary costs, to $4.5 trillion if one adds in the economic costs…The President and his advisers wanted a quick and inexpensive conflict. Instead, the Iraq War is costing more than anyone could have imagined.” The article goes on to say that these costs will most likely end up being half again as much as Vietnam, two times that of Korea, and four times the cost of World War I.

Death by TASER (or) “Don’t TASE Me, Bro’!”

By Connie Wilson

On March 24, 2008

In Uncategorized

A Chicago man identified by police as 24-year-old Roberto Gonzalez was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital on March 20^th, following arrest by Chicago police, who subdued the victim using both a chemical spray and a TASER gun. Gonzalez— (whose family says he was 37)—died about 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, March 20t, following the altercation with Chicago police.

Gonzalez was standing outside the Loma Linda Bar at 2658 S. Trumbull Avenue with his cousin, Cesar Garza, 28, who confirmed to police that the pair had been drinking and that Roberto “might have” taken drugs.

Gonzalez, it should be noted, has a rap sheet going back ten years which includes at least a dozen arrests for battery, armed Robert, possession of drugs, reckless conduct and violating a protective order.

Two plainclothes police officers who had been circling the block outside the Loma Linda approached the two cousins and told them to move on. Garza left, but Gonzalez did not. Garza was picked up a few blocks away by police officers after he left the scene as requested. It was from the back of the police vehicle that Garza watched as police struck Gonzalez for ten minutes, used a chemical spray on him, and tasered him twice.

Said Garza, the dead man’s cousin, “They shouldn’t have done this. He (Gonzalez) was on the floor, wiggling away from police. How could he fight back?”

Another witness, who declined to be identified, said police asked Gonzalez to take his right hand out of his pocket, after which officers attempted to arrest him. The unidentified witness saw police strike Gonzalez and, as Gonzalez resisted arrest, the witness heard officers say, “Stop, or we’ll tase you.”

The rallying cry, “Don’t tase me Bro!” became famous worldwide after a University of Florida student in Gainesville, Florida, tried to ask then-Presidential nominee John Kerry a series of questions, culminating in one that dealt with his membership in the Skull and Bones Society, of which George W. Bush was also reputedly a member.

In an incident at the Toronto Airport in October of 2007, a Polish immigrant on his first trip outside his native country, arriving in Canada to visit his mother—a man who spoke no English and had just arrived at the terminal, waited for hours to be met by his elderly mother. He became more and more agitated as the hours passed. His mother could not enter the secure arrival area where the man waited, and the man could not communicate with airport personnel, nor they with him, due to the language barrier. Nor could the man contact his mother. The man’s subsequent fatal tasering by officers called to the scene was caught in its entirety on a horrifying cell-phone video taken by another passenger.

Glen Lebyba, a Glendale, Colorado resident having a mental breakdown was killed by three tasers administered after his family called police for help. His sister Shelly said, “Glen was in a medical emergency, down on the ground, no threat.”

An Indiana resident, James Borden, was tasered six times by police, leading to his death. His brother, Steve, said, “They juiced him to death.”

Another incident of a mental patient being tasered to death occurred on Long Island, New York. The victim was David Glowczenski. His sister, Jean Griffin, said, “We called them (police) for safety because he was so disoriented…and an hour later, he was dead.”

In yet another sad story that occurred on August 4^th in Lafayette, Colorado, Jack Wilson’s son, Ryan, was TASERed when the 22-year-old entered a marijuana field and did not stop when police commanded him to do so. When he ran, Officer John Harris pursued the young man for half a mile and shot him once with an X-26 TASER. Ryan fell to the ground, convulsed, and died. No alcohol or drugs were found in his system. But Ryan Wilson did have a previously-undetected heart abnormality (narrow artery).

