Terrorists vs. Ladders

Benjamin Friedman writing in Foreign Policy asks: What are the odds that you will die in a terrorist attack?

Answer: Minuscule.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the odds are about 1 in 88,000. The odds of dying from falling off a ladder are 1 in 10,010. Even in 2001, automobile crashes killed 15 times more Americans than terrorism.

In his article, "Homeland Security," Friedman also makes some incisive points about how much money the Feds are wasting in a variety of futile anti-terrorist activities. In any, case I'm gonna keep a closer eye on any stepladders I run across.