October 15, 2009

Terrorism and Bathtubs

By Randall Hoven
We have nothing to fear except maybe bathtubs, apparently.  Or perhaps, those who ignore mathematics are condemned to repeat false assertions."One's chance of being killed in a terrorist attack is many times less than one's chance of drowning in a bathtub or being killed by a fall from scaffolding or a ladder."  Cato Institute's Handbook for Congress. "... it is worth remembering that the total number of people killed since 9/11 by Al Qaeda or Qaeda-like operatives outside of Afghanistan and Iraq is not much higher than the number who drown in bathtubs in the United States in a single year, and that the lifetime chance of an American being killed by international terrorism is about one in 80,000 -- about the same chance of being killed by a comet or a meteor."  John Mueller, a political scientist at Ohio State University and the author of Overblown: How Politicians, the Terrorism Industry and Others Stoke National Security Fears.  "... the...(Read Full Article)