Odd Bits

The most intriguing thing about FBI Director Comey's rationale for not prosecuting HRC for her handling of classified information while Secretary of State is the clever way he did it.  In an unprecedented move, he held a global press conference in which he recites an exhaustive list of Hillary’s actions, leaving no doubt she is guilty of gross negligence in her handling of classified materials. But he recommends no prosecution, because the Bureau found no evidence she intended to do harm.  Clearly Comey knows that intent is not the legal issue; gross negligence is sufficient for prosecution, conviction, and sentencing.  He knows he'll be called before Congress and will be raked over the coals, and in the process he will reveal more clearly how Hillary had violated the law. Comey would continue to assert there was no need for prosecution, while at the same time demonstrating that the facts were sufficient for prosecution, and  that prosecution was exactly the proper path. And that’s what happened during Comey’s questioning by Trey Gowdy.  Comey revealed unquestionably that HRC lied.  Again and again and again.  But Comey, who was assigned the task to take the fall for the government team, was brilliant in his approach.  He did just that, but let America and the world know that HRC is as guilty as sin.  Politics at work - in spades.  To paraphrase a famous line by Al Pacino's character Tony Montana in the movie Scarface:  He told the truth, even when he lied.  Brilliant.

Everyone understands that the conversation over gun control is hotly debated.  But here are some interesting statistics that you'll never see in the MSM.  First, let's stipulate that there are some 30,000 gun related deaths annually in the US by firearms.  What is never shown, though, is a breakdown of those deaths.

65% of those deaths are by suicide, which would never be prevented by gun laws

15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and mostly justified

17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons

3% are accidental discharge deaths

So technically, "gun violence" does not cause 30,000 deaths annually, but only 5,100 (or 17% of 30,000).  Now where do these deaths predominantly occur?

480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago

344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore
333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit
119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington DC (a 54% increase over prior years)

So basically, 25% of all gun death happens in just four cities, all of which have draconian gun laws.  That puts to bed the notion that it's a lack of gun control laws causing these deaths.  This basically leaves 3,825 deaths for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 per state. That is an average because some states have much higher rates than others.  For example, California had 1,169 gun related deaths, and Alabama had 1.  One might make a correlation between those cities listed above and designated sanctuary cities, and conclude that a high percentage of criminal element residing in those cities drives gun related crime more so than does just the fact of guns being present. 

So how does the 30,000 total gun related death figures compare to other deaths?

40,000 die from a drug overdose

36,000 people die per year from the flu

34,000 people die per year in traffic fatalities

200,000 people die each year from medical malpractice.
710,000 people die per year from heart disease   

But you won't see that in the media.