I understand that some of you don’t like the Obamas, but this is getting ridiculous. How many emails do I have to get about this:
First lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to get people to exercise outdoors might be a factor in an increase in the number of pedestrian deaths during the first half of last year, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
Are you kidding me? Are people actually making the argument that we should encourage people to be inactive. Yes, tell them not to exercise. That’s a good idea.
There’s no evidence for this. None. No causal link between one and the other. There has just – in the same year – been Mrs. Obama’s call for more activity and an increase in pedestrian deaths. There is nothing, no statistics, that show that one is the reason for he other.
More importantly, what was the increase? Seven deaths. Seven. They went up from 1,884 in the first six months of 2009 to 1,891 in the first six months of 2010. That’s a 0.37% change.
Please stop.
UPDATE: As a commenter noted, the GHSA spokesperson was misquoted. However, that doesn’t change the tone or thrust of my post. The person writing the article misquoted her to spin the increase in deaths just so. And those repeating the story are doing the same. It’s all ridiculous, and the misquoting just makes it worse.
