Email from a colleague: pathetic figures!

USA Today published an editorial recently about the state of today's American children, in raw numbers, which were so bad that the newspaper had to keep reiterating that the figures were not misprints: One-third of American students either drop out or don't finish high school. Three-quarters of all American children are ineligible for military service for one reason or another: poor health, drug-taking, criminal records or low level of education Twenty-three percent of all young people who try to enlist in the services fail the basic entrance exam One third of all children are either overweight or obese Forty-one percent of American children are born out of wedlock (nope, not a misprint).  This includes: 73 percent of black children 53 percent of Hispanic children 29 percent non-Hispanic white children. Gun deaths Time magazine's statistics on gun violence, in the wake of the Arizona shooting.  In any given year: More than 100,000 Americans are shot in murders, assaults, suicides, accidents or by police intervention 31,224 people die from gun violence 12,632 people are murdered 17,352 people kill themselves 3,067 children and teenagers die from gun violence. This translates into over 275 people who are shot for any reason every single day.