BottleBob wrote:

Ed Huntress wrote:

"Gunner" wrote in message
...

"25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on,
and walk down the street with no permit of any kind:
some say it's crazy. However, 4 out of 5 US murders
are committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?" --
Andrew Ford

Oh, what the hell: There are 27 open carry states and they represent 32.95%
of the population. They also are the states in which 31.26% of the murders
are committed. Those are 2001 figures, US Census and FBI Uniform Crime
Reports. I have the Excel workbooks on it if you don't believe it, and
you're welcome to them.

So would the Andrew Ford quote be acceptable if it were changed to:

============================================
"27 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on,
^^^^
and walk down the street with no permit of any kind:
some say it's crazy. However, **2 out of 3** US murders
^^^^^^^^^^^
are committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?" --
============================================

I don't want to speak for Ed, but the answer to your question depends
on your definition of "acceptable." Your version of the quote might
very well be factually correct. But facts can still be misleading if
they are selectively presented in a way that paints an incomplete and
distorted picture. A more complete picture would be painted if you
said "However, **2 out of 3** of US murders are committed in the other
half of the country, where **2 out of 3** US residents live." Of
course, that doesn't have quite the emotional impact as the original
statement, does it? It's kind of like selling a used car and
emphasizing the fact that it has new tires and a new transmission,
while conveniently omitting the fact that it has a blown head gasket
and needs a new A/C.

Bert