what the fuck am i doing up this early on a saturday

people are terrified of terrorism. especially americans. 2,749 people died from terror attacks on... i forget when. here are some interesting statistics. think about our current national obsession with terrorism as you read. from the nchs, a division of the cdc (so not partisan), your chances of dying by:

• terrorist attack: 1 in 88,000
• lightning strike: 1 in 55,928
• your clothes igniting: 1 in 20,605
• dying in your bathtub: 1 in 10,455
• falling from a ladder or scaffolding: 1 in 10,010
• excessive heat: 1 in 9,396
• excessive cold: 1 in 8,389
• drowning accident: 1 in 7,972
• railway accident. 1 in 6,842
• assault by hanging or strangulation: 1 in 5,330
• assault from a firearm: 1 in 299
• dying in a homicide: 1 in 197

but regardless of the scarcity of terrorist-related deaths in america, our ever-opportunistic government restricted our freedoms, waged an unrelated war (iraq), won re-election, and believed it had a blank check to do what they wished as long as it was done in the name of security while using terror, or just fear, as a smokescreen. it allows the republican administration to purvey class warfare; to distract people's attention from their real agenda.

because terrorism is sexy. it totally flies. people love it.

numbers are skewed to make it seem like their policies are beneficial to the american majority, while the opposite could not be truer. the "clean skies initiative" relaxes pollution regulations. "no child left behind" screws children. the "healthy forests initiative" flattens trees. and "freeing the iraqi people" causes them to die. maybe the president really meant that we'd "free" them from the mortal coil.

they allowed united airlines to default on billions in pensions owed to employees, but passed legislation significantly restricting the average citizen's right to declare bankrupcy.

they're trying to conjure an illusory social security crisis to scare middle- to lower-class citizens into allowing their benefits to be reduced and s.s. paycheck deductions to be increased (calling it "progressive price indexing"). he redefined the lower class as only those making less than $20,000.

he is a liar. his lies cause people to die. me no likey.