The Top Ten Causes of Death in America

by | Jan 3, 2023 | Health

The Top Ten Causes of Death in America

I think it’s important to be cognizant of the dangers we face in our daily lives. In some cases, there’s nothing we can do. However, very often, lifestyle changes can play a crucial role in keeping you healthy and avoiding some of the following frequent causes of death.

  1. Heart Attacks

About 24% of deaths in America are a result of heart attacks. In real numbers, that’s approximately 650,000 people per year.

  1. Cancer

About 22% of deaths in America are cancer related. In terms of the numbers, it’s around 600,000 per year

  1. Unintentional Injuries

This accounts for about 6% of deaths or about 170,000 people per year. A significant percentage are a result of motor vehicle accidents, which account for about 37,000 deaths per year. Many of those are caused by DUI drivers.

  1. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease

This accounts for approximately 6% of deaths or around 160,000 per year. In this category, we’re talking about.

  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • bronchitis
  • emphysema
  • asthma
  1. Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases

This accounts for about 5% of deaths or approximately 147,000 per year

  1. Alzheimer’s

This accounts for about 4% of deaths or approximately 121,000 per year

  1. Diabetes

This accounts for about 3% of deaths or approximately 83,000 per year

  1. Influenza and Pneumonia

This accounts for about 2% of deaths or approximately 56,000 per year

  1. Kidney Disease

This accounts for about 1.8% of deaths or approximately 51,000 per year

  1. Suicide

On average, there are about 47,000 deaths annually in America as a result of suicides.

  • It is the 2nd leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 34.
  • The 24-Hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is: 800-273-8255

Obviously, we cannot prevent many of the deaths described above, however, there is some general advice, which should improve our health and help us potentially avoid some of the diseases and pitfalls mentioned above.  We’re already familiar with much of the advice, but do we follow these guidelines?

  • Eat healthy foods [something the author of this article doesn’t do, unless you consider a daily dose of burgers, fries, steaks, Italian food, and lots of chocolate chip cookies / ice cream good choices]
  • Get plenty of sleep [I don’t get nearly enough sleep]
  • Exercise Often [I go to the gym every day]
  • Avoid alcohol or drink only in moderation [I never touched alcohol]
  • Do not smoke [I never smoked]
  • Do not use illegal drugs [I never touched illegal drugs]
  • Build healthy and positive relationships. This is critical and let me add one thought of my own. Laughter is the best medicine on the planet.
  • Avoid the use of unnecessary legal prescription drugs.
  • Establish an ongoing relationship with a doctor. Go for annual physicals, which thanks to Obamacare, are now free. You should also schedule regular dental appointments.

How does your lifestyle jive with the recommendations listed above?

America is Facing A Serious Threat to Our Democracy

by | Jul 25, 2022 | Politics

Our country is in a state of crisis, with the Constitution and our Democracy under attack by millions of “virtually all white” Americans, who believe they are victims of a conspiracy to destroy their culture and what they believe makes America great. Unfortunately, they reside in an alternate reality, where facts and the truth are irrelevant.

They are addicted to the Fox Propaganda Network, which repeatedly pushes a formula used by Hitler in the 1930s. Instead of blaming the Jews for our problems, Fox blames Liberals and Democrats, who are no longer the loyal opposition with a different political philosophy. Thanks to Fox, liberals and Democrats are now seen as “THE ENEMY” of real Americans, who perceive them as many Germans perceived Jews.

If Liberals and Democrats are the Enemy, that justifies the use of violence against them. Hence, we saw a vicious attack on the symbol of American Democracy, the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6th.  I’m convinced that every member participating in that assault on the symbol of our Democracy, perceived themselves as loyal patriots, trying to take down the enemies of America.

I want to point out that having a conservative news broadcasting company is a good thing. The key point one should understand is the following: Fox is not a news network. Their sole purpose is pushing propaganda and bogus conspiracy theories on their low IQ viewers.

In the minds of many, Trump was sent here by god to save America. Saving America, or making America Great Again are code words for restoring the power and privilege of white people, and what they perceive as their precious Christian values. The real irony is they perceive themselves as patriots, yet they are dedicated to supporting a man whose hero and idol is Vladimir Putin. Yes, Trump wants to become the equivalent of Vladimir in America, a dictator with no respect for the “Rule of Law”. Incredibly, the Republican party supports his goal of becoming America’s first dictator.

In order to fully comprehend what Fox has accomplished, one must understand that Trump supporters make up the largest cult in American history. In fact, they are the largest cult since Hitler took power in Germany during the 1030s. If you want to understand the behavior and thoughts of Trump Cult members, never utilize logic, because that will only serve to confuse you. One must understand that applying logic does not resonate in their world. Here are some pointers which should help you understand cult behavior and why Trump is an icon to millions of Americans.

