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USA Today Editor Stunned by Taser Story - (CBS Memogate connection; now big "taser" error)
A.I.M.ORG ^ | JULY 18, 2005 | CLIFF KINCAID

Posted on 07/18/2005 1:50:24 PM PDT by CHARLITE

Ken Paulson took over as editor at USA Today in the wake of the Jack Kelley scandal. Kelley had embarrassed the paper by writing a series of stories filled with lies. Paulson said that would never happen again. Then, he presided over USA Today's own version of the CBS Memogate scandal.

Like CBS, USA Today used those bogus documents to discredit President Bush's National Guard service. But Paulson managed to exercise a form of damage control because CBS used the documents first and put them on TV. Paulson acted as if the scandal was confined to CBS. Many in the media went along with his ploy. They pretended that USA Today was not as tarred by the scandal as CBS.

Now, however, Paulson has got another scandal on his hands. This one might not be so easy to dismiss because it has already become a lawsuit against USA Today's parent company, Gannett.

As we noted in a Media Monitor before the suit was filed, USA Today's June 3 article about the non-lethal Taser devices used in law enforcement was seriously flawed. The USA Today sidebar showed photographs of a Taser X26, an electric chair, a lightning storm, and an electric train track. The sidebar explicitly compared the output of the Taser X26 to that of an "electric chair" and said the Taser output was 100 times that of the chair.

That was untrue. The Taser system's average current is more than 1,000 times less than that of the electric chair.

(Excerpt) Read more at aim.org ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2004electionbias; aim; antibush; bang; bogus; bullyzogby; cbs; documents; elections2004; gannett; jackkelley; kenpaulson; lawsuit; liberalmedia; lyingliars; makingitup; mediabias; medialies; memogate; nationalguardmemos; rathergate; scandal; tang; taser; usaptooey; usatoday; zogbyism
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1 posted on 07/18/2005 1:50:28 PM PDT by CHARLITE
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To: CHARLITE

Is this the same Jack Kelly????

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1445072/posts


2 posted on 07/18/2005 1:52:39 PM PDT by Just mythoughts
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To: CHARLITE
Bogus article - it misspells "stuned"

USA Toady *bump*

3 posted on 07/18/2005 1:53:43 PM PDT by Cboldt
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To: CHARLITE
The Taser system's average current is more than 1,000 times less than that of the electric chair.

It's not the voltage it's the current. Or is that it's not the heat, it's the humidity. Whatever.

4 posted on 07/18/2005 1:57:03 PM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (Deadcheck the embeds first.)
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To: CHARLITE
The voltage might be more, but the current is less in the case of the taser. "It's the volts that jolts, but it's the mils (milliamps) that kills." The taser is probably about 50,000 V, vs. a few hundred, or maybe a thousand, for the chair. So the 100 times more is probably true, as far as voltage goes.

That said, I'd be happy to watch USA go down in flames anyway.

5 posted on 07/18/2005 1:57:30 PM PDT by coloradan (Hence, etc.)
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To: CHARLITE
That was untrue. The Taser system's average current is more than 1,000 times less than that of the electric chair.

Umm, duh. Maybe the author and editor should be tasered repeatedly to kickstart their neural activity. It's worth a try!

6 posted on 07/18/2005 2:01:28 PM PDT by ahayes
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To: CHARLITE

It's very simple. The alternative to using a Taser is to shoot the perp.

Well..... if you insist....

So why oh why are the so-called "Civil Rights" groups protesting?


7 posted on 07/18/2005 2:02:06 PM PDT by MindBender26 (Having my own CAR-15 in RVN meant never having to say I was sorry......)
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To: coloradan

"That said, I'd be happy to watch USA go down in flames anyway."

You do mean "USA Today," don't you?


8 posted on 07/18/2005 2:02:30 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry (Esse Quam Videre)
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To: Just mythoughts

NO!


9 posted on 07/18/2005 2:06:21 PM PDT by johnny7 (“'I bet 'ya think I'm 'kickin you Bob...!”” -Sheriff 'Little Bill' Dagget)
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To: MindBender26

"So why oh why are the so-called "Civil Rights" groups protesting?"

probably when you have tasers used in situations physical brutality was never an option before, like repeatedly tasering a suspect to compel him to give a urine sample in a hospital, or tasering a pregnant lady because she wont sign for her traffic ticket and subsequently get out of her car, it is going to get attention.

The alternative in the above situations was never 'shoot the perp'


10 posted on 07/18/2005 2:07:18 PM PDT by WoofDog123
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To: CHARLITE

Lazy reporters - learned laziness in journalism school - it carried over into their "professional" careers.


11 posted on 07/18/2005 2:08:51 PM PDT by AD from SpringBay (We have the government we allow and deserve.)
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To: RegulatorCountry

Er, yes, I meant to say USA Today. Geez.


12 posted on 07/18/2005 2:08:52 PM PDT by coloradan (Hence, etc.)
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To: WoofDog123
I'm disappointed, 10 posts and no mention of a beeber?
13 posted on 07/18/2005 2:08:54 PM PDT by IllumiNaughtyByNature (If Islam is the Religion of Peace, they should FIRE their PR guy!)
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To: K4Harty

I would have mentioned it, but I was having trouble figuring out if I was logged in.


14 posted on 07/18/2005 2:13:48 PM PDT by ahayes
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To: Just mythoughts
"Is this the same Jack Kelly????"

No. The former USA Today CEO spells Kelley with an "e" before the "y."

Glad to clear it up. Jack Kelly of the Post-Gazette must be a bit upset about the "sound-alike" name problem. I feel sorry for him, because many people probably think he's another MSM cheater. Too bad, really.

Char :)

15 posted on 07/18/2005 2:39:35 PM PDT by CHARLITE (I propose a co-Clinton team as permanent reps to Pyonyang, w/out possibility of repatriation....)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets
It's not the voltage it's the current. Or is that it's not the heat, it's the humidity. Whatever.

LOL - current, voltage, whatever...
16 posted on 07/18/2005 2:41:46 PM PDT by andyk (Go Matt Kenseth!)
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To: CHARLITE

I appreciate the clarification, cause I had just read the earlier post.

Thank you.


17 posted on 07/18/2005 2:45:35 PM PDT by Just mythoughts
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To: CHARLITE

usa2day is a disgusting, leftist paper.

they have a racial and gender quota on photos on the front page. baba streisland used to appear once a week. tiger woods is a biggie. martha stewart is a mainstay.

white males are not found much on the front page, unless of course, there's a negative story. for example, last friday there was a negative story on arnold, and ken mehlman, so they both appeared below the fold on the front page.


18 posted on 07/18/2005 2:46:43 PM PDT by ken21 (it takes a village to brainwash your child + to steal your property! /s)
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To: CHARLITE

I am beginning to believe the MSM gives its potential employees MAXIMUM IQ tests. Anybody who scores over 80 is automatically disqualified.


19 posted on 07/18/2005 2:48:26 PM PDT by msnimje
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To: CHARLITE
"The Taser system's average current is more than 1,000 times less than that of the electric chair."

One of my pet peeves about misuse of the English language is "..xxxx times LESS.."

The proper way to say something like that is "one thousanth that of the electric chair."

C'mon, people! The English language has enough problems without that kind of abuse!

20 posted on 07/18/2005 2:57:09 PM PDT by nightdriver
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