Limbaugh compared American troop deaths in Iraq to Philly murder rate
SUMMARY: Rush Limbaugh compared the number of murders in Philadelphia to American
military deaths in Iraq; in fact, the rate of
military deaths in Iraq is
far higher than the
murder rate in Philadelphia.
On the January 31 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Rush Limbaugh compared Philadelphia's murder to the rate of American military deaths in Iraq, stating, "There were 821 deaths in Iraq, troop-related deaths last year; 406 in one American city." Limbaugh added: "If we were to follow the way Democrats want to deal with Iraq and apply it to how we should deal with Philadelphia and other crime-ridden big cities, we should do the following: Cut off all federal funding for Philadelphia. Withdraw all federal agencies and FBI offices, any federal law enforcement, get them the hell out of there by 2008 so [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham] Clinton [D-NY] doesn't have to deal with it when she's inaugurated in January of 2009."
A January 31 Reuters article reported that 406 homicides occurred in Philadelphia in 2006. Philadelphia is a city of 1,406,415 people, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. Therefore, in 2006 Philadelphia had a death rate of almost 29 for every 100,000 people. By contrast, as Limbaugh noted, the number of American military deaths in Iraq 2006 was 821. According to the Brookings Institution's Iraq Index, the number of American troops in Iraq in 2006 fluctuated between 126,900 and 144,000. That makes the death rate for American soldiers in Iraq at least 570 for every 100,000 troops (using the highest number of troops that were in Iraq in 2006) -- far higher than that of Philadelphia.
Limbaugh concluded the segment by stating, "You see how bogus this whole argument is on 'get the troops out now because they're dying for nothing'? What an insult to them."
Previously, on the January 26 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, host Rush Limbaugh claimed: "[I]f 821 Americans out of a troop force of 150,000 died in one year -- haven't worked up the percentages on this -- but you might have a better chance of living, going to war, than living in certain cities where the crime rate is out of control."
From the January 31 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: We're concerned with death here. We're concerned with body counts. We're concerned with the breakdown of law and order. [inaudible] Insurgencies, gangs, whatever you want to call them. They're out of control in major American cities, and Philadelphia is just one example, and where are the hearings on this? Oh, I know. Senator [Joseph R.] Biden [D-DE] and Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi [D-CA] are too busy trying to weaken the commander-in-chief so we can't win the war in Iraq. They are not only invested in defeat, they can't allow victory. They simp -- politically, they cannot allow it. Four-hundred-and-six Philadelphians murdered last year; unbelievable. We have lost just over 3,000 soldiers in Iraq in nearly four years, about 600 of those were due to non-combat accidents. There were 821 deaths in Iraq, troop-related deaths last year; 406 in one American city! And consider the media attention. We hear about how out of control Baghdad is. We hear about how nobody can control it, and Bush can't control it and the U.S. military can't control it.
Let's get a little proportion and let's talk about the fact that it is not safe to walk in parts of our own American cities. Democrat [sic]-run cities, liberal politicians. The contrast in big media coverage, especially the TV networks, is sickening. If we were to follow the way Democrats want to deal with Iraq and apply it to how we should deal with Philadelphia and other crime-ridden big cities, we should do the following: Cut off all federal funding for Philadelphia. Withdraw all federal agencies and FBI offices, any federal law enforcement, get them the hell out of there by 2008 so Hillary Clinton doesn't have to deal with it when she's inaugurated in January of 2009. It sounds to me like there's a civil war going on in Philadelphia and in other major American cities, and we ought not be in the middle of it. We need -- well, diplomacy. OK, I guess that's right, try diplomacy. Send some diplomats in there. Negotiate peace between the gangs and the citizens who are at war with them. But before anything -- before anything is done, a resolution. We need a resolution from the United States Senate, which forces President Bush to remove all federal presence from Philadelphia and now. He is not the decider. Senator [Arlen] Specter [R-PA] said it yesterday, he's not the sole decider. They have co-deciders in the United States Senate. Senator Specter, maybe you should take your eyes off of Iraq and Baghdad and focus on your hometown.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: Soldiers dying in a war-zone is one thing, but citizens in a civilized American city, being murdered at the rate of 406 a year, speaking of Philadelphia. Philadelphians are dying, Senator Specter. In one city, we lose half as many American citizens, innocent lives, as troops dead, not all on the battlefield either, in Iraq. Where's the concern for dying in Philadelphia? Where is the concern for the dying in Detroit, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Dallas, New York, Boston, take your pick. Where's the concern for the death and the dying? Where are the resolutions, where are the demands that we train local security forces to deal with this? Where are the threats from our great fearless leaders in Washington to get out? I'm sure we've got military installations in many of these cities. Our troops are at risk in our major cities. We have National Guard members, we have reservists in all these cities. They are at risk, Senator Specter, in your hometown. Have you no concern for the possibility they might die on the streets of Philadelphia? You see how bogus this whole argument is on "get the troops out now because they're dying for nothing"? What an insult to them.
