http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/1/26/225219/000

here’s another:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28916090/

these guys list a bunch of probables-

Thanks for some of the keywords. I used to do research work using google alerts, and I really liked it.

I don’t think I can get too complicated to start, but I love the suggestions you have about it, Greenpa. I’ll start it on my blog in the next day or two, and perhaps others will be able to help it grow and we can eventually put it on its own blog site.

Thanks!

so that was a limiter ?

it did its job all too well.

put a limit on that old dude’s life.

those bay city utility folks will sue his estate for the rest of the bill.

i wonder if the heat is running merrily along in that old guy’s house today ?

after all , the lawyers, banks , judges , and courts have to have a piece of the carcass.

can’t let the house go all to heck.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/29/ohio.family.dead/index.html

You realize, something like this could take over your life?

I’m delighted Sharon is in agreement on the importance here.

My own vision was for a source that records all the various deaths that can be attributed directly or indirectly to the depression; not just murders or suicides; but the deaths from neglect- and various forms of despair.

Definitions immediately become difficult, and nearly insurmountable.

Here is what I would do.

A. Start.
B. Ask for others to help- feeding you information and links.

I think the blog format is tremendously powerful for this chore; and you might want to find someone who could make it into a Wiki format; where it is possible for many to contribute directly.

Make it inclusive. Divisons are always possible later.

Even there- do we count by country? Probably. But the “whole world” number is critical, too. Starvation in Haiti? yup. Kenya crop failures- and no aid? yup. Deaths from cholera in Zimbabwe? Difficult. Take a vote. Maybe run Zimbab we numbers separately until Mugabe implodes or explodes.

You see what I mean- this can be a huge task.

A for-instance; two weeks ago 2 70 year old brothers died in a house fire nearby. Was that a despair related death? I don’t know; but I’d give it a high probability; those guys had lived there for decades with no problem. Quite possible they were in financial trouble; took sleeping pills, and burned their house down. None of the papers will mention this; it isn’t on national radar at all; but the neighbors know. If any of them are aware of your blog; they might be able to get the info to you. Two more.

You’re going to be digging out cryptic information; some of intentionally obscured.

It could be exciting work to do, too. And possibly influential, at some point.

I’d monitor the yellow journalism media- National Inquirer, etc.

Here’s a link from todays CNN:

http://tinyurl.com/d6rkx2

They’re talking to a suicide hotline worker; she says she’s never “seen it so bad”. That’s a hint- there ARE statistics published on suicide rates- but they are being hushed.

I saw one- suicides in the Detroit rate were up something like 15% last year- but the government specifically published a disclaimer saying ‘”it’s not the economy”. But it is.

Just plain comparisons of suicide and murder rates from past years would be good, and valid. I’d recruit someone skilled in statistics as soon as possible; and someone who can get the information into good graphic formats.

It could be a huge undertaking. If it’s more than you’d really contemplated- what you might do is simply aim to launch it.

Start. Recruit help. Aim for it to take off on it’s own.

I think there will be a high burn out rate among contributors. It’s a grim topic. You need to plan for that, too.

So. What do you think? If you set it up, I’d be really happy to do a blog post on my blog about it. I’ll bet Sharon would- since this grew up on her blog anyway. Crunchy probably. It could take off.

My guess is that a man who had lived independently for 93 years did have resourcefulness once – which is again, why I think that the utility company is responsible to know who they are shutting off. In most states, the very elderly and disabled *cannot* be shut off during the winter legally – that is, other states recognize this responsibility to know who you are shutting off. There are plenty of elderly people who can’t get out to reset a limiter, because of physical disabilities – they don’t know. And thus, the installation in the house of an elderly or disabled person represents potentially a death sentence. No utility fails to understand that their shutoffs can kill people.

I agree with Stephen – this man shouldn’t have been living alone.

Sharon