rec.autos.simulators

OTOH, if something can be gained from a professional's examination of the
evidence, then I'd like to see it happen.  If no one else dies from
similar circumstances, then all is not lost.

My off-handed remark about the 1st Amendment not *specifically* saying the
paper could publish the pictures was made out of distain for people who yell
"First Amendment Rights!" for every pissy little thing they want to get away
with.

-------------------------------
The Sentinel admitted that they didn't fully explain their reasons for
wanting the pictures because they might lose their 'competitive edge'. So
much for their humanitarianism. They have no experts that can shed any new
light on this subject, but they themselves could, in fact, 'misstate' the
cause of death for their own purposes. If they really did care, the right
thing to do would be to wait a year and then request the photos. Give the
family some time to grieve. But of course, it wouldn't be news then, and
wouldn't be worth doing.

-------------------------------
Anyone thinking we don't already have an 'elite' class hasn't looked at our
Congress and Senate. Our laws and theirs ARE different, and they continually
vote against laws that would give us some of the rights and benefits they
enjoy.

--
Slot

Tweaks & Reviews
www.slottweak.com

Ok, let me get this straight...

A newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel, thinks they have a better chance of
determining the cause of death than does the official Coroner, Medical
Examiner, and other doctors who treated Dale ?

Hogwash.  This is so pathetic, it's almost funny...

We all know what they want to do, and I say they can go to hell.

They are quitely sitting on a 'loophole' in their 'agreement' not to post
the pictures, and if they ever get them it's all over.

-Larry

http://orlandosentinel.com/sports/motorracing/sns-earnhardt-autopsyph...

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They won't.  It's not in their very nature.

-Larry

I know others like "Joe L" say that the Sentinel needs to prove the medical
examiners that did the autopsy were incompetent before getting the
information. He compares what the Sentinel is doing to***. I think that's
a false analogy, designed to be inflammatory. It may be analogous to
publishing photos of a*** victim, but not*** itself. And that's ONLY
accepting that the paper getting the autopsy directly results in photos
ending up on the net. There's no assurance that will happen.

I don't think the Sentinel needs to meet that burden of proof, that of
proving the original autopsy bogus. The examiners were appointed by NASCAR.
NASCAR would have you believe a bad seat belt was the cause of death. That
may or may not be so. The Sentinel smells a rat here and is trying to
investigate using a State statute that they can use to corroborate the cause
of death.

If the pictures end up on the Net, due to the Sentinel getting them and then
getting leaked, well that's reason to publically crucify the paper. But
saying, "Hey, let's not risk it. The widow doesn't want it, so let's just
accept that he died because his seat belt let go and move on." obfuscates an
important issue:

What if the seat belt story is bogus? The ramifications of that are severe.
That means he essentially died because he took a blow to the head from the
wheel, or that his nec was snapped from the force of impact. And that NASCAR
by not mandating the Haas system have essentially disregarded an important
safety advancement because it wasn't accepted by drivers. Reviewing the
autopsy may unconver this. An independent review being stopped because the
widow doesn't want it is not valid. The issues involve one of the nation's
most popular sports being forced to adopt a safety advancement due to the
death of it's biggest star. I don't think that it is too much to ask to have
the autopsy reviewed by medical experts outside those who may have a
financial tie to NASCAR.

Did Dale's car have an onboard camera? If so, why hasn't anyone gone on
record about what the tape contains? Do you see the seat belt breaking? That
would put a quick end to the speculation that the belt is a bogus coverup
story.

The paper is doing this to secure circulation, but don't let that blur your
perception. All investigative journalism is done to sell papers. Consider is
this were another sport you don't care about. The biggest star of that sport
dies under somewhat mysterious circumstances. The autopsy is closed, the
result is issued by the league itself, and the widow immediately stands up
to challenge any inquiry.

David G Fisher

Well since the belt supposedly broke near the buckle( for lack of a better
word) seeing that on the incar would not be something you would see.  Now
saying the movement should show well that is hard to tell also. I remember
a incar of Richard Petty hitting the outside wall at a track, and well it
was not a hard hit, but his head actaully hit the camera that was in the
middle of the passenger side of the car.  Richard walked away from the
shunt also so I would say incar footage unless very very good would not
tell you very much.

As for the widows right to release anything on Dale, well that is her
choice. Who knows Dale might have wanted to be just buried and no matter
what happened for his family to get on with living. I remember when my
father died last year we just wanted to get on with life. It was easier
then actaully trying to think about anything else.

as for the article that was published, I think they did a reasonable job of
researching it. I will say I do not think the Hans device would have helped
a couple of the drivers they said it would.

Personally I wish people would leave the Earnhardt family alone. If they do
not want the photos to be released then so be it. They do not need to go
thru any more then they already have. As for safety issues well maybe the
drivers in Nascar need to start looking at how much they are worth and then
look at the low cost of the safety devices they could be using. Cart
Drivers were testing the Hans device before it was mandated, and well Jim
Downing has been using one for years in IMSA racing.

