...for the second year in a row, thanks to a combination of drug and alcohol use and suicides, according to a new report released Wednesday by the BMJ, formerly known as the British Medical Journal.
You want to know why?
By far, the report found it's a rural issue more than an urban one. "The problem is concentrated in rural, largely white counties that have often struggled for many years with stagnant wages, unemployment, poverty and the loss of major industries that fueled local economies."
An Rural Problem: Hey that's not what Wisconsin Republicans have been saying for years. Let's reflect back to Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger), who died in 2017. His GOP colleagues said they would miss his booming rhetoric...shaved head...a true
champion and advocate of the conservative movement...candor and
principled conviction." They also miss Gannon blaming black urban neighborhoods for our states problems. Here's the proof for resentful rural Republicans:
Gannon recently
accused Democrats of blaming Republicans for "every malady known by
man." Gannon focused on problems with unemployment and
crime in Milwaukee's African American population, and said the city is
"the anchor holding back the ship of state as far as jobs is concerned."
In his statement titled "Murder, Mayhem
and Jobs," Gannon noted the state's job creation numbers would
significantly improve "if only our largest city would clean up the
murder and mayhem on their streets. Milwaukee leads in murders and
mayhem per capita, with a large number of these crimes occurring in
mainly black neighborhoods ... What employer will build or expand when they fear muggings, car
jackings, attempted murder, or other serious criminal threats to their
employees?"
Scott Walker Plays Rural Resentment Card: The shorter U.S. life expectancy report oddly and unintentionally pointed to Republican policies that rural conservatives can't seem to get enough of. And yet it's killing their communities and shortening their lives:
Steven
Woolf at Virginia Commonwealth University, a co-author of the latest report said that "the root causes argue for policy solutions, especially those directed at strengthening the middle class that are not getting sufficiently prioritized by elected officials. The problem is concentrated in rural, largely white counties that have often struggled for many years with stagnant wages, unemployment, poverty and the loss of major industries that fueled local economies."
Yup, it's those rural "small government, low tax" communities that are always feeling forgotten where life expectancy rates have decreased. It's not terrorism, it's not illegal immigrants. It's GOP policies. The decline really took off during the Reagan years:
In 1960, Americans had the highest life expectancy, 2.4 years higher than the average for countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But the US started losing ground in the 1980s.
Big surprise, huh? Now after the total abdication of the middle class and Republicans serving business only, Americans are dying sooner:
The idea of the "American Dream" is increasingly out of reach as social mobility declines and fewer children face a better future than their parents, Woolf said.
Life expectancy in the U.S. is now 1.5 years lower than a group of 35 nations known as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom among others.
The report found:
1. Americans have poorer health than other nations in many areas, including birth outcomes, injuries, homicides, adolescent pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
2. Americans also engage in unhealthy or risky behaviors — such as high calorie intake, drug abuse, and firearm ownership — live in cities designed for cars rather than pedestrians or cyclists, have weaker social welfare supports and lack universal health insurance.
3. Not only more deaths and illness, but also escalating health care costs, a sicker workforce, and a less competitive economy.Future generations may pay the greatest price," the report concludes.
As for what to do about it, Woolf said that "the root causes argue for policy solutions, especially those directed at strengthening the middle class that are not getting sufficiently prioritized by elected officials."
Guns aren't like knives or cars. The fact that we even have to make that distinction should tell you how far down the rabbit hole we've gone over concealed carry in Wisconsin. So it shouldn't be to much of a surprise that Republicans here are now pushing the right to carry a gun without a background check and training:
Republican State Sen. David Craig introduced legislation this week that would allow Wisconsinites to carry concealed firearms without training or a permit ... Giving citizens access to those constitutional rights has panned out well in the past, he said.
“And if other states are doing this without ill effect, and we’ve had the level of permitless carry in Wisconsin without ill effect, why would we not break down that barrier?
"Without ill effect?" Overall, the GOP backed culture of guns has had a profound effect in Wisconsin. If only the dead could throw their two cents in now:
Even worse, Republicans seem more concerned about protecting supposed responsible gun owners with new laws that give them a pass for being reckless, like carrying a gun on school grounds.
The majority of mass shootings——were related to domestic or family violence.