From the January 26 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: My point is not to diminish the 821. My point here is to, A, illustrate for you how you may be in the process of being brainwashed, propagandized, and manipulated by the drive-by media who want you to believe that many are dying every day. The second thing is to try and put some perspective in all this, with ways in which Americans die while not at war. Wouldn't you say that if 821 Americans out of a troop force of 150,000 died in one year -- haven't worked up the percentages on this -- but you might have a better chance of living, going to war, than living in certain cities where the crime rate's out of control. I put this in context because the purpose of this war is to protect U.S. national security; it's not just stabilizing Iraq.
Arlen is from Pittsburgh, if I'm not mistaken....and I love Windbag's logic...'people are dying in cities, so let's keep soldiers in Iraq...' And democrats are 'invested in defeat...?' Puh-leeeeeze...
And Rush brings up a good point...mainly, HOW are we to HELP out AMERICAN cities if ALL RESOURCES are being used in Iraquamire...
okay...I'll stroll down main street Philly everyday if Rush Limpbaugh will take a daily stroll down main street Baghdad.
exactly. given the choice, which would anyone prefer?
When he's talking about "gangs" and the "breakdown of law and order" in "crime-ridden big cities," you know there's a word Rush is just dying to say.
Come on Rush, say it... ni.... nnnnnni....
Mebbe he'd feel more comfortable spelling it. Here Rushy, it's t-i-double guh-er!
Gang crime, street crime is a major problem in many big cities in the U.S. And it largely goes ignored by most people who say it's not their problem, or they don't live in those areas, whatever.
However, as serious and underaddressed as it is, it has no relation or is in any way analagous to Iraq. Just more of Limbaugh's rants.
No connection.
This is more than just a rant, however. Limbaugh is making a lame attempt at diminishing the importance of American casualties in this fake war. This guy's a sick bastard.
What should country folk be doing about inner-city violence?
Didn't Brit Hume try this one about a year or so ago? Something about the likelihood of dying in California v.s. dying in Iraq. Wasn't that comparisonproven to be flawed as well?
yeah, i think it was someone on fox.
Next, Glenn Beck will suggest the Crips and Bloods are the same as the Sunni and the Shia. HEY, it's JUST what everyone is THINKING! Right???
Rush apparently doesn't realize that American troop deaths in Iraq are far more easily prevented than murder in Philly.
But nooo. "Stay the course"...
I heard this live, and, as usual when listening to Rush, I was screaming "IDIOT!" at my radio.
I'm not sure which Professional liar first used this bogus analogy, but Rush has been using it ever since the Iraq fiasco began.
Two major problems with the analogy; it doesn't take into account the thousands of civilians who have been killed in Iraq since we invaded...when was the last time a pile of 50 bodies was found in Philadelphia?
Also, the 3000+ troops killed in Iraq were heavily armed...how many heavily armed policemen were killed this year in Philadelphia?
Rush is a lying pig. The man can't possibly have a conscience.
And I'd love to know how many Philadelphians have fled the country due to violence, or been kidnapped.
Not only heavily armed, but armored. How many Philly citizens are walking around wearing body armor?
42,443 people died in car accidents in 2001, fourteen 9/11s in one year alone.