  • Members can never question or challenge their Supreme Leader.
  • Members cannot criticize their supreme leader
  • The Supreme Leader is always right!
  • When non-cult members use facts and evidence to disprove their beliefs, that actually reinforces their irrational, unsupported beliefs.
  • Cult members take any criticism of their Supreme Leader personally.

As mentioned above, they reside in an Alternate Reality where facts, evidence, logic, and the truth are irrelevant. That alternate reality is fully supported and pounded into their viewers by the Fox Propaganda Network. Their perception of Hillary is a perfect example, illustrating the mind set of Trump Supporters, who never require evidence or proof to support their beliefs.

Over the past 15 years or so, Republicans [not Democrats] have investigated Hillary multiple times. The last one was a 2-year investigation by Trump Attorney General Barr, who found no criminal acts on her part. Despite numerous investigations conducted by Republicans, revealing zero evidence against Hillary, Trump supporters still believe she’s a criminal and chant “Lock Her Up”.

As incredible as it may seem to an intelligent person, here are some of the things many fox viewers [Trump Supporters] actually believe.

  • CRT is a major threat to America. Even worse, they do not understand CRT, but Fox pounds this concept of CRT being a threat to their view of our country every week.
  • WRT [White Replacement Theory]: This thought strikes terror in their minds and is the issue at the heart of everything Fox pounds into them every day of the week. Fox viewers, who are almost all white, are obsessed with this concept.
  • Despite presenting zero evidence, and Trump’s attorneys losing all 62 court cases, many of them presided over by Trump court appointees, the overwhelming majority of Republicans incredibly believe Trump won the election. What?
  • For just a moment, ignore the total lack of evidence and use common sense and logic. Every Trump supporter I know says Democrats are stupid, incompetent buffoons. There are times when I completely agree with that statement. But think about the implications of their perspective. Trump supporters claim Democrats are dumb and incompetent, but on election day, they suddenly turned into brilliant, stealth like technicians, who totally outsmarted Republican controlled legislatures. As a result of that incredibly transformation on election day, they stole the election. I don’t think so!
  • Remember, cult members never require proof or evidence. If you weren’t scared before, this should rock your foundation.
  • The FBI is America’s elite law enforcement agency, yet Trump supporters are convinced the FBI is corrupt. Meanwhile, they dedicate themselves to a Pathological Liar, a crime boss, and con man who surrounds himself with an array of Felons. Incredibly, they see nothing wrong with that stark contrast.
  • Many of them believe the government is using the Covid-19 vaccine to imbed a computer chip in them.
  • Anytime a black person is appointed to an important government position, the all-white Republican Party describes it as an “Affirmative Action” This happened with Supreme Court nominee K. Jackson, who was actually the most qualified nominee in years. She graduated from Harvard and then obtained her law degree at Harvard Law School. She presided over hundreds of cases, which gave her far more experience than any previous nominee in recent years.
  • Many of them believe the January sixth assault on the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Capitol Police was actually organized and planned by the FBI. Yes, many Trump supporters actually believe this.
  • They believe members of ANTIFA and/or BLM were posing as Trump supporters on January 6th. Did you see any black people rioting? By the way, ANTIFA is a creation of Fox, it does not exist. But that doesn’t stop members of Trump World repeatedly blaming ANTIFA for violent actions.
  • Remember, facts, proof, and evidence are irrelevant in their world.
  • The January sixth assault on the U.S. Capitol and the U.S. Capitol Police was not an assault, but people protesting peacefully. They believe this despite watching thousands of rioters battling against the U.S. Capitol Police.
  • More than 816 rioters were charged with federal crimes.
  • Over 140 Capitol Police Officers were injured
  • Despite all of the above, right wing propaganda experts are re-writing history, telling them what they saw did not happen.
  • Trump supporters somehow believe their right to free speech has been taking away. Of course, if you ask for specific examples, they cannot provide them.
  • Many right-wing state legislatures are writing new laws, under the phony guise of “Voter ID Laws”, which will give legislatures the right and ability to overturn the results of an election, which they do not like. If this doesn’t scare you, nothing will.
  • They believe common sense gun control measures such as “Universal Background Checks”, are a violation of their second amendment rights.
  • Republicans are always angry about poor women having babies which wind up on welfare and/or turn into criminals. They are too stupid to realize that doing away with abortion will result in thousands of unwanted babies being born every year, with many of them possibly going on welfare.
  • Republicans are so dumb they oppose the “Morning after Pill” and other forms of contraception. Hello! If you want to stop thousands of unwanted births, you should be giving away the “Morning After Pill”.
  • Many of them do not believe in “Evolution”.
  • They believe “Climate Change is a Hoax”. This is another example of how they do not understand science. They automatically oppose any proposed bills which want to ensure we have clean water and air. What is wrong with them?
  • Liz Cheney, who has the most conservative voting record in Congress, is a pariah in their party, because she placed the Constitution and our Democracy ahead of the criminal behavior of Donald Trump. Liz Cheney recently said, “If our generation does not stand for truth, the rule of law and our Constitution, if we set aside our founding principles for the politics of the moment, the miracle of our constitutional republic will slip away.” We must not let that happen.”
  • Liz Cheney is a perfect example, illustrating how crazy and dangerous today’s Republican Party is. They don’t want anything to do with a congresswoman who places the constitution and our democracy ahead of loyalty to Trump in today’s pathetic version of the Republican Party.