The TASER was used against political protesters demonstrating against Florida Governor Jeb Bush at a Rick Santorum fundraiser in Pittsburgh on October 9^th, 1974. We can assume it will be used again, this summer, during the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

The TASER was invented in 1974 by a man named Jack Cover, who called it the TASER, meaning “Thomas A. Swift Electric Rifle,” after a hero of 20^th century adventure novels. Since its inception, it has undergone modifications and morphed from Air Taser, Inc. in 1993 to Taser International, Inc. in 1998. The M-26 re-design was part of something known as “Project Stealth,” which intended to give law enforcement a weapon to use against those resisting arrest that did not cause deadly force.

But does a TASER represent deadly force?

In the instances cited above, including nearly 200 in 5 years, the answer is yes. Today (2006) “more than 9,500 law enforcement agencies in 43 countries use the TASER. IN 8 years, 184,000 were sold to law enforcement personnel and another 115,000 were sold to citizens in the 43 states where owning a TASER gun is legal. They cost $300 to $400 and are even available in the color pink! (“Death by Taser: The Killer Alternative to Guns” by Silja J.A. Talvi, on “In These Times,” Nov. 18, 2006.)

A TASER is propelled towards the subject using compressed nitrogen, which launches 2 penetrating probes or bars. The barbs are listed (by various sources) as being released from 15 to 35 feet away at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. Amnesty International cited 150 deaths by June of 2001, and that number has risen dramatically. In fact, the increase in deaths from TASERing was so dramatic in Detroit that the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality worked to see that taser guns were banned in that city. Said Ron Scott of that organization, “There needs to be more study done on the effects of TASERS.” (Jim Lynch, “The Detroit News,” Feb. 18, 2005).

The T-wires that connect with the person’s body, frequently piercing clothing and skin, cause rapid muscle contractions. The impulses, which deliver 50,000 volts per application and can “re-stun” repeatedly thereafter, have insulated wires connected to the gun. Repeated shocks are often given in quick succession. One individual, described on October 12, 2004 on the blog “The Early Show” was stunned 9 times and died. “He committed no crime; he didn’t do anything wrong,” said the blog.

Dr. Roland Kohr, an Indiana physician, says that being TASERed may potentially kill an individual under stress or one who has drugs in his system. “The application of the TASER was the trigger factor for the stressful event that caused the elevation of blood pressure, the elevation rate, which stressed an already damaged heart to the point that it went into cardiac arrest,” he said in court testimony. In the case of Jack Wilson’s son, Ryan, an autopsy showed a narrowed artery to the heart, although Ryan was in good health and was neither drunk nor on drugs at the time of his death. Since he had just been chased for over a mile by the police, he certainly would have been “stressed.”

Another method of TASERing an individual is dubbed “dry stunning.” It is administered directly on the subject’s skin, giving a cattle-prod-like effect. Those who have been TASERed describe the effect as debilitating, with full body seizures, mental disorientation, and loss of control of bodily functions. The University of California student TASERed in the library there (video available at http://www.altenet.org/rights/44455/) seems to have been in extreme pain and crying out for help.

Chicago victims are not confined to Roberto Gonzalez on March 20, 2008. A 54-year-old man and a teen-ager were among other TASER victims in Chicago on February 11, 2005, and there are others.

It would seem that “TASERing” people is something that can, for some subjects, be as dangerous to the victim as shooting them with a gun would have been. In the March 20^th event in Chicago, Ilana Rozenzweig, chief of the agency that reviews police conduct (Internal Affairs), promises a complete investigation, including autopsy results, evidence gathered at the scene, and witness statements.

None of these investigations will bring back any of these victims, the innocent or the guilty. Their numbers are rising.

Further study of TASERs as a police tool, as urged by Lucas County Sheriff (Toledo, Ohio) James Telb is indicated before more victims, some of them innocent of any wrongdoing, die as a result of the overzealous use of what is supposed to be a non-fatal law enforcement tool. Most video of the student and political protesters would suggest that, had they been allowed to do so, the students would have departed the premises without further incident. The Florida and California students being TASERed at least survived, although their ordeal is difficult to watch on video.

The 40-year-old Polish man had done nothing to bring his TASERing on himself, but he is just as dead as Roberto Gonzalez of Chicago.