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SHOEING THE PREZ….I agree with Daniel Davies that tossing shoes at George Bush and tossing pies at Tom Friedman are both basically funny things, not worth getting a stick up your butt about. Just have a laugh, don’t let it get out of hand, and relax.

Following up on that, however, he admits: “Although seeing Bush get shoed was a laugh, it’s a nervous sort of laugh for anyone who is worried about the possibility of President Obama being assassinated, which I know that a lot of people are. And statistically, they’re right to be worried. Roughly 10% of all US Presidents ever elected have been assassinated (4 out of 43), which is roughly as high a death rate as street drug dealers.” Then, with a few heroic assumptions and the help of some geeky friends, he quantifies the job-related mortality rates of being president compared to, say, being a member of Hezbollah or the King of France. Turns out that being president is more dangerous. Read the whole thing if you want to know how much more dangerous.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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