The connection between mass shootings and domestic violence ... 54 percent of cases ... domestic violence mass shootings resulted in 422 victims being killed—more than 40 percent (181) of whom were children.
About 4.5 million American women report that they have had an intimate partner threaten them with a gun. (4) And guns make it more likely that domestic abuse will turn fatal—when a gun is present in a domestic violence situation, the likelihood that a woman will be shot and killed increases fivefold. (5)
But for Sen. Craig, the fate of threatened women and children...is sealed:
The bill makes it easier for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, he said, and those intent on using guns for illegal purposes will do so anyway.
“And at the end of the day, people who are hell-bent on conducting violence with a firearm are going to do that,” Craig said.
The Everytown study also found:
Additionally, there is not a single mass shooting in Everytown’s database in which the shooter was stopped by an armed civilian—even in cases where there were armed civilians present.
Wisconsin now has a well deserved reputation for its crackpot legislators. Like Rep. Bob Gannon, who recently wanted to pass a law penalizing businesses with "gun free zones" for their customers. That's a very bad idea, according to the new research:
Only ten percent of incidents took place in “gun-free zones”, or areas where civilians are prohibited from carrying firearms and there is not a regular armed law enforcement presence (armed security guards, for example). The vast majority of incidents—63 percent—took place entirely in private homes.
Instead, Gannon's use of "Republican logic" flipped reality on its head:
WSJ: Gannon’s proposal, dubbed the “Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act,” would go a step further in discouraging gun-free zones by allowing a victim of gun violence to sue businesses with such bans and recover triple the amount of damages without regard to who was at fault.
Gannon: "Just so you know, my state business, my other job is selling property and liability insurance. Wisconsin does not have a death penalty law, but with significant practice and careful aim, law-abiding citizens can help clean our society of these scumbags ... If you’re going to allow somebody to come in and put a bullet in my brain, you should have some liability ... If one in twenty at that mall had the ability to drop the creep, it would sure bring it to a close in a hurry. I refer to that as self defense. If it happens to terminate the bad guy, too bad, so sad-dy." "The reason I put this out today is because we're getting all this baloney with the Democrats singing along again. You see Democrats think they can deal with this violence by having sing-a-longs, and having big food buffets in the House of Representatives in Washington D.C....they do that in Milwaukee too you know, they march around, they sing, and then they stop and have lunch and they think that's dealing with violence...instead of babbling about it on the radio, or in your marching circles, in your sing-a-long at the state Capitol..."
And for those "fiscal conservatives," well, that's a laugh?
“The social costs of gun violence in Chicago total about $2.5 billion each year, according to a report released Tuesday by an academic group formed to research effective ways to reduce violent crime … used interviews, focus groups, police data and social research to characterize factors underlying Chicago's escalating murder rate. Expanding upon previous research that every crime-related gunshot wound causes around $1 million in social costs, the report's four authors calculated the annual cost of gun violence at $2.5 billion, or $2,500 per Chicago household.” $2.5 billion dollars just for Chicago. Imagine how much gun violence is costing our entire country.
Radio's Devil's Advocates Mike and Dom talked with blithering idiot State Rep. Bob Gannon about requiring gun liability insurance for businesses and other gun free zones for supposedly disarming and putting these unarmed people in harms way. WSJ:
Gannon’s proposal, dubbed the “Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act,” would go a step further in discouraging gun-free zones by allowing a victim of gun violence to sue businesses with such bans and recover triple the amount of damages without regard to who was at fault.
Not exactly getting government out of the way, is it, while heaping higher costs on businesses big and small. It's mob like extortion; "obtaining something, especially money (or guns), through force or threats."
Funny thing, the right to carry also means we have a constitutional right NOT TO CARRY.
But Gannon not only wants to charge us for not having guns in our businesses, he wants to blame us for those possible gun deaths and injuries.
Even more stunning was Rep. Gannon's admitted conflict of interest. He stands to profit from his own bill:
Gannon: "Just so you know, my state business, my other job is selling property and liability insurance."
Gannon also seems to think financial advisers, fast food restaurants, toy stores, clothing shops etc. now need to be screened by insurers to determine what they're doing to keep their customer safe.
Gannon said if businesses still want to post gun-free zone signs then they should consider adding metal detectors and armed security guards.
