Salt Lake Crawler

A pair of Taser shocks have been linked to heart irregularities that killed Brian Cardall on the side of a road near Hurricane. Utah Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Erik Christensen determined the 32-year-old's death was caused by:

"ventricular fibrillation following conducted energy weapon deployment during a manic episode with psychotic features"

An attorney representing the Cardalls gave The Salt Lake Tribune a copy of the autopsy report. The Washington County Attorney will not prosecute the officer who used the Taser on Cardall.

Last month, the manufacturer warned that its Tasers should not be aimed at the victim's chest — not because Tasers could cause cardiac arrest, they still deny that—but because avoiding those shots will reduce successful lawsuits.

Update —

At Joe the Plumber's rally at Utah Valley University, only 20 people showed up. One of them asked for plumbing advice, which is a little iffy considering Joe isn't licensed:

"We're re-doing our kitchen. How should we measure our sink to make sure it fits?"

Actually, his plumberly answer was probably edgier than anything he said in the Capitol Rotunda was how innocuous it was. Joe tol 80 or so "liberty-loving patriots" that turned out that they must get involved in democracy and shouldn't let the Mainstream Media, right or left, tell them how to think. He warned:

"Freedom is responsibility!"

That's all the fire in the belly Joe can muster? Hell, I am the Mainstream Media and I agree with that. (Note: Without the mainstream media's heavy coverage of the Plumber's Utah tour, only the few hundred people who showed up the events would have  known he was here.)

Everyguy Joe Wurzelbacher lays out his beliefs: He doesn't like abortion or same-sex marriage. He likes god and guns—"I want more." He says nice things about "Plumber's Helper" Cherilyn Eagar who invited him, but no one rips into her opponent. Only one speaker mentions Bob Bennett's name, let alone rails at him. I complain to Eagar that I'm sorely disappointed: "Where's the fire and thunder?"

The high point comes when Joe makes one of his famous Workin' Slob, cut-the-crap points about the lack of accountability among politicians:

"Being a plumber, if I come to your house and do a job and don't do it right — you are going to call me back to do it right. And you have a right to call me back."

Later, I ask Joe, being that he's a plumber with a strong belief in Rule of Law, if he has gotten a plumbing license yet. Joe admits he has not.

"The way I do plumbing, you don't have to be licensed."

Huh? I can only take that as one of those wiseguy euphemisms, like, "I can give you a deal on a HD TV that fell off the truck."

Of course, its all part of that freedom and responsibility thing. In any case, those folks with the kitchen remodel better get a second opinion on measuring sinks.

Don't tell me it's all coincidence.

1. The LDS Church supports a gay rights ordinance.

2. A fireball the "size of a stove" lights the sky over Utah.

3. An earthquake rocks Coalville, the "Middle of Paradise."

4. An glitch from Salt Lake snarls FAA computers nationwide.

5. Sen. Chris Buttars is suddenly copacetic with gays being treated somewhat like humans.

6. In-N-Out Burger opens 2 Utah locations.

7. Personal astrologers of Elton John and Billy Joel convince them to "stay out of Utah."

8. American "Idol" Damien Archuleta calls his minions unto him (and signs his new Xmas CD).

End of Days or what?

Google has developed a map that tracks the outbreaks of swine flu. And guess what? Utah, along with Florida, is the place to be. Florida's got all the old folks and the pig flu (H1N1 to you pig farmers) likes tender young targets. As for Utah, Nate Silver at the FiveThirtyEight blog explains it this way:

The other state which has yet to hit the 5,000-point barrier is Utah, which is somewhat culturally isolated from the rest of the country.

"Culturally isolated?" That's one way to put it.

Hat tip to Bryan Schott at UtahPolicy.

With two suicides in two weeks, the self-inflicted toll at Hill Air Force Base has resumed—despite an aggressive prevention program.

At least eight service members at the airbase that have killed themselves this year alone, bringing the toll since 2006 to 22.