tasers at show and tell

a cop did a little show-n-tell at my 2nd grade daughter's class the other day. see my riot gear? see my baton? check out my taser! he actually turned the fucking thing on.

how odd i thought...i was just reading about bernard kerik's federal indictment, about his publisher/lover judith regan suing newscorp for 100 million dollars, about his disgraceful history of corruption which kept him from being homeland security czar....and about his stint as taser salesperson/chairperson of the mob:


In 2002, Taser brought on former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik as the company's director. Kerik had attained popularity in the wake of 9/11 as a law-and-order-minded hero; the company had seemingly picked one of the best spokespersons imaginable.

With Kerik's help, company's profits grew to $68 million in 2004, up from just under $7 million in 2001, and stockholders were able to cash in, including the Smith family, who raked in $91.5 million in just one fiscal quarter in 2004.

lest they call it a non-lethal weapon: Ryan is one of nearly 200 people who have died in the last five years after being shot by a Taser stun gun. In June, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it would review these deaths.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/44455/?page=entire

actually, it just happened AGAIN:

The launch of an inquiry and the apology by Les marked quick reversals by the Liberal government since the release of a recording last week that shows an agitated Dziekanski being Tasered by RCMP officers on Oct. 14, just moments after they arrived at the scene. The footage, shot by fellow traveller Paul Pritchard of Victoria and since seen by millions worldwide, also captures officers pinning the 40-year-old man to the floor until he goes limp.

by moments, they mean 46 seconds. i guess 4 cops have better things to do than wait for a translator.

so is it appropriate for an oregon officer to show off his taser to schoolkids, to fire it up in the class room?

Les refused, telling the house it was a "very complex issue" and that stopping Taser use could put people, including police officers, in jeopardy. Les said provincial justice ministers decided last week that an immediate moratorium was not the right step to take.

just what did police ever do BEFORE tasers?

"I still can't believe my son is gone," he says. "The fact is that these Tasers can be lethal. No matter how they're categorized, Tasers shouldn't be treated as toys."

exactly. not toys, and tasers don't belong in show and tell.

November 10, 1987: koyaanisqatsi

Life out of balance

20 years ago today

half my life ago

lawrence, kansas, hoch auditorium(later struck by lighting and burned to the ground)

by the will of goshheckndamn