Every 13 seconds a woman is battered in America. Every 15 seconds a woman is battered in a domestic dispute. In the United States today, a woman is battered every 18 seconds. Domestic abuse is a horrifying problem and journalists should publicize it mightily. But common sense tells us all of these statements cannot be true.
Numbers magic works across the political spectrum.
From the right we learn everyone everywhere is in imminent danger from violent criminals. From the left we hear that one in 10 teenagers fired a gun at someone. And on milk cartons we read that one in 50 kids has mysteriously disappeared. We're suckers for statistical studies. Especially, alarming numbers.