Homicides and Death in America and Around the World

by | Jun 20, 2022 | Law Enforcement

Deaths and Homicides in America and Around the World

Introduction and Caveats

Homicide stats are very interesting because they help illustrate trends in our society. Keep in mind, the only reliable homicide stats are long term. In other words, one cannot make judgements based upon the numbers for only 1 or 2 years. Generally, that means one shouldn’t start drawing conclusions until they’ve examined the numbers and patterns for at least 5-7 years.

For example, New York City might have a spike in homicides over a 1 or 2 year period, but it could be an anomaly, caused by something such as a pandemic. However, if you examine the numbers over a 5-7 year time frame, they are more meaningful. Nonetheless, I’m going to push on and hope you find these stats are as interesting as I do.

Note: Some of the numbers below are from the year 2020 and some are from the year 2021. Please keep in mind that all the numbers for 2021 aren’t yet final. In addition, the numbers from various studies are different.  You might find one study which states there were 17,500 homicides in a specific year and another one may have a very different number for the very same year. I can’t explain why.

Therefore, I try to use the term approximate numbers. More importantly, I cannot verify the accuracy of the statistics, but I’m confident they are relatively close to the actual number of murders.

Here’s a generic gender-based summary of homicides in America.

  • Males are more likely to be murder victims (76.8%).
  • Females are most likely to be victims of domestic homicides (63.7%) and sex-related homicides (81%).
  • Males are far more likely to be the perpetrator who commit homicides.

As scary as some of these numbers are, please keep in mind that most deaths are caused by natural factors such as heart disease or cancer. Here’s another depressing number to think about. In America, an estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic accidents in 2021. That’s a staggering statistic! Last year, approximately 117 people died every day in a motor vehicle accident. Tell me that isn’t a mind-boggling number.

That’s very interesting, but in this article, as mentioned above, we’re going to primarily focus on homicides in America. We’re also going to take a quick look at global homicide rates, which will hopefully give us a perspective on how we compare with the rest of the world.

  • We’re going to focus on 2020, when the homicide rate surged, and also 2021, where it continued to rise significantly.
  • In America, there were about 20,000 murders in 2020. We don’t have the exact number yet for last year, but that total rose significantly in 2021
  • At this point in time, approximately 55 – 60 people are murdered every day in America.
  • As mentioned earlier in this article, the vast majority of victims were males.

2020 murders number by race

  • 7,029 white people and 9,913 black people were murdered in 2020..
  • Even though they make up about 12-13% of the population, more than 53% of homicides are committed against black people.
  • The other category [not black or white] accounted for 497 In addition, there were 315 murders where race was unknown.
  • Firearms accounted for 77% of the murders, the majority of them were handguns.

Are Homicides America’s Biggest Concern?

Americans primarily concentrate and focus upon the Murder Rate. That’s what we read online and in the newspapers, because it’s obviously a fascinating topic for many of us. Our TV series and movies almost always are about murders and the people who commit those crimes. I definitely fall into that category as I’m mesmerized by Dateline, 48 Hours, and Investigation Discovery.

But maybe we should ask ourselves if it’s time to rethink our priorities and concentrate on a far more prevalent form of death, which are not classified as murder?

  • The U.S. Murder Rate in 2020 was approximately 40% lower than the suicide rate.  In 2020, there were about 46,000 suicides in America. Compare that with about 20,000 murders that same year.
  • The U.S. Murder Rate in 2020 was significantly lower than deaths caused by a drug overdose. There were approximately 92,000 deaths from a drug overdose versus 20,000 homicides in 2020. That means drug overdoses account for more than 4X the number of deaths versus homicides.
  • Far more Americans die annually from suicide and drug overdoses than they do from homicides. Did you know that? It doesn’t change the horrible impact of the homicide numbers, but it does provide a slightly different perspective. I’m sure most Americans have no idea that suicide and drug overdoses are so prominent. Obviously we concentrate almost solely upon homicide. Is that a mistake?

