Saturday, September 20, 2008

Lest We Forget


While the dire economy has rightfully dominated recent conversation, I humbly submit the following lest we forget the second tragic aspect of the Bush legacy.

International aid organizations estimate that 4 to 5 million Iraqis have fled their country due to the violence since 2003. Add those killed in the war, occupation and by sectarian violence and this number climbs to between 5 and 6 million. This is approximately 1/5 of the pre-war population of Iraq. http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/9679

On a percentage basis, this is equivalent to almost 60 million people being removed from the U.S., a number roughly equal to the combined populations of our 28 smallest states. http://www.census.gov/population/projections/PressTab1.xls

Just imagine totally emptying Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oregon, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Iowa, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, West Virginia, Nebraska, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, Alaska, North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.







Kind of makes you think.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yet in your scenario, Democrats win the Electoral College vote 213-176.
So it's not a total loss. Obama gets elected.

:)