Please help respond to this chain email I just got...

[tallahasseedem]

I just received this email from what I had previous thought to be a sane friend, guess not.



This is very interesting.....
Military Losses, 1980 thru 2007
Whatever your politics, however you lean, and however you feel about the current administration, this report should open some eyes. Military losses, 1980 through 2007.

As tragic as the loss of any member of the US Armed Forces is, consider the following statistics: The annual fatalities of military members while actively serving in the armed forces from 1980 through 2006 - by any cause.

1980 .......... 2,392 ( Carter Year )

1981 .......... 2,380 ( Reagan Year)
1984 .......... 1,999 ( Reagan Year)
1988 .......... 1,819 ( Reagan Year)

1989 .......... 1,636 ( George H W Year )
1990 .......... 1,508 ( George H W Year )
1991 .......... 1,787 ( George H W Year )
1992 .......... 1,293 ( George H W Year )

1993 .......... 1,213 ( Clinton Year)
1994 .......... 1,075 ( Clinton Year)
1995 .......... 2,465 ( Clinton Year)
1996 .......... 2,318 ( Clinton Year)
1997 .......... 817 ( Clinton Year)
1998 .......... 2,252 ( Clinton Year)
1999 .......... 1,984 ( Clinton Year)
2000 ......... 1,983 ( Clinton Year)

2001 .......... 890 ( George W Year)
2002 ......... 1,007 ( George W Year)
2003 .......... 1,410 ( George W Year)
2004 .......... 1,887 ( George W Year)
2005 .......... 919 ( George W Year)
2006........... 920 ( George W Year)
2007............ 899 ( George W Year)

Clinton years (1993-2000): 14,107 deaths
George W years (2001-2007): 7,932 deaths

If you are surprised when you look at these figures, so was I. These figures mean that the loss from the two latest conflicts in the Middle East are LESS than the loss of military personnel during Bill Clinton's presidency; When America wasn't even involved in a war! (Unless you include Bosnia or the disgrace of Mogadishu, Somalia when Clinton failed to respond to terrorists; Remember 'Blackhawk Down'?)

And, I was even more shocked when I read that in 1980, during the reign of President (Nobel Peace Prize winner) Jimmy Carter, there were 2,392 US military fatalities! From what? How?

I think that these figures indicate that many members of our Media and our
Politicians will pick and choose the information on which they report. Of course we all know that they present only those 'facts' which support their agenda-driven
reporting. But why do so many of them march in lock-step to twist the truth? Where do so many of them get their agenda? Obviously there is one shared agenda. Could it be from the most powerful Democratic family of the decade?

Do you want further proof? Consider the latest census of Americans. It shows the following FACTS about the distribution of American citizens, by race:
European descent ........................ 69.12%
Hispanic......................................... 12.5%
Black ............................................. 12.3%
Asian.............................................. 3.7%
Native American......................... 1.0%
Other............................................ 2.6%

Many media lead us to feel the military death ratio is off balanced compared to the distribution by race in America . Here are the fatalities by RACE over the past three years in Iraqi Freedom. Do the comparison yourself.
European descent (white) ........... 74.31%
Hispanic.......................................... 10.74%
Black .............................................. 9.67%
Asian............................................... 1.81%
Native American.......................... 1.09%
Other............................................. 0.33%

I was surprised again. Our mainstream media continues to spin these figures
(for political gain). Nothing more. It's all about politics.

I hope that during the time between now and November, intelligent Americans can decipher: the facts from the spin, the spinners from the leaders, those who seek even more power from those that seek justice, and the dividers from the uniters.

Over the next months let's be good listeners and see and hear who tries to divide our nation; and who wants to unite our nation. Who wants to control how our money is spent and who wants our money spent the way we would spend it. Who seeks power and who seeks justice? Who spins the facts and who is genuine.

(These statistics are published by Congressional Research Service, and
they may be confirmed by anyone at:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf)

'History does not entrust the care of freedom to the weak or timid.'
- Dwight D. Eisenhower



Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[otohara]

1. It's Bullshit - Go Here

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/deaths.asp

[tallahasseedem]

4. Thank you! :)

Thank you so much otohara! I can always count on DU members to help!

[otohara]

10. Snopes Is Our Friend

there's a butt load of this right-wing bullshit that gets passed around all the time. Always check Snopes.com. Sadly so many on the right read this shit and believe it without reservation.

[Warpy]

13. Now that you have it, call bullshit

and reply to all with a snotty remark about the sender's gullibility.

You might want to add that since you don't like your email box clogged with spam, you will put this person on block should one more easy to debunk right wing screed appear.

Then do it.

If they need you, they can dial a telephone or spend money on a stamp.

The only way we can stop this stuff is 1. make them feel like complete idiots for sending it and 2. make sure they don't send any of it again.

[DesertRat]

5. The RW has a new talking point about Snopes

They are now saying that Snopes is a liberal leaning site. I received an email with a link to a RW site showing "proof". I just responded with Colbert's line; "Reality has a well-known liberal bias." :-)

[JanMichael]

2. snopes

false

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/deaths.asp

[Hokie]

3. Snopes has it as FALSE

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/deaths.asp

[tallahasseedem]

6. Thank you to everyone!

Apparently they really are getting desperate if they are pulling this.

[islandmkl]

7. always check snopes out...

and send the facts back to everyone that was on the bullshit email list...

snopes and 'reply all'...great combination

[Mad_Dem_X]

15. So true - I love Snopes

Each time I get a bullshit RW email, I immediately go to Snopes. If I find it debunked there (and I usually do), I send a Reply All with the link debunking the crap, and tell the sender to stop emailing me RW falsehoods.

[msongs]

8. delete it and forget about nt

[Iggo]

9. The proper response to a chain letter...

...is to break the chain.

[pacalo]

11. ...before clapping 10 times, standing on your hands for 10 seconds, & sending on to 10 friends.

[Taxmyth]

12. ONE Military death from "Hostile Action" between 1992 and 2000

Say what you want about Bill Clinton and the Military but he didn't send them to their deaths the way the Bush family has:

http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/Death_Rates.pdf

[TlalocW]

14. I think that Clinton also had either 0 or 1 death from troops sent into action

So basically, under Clinton, if troops were sent out, all of them or damn near all of them came back. The rest would have to be deaths from natural causes, accidents, and suicides for Clinton.

TlalocW

[scheming daemons]

16. Debunked by snopes.... that email is an outright lie... of the highest order

Why is it that the right-wing always has false viral emails and the left never does?


That tells me which side is on the side of the angels.