Iraqi Freedom Death Toll

According to the DoD, the total casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan to date are 3,299 Killed in Action (KIA) plus 860 deaths from non-combat causes. That means we can shortly expect another round of cheering as we go over a new benchmark for the drive-by media: 3,300 combat deaths for US forces in the War on Terror. Or maybe they will wait for the 3,100 deaths in Iraq. At any rate, there are some interesting things to note about what is not reported. In the 41 days of active combat against Iraqi forces, we lost 109 in combat, or 2.65 per day. In the 1,611 days since, we have lost 2,942 due to enemy actions. That comes to about 1.83 per day. In a typical year we lose anywhere from 31,693 to 42,884 on our highways. That is a minimum (taking 31,693 and a leap year) of 82 per day. So, on average, our soldiers are safer fighting in Iraq than we are driving here.

Stay tuned...

UPDATE 2132 29 Aug 2007:
Stories you won't see in the drive-by media:
29 Aug 2007-
Coalition Kills More Than 100 Insurgents in Afghanistan Engagement
Coalition Forces Kill Two Terrorists, Detain 22 Suspects in Iraq

28 Aug 2007
Coalition Troops Kill, Detain Dozens, Seize Weapons in Iraq
Afghan, Coalition Troops Kill, Capture Insurgents, Find Weapons

27 Aug 2007
Afghan, Coalition Forces Destroy Taliban Heroin Lab
Iraq Operations Net 36 Terrorists, Kill Nine
Troops Kill, Capture Terrorists, Seize Weapons in ‘Lightning Hammer’

26 Aug 2007

Seven Iraqis Escape Makeshift Prison, 11 Terrorists Detained
WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2007 - Seven Iraqi citizens found their way to a coalition patrol base near Khan Ban Sa’ad, Iraq, yesterday after escaping a makeshift prison, military officials reported.
Attacks Down, Economic Development Up in Iraq


08/24/2007

Commander Says Iraqi Citizens Turning Against Insurgents
Al Qaeda Disrupted During Operations in Iraq’s Tigris River Valley
Lightning Hammer Disrupts Terrorists in Iraq’s Diyala Province

You get the point.

Eco-Conscious

An email is making the rounds about the energy consumption and environmental impact of two houses. One belongs to Al "inconvenient" Gore. The other belongs to George W. (the chimp) Bushitler. One is 10,000 square feet, the other a mere 4,000. One uses 20 times the national average of energy, the other recycles water for irrigation and uses geothermal exchangers to heat and cool the property.

If you were a man-made global warming enthusiast, you would be shocked, shocked to learn that the energy guzzling home belongs to Al Gore and the eco-friendly abode belongs to George W. Bush. You would, no doubt, scream "fraud". So, allow me to point you to some references for a credibility check.
Truth or Fiction dot com.
Urban Legends.

Since Gore's house uses 20 times the national average of electricity (being only 4 times larger that the average house) and Bush's house uses about one-fourth of the energy, who is the champion of the environment?