Set Your Phaser To Extra Crispy, Barney Fife

Your tax dollars are hard at work, with the Pentagon and the Department of Justice teaming up to pay for development of weapons primarily for the military to use in war zones... or on your street corner. The Thermal Laser System is a rifle mounted version of the Active Denial System (ADS), currently already in use for control of large crowds. There is one other difference besides size... the ADS uses microwaves to heat the skin of large groups of people, while the TLS uses a laser beam to super heat with pinpoint accuracy. Tests with a rifle-mounted infrared laser, carried out at a US air force lab near Dayton, Ohio, have determined a combination of laser pulse power and wavelength that causes an alarming, hot sensation on the skin, but which stops short of causing a burn. Yeah. Sure. Just like the Taser weapon, also originally developed for the military, stops short of causing a heart attack. IF the Barney Fife on the other end of the weapon (taser or TLS) decides he wants to inflict damage... it will be inflicted. On a related note, and because I just mentioned the Taser... Taser International has sent out a memo to users of its product (the police). Try not to hit the person in the chest when using our product. It won't cause any damage if you do... but try not to. Now, back to this space age human BBQ gun. The Pentagon is also claiming that they have made it so the laser won't damage a potential criminals eyes, should it be inadvertently used on that area. REALLY? It'll super heat the skin, but not the eye? I'll admit I'm not a doctor nor a laser beam infrared engineer... but I'm pretty goddamn sure if it can heat my arm enough to FEEL like a burn, it'll do the same to my eyeball... especially if my eyelids close. Oh wait, it's the power settings and wavelengths of the laser that make it "safe". I'm sure it wouldn't malfunction while being used. Here is the bottom line for me. The Pentagon has NO business developing "less than lethal" weapons. They are the military. Their job is to kill people from other countries who are trying to kill Americans. They are not supposed to be in the business of developing (or helping to develop) weapons for use AGAINST American citizens. The DOJ needs to get it's head out of it's ass and stop trying to figure out ways to control legal demonstrations by American citizens. It is our Constitutional right to assemble in crowds so long as we are peaceful and not harming others. Crowd control weapons, especially the "less than lethal" brands usually do more to incite crowds to violence than they do to disperse or control them.