BONUS LOTD
97.46% of all statistics are bogus:
Today’s patriots should be allowed fireworks
The ban on personal fireworks in this state is not only unfair, it borders on socialism. Fireworks are not weapons. It is unbelievable that a man can put his life on the line in military service, yet cannot come home and celebrate our national independence with a backyard display of patriotism.
This is an arbitrary criminalization. Cigarette smoking has injured or killed 326,000 times as many people as fireworks. Consumption of alcohol has killed or maimed 69,756 more people in one year alone.
When this country was born, most patriotic events were private gatherings. There were 289 times as many farming accidents as there were incendiary injuries. This is even more remarkable considering the lack of technological advances and safety measures now in effect.
It is time the law caught up with reality.
Ed Ruebeck, New Castle
I love fireworks. We shoot them off every year. And this year we nearly burned down the neighborhood when a shell went awry and caught the pine straw in the woods next to my house on fire.