Torture Photos Threaten National Security?

Hello Readers! There are many things that concern me right now, especially health care reform, the escalating situation in Pakistan, and the way my favorite president just announced that he would ignore a court order to release torture photos.

I don't wish to be negative, but when you think about all that's happening the challenges seem almost overwhelming.

Regarding the president, I'm extremely nervous about what's happening. My new favorite president is beginning to look a little like our past - and my least favorite - president. Why would he ignore a court order to release photos of torture when everybody knows we've already done it? I don't get it! Don't the terrorists already have plenty of recruitment tools? I just can't see how national security is threatened. He seems a little Bush-like in this situation, and that terrifies me.

Btw, I do care about the troops and their safety, but I don't buy the argument the photos will make their situation any more dangerous. The troops are already at extreme risk from the policies of the last eight years. Plenty of torture photos are already out there. I think that's some kind of excuse. Respecting our legal system is important too. That's something our troops are fighting and dying for.

If not photos, then how about torture drawings, like the one seen here? Are those banned too Mr. President? Let's be honest, nobody wants those torture photos released, but it's important to respect the legal system. If civil libertarians successfully sued to disclose our sins so that we are forced to learn and heal, then I think the President should respect that decision. It's also important for the military to learn from its mistakes. The generals should not have that kind of power over our system. "National security" as a power should not be abused.

The information is already out there. No matter what you say, we need to respect our legal system. Nobody is above the law.

Thursday's Political Rant #2 - Michael

Rest in Peace Brett and Robert

Good Morning Readers! In my neverending quest to remind people that Tasers are deadly weapons, I need to point out that more innocent Americans are dying at the hands of trigger-happy police. Two teenagers, both from Michigan, died over the past few weeks.

Last month police in Detroit, Michigan used a Taser to subdue 15-year old Brett Elder. They said he tried to fight with them. Despite the fact that Elder was unarmed and no more than 110 pounds, and posed no threat to law enforcement, they decided to risk his life using a Taser. Now the boy is dead.

Another Michigan boy, 16-year old year old Robert Mitchell, died after being tasered by Police in Warren, Michigan. Police say Mitchell was driving a car with expired tags. As officers pulled him over, they say "he ran and hid." They report there was a struggle and an officer used the Taser. The boy died shortly after the incident.

Amnesty International is an outspoken critic of Tasers, as am I. Amnesty reports that America is an exception in the Western world in the way it treats Tasers. American law enforcement treats Tasers like some kind of electronic pepper spray. Amnesty thinks the situation is unacceptable, and is beginning to work with law enforcement. Innocent people are dying all the time. The situation is very serious.

I think Tasers are excellent weapons IF used properly. An example might be a woman at risk of being raped or murdered, or used to protect the weak and the elderly from harm. I own and respect guns (yes, I am a gun-toting liberal - and I love them), and may even own a Tasar someday, but no matter who's using them deadly weapons need to treated with respect.

Nobody, especially law enforcement, should use a potentially deadly weapon unless threatened with overpowering or deadly force. American law enforcement needs to toughen up. The citizens they are hired to protect should not be treated to a deadly crap shoot. Police can use pepper spray if they need a non-lethal alternative.

Please write to your representatives now, for it could be your son or daughter next. Again, I'm not against Tasers, but simply the use of deadly force without real provocation. Tasers should not be used by officers hoping to avoid a struggle. Officers should be trained and capable of immobilizing people without using Tasers. For now, all I can say is rest in peace Brett and Robert. You didn't deserve to die.

Monday's Political Rant - Michael

PS - Btw, make sure you don't piss off your local police, or you could be next.

Canada Leads by Regulating Deadly Tasers

Hello Readers! Canada has taken a bold step to regulate the use of Tasers, so now America must investigate and do the same. Law enforcement safety is important, but so are people's lives.

In a recent shocking story - like many across North America - the Royal Canadian Mounted Police pinned down Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant, and stunned him several times at the Vancouver Airport. The officers claimed Mr. Dziekanski was trying to attack them with a "stapler."

He died from the Taser blast. His death led Canadian police to tighten up procedures NATIONWIDE for the use of Tasers on suspects resisting arrest. Canadians now consider Tasers a deadly weapon, and police use them only as a last resort.

Police officers are gambling with innocent lives every day now thanks to Tasers. It's a common occurrence on the streets of America. They are being adopted as standard crowd control weapons worldwide, and Taser deaths are considered "accidents" by most police forces - it borders on government criminality. The law enforcement community is obviously in denial. They need to regulate NOW! It's a BIG problem, and people should be more concerned about it.

People are not cattle! Our lives should not be gambled away at the hand's of some random thoughtless or rash police officer.

I will continue my crusade until more Americans wake up and acknowledge that our police are armed with DEADLY Tasers, which they use far too easily. They are killing innocent Americans - unarmed, innocent until proven guilty, Americans. Law enforcement needs to return to the heavy lifting, and secure suspects the old fashioned way.