When will Limbaugh call for a War on Cars?
I would love to see Limbaugh, Hume, or anyone who comments on their concern for the murder rate in big cites do so without any mention of Iraq. Might make me believe that they actually care one iota about the subject.
Rush is a fool as well as a coward, but he has ditto-heads out there who actually believe his hogwash. Not only that, but they breed, folks. It's scarey. I think Britt Hume did -- as someone mentioned above -- use the same false comparison as Fatboy. But I really think Hume knew he was twisting logic when he did it. Asspimple, I truly believe, doesn't have the smarts. He really is persuaded by his own juvenile argument, as are the diminishing throngs of dittoheads.
So as long as the murder rate in Phila remains high, deaths in Iraq are OK?
MMFA took the bait. Limbaugh compared a city with a whole country, which is unfair right off the bat (even though despite the unfair comparision, Iraq ends up being way more violent the city of Philadelphia).Comparing a city with a whole country is comparing oranges and apples, because Iraq's violent crime rate in major cities is watered down by towns with lower violence, while Philly, a relatively violent American city, is left to be analyzed by itself, without the influence of say, the murder rate in Malibu, California, bringing these numbers down.
The fair thing to do would be comparing Iraq, a country, with the murder rate to that of the United States of America. Why doesn't Limbaugh compare Baquba or Mosul to Philadelphia? or Baghdad vs. D.C..?
And Limbaugh knows this, but he cherrypicks, unaware that we are always listening.
You see how bogus this whole argument is on "get the troops out now because they're dying for nothing"? What an insult to them.
That is not an insult to them. The insult is by those who sent them there to kill and die for no damn good reason - and even more by those who would minimize the danger they face by saying they're safer in Iraq than they'd be on the streets of Philadelphia.
This must be the newest version of this old tale. I've heard it said that DC murder rates were higher, New Orleans murder rates were higher, Boston, Detroit, and just about every major city in the US. And of course, it is never true. They should really give up this whole line of reasoning, because it rang hollow and false the first time they used it, and it rings hollow and false now.
Here's the part I love: " haven't worked up the percentages on this -- but you might have a better chance of living, going to war, than living in certain cities where the crime rate's out of control."
Go ahead Rush work those percenatges - I'm sure you have enough fingers and toes- 821 divided by 150,000 is.... and 406 divided by 1.4 million is....
Go ahead work it Rush.
Interesting analogy Mr. Limbaugh but there are some problems with it. First of all, it trivializes the deaths of those serving in Iraq. Secondly, based on the logic of your witting analogy, one might reasonably argue that the three thousand deaths on 9.11 do not justify Bush's global rampage against the islamic terror machine, it was only 3,000 people right? More people die on their toilets every year, right.
Personally, I think Rush knows this stuff is crap. How could anyone of normal intelligence not know, especially given his profound hypocrisy? No, I think Rush is paid specifically to disseminate this misinformation just to lather up the lowbrow Republican base, which makes up 95% of Rush's audience. You can rest assured that if a Democratic President had gotten us into this war the exact same way, he would be trumpeting the casualties and calling for impeachment. Remember the sh*tstorm these professional liars manufactured when 18 soldiers were killed in Somalia? What more evidence do you need that they are simply paid to lie?
Rush is a putrid bag of excrement.
That is just one city that Rush cites. Multiply that number by 50.
There are 7000 Americans that die due to receiving the wrong perscriptions because of doctors illegable handwriting, every year.
There are 3000 Americans that die in motor vehicle accidents on the nations highways evey 2 months. This is due to the raised speed limits across the country enacted by Bill Clinton at the request of the teamsters union. Clinton received 35 million dollars from the teamsters union, in his 2nd campaign for raising the speed limit. This is 1st hand information.
With cars being smaller and higher speed limits, fatalaties are much higher. It is called inertia. Let us stop the killings on the highways by lowering the speed limits back down to 55 mph. We will also save on fuel costs. There's an idea, has worked everytime it has been tried.
