To the editor: The Nov. 11 Static column, “What Will it Take?,” continues the saga of Taser guns and the dangerous, sometimes lethal ramifications from their 50,000-volt power.
Of course Taser International is going to protect its source of revenue — selling Tasers — and certainly is not going to admit to any culpability in Michael Jacobs’ death because of the potential for litigation and even an outright moratorium on the use of these police fashion accessories. With the backing of police departments and those who have a vested monetary interest in Tasers, they’ll do the Energizer Bunny routine and spend big bucks to keep Tasers in cops’ hands.
I challenge the big dogs at Taser International to submit to a round of Taser juice that would last as long as what Jacobs received: 49 seconds and then five more. Then let them pontificate on how safe they are!
Now with Taser developing a long-range version of 20-second charges, this should be cause for alarm. Hopefully LULAC and the SCLC can lobby the Obama administration successfully and get them to indeed investigate civil rights violations, because these weapons are used for abuse, torture, and intimidation, often needlessly and often as an accelerant to death.
Yvonne Roth
Fort Worth
Animal, Vegetable, Gas
To the editor: Peter Gorman’s “The Big Takeover” (Metropolis, Aug. 26, 2009) hits the level of 9 on the Richter scale. Legislators and those in power to do something need to read this well-written caveat.
When 10 head of cattle succumb within one hour of drinking “frac water” and seven more die in the next three hours, more action is required than compensating the owner. This is criminal negligence at best — and the pasture is still contaminated.
Now they want to build gas wells near a grammar school? First dead cows, now maybe children will be the collateral damage from these intrusive, polluting wells, all for the sake of money. That’s a take-no-prisoners policy.
Thanks to Don Young, who was mentioned in the same article, for his reconnaissance footage identifying hydrocarbons escaping into the atmosphere, something else that the gas companies don’t want you to know about. They must have a big repertoire of BS to go along with their greenbacks and use both to cover up everything.
Our mayor is a recreant, letting the drilling companies have waivers and variances and full license to drill. They don’t even want to do the minor retrofitting that would reduce poisonous emissions. Hell, give ’em the keys to the city!
This story reeks of nepotism and vested interest by a pack of wolves.
Young made a politically correct statement: “In just three years we’ve gone from being a nice city with a small-town feel to a city on the way to becoming another Houston.”
That’s what greed does.
Eva Hoffsettz
Fort Worth
Kamikaze Scandal
To the editor: Dr. Shari Julian’s guest column (“Denial and Tragedy,” On Second Thought, Nov. 18, 2009) about the Fort Hood massacre by one of its own fully illustrates that religious fanatics are everywhere, regardless of race, color, or service connection.
The military was shuffling Major Hasan around like a deck of cards, transferring him from Walter Reed to Fort Hood with red flags hoisted and flying high. This practice has an analogy to the Catholic Church scandals, in which church officials repeatedly transferred their pedophile priests to other congregations rather than firing them because there was a shortage of these men of the cloth.
To add insult to injury, the army gave Hasan his deployment orders in assembly-line fashion, which was likely the sparkplug for his rampage that turned Fort Hood into an American killing field. His actions were comparable to those of a kamikaze — at ground level.
The military needs to be more diligent in booting out radical Muslims who pledge allegiance to their faith like we pledge allegiance to our flag. Only in their case, they aren’t protecting this country — just their beliefs of violence and death to the infidels.
Delores D. Raikes
Fort Worth