Taser deaths should be highlighted in local press as examples of police abuse, and officers should pay a penalty for killing innocent, unarmed people. The police should not be above the law. Like firearms, Tasers should be considered a weapon of last resort.

Tuesday's Political Rant #1 - Michael

Tasers are Killing Unarmed Americans

Good Morning! I would like to remind people that potentially deadly tasers are killing thousands of unarmed Americans each year, and very few people are talking about it. It's a serious issue in American law enforcement. Tasers are not harmless tools of deterrence the way they're being marketed.

My last taser post was reprinted in the Chicago Sun-Times and circulated across multiple blogs. It is a serious issue that more Americans need to be aware of, despite our national support of law enforcement. To reiterate, TASERS CONTINUE TO KILL UNARMED PEOPLE and must be categorized as a weapon of last resort. It's clear that police should not be allowed to use them to control UNARMED American citizens.

A young man in San Jose, California died yesterday after being jolted with a taser. Local police report that he represents the sixth taser death since the department began using the stun guns in 2004. That represents a very high "accident" number for a small urban police force.

In his 20s, he was supposedly in a "struggle with two officers" when they tried to arrest him in the backyard of a home late Wednesday. "The struggle was very, very violent to get him into custody," said police spokesman Mike Sullivan. "Some time during the struggle, the officers did deploy a taser."

Officers don't know whether an individual has a heart condition, or taken drugs thus weakening their condition. A taser is always potentially deadly unless you know the medical condition of the subject. They may as well use defibrillators to stop a heart, since the idea is almost the same. Suspects are still innocent until proven guilty in America; they should not be exposed to such a risky device.

How about lassos, laughing gas, or anything else that doesn't risk death? There must be alternatives. Let's get creative people!

Law enforcement is being sued, but still taser abuse is increasing. Taser MURDERS increase annually too. Law enforcement must be subject to community oversight. It's tools and weapons must be debated. I hope people reading this blog will take some time to examine the issue, and consider writing to your local newspaper, police, politician or oversight groups before more people die.

Friday's Political Rant/Call to Action #1 - Michael

PS - The Canadians just tightened their rules governing the use of tasers. We Americans need to consider doing the same. Read The Star for more information.

Police Need to Treat Tasers as Deadly Weapons

Hello Bloggers - I need to take a position on tasers after reading about another death this weekend in Virginia. Poor 17-year-old Derrick Jones of Martinsville was pronounced dead in his own home following an encounter with police that ended in a taser blast.

Neighbors called the police due to noise. Jones, who had been drinking AT HOME with friends, "moved rapidly" towards the officer while making unspecified unkind comments. Police officers know that tasers have killed people in the past, especially those who may be high on drugs, so a taser should have been used as a LAST RESORT!

It is clear to me that police officers, who I hold in great esteem, are not using their tasers properly. They're inadvertently killing innocent people, and something must be done. He wasn't armed, so why taser him? Why couldn't the officers have just called in back-up, and wrestled him to the ground the old-fashioned way? Isn't that why we hire strong officers?

This is an example of how some police departments are taking tasers too lightly, and how they use them too casually. Despite what some police say, tasers can be deadly weapons, and they should be taken very seriously.

A CBS report shows that tasers have KILLED "at least 400 people in the United States and Canada since 2001." Those figures leave out those who merely suffered heart attacks yet survived after being tasered. I don't know about you, but if the police know that tasers can kill, or cause heart attacks, and they do, than it's clear that tasers should be restricted to the same rules as firearms. It only seems reasonable to me.

I've even read that when testing tasers on rookies, to demonstrate their use, police departments make a big deal to use volunteers with a medical clearance, because they know a heart attack is possible. That alone is very disturbing to me. It shows they are aware.

I'm pretty angry because, despite my admiration for law enforcement, I think some police departments are out of control, seeming almost militaristic in the way they enforce laws on unarmed citizens. It could be the thin end of the wedge, and could get worse. We as citizens need to get more vocal about it, unless you want to risk being tasered in the future, or even killed.

Just like that college student in Florida who tried to scream questions to McCain, and who begged not to get tasered by campus police, people are getting tasered way too easily. It is a growing problem that needs to be addressed by journalists and community groups. It is a good cause, and people have to speak up more. I know I will try.

My own father died in 1969 after police chased a criminal causing him to slam into my father going around 90 mph on city streets. Police chases kill thousands each year, and very little is written about their victims.

I cope with the idea that my father died because police thought it was important to catch that criminal. In a way he was armed, at least with a speeding vehicle. I could see tasering that young man if he was carrying a taser, or driving a car perhaps, but not for simply running and yelling abusive language in his own home.

Citizens tolerate police carrying firearms for good reason, but we do not have to tolerate police tasering unarmed citizens. They should NOT BE ALLOWED TO SHOOT PEOPLE with tasers without a very good reason, such as a SERIOUS threat. Either police departments begin to take great steps to limit their use, or citizens should do it for them by writing laws. Something must be done. Derrick Jones should not die in vain.

Monday's Political Rant #2 - Michael

PS - The Chicago Post-Tribune reprinted this article for us. Thanks Post-Tribune!