Binghamton NY - 12 Dead in Murder / Suicide

The New York Times reports on the rampage murder / suicide that took place in the Binghamton Immigration Services Center, where at least 12 people were killed.

According to several news reports, the police said the 42-year-old gunman then killed himself with a bullet to the head.

“While the situation is still developing and details are being gathered, we do know that a gunman entered the American Civic Association in Binghamton this morning and that there are fatalities,” Governor Paterson said in a statement Friday afternoon.

I'm sure sensible people everywhere will recognize that this has nothing to do with the availability of guns. This man certainly could have killed those 12 people and himself using any number of potentially dangerous implements. The fact is though, just like this one the other day and this one the day before that, he used a gun.

They're happening now faster than I can write about them.

What's your opinion? Do you buy that pro-gun idea that the gun is an inanimate object and the problem is the man who uses it wrongly? What about Vice-President Biden's ominous comments? Ominous for the gun lovers, I'd say.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to deal with this terrible, terrible violence,” Mr. Biden said.

What's your opinion? Please feel free to leave a comment.

Tasered to Death In Florida

The Miami Herald reports on the tragic death of a Broward County man who was tasered for resisting arrest.

A Parkland man who was Tasered on Tuesday during a scuffle with Broward sheriff's deputies in front of the Sawgrass Infiniti car dealership in Tamarac has died in the hospital, according to authorities.

The man, identified as John J. Meier Jr., 48, had been running in and out of traffic on West Commercial Boulevard while wearing only a pair of shorts. He was violently resisting arrest when he was Tasered, according to BSO spokesman Jim Leljedal.

One of the problems with tasers is that they invite the trigger-happy tendencies of the policemen who carry them. What better toy could the sadistic power-drunk law enforcer have on his utility belt than this one? In most cases, it's an incredibly effective torture device that leaves no discernible permanent damage. But, not this time. In fact the Broward County Sheriff's office is no stranger to this type of tragedy.

Tuesday's incident, the third death of a Taser victim in BSO custody since the agency instituted the weapon, may have been fueled by drugs, Leljedal said.

An investigator with the Broward Medical Examiner's Office declined to discuss an autopsy performed Wednesday.

Leljedal said the autopsy showed no trauma or injuries other than minor scratches and Taser marks on Meier's right side.

His death appears to have been caused by cocaine toxicity or excited delirium, though a toxicology test has not been finalized, Leljedal said.

Does the man's toxicity level really have anything to do with it? What do you think? Aren't most suspects who receive a shot of the old taser under the influence? Is that supposed to be some kind of surprising revelation explaining the death?

Do you think the cops tend to misuse the taser? We've all seen too many reports like this. Do you think all these people would have been shot dead with the policemen's service weapons if tasers had not been available? Is that the idea? Are they killing fewer thanks to the taser?

What's you opinion? Please leave a comment.

Cool Building

The Miami Herald has the story of the Bacardi Headquarters on Biscayne Blvd.

Miami is moving to designate the famed, mural-adorned Bacardi headquarters on Biscayne Boulevard as historic, an action that would bar demolition or alteration of the landmark blue-and-white tiled tower and its square-annex companion.

Viva La Liberta!

Unless you're already an opera fan, it may be difficult to watch the whole thing. The subtitles might help. But, I can assure you, in this short 8-minute piece there is absolutely everything from murder and vengeance to rousing calls for freedom. There's that strange religiosity on the part of the vengeance seekers, asking God to bless their efforts. There's the famous seduction on the part of the protagonist as well as its associated infidelity and jealousy. At the 6-minute mark begins one of the greatest ensemble numbers in all of opera. It was written by Mozart and his librettist Da Ponte during the period leading up to the French Revolution. "Viva La Liberta!" which they translate as "Let Freedom Reign," is repeated about fifteen times.

Now, that's a timeless political message. What do you think?

Reqall

The New York Times reports on a new technology that will replace the little yellow post-its, which I and everyone I know have become quite dependent upon.

In a nutshell, Reqall is an effortless personal reminder system. You speed-dial its toll-free number (888-9REQALL) and dictate whatever it is you want to remember.

You can also create these reminders by e-mail, by typing them into a Firefox plug-in, or even by typing them into an instant-message program once you’ve set up Reqall as a buddy. But unless you live at your computer, using the cellphone is the real killer app.

