The total of Americans killed in the 18-month-old war so far: 1,003¹

The total of Oregonians killed in the 18-month-old war so far: 23

Oregon Population: 3,559,596²

United States Population: 290,809,777

This means that Oregon represents 1.22% of the United States Population and yet 2.29% of all deaths in Iraq³.

So here comes my far-out conspiracy theory.

Oregon has kind of been a thorn for Ashcroft. He doesn’t seem to like the idea of our Death With Dignity Act⁴, perhaps in favor of a Death in a Foreign Country Under Horrible Circumstances Act. The State has managed to fight and finally overturn his attempt to block the act, and I think it is fair to say that he’s probably not too happy with this.

So, who’s to say that these guys don’t hold a grudge? That the disproportionate number of Oregonians sent, and subsequenty killed, in Iraq was not coincidental.
Maybe someone thinks that the best way to get back at Oregon is to kill it’s children.

It’s just a theory.

¹Iraq Coalition Casualty Count
²Figures taken from the 2003 US Census
³All numbers assume my math is right
⁴American Medical News article / Register Guard editorial

Quote of the day:
“I feel for those people, but I think some of their relative is still in our attic.”
–Barbara Vreeland, of Forest Grove, OR, who had an urn of cremation ashes crash through the roof of her house. The deceased’s family had been attempting to scatter the ashes from an airplane when they lost their grip on the urn while holding it out the plane’s window.