Dep’t of Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics: Iraqi Casualties Edition

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Josh Marshall and the crew at Talking Points Memo are looking into this issue of casualties in Iraq — the right and the left are both throwing around statistics on civilian deaths that support their respective positions on the surge, and Marshall wants to figure out what’s really going on. But until he does, you should take a look at this very good Washington Post story on why the government’s and military’s numbers, which they say prove deaths are down by half, are bogus.

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PLEASE—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 it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us 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. The deadline’s almost here. Please help us reach our $150k membership goal by May 31.

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