Yahoo! News - Deaths prompt concerns, reviews on use of stun guns

Stun gun or Tazer use by police resulted in over 80 deaths so far and the Chiefs of Police, the Justice Department and even the Southern Christian Leadership Conference are all conducting their own reviews to decide if this weapon should be used by law enforcement in the future. The chiefs of police support the use of this non lethal weapon, yet the SCLC is calling for a moratorium on their use until further testing can be done to make them safer.

Last week, Chicago police stopped distribution of a hundred units to it's officers until it can investigate the death of a 54 year old man who had been restrained with the tazer.

I can see the problem and everyone should be concerned. I mean, we don't want a bunch of cops using weapons that might hurt people and these tazer things sound really dangerous. I mean, 80 people have already died and only 7000 departments use the device with only 120,000 units out in use by law enforcement already on a daily basis.

If 80 people have already died since cops started using these, how many will die when these weapons become popular? What will happen when every policeman has one of these weapons on their belts? How many will die then? WONT SOMEONE SAVE THE CHILDREN?

Well, I hate to sound sarcastic about something as important as law enforcement, but what are the options? 80 people died?! Give me a break.

How many would have died if the cops used their weapons of choice? How many more would be dead if every time a Tazer was used a handgun was used instead?

Police are not trained to gently restrain people, they are trained to hurt and overwhelm people who threaten them or others. Cops are never, never, never, never, properly trained in any type of hand to hand combat, martial arts, non lethal combat or supplied with any type of non lethal weapons other than perhaps a baton, which are often more lethal then their bullet pumping counterparts and also require daily training to be truly effective. Non lethal alternatives have usually not been provided by police departments or their training.

Protect and serve, but keep yourself alive with your gun and ask questions later. That's standard cop training at all levels. Until the Tazer came along.

Cops rely on their guns. They train to shoot to kill and talking them into putting their safety into anything else is understandably difficult. They are the ones at risk and they are the ones who are in a situation that can become deadly at a moments notice. It took years to get police departments to take non lethal weapons seriously and it's been an uphill battle to try and get Tazers into very police cruiser to offer a choice to our officers.

Don't let someone ruin it for everyone. It might sound dangerous to have a non lethal weapon that killed 80 people since it's been in widespread use. But think about the alternatives. If we only give our cops guns, how many innocents will die then?

A lot more than 80. How many people were killed by beer bottles in the same time frame? Let's put the numbers in perspective and I'll bet Tazers are safer than oranges.

Yahoo! News - State Seeks to End 'Power Hour' Drinking

In an attempt to end the practice of "Power Hour" birthday celebrations where young people try and down 21 shots of alcohol in the first hour they are 21, North Dakota lawmakers want to pass a law making it illegal to purchase alcohol until 8am on your 21st birthday.

Ok, drinking 21 shots unless you weigh 7 or 800 lbs is just stupid. Bars should not help people try and kill themselves and anyone of normal size stands a pretty good chance of just that depending on what they decide to shoot during their 21 shot 'Power Hour' marathon.

One man has already died in ND as have many young people all over the country. It is becoming a large problem and one we must do what we can to solve.

But passing a law to change the time you can buy beer and shots is not going to do it. What are these guys and gals thinking? If the kids do it at midnight, why wouldn't they just do it the next day? Changing the time is not the solution, it just gets nice press for those who drafted such a silly law.

Here is my suggestion: Make it illegal to do the 21 shot celebration. Fine bars if they serve this potentially fatal dose of liquor to such inexperienced drinkers and fine the friends and others who allow it to happen.

If someone tried to kill themselves in the middle of a crowded bar and no one did anything to stop it, I'm sure charges would be filled and someone would be found guilty of a crime, probably the bar owners themselves for not providing proper security. Why should it be any different with shots on your birthday?

Don't add another stupid law. Make a good one and just make it illegal to kill yourself with booze on your B-day or serve others who try, not change the time you are legally able to do it. That's just stupid.

Yahoo! News - Wis. Man Says Beer Choice Cost Him Job

Isac Aguero, 24, of Racine Wisconsin and a forklift driver for four years at CJW Inc., a Miller Brewing distributing company, was caught by the local paper while out partying on a Saturday night drinking a Bud Light.

When his picture hit the streets on Monday in the "On the Town" feature of the paper covering the local night life, his employers were none too happy to find him drinking the competition and fired him on the spot.

He says he knew there was trouble when he arrived at work and his fellow employees told him he was in big trouble over the photo. A little while later he was called into the general manager's office and fired.

He says they gave no reason, and sales manager Thomas Bey says the company doesn't talk about past or present employees.

Looks like the beer folks are as bad as the drug folks. Step out of line and they might not shoot you, but they will surely fire you.

I hope he sues the crap out of them and that Anheuser Busch sends him a lifetime supply of his favorite brew for helping them get such great publicity.

Yahoo! News - Station Offers Free Valentine's Divorce

This is just gross. But we have all learned to expect such things from rock radio stations whose listeners eat this up. They need to make their listeners happy, so I won't blame the station like many.

K-rock in Syracuse NY is giving away a divorce for Valentines day. It has a retail value of over $1400 and is for the people whose valentine's day is unhappy because of their marital problems.
Local clergy called it tasteless.

"A divorce is a death, the death of a dream," said the Rev. Joseph Champlin, rector at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. "You wouldn't make a joke out of someone who died, would you?"

Oh, yes Reverend, they would. They do it all the time and listeners love it.

Think this is wrong? Or do you think it's funny? Visit the

Yahoo! News - Glitch Puts Gas Price at 19 Cents a Gallon

If the gas pump machine makes a mistake and only charges you .19 cents for gas you know costs much, much more, what would you do?

Customers in Overland Park Kansas would steal the gas, that's what they would do.

It seems a computer glitch at George Riley's Phillips 66 gas station lowered the price of gas from $1.83 per gallon to .19 cents for an entire night last weekend. No body at the station noticed until a TV reporter caught wind of the savings and called to inquire about it.

Callers to the local talk radio shows knew all about it and one truck driver reported it was all over the CB radio. During the time of the glitch, 1200 gallons were pumped by people excited to find such an unexpected bargain.

But did they know it was a bargain? Did the signs say .19 cents? Did any of these people really believe the gas was that cheap for this weekend?

I don't think they did. Perhaps a few, but I'm sure most people knew what they were doing and felt they were screwing the big oil guys so stealing the gas was OK.

Mr. Riley feels the same way, but amazingly he understands and has refused an offer from a church to help him with the $2000 he has lost. Riley says: "It's hard to blame people, Most people don't realize a small individual owns this business. They think they're getting the big oil company."

But they didn't get the big oil company. Instead, they got poor Mr. Riley who is just a regular guy trying to run a business while his neighbors knowingly steal his product and hurt him and his family with their greed.

Not one single person has shown up to give back what is owed. Not one. What does that say about the fine people who live in Overland Park Kansas?

You decide, I already have.

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