Little Hawk:

New home buying is at an all time high which is good for the economy.   The main reason for that is low interest rates.    This is especially good for new home buyers or people with limited funds who want to buy a new home.    When I bought my first home in 1978 (Carter was president) interest rates were 17%.    That made it very hard to make ends meet.    My investments went up about 20-30% last years after two bad years.    This year they are also up.    It you are keeping money in an interest bearing checking account at minimal interest that is your own fault.

All far as terrorism statistics- the numbers are the numbers.   They were in the news a few days ago in a report from the State Department.   The number of international terrorist attacks in 2003 was half of that in 2001 and the deaths from terrorism in 2003 was the lowest levels since 1969.   You can disagree with the numbers but that still doesn't change them.