Dave Robinson

    Physical***, no but not all that happens in a*** is physical. The
rapist takes something from the victim that has nothing to do with physical
contact  The physical wounds can be cleaned up and will heal, not so the
non-physical wounds. If the Earnhardt marriage was worth a damn at all there
is something very precious and very private that the Orlando Sentinel is
attempting to force from Teresa Earnhardt. Perhaps the Sentinel is not
tearing her clothes off  and inflicting physical wounds but if the Orlando
Sentinel succeeds in tearing the "clothes" from her privacy would you please
tell me how the psychological wounds of the one would differ from those of
the other? If little difference how is my anaology "false"? and what more
fitting term than "rape"?

     Does it strike you as odd that the editor of the Ornaldo Sentinel is
just about the only one that can smell this rat? Does it strike you as odd
that neither Teresa Earnhardt nor Dale jr. nor any of the other drivers or
mechanics smell  this rat? All of these are satisfied with NASCAR's
determination. What God given insite does the editor of the Orlando Sentinel
have that allowed him to pierce the fog all these others are blinded by?

    It was not NASCAR that diregarded it. Dale Earnhardt did that. The
device was perfectly available to him and he was compleatly aware of what it
was and what it did. If Dale said, "Put it on the car" it would have been
there. Dale did not say this so it was not.

    Over the financial interests of the Orlando Sentinel who keeping all
research and results exclusively for the Orlando Sentinel?  And it is NOT
medical expertS (plural). It is ONLY the ONE (singular) Orlando Sentinel
hired doctor that the paper wants in on the examination. Just him. ONLY him.
No other "authority" or "expert" allowed.  Just the ONE GUY who is hired by
the Orlando Sentinel.
  *****THIS**** you call an "independent review"?

That's because NASCAR makes them rich. Nobody expects them to publically
speculate, much less openly question the validity of the seat belt story.

It may interest you to know that several other papers, including the NY
Times, have now come forward asking for the results of the autopsy. So, we
can dismiss this right off.
The review, if performed, would be done by several medical experts, not
simply one appointed by the Sentinel designed to give a sensationalistic
answer.

The issue is not that of Dale choosing not to use the Haas system when he
could have. Jeff Gordon and others had experimented with it, and Jeff deemed
it to unweildly to wear. A lot of drivers fussed about making gloves
mandatory in the 70s. This is a straw man argument. One expects drivers not
to do anything to put them at competitive disadvantage. Which is all the
more reason NASCAR has a duty to make it mandatory.

The issue is simply this: Before the crash, NASCAR had lost 3 drivers in 7
months. Dale made it 4 drivers in 9 months. That puts the mortality rate of
NASCAR drivers higher than even that of the F1 drivers of the late 60's, and
that's saying something. At this rate, we can expect 2 more drivers to die
this season.

Was the autopsy conducted in an unbiased manner? Was it designed to obscure
the fact NASCAR disregarded evidence that should have an additional safety
system made mandatory? the way it is now, as fans we can all swallow the
"oh, the seat belt broke" story and move on. Interestingly, nobody has
questioned the maker of the seat belt buckle publically.

It's a shame, but not at all shocking, that the Orlando paper is made to be
a villan here. Hopefully, having other papers call for a review will stop
this.

In on what? Conspiracies don't all involve everyone in on some scripted
plot, you know.

I don't think Mrs. Earnhardt is anything other than that what appears: a
bereaved widow who does not want to see her husband's gruesome corpse end up
on www.autopsy.com.
I don't want to see that either. I also know people's nature, and if they do
end up on the net, the site will be flooded.

I also think that if NASCAR were to say Dale died from a fracture impact to
the head without the seat belt story in there, they open themselves up to
litigation from other families. NASCAR clearly disregarded a trend in driver
deaths here. Do you argue this? Do you argue that 4 NASCAR deaths in 9
months is not grounds for safety procedure review?

If you allow yourself to fall prey to the spin put on by NASCAR of "The
widow vs. the ugly yellow journalist" and propagate petitions like this one
to stop the paper from reviewing the autopsy, you are simply allowing
yourself to be blinded by the organization of NASCAR and are not looking at
the bigger picture of driver safety. If a judge ruled that NASCAR was
neglegent as an organization from mandating protection, I don't think the
Pettys are going to hire a trial attorney to sue NASCAR over their son's
death. NASCAR is a small fraternity, and nobody is going to kill the golden
goose like that. Much less the King or anybody else for that matter.

From what I gather talking to other NASCAR fans, it will take a driver like
Rusty or Jeff Gordon to walk away from the sport, refuse to get in the car,
to bring it to the attention that it needs. But that will not happen. Mainly
because, privately, many drivers may adopt the HAAS or choose to wear it.
That is smart. But look at the hoods of the cars for a moment. Corporate
America has a love affair with NASCAR. NASCAR is slow to adopt a system when
they have essentially an avalanche of death upon their hands. 4 drivers in 9
months? That's insane.

Perhaps we don't need to visit Dale's autopsy to bring this to light. But
NASCAR has said they will not be modfying the safety rules this season. That
puts good odds on somebody else getting killed or seriously hurt this
season. I just hope it isn't your next favorite driver.

I won't follow up anymore, I've said all I have to say. Put in your last
words if you must, I just hope that you will consider that perhaps this
isn't as simple as it's being spun.