45000 Americans are killed by illegal immigrants each year. Cited by the Las Angelas times
3000 Americans killed at WTC- in New York-on 9/11/2001 at the hands of mniddle eastern terrorists who hate Americans and Jews. If you think it won't happen again you had better re-think your position. Thank a soldier that it hasn't happened again so far.
If you are reading and disagree, thank a soldier for you freedom to do so. First ask a soldier if what he is doing is worth while before you tell him/her that it doesn't matter that he / she is over there fighting and dying for nothing. You do not speak for the soldiers over there fighting for your freedom. Let them speak for themselves.
And you do not speak for all Americans.
That is what is wrong with the press. Lowering the moral of our soldiers is not in their best interest. It is Jane Fonda all over again who should have been charged with treason. Give me a break.
God bless and keep our troops
JT
Please, if you could do the work for me just once, bring to my attention where I can find this in the L.A. Times website
" 45000 Americans are killed by illegal immigrants each year. Cited by the Las Angelas times."
That's an interesting number, I mean, it's huge. Are these illegal immigrants murdering americans in cold blood? Fascinating.
Maybe fascinating, Absolutly irrelevant to the topic at hand.
And this is a really big concern in the media matter forums where 99% of the user comments are responses to some wingnut troll that was quick enough to comment first with a nebulous comment about Bill Clinton and/or how mean Hillary is... Ya, I'm sure people are up in arms about these off-topic comments.
Ok that is a reasonable point. I checked that stat and saw it only on a rightwing website that said there were no stats kept on this and it was an estimation based on newsreports and prisons. I saw that just over 16,000 murders were committed in the US in 2004 the only stat I could find. That would mean one quarter of all murders were done by illegal aliens. Frankly I dont believe it.
Well then lets listen to the troops according to a Zogby poll published in stars and stripes 72% of them want to be brought home within a year. Your stats arent even apples and oranges more like apples and ceramic tile. And the soldiers in Iraq are in NO POSSIBLE WAY fighting for my freedom. For my freedom to be at stake the Iraqis would have to have been about to invade the US and take us over to overrule the Constitution. I guess that would have entailed building rafts and floating across the Atlantic since Iraq had no credible Navy or Air force with the capability of landing mass forces in this country. You have your rightwing talking points well memorized. They of course dont contain a singel iota of logic or insight. You can continue to repeat them as often as you like but they wont make any more sense the next dozen or so times you do so.
JDENNY90210, here's a quarter; go buy a clue. If I hear one more troglodyte whine about how our disapproving of this stupid war is "hurting the morale of our troops", I'm going to puke. That is nothing more than a Republican talking point manufactured to avoid criticism of their idiotic, criminal policies. Our soldiers are not thin-skinned imbeciles. They are thinking adults, and they know when they're being sent on a fool's errand, even if they aren't allowed to publicly say so.
Do you speak from experience?
Have you ever fought an unpopular war and knew that back home people were filling the streets demonstrating against that war and trying to bring you home?
They, not the government or the right wingnut media, are the ones showing support for the troops.
Maybe you should stop taking the word of a certified coward and talk to someone who's actually taken up arms for his country..
Wow,
45,000 people a year killed by illegal immigrants. Seems funny since that is about as many people murdered as from 2003 through 2005 [link to www.fbi.gov] got my info from the FBI where did you get yours? You right wing hacks need to come with real facts.
I assumed that was a typo and he meant 4,500 which is close to what the rightwing website I went to claimed.
Your god keeps our troops in Hell, being shot at, blown up and living in fear all day. Some blessing. Your god must hate peace, love, and compassion and revel in war, pillage, and carnage. Is your god named Mars or Morgoth?
Why do you hate our troops so much that you would see them killed and maimed? Does your god of war command it?
Is your god named Mars or Morgoth? - Redking
Awesome. If you don't object, I'd like to use that sometimes.
it is all about the money,they dont care about anything but money.the dollar is to them like god, it talk to them.
