The Silliness of the Round Numbers

As in many years, when we traverse that nebulous space between the previous year and the preceding one, we look back at some of the milestones we experienced, both optimistic and odious.

Here's how the MSM viewed the end of 2006:

The 3000th armed serviceman was killed in Iraq. That's over the course of roughly 4 years.

Let's put that in perspective, shall we?

In the first day of the US Marines' assault of Iwo Jima, well over 500 Marines were killed, and killing a total of more than 6000 Marines, sailors, and soldiers during the entire operation.

In the City of Philadelphia, 406 people were murdered in 2006. Extrapolate that number over 4 years and you have 1624 deaths. That's a pretty significant number, too. Obviously not 3000, but its a big number, nonetheless. (BTW - will 400 or 500 deaths in 2007 be enough to drive the Democrats from power in Philadelphia? Or will the next Democratic administration cut-and-run from Philadelphia, asking the UNtied Nations to intervene?)

But instead, the MSM chooses to focus on 3000 servicemen killed in Iraq. It is now a number greater than all of those killed on 9/11.

But it didn't happen all in one day. It has happened over the course of years. And the MSM has seized upon this slow, inexorable drip-drip-drip of deaths to continuously pursue its anti-war agenda.

Remember that when you read your next newspaper.