Statistics show more stupidity of "terror alert levels"

Boing Boing: Flu, hernia, or police more to kill you than Al Qaeda

This is great. People tend to make decisions using the emotional, fear-driven parts of their brain. Even in the face of raw data about risks it is very hard for people to feel comfortable turning away from those hard-wired instincts for self-preservation and making decisions that conflict with those feelings. A look at this chart shows how irrational spending and decisions are in this country. And how trading security for a little perceived freedom is a bad tradeoff–especially when you are far more at risk from plenty of other factors. The incidence of government taking advantage of its citizenry is likely to be higher than terrorist attacks against America.

Unfortunately, politicians rely on the masses making poor choices on inaccurate or flawed data to keep them in power. Think about that when you vote this November. Those who want you to stay afraid are themselves afraid.