Here's the skam, starting under Reagan: Skyrocket military spending, for the Military Industrial Complex War Profiteers...THEN SAY "Now we have to cut spending on social programs because the deficit is so high." It's high because of MILITARY SPENDING!!! THIS IS THE PLAN!!!Bush is asking for $245 billion RIGHT NOW for more war, BUT THEN SAYING HE HAS TO CUT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE! START WRITING YOUR CONGRESSMAN THAT WE KNOW THE PLAN!!!PUT THESE STORIES SIDE BY SIDE:1. BUSH BEGS FOR $245 BILLION FOR WAR:http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fapnews.myway.com%2Farticle%2F20070202%2FD8N1NGRG0.html2. BUSH SAYS WE HAVE TO CUT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE:http://www.rawstory.com/news/2007/Bush_Future_generations_face_cuts_in_0203.htmlTHEN TIE IT ALL TOGETHER WITH THIS:Why the US Is Not Leaving Iraq: The Booming Business of War Profiteershttp://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=HOS20070112&articleId=4423
"The world is changing. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman and the union of the two towers. Together, my lord Sauron, we shall rule this Middle-Earth. The old world will burn in the fires of industry. The forests will fall. A new order will rise. We will drive the machine of war with the sword and the spear and the iron fist of the orc. We have only to remove those who oppose us."....to quote the fictional character Saruman on the goals of the Israel/US alliance and the military/industrial complex that depends on the perpetual warfare that results from that alliance.
Tolkien always said his works were applicable, not analogous. Damn, but he was right. Evil tends to behave in the exact same manner, whether real or fictional.
jt01denny9120,
Apparently you are another graduate of the "Rush Limbaugh School of Statistics"? In a nation of 300,000,000 the number s you cite give a death rate of .0023% from misread prescriptions, .001% from traffic accidents and .015% from "illegal aliens" vs. a militray death reate of .54% in Iraq (about thirty times higher than the other three combined).
Rush's spurious argument...
The big weakness in Rush's paradigm is that it only compares American deaths here and in Iraq. How many people have been killed in Iraq compared to how many people are killed here in an American city is the more accurate method of calculating probabilities of death. Thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians have been, and continue to be, killed as casualties of the war. I just read in The New Yorker that some 12,000 Iraqi police have been killed since 2003. Rush cites all homicides in Phildalephia yet only cites American deaths in Iraq. The number of American deaths is just a portion of the actual carnage. But when you factor in all of the deaths in Iraq of innocents and "good guys" the results don't suit Rush's spurious argument that you have a better chance of living in a violent American city than being in war in Iraq..
You're exactly right. This argument is ridiculous on its face, and cannot withstand one iota of logical scrutiny; yet, amazingly, vast numbers in his audience believe this crap.
One need only ask, how many car bombs go off every day in Philadelphia? How many mass kidnappings occur each day in Philadelphia? How many piles of corpses with holes drilled in their heads are found in Philadelphia each week? Rush is full of crap and he knows it.
I know that percentages are lost on conservatives. Try and explain to a conservative that a person making $50,000 and paying $10,000 (20% of their income) in taxes is worse off than a person making $500,000 and paying $20,000 (4% of their income) in taxes. All you'll hear is that the second person is paying twice as much, percentages-schmentages. Why should the casualties in Iraq be any different?
Wouldn't it be interesting if the cost of defense spending was included on paycheck stubs the same way as SS and medicare is included?
As bad as Rush's comments are about troop deaths, he said something else on the 1/31 broadcast that I found downright incredible.
Not 10 minutes later after delivering his nonsense about Philadelphia, Rush described an "outburst" by an official in Louisiana as saying it would have "been better if terrorists had blown up the levies." Supposedly this comment came out of frustration in the trickle pace that New Orleans has come into its Federal monies since the hurricane.
