We're Number One!

 
The shooting in Aurora, Colorado, has prompted an outpouring of commentary in the webosphere. The graphic above comes from an interesting blog I check out occasionally called "Crooked Timber."* This chart depicts the number of deaths per 100,000 population attributable to violence. It doesn't take a college degree to understand just how far out of whack this country is compared to the rest of the world when it comes to visiting mayhem and hurt on fellow citizens. We're number one, baby! It's not even close.

Best of All: Louisiana, My Ancestral Home

Even more disconcerting is this chart. Louisiana, by far, is the worst in the country for violence. By far, far. This will not surprise many of my relatives and Susan's who still live there. Their complaints about how awful the violence and killings are in their own backyard are constant.

Just some cheery info for you to think about in the wake of the mass murder in Aurora. Already I've read about three articles saying that nothing whatever is going to be done to curb the insane arms sales and possession in this country.

*The full title of the blog is interesting: "Out of the Crooked Timber of Humanity, No Straight Thing was Ever Made."