Global Homicide Statistics

  • In 2020 approximately 304,000 men and boys worldwide were killed.
  • In the year 2020, about 80 per cent of global homicide victims worldwide were men or boys. Most of the victims were between the ages of 15 and 29.
  • Women and girls account for slightly less than 20% of all homicide victims.
  • In 2020, approximately 47,000 women and girls worldwide were killed by their intimate partners or other family members.
  • About 90 per cent of all homicides recorded worldwide were committed by male perpetrators

Homicide Rates in Different Countries

  • El Salvador has the highest murder rate in the world. Other countries with a high rate of homicide include Honduras, Venezuela, Jamaica, Belize, South Africa, and Nigeria.
  • Countries with the lowest murder rate include Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Indonesia, Norway, Oman, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, and China
  • The United States global ranking for homicides is number 59. That was definitely a surprise to me.
  • Asia has the highest rate of murders for women.

Interesting Numbers

  • The homicide clearance rate [cases solved] was 82% in 1976. In 2020 it was down to approximately 51%. Wow!
  • There are so many variables which explain that decline. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time to examine them. But in general, cultural changes, technology, and police methodologies are key factors.

I hope you found the numbers detailed and described above interesting.

Murder and Rapes of Indigenous Women and Women in General

by | May 24, 2022 | Life

Murder and Rape of Indigenous Women and Women in General

I recently read an article on violence against women, but especially indigenous women. Although we are 22 years into the 21st Century,  American women continue to be raped and/or murdered at a very high rate. However, as much as they are suffering, their plight pales when compared with attacks against native American women. Thankfully, a federal bill was updated, improved, and reauthorized back in 2013. More on that later in this article.

How much more likely are Native women to be murdered?  Indigenous Women are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than all other ethnicities!

  • Murder is the 3rd leading cause of death for Indigenous Women (Centers for Disease Control).
  • More than 4 out of 5 Indigenous Women have experienced violence (84.3%) (National Institute of Justice Report).
  • More than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native adults (83 percent) have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime.
  • Slightly more than 1 in 3 Native American Women [34 percent] are raped in their lifetimes.

Who is committing these crimes?

Although the exact number of victimizations per person is unknown, it is clear that most American Indian and Alaska Native victims have experienced at least one act of violence committed by a perpetrator who is not an Indian (97 percent of women and 90 percent of men). Fewer victims (35 percent of women and 33 percent of men) have experienced one or more acts of violence by an American Indian or Alaska Native perpetrator.

These statistics illustrate the need for the sovereign right of federally recognized tribes to criminally prosecute non-Indian perpetrators. Until this bill was updated 9 years ago, federally recognized tribes did not have this authority, even for crimes committed on tribal lands. This gap in jurisdictional authority provided immunity to non-Indian perpetrators and compromised the safety of tribal communities.

The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 partially corrected this problem by providing special domestic violence criminal jurisdiction to federally recognized tribes. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that women in general, are victims of numerous assaults and murders. In 2013, the following federal bill was updated and reauthorized.

REAUTHORIZING THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT: KEY PROVISIONS

While tremendous progress has been made since the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was first enacted, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking are still significant problems facing women, families, and communities.

  • Domestic violence causes 3 deaths a day to women
  • 1 out of 4 women have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner.
  • 1 out of 5 women were raped in their lifetimes.

The VAWA bill, signed into law by President Obama, made targeted expansions to address the needs of especially vulnerable populations. Here are the Key Provisions.

  • Researchers estimate that for every woman killed in a domestic violence homicide, nine more are nearly killed.
  • The bill integrates screening for homicide risks throughout existing VAWA programs and requires states to develop goals and activities to reduce domestic violence homicides.
  • Native American women suffer from one of the highest rates of domestic violence. The bill closes gaps in jurisdiction and recognizes the authority of tribes to prosecute domestic violence crimes against Indian and non-Indian perpetrators
  • The bill addresses high rates of dating violence and sexual assault on college campuses by requiring colleges and universities to provide information to students about domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking and inform students and staff about the number of these crimes that occur on and near campus.
  • Colleges will be required to create and disseminate policies describing the protections, resources, and services available to victims to help them safely continue their education.
  • Sexual assault is one of the most underreported violent crimes in the country, and victims often suffer long term physical and emotional trauma.
  • The bill creates state grant funding for law enforcement, prosecutors, and victim services to work together to respond to these crimes and helps law enforcement agencies tackle their backlog of rape kits.
  • The bill addresses the high rates of dating violence and sexual assault experienced by teens and young adults. The bill will help schools, youth organizations, and domestic violence agencies work more effectively with youth and engage young people in stopping violence before it starts.

Although we’ve seen tremendous progress over the years reference opportunities for women, and women’s rights, it’s very said to learn that some things never change. I wish I could come up with a solution, but I don’t have one.