A little perspective

Here's something to think about...

A list of approximate yearly death tolls of Americans:

Civil War (both sides) - 139,500

World War 2 - 101,800

World War 1 - 77,700

U.S. Traffic Deaths (2003) - 42,643

U.S. Suicides (2001) - 30,622

U.S. Murders (2004) - 16,137

Korean War - 11,200

Vietnam War (1965-1968) - 6,400

9/11 Attacks, Afghanistan War, and Iraq War combined - 1,400 (high estimate)


So all of the "jihadist wars" put together are about 1/10 as deadly for Americans as regular old murder, 1/22 as deadly as suicide, and less than 1/30 as deadly as traffic.

Some apocalypse.

No wonder my dad always told me that I should stop being afraid of things I read in the news, and start being afraid of cars. The question is, when does our government launch the War on Traffic?


BONUS READING GUIDE:
Read this excellent article on why Sam Alito shouldn't be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. The most powerful argument is that Alito is basically a supporter of unchecked executive power, and would therefore help to create the kind of "imperial presidency" toward which Bush seems to be pushing.

This article, on the other hand, is total BS. The writer, a former Gore speechwriter and ostensibly a liberal, argues that Democrats should embrace a strong executive. He doesn't say whether a strong executive should have the power to torture people and spy on American citizens...