That’s it. You go through your life, dictating these little tidbits that would ordinarily be relegated to scraps of paper or the back of your mind — and therefore, probably, lost.

Reqall transcribes your utterances into text and collates them at Reqall.com. You can also have them sent to you by e-mail or as text messages to your cellphone.

If your reminder included a date or time, Reqall recognizes it as a calendar event. It can shoot a reminder to your cellphone 30 minutes in advance.

I usually get onto these things five years after everyone else, but this one sounds good. Part of my reluctance, I think, is that I hate to give up what I'm familiar with and risk not being able to fully use the replacement. Of course, that's increased by my tendency to not read the instructions. The famous advice, "When all else fails, read the instructions," was written for me.

The NYT article goes on to describe the pro version of Reqall, with a few more sophisticated features, the GPS tracking device that can actually prioritize your tasks based upon your current location. It costs very little, $3 per month, they said. I found that a bit surprising. I thought the whole idea in this business was to get 10 million users and sell the software to Google. But, what do I know.

What's your opinion? Could a gadget like this replace the ubiquitous post-it slips? Would you use one? Is the technology going too far? I've already got more beepers and remote controls and cell phones and other devises than I have time to use. Do you think that's something to be worried about or embraced?

Please leave a comment.

Another California Family Slaughtered

CNN reports on what's becoming daily fare on the news waves.

Devan Kalathat, 42, shot his family Sunday night at his Santa Clara townhouse, killing two adults and three children.

Kalathat killed his 11-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. He killed his brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their 11-month-old daughter.

Kalathat's 34-year-old wife, at least so far has survived the attack but sustained multiple gunshot wounds and remains in critical condition.

"Family dynamics and personal relationships may have played a factor," Cooke told reporters Tuesday. He said Kalathat was employed as an engineer and nothing indicated he was facing "layoff or financial crisis."

Investigators believe Kalathat used two .45-caliber semi-automatic pistols, both of which he owned.

Cooke said Kalathat bought one of the pistols in February and the other nearly two weeks ago -- roughly the same time his wife's brother, Poothemkandi, arrived in California from India.

Often I hear from the gun crowd that stories like this prove that the gun control laws, of which California has the best, do not work. I say two things to that. One, it might be valid if a passport and strip search were required to travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. In Nevada there are among the softest gun laws in the country and it's an afternoon's drive from most of California. And two, If this Indian man was so easily able to buy guns in his home state of California, maybe the gun laws they do have are not enough.

Of course, all my ideas are based upon the much debated idea of a significant and unstoppable "gun flow." My strongest contention is that guns move from the good guys to the bad guys, as in the case of the Marshall brothers last week who had their 10 weapons stolen by escaped convicts. And, as if that weren't enough, some of the good guys themselves move over to the dark side, as in this case in California and others we've recently discussed, like this one.

The other necessary presupposition to understand my ideas is that gun availability plays a factor. A large percentage of murders and suicides are done in the heat of the moment. If guns are not available in that moment, chances are there would be less damage. When you multiply that by the staggering numbers of incidents, it's clear that the availability of weapons plays a significant part.

What's your opinion? Do you think "gun flow" either does not exist or the minimal percentages are a write-off? Do you think the theory that gun availability plays a part in the problem of gun violence is a ploy on the part of the gun control folks? Or, do you agree with me on these two ideas?

Please leave a comment.

Ronald Reagan 28 Years Ago

Yesterday was the 28th anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. Also shot in the attempt were Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty, and President Reagan's Press Secretary, James S. Brady. Fortunately all four survived. Jim Brady suffered the most serious damage, but out of this dramatic incident came the Brady Law, enacted under President Bill Clinton 13 years after the shooting.

The Brady Law requires criminal and mental health background checks for gun purchasers at Federally licensed gun dealers. Since the law took effect in 1994, over 1.6 million dangerous people have been denied gun purchases at the point of sale.

My hat comes off to the folks over at the Brady Blog, who confront incredible resistance in order to carry their message of hope for a safer America. This resistance comes in many guises, not the least of which is the continual accusation on the part of pro gun folks that the Bradys are less than sincere, that they have ulterior motives, more sinister motives. It boggles the mind that anyone could find fault with an organization that can claim 1.6 million gun purchases denied due to their background checks.

What's your opinion? Do you remember those dramatic hours of Reagan's shooting? Do you think there might have been other Hinckleys among those 1.6 million? Do you think there are too many guns in the United States?