Kudos to Don Surber for pointing out these little details about America's crime rates and those of "more civilized" socialist nations with lots of gun control and fewer jail cells.

In 2006, Norway had 86.3 crimes reported for every 1,000 people, according to Statistics Norway.

In the United States, reported crimes were 39.8 per 1,000 people, according to the FBI.

The violent crime rates are similar: 5.5 per 1,000 people in Norway, 4.7 per 1,000 people in the United States.

No, for violent crime, one has to head north to Canada, where there are 9.5 violent crimes for every 1,000 people. That figure is down 5 percent from 1996. The numbers are from Statistics Canada.

That's double the violent crime rate in the United States.

I agree with Don on his key point -- our crime rates are low because we imprison (and, might I add, execute) criminals. I think the comparisons make it clear how the more the "humane and compassionate systems" of these nations with lower incarceration rates impact the lives of law-abiding citizens.