Posted on Tue, Nov. 28, 2006

Will Bunch's NUMBERS RACKET

Welcome to the Numbers Racket, a look at the numerals that define us.

237 Rushing yards gained by the Indianapolis Colts in a 45-21 shellacking of the Eagles on Sunday night. Just keep repeating to yourself — it doesn’t matter who the players are, it’s the system.

3 Democratic ward leaders sworn in yesterday as new members of Philadelphia City Council. It’s great to see democracy in action — now, can someone direct us to where that’s taking place?

6 Dollars for a Christmas ornament shaped like a handgun and sold by a major Philadelphia retailer. There's no such thing as bad publicity, which is why we won’t mention the retailer’s name.

39.6 Likability rating for 2004 and possible 2008 presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, the lowest of 20 White House contenders surveyed recently. Some 95 percent knew who Kerry was, which was apparently his problem.

500,000,000 Dollar pricetag for proposed George W. Bush library, the highest cost ever for a presidential site. That’s a lot of copies of "The Pet Goat."

AND IN IRAQ...

15 Number of U.S. military deaths reported last week.

Two Marines based in North Carolina were among the three killed in combat last week in Anbar province, the military announced yesterday.

Cpl. Nicholas P. Rapavi, 22, of Springfield, Va., died Friday from combat wounds. He was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune.

Cpl. Michael C. Ledsome, 24, of Austin, Texas, died Saturday during combat, the Pentagon said. Ledsome was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Lejeune.

2,882

Number of U.S. troops who have died in Iraq since combat began in March 2003, according to
icasualties.org.

The Daily News honors members of the armed services who made the ultimate sacrifice during the war in Iraq. Their deaths will not be forgotten.

— Will Bunch

Ellie