Trouble is, Rush went on to say that it was the local government who screwed the pooch in New Orleans but none of them will take responsibility for it. He said that all of them just continue to, "dump on Bush." This was a breathless assertion since during his Philly tirade and the supposed culpability of Dems in its rising murder rate (specifically leveled at Sen. Spector), Rush said this:
“So, I suppose we should ask this question. If the Democrat Party -- which runs that city and runs that state -- if the Democrat Party can't keep relative peace in one of the nation's largest cities, how in the name of Sam Hill are they going to be able to keep peace in the rest of the world? Will Nancy Pelosi hold hearings into the murder of US citizens in Philadelphia? What about Arlen Specter who represents Philadelphia in the Senate? How much time has Senator Specter spent on hearings dealing with the rise of violence in Philadelphia? Don't tell me it's a local matter. Don't tell me it's a state matter. We're concerned with death here. We're concerned with body counts. We're concerned with the breakdown of law and order. Insurgencies, gangs, whatever you want to call 'em. They're out of control in major American cities, and Philadelphia is just one example, and where are the hearings on this?”
So, you see? In Rush's world, Senate Democrats are to blame for Philadelphia's crime wave. The state and local officials have nothing to do with it. But, when it comes to New Orleans, well, only state and local people should be blamed, certainly not Bush and Co (who are just getting "dumped" on!).
That's the real story if you ask me. He can't even see his own lack of consistancy. Of course, his premise is ridiculous to start with, true, but it becomes glaringly so when he can't even stay within the lines of his own flawed logic for more than 15 minutes at a clip.
-Brendan
That's the beauty of propaganda, it requires no internal logic. Propaganda need only satiate the most base desires in order to affirm the most base perceptions. It is intellectual onanism.
Two comments need to be made here. 1: Bringing up deaths on the streets of US cities is just changing the subject. 2: The fact soldiers are dying is not the reason most antiwar people give for getting out of Iraq. We want out of Iraq becsuse it was the wrong thing to do from the start, it was mishandled from the start. and conditions are now worse then the start. And yes I wouldn't use up one more soldier is such a mess.
The administration and their supporters used to brag about how many Iraqi police and soldiers have been trained and outfitted. Cheney was always babbling about this. I would leave it with them.
Further proof of the assinine basis of this analogy is that soldiers in Iraq, unless on patrol when they're heavily armed, are sequestered in heavily fortified bases or the Green Zone.
So, it would be more accurate to make an analogy between the number of policemen killed in Philadelphia, rather than the population in general.
Imperial bankruptcy. As good a reason as any to end the madness of King George. "We are on the brink of losing our democracy for the sake of keeping our empire. Once a nation starts down that path, the dynamics that apply to all empires come into play -- isolation, overstretch, the uniting of local and global forces opposed to imperialism, and in the end bankruptcy." [link to www.commondreams.org]
Whoops. Sorry for the bad link. The quote was from a Chalmers Johnson article entitled, Empire vs. Democracy: Why Nemesis is at Our Door, at commondreams.org.
I was on the road and heard this live.
Gotta give credit to Half-frickin American Rush.This, like many of his positions, is difficult to offer a quick rebuttal to, because you're too busy smackiing your forehead and asking questions like" What the ???"
Then his monkeys call in and thank him for putting things in perspective. Yikes.
That's what is so frustrating; the endless parade of sycophants who call his show daily and swoon over him like he's the messiah. Yuk! I realize that the callers are heavily screened, but it's still nauseating.
This post is going to get a little off topic, but I hope that it meanders back to where it should be. If for all of you who insult Limbaugh’s intelligence, you are mistaken. His message is crafted and his techniques are measured out with precision. He is playing a character and he does not believe his own message any more than Stephen Colbert. Being stupid (like Hannity) would give him an excuse for the insidious toxins that he injects into the public consciousness each day. This is an example of his double speak. Last week on his NPR interview he suggested that he was not a journalist, but everyday on his show he refers to himself as “America’s Anchorman”. He stated that partisanship and unwillingness to compromise is a good thing, but then dismisses everything that democrats do as partisan. He talks about how the goal of Liberalism is centralize power in the government, and then defends this administration’s expansion of power like Charlton Heston defending gun rights. As for this little gem of hypocrisy, it is a pretty good example of the political lotus he serves up on a platter everyday. First is the apples to oranges argument. Say that Philadelphia (I think it might be Newark, but it is beside the point) is the most violent city in America with 406 homicides in a year. There were over 100 Iraqis killed in Baghdad in an hour yesterday. Then Bush turns around and states that the Iraqi’s have not shown enough appreciation to America for our efforts in overthrowing Saddam. Then he also throws out the “We are fighting them there so we won’t have to fight them here” nugget. Essentially saying that the Iraqi’s have not been thankful enough for our efforts to turn their country into a giant Thunderdome the size of California so Rush and his listeners can feel safe, just like people who stick an ADT sign in their front lawn, but don’t install the system or for that matter lock their doors. Rush and his audience who claim to support the troops so much turn around and make the argument that they are in no more danger than your average Philadelphian. Let’s throw that argument to the troops and see how many of them agree.
