You're correct, VickiR. Total cholesterol has never been shown to be a good indicator of cardiac risk. Quite the oppposite, in fact, since more than half of those that have cardiac events have normal cholesterol levels (below 200). It's now thought that the ratios as well as triglyceride levels and c-reactive protein and homocysteine levels are better indicators but even those are not foolproof.
It seems that the more scientists try to prove the fat/cholesterol/heart disease theory, the more they come up scratching their heads but still maintain it must be valid.