I got one of tnose stupid e-mails, here's my response.

[JAbuchan08]

> There have been an average of 160,000 troops
> stationed in Iraq
> during the last 22 months. During this time the
> firearm death total was
> 2,112 for a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000.
> The rate in
> Washington DC is 80.6 per 100,000. That means
> that you are more likely
> to be shot and killed in our Nation's Capitol, which
> has some of the
> strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you
> are in Iraq.
>
> Conclusion: We should immediately pull out 0f
> Washington, D.C.
> __________________________________________________


One difference being that Washington D.C. is a part of the United States and Iraq is NOT. Also not included in your statistics are the 10,000 odd soldiers injured in Iraq, and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed and injured due either directly or indirectly to the violence that the US percipitated (that means started if you voted for Bush) in Iraq. This "statistic" is just a tiny slice of the actual reality of war in Iraq. If you want to keep on sending me this stuff go ahead but don't delude yourself into thinking that you can convince me that this war is a good idea by providing me some meaningless statistical comparison of apples and oranges. In fact don't delude yourself into thinking you can convince me at all. I've spent way too much time paying attention to the disconnect between the Bush administrations highminded rhetoric on all things "free and democratic" while they take the most cynical actions. Just look at the last two elections and the refusal by our leaders to reform the voting systems to the voter's satisfaction and then ask yourself how much George Bush cares about democracy. I still don't know why this is. Seriously explain to me why... I don't get it. Who does it hurt to make sure our electronic voting systems have a paper trail, you know, like BEFORE the most important election of our life times? I guess its just a coincidence that all those "computer" glitches in '04 favored George Bush.
Here's my thought for the day: Even if George Bush went through the proper channels to get out of his national guard service (which I doubt) he still considered working on a partisan political campaign to be more important than his service in the national guard.

[Blue Belle]

1. Oooh. I love the last sentence.

"Even if George Bush went through the proper channels to get out of his national guard service (which I doubt) he still considered working on a partisan political campaign to be more important than his service in the national guard."

That's great stuff. I wish I had thought of it.

[youthere]

2. Did you get a reply?

Love to hear if they did. Great response.

[JAbuchan08]

7. I will keep you posted n/t

n/t

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

3. Actually, the DC murder rate is only about 32.

Nice try though.

Edit to change the number to reflect 2004 accurate figure (Source: FBI)

[JAbuchan08]

5. Thanks, I'm lazy so I went for a different tack

I didn't want to bother the people on DU about debunking my sister's junk e-mail so I just said what was on my mind.

[Kerrytravelers]

4. Here are the Iraq Invasion stats from Saturday 5/14/05

I print out this info and leave it everywhere I go on little slips of paper.



THE IRAQ INVASION 5/14/05

AMERICANS

DEAD 1,622+
WOUNDED 12,350+
DIED AT LANDSTUHL UNDISCLOSED
CAPTURED UNDISCLOSED
MISSING UNDISCLOSED
SUICIDES 30+



IRAQI (children, mothers, fathers, disabled, elderly, innocents)

DEAD 100,000+
WOUNDED 125,000+
CAPTURED UNDISCLOSED
MISSING UNKNOWN
SUICIDES UNKNOWN



DAYS SINCE BUSH VOWED TO CAPTURE OSAMA BIN LADEN 1,339
AMERICAN FUNERALS ATTENDED BY BUSH OR CHENEY 0

[TheFarseer]

6. These numbers don't add up

60 per 100,000? is that per month? It sounds a bit high for that but it's sure as hell not per year. 80.6 per 100,000 in D.C.? If that's per month, then about 3,385,200 (80.6x12x3500) people were shot dead in D.C. last year. I think not! I've seen this line for car accidents also, but it doesn't add up. What the heck are they trying to pull?

[CBHagman]

8. Then invite that person to go to Iraq.

"The rate in Washington DC is 80.6 per 100,000. That means that you are more likely to be shot and killed in our Nation's Capitol, which has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq."

Does this person even have a clue that there are literally dozens of attacks each and every day in Iraq? Does he/she know that the Iraqi administration and U.S. officials are, for the most part, hunkered down in the Green Zone and still risk death every day? Does he/she know that many more abductions occur than we are hearing about?

By the way, I've lived and worked in the DC area for almost 15 years, and I'd be happy to invite anyone to come visit or study here. But I'd get down on my hands and knees and beg any family member or friend NOT to go to Iraq.

[JAbuchan08]

9. Well, my sisters husband is going to Afghanistan and they

both have the same e-mail address from which this was sent. I'm guessing it was Aislynne, but the worst part about it was I sent this reply before I even bothered to analyze the statistics (Goddammit Jim I'm a writer not a statistician) and I got back an e-mail that was all apologetic.

I felt bad.