It makes one hope there is a Hell, so spokesmen of pure evil like Rush will spend eternity being tormented by the souls of those his words have helped kill. It's sick that the average worker can barely feed his family these days while scumbags like Rush get huge salaries for damning our troops to the living hell of war.
YOUR "FUN WITH NUMBERS" : IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE THE POPULATION OF PHILI TO GET YOUR REFRENCE POINT, THEN YOU MUST USE THE POPULATION OF IRAQ (PLUS THE TROOP NUMBERS) TO GET THE RATIO THERE. GET BACK TO ME ON THAT ONE, WILL YOU ? BAH HUMBUG !!
Um.... No. You are just pretty shamelessly and baselessly trying to dilute the ratio.
We are talking comparing the danger posed to Americans here.
Besides, if we used the entire country of Iraq, you would also have to count all of the Iraqi casualties and murders. Body counts in Iraq for insurgents and civilians vary pretty widly. Murder rate may be difficult to determine, but I would bet even a generous calculation would likely be many times the city of Philadelphia. One truck bomb yesterday killed over 120 people.
Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but the Troop deathtoll in Iraq is 3000+.
What happens when you add into account troop injuries, Civilaian deaths and civilian injuries? Rush ends up looking like a moron......again.
"...add into account troop injuries..."
That is an excellent, but overlooked point, too. I live in a city which also has a very high murder rate. Although my chances of being killed may be statistically higher than in some other cities I certainly don't have to worry about having my limbs blown off when I go the grocery. Once again, at the risk of sounding redundant, how can Limbaugh get away with this kind of bullsh*t with literally millions of listeners? It's just amazing that any thinking person would buy into Limbaugh's nonsense. But apparently many people do... and that is a very sad commentary on the gullibility of so many Americans. This isn't about the left wing/right wing dichotomy... a healthy balance of political views is both healthy and necessary in a democracy, in my opinion. But it's the lying manipulation that is the problem.
That's the key to PigMan's popularity; he tells a certain lowbrow segment of the population what they want to hear...that it's okay to be racist...it's okay to be greedy...it's okay to be selfish...it's okay to be sexist...in fact, according to Rush, if you aren't greedy, racist, sexist, homophobic and selfish, then you ain't AMERICAN ENOUGH!
"...a certain lowbrow segment of the population.."
I understand what you're saying but what I've learned through everyday conversations with people, and find disturbing, is that the Rush Limbaugh crowd does not consist entirely of knuckle-draggers whom you might expect to buy into Limbaugh's illogical homilies. I meet many regular, middle-class, educated people who are Limbaugh fans. I know it sounds like hyperbole to say this but it really concerns me about the future of America to see how many people actually buy into the Limbaugh/Hannity/O'Reilly type of dishonesty that appears to me to be specifically designed in some respects to get people to hate one another... even if you give them the benefit of the doubt about the hatred part, it's still designed to divide the people of this country rather than educating people in such a way that solutions to serious problems can approached rationally.
Or if Rush insists on considering the costs in lives of American personnel only, then what's the murder rate of American troops in Philidelphia?
if only the pigman could be sent totyhe frontlines in iraq with no proecction.
For a realistic apples-to-apples comparison, try: US Troop casualties vs. Philly Police casualties and Iraqi civilian deaths vs. Philly civilian deaths.
821 US Troops in 2006 vs. 246 Philly Police killed IN THE HISTORY OF THE DEPT., since 1828 (with 1 death in '06).
And, as noted in other posts, compare the 100K Iraqi deaths to 406 Philly murders.