I have a link on the sidebar to James Taranto's always excellent "Best of the Web Today." Today, Mr. Taranto hit one out of the park, so I thought it a good time to highlight why that link is there.

He has found a report on airline safety, and it turns out there hasn't been a major accident in America for the better part of a decade. For most of us, this would seem to be good news. For people interested in increased regulation, however, it's bad news indeed. Witness this thought process:

That's great news for aviation companies and their passengers--and a complication for rule makers trying to improve flight safety.

The benefits of aviation rules are calculated primarily on how many deaths they may prevent, so the safest decade in modern airline history is making it harder to justify the cost of new requirements.

Now for the money shot. This is absolutely amazing.

If anyone wants to advance safety through regulation, it can't be done without further loss of life.

Oh. My. Goodness. This man believes that safety can't be advanced without killing people! Do they hear themselves? The whole piece is here.