Yes, that's what this has come to, where no place is safe anymore. Like Gannon said sometime back:
“Wisconsin does not have a death penalty law, but with significant practice and careful aim, law-abiding citizens can help clean our society of these scumbags.”
Gannon verbally spit on "liberals," protesters, the Democratic House sit-in trying to stop the mass shooting carnage, you know, the kind of things contained in the 1st Amendment:
Gannon: "The reason I put this out today is because we're getting all this baloney with the Democrats singing along again. You see Democrats think they can deal with this violence by having sing-a-longs, and having big food buffets in the House of Representatives in Washington D.C....they do that in Milwaukee too you know, they march around, they sing, and then they stop and have lunch and they think that's dealing with violence...instead of babbling about it on the radio, or in your marching circles, in your sing-a-long at the state Capitol..."
The Gannon interview will blow your mind, and make you wonder what voters ever saw in this barbaric savage. They should be embarrassed:
“If you’re going to allow somebody to come in and put a bullet in my brain, you should have some liability,” Gannon said. Ladd Everitt, communications director for the national Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, called the proposal “utterly idiotic”
Isn’t it obvious by now that the state's lazy anti-government
Republicans aren’t interested solving problems?
Since Republicans took over, they’ve
trashed and passed laws that hurt Milwaukee, a predominantly Democratic city
with a huge minority population (They're doing the same thing now in Dane County).
We should probably thank Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger) for
revealing how Scott Walker and the Republicans really feel about Milwaukee. It’s
apparently too much work to help solve the unemployment and educational gap in
the state’s largest city, so treat it like a rogue territory?
Surprise, their “spending
and tax cut” solutions for every problem aren’t magically working. Even more
clueless, they forgot how Walker failed to solve every one of these problems as county
executive.
Slinger voters must be so proud. It’s not a place I would
feel safe visiting anytime soon. JS:
Republican Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger) recently accused
Democrats of blaming Republicans for "every malady known by man," and
called on them to "be honest about job creation." In his statement,
which was released last week, Gannon then focused his comments on problems with
unemployment and crime in Milwaukee's African American population, and said the
city is "the anchor holding back the ship of state as far as jobs is
concerned." Now Gannon is drawing fire for his comments - as well as for flipping
off a Democratic lawmaker who was criticizing his statement on the floor of the Assembly Tuesday.
Here’s a look at Gannon in action. Note: While Gannon blamed
Milwaukee’s problems on the mayor, police and DA, he conveniently forgot about
their right wing wacko county sheriff David Clarke; also, Rep. Robin Vos let Gannon off the hook for flipping Peter Barca "the bird." Real class:
In his statement titled "Murder, Mayhem and Jobs," Gannon noted the state's job creation numbers would significantly improve "if only our largest city would clean up the murder and mayhem on their streets. Milwaukee leads in murders and mayhem per capita, with a large number of these crimes occurring in mainly black neighborhoods, the same neighborhoods with the worst unemployment rates in the state. Could one make a connection between employment opportunities and the level of crime on those same streets? What employer will build or expand when they fear muggings, car jackings, attempted murder, or other serious criminal threats to their employees?"
On Tuesday, Gannon apologized for raising his middle finger at Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha), but added that he didn't like the way he was "attacked.
Democrats did show some spine:
County Executive Chris Abele called his comments "sweeping and offensive generalizations."
"Jobs, crime, and education aren't Democratic issues or Republican issues, nor are they simply Milwaukee's issues -- they are Wisconsin issues and American issues. Instead of making sweeping and offensive generalizations that diminish Milwaukee's essential role in making Wisconsin great, it is incumbent upon elected officials like Rep. Gannon to offer real solutions that will help us overcome the serious challenges we face as a city, county, and state."
Patrick Curley, chief of staff for Mayor Tom Barrett, bristled at Gannon's comments that Milwaukee is responsible for the state's sagging job numbers. "Who is this fella? Is he an adult? Is he really in the State Assembly?" Curley said.
One Republican let it all hang out, telling the public just what the Republican mindset is behind the lax, almost nonexistent guns laws in Wisconsin. And it's scary!
Quick story: I remember my conservative gun toting friend in Milwaukee telling me how he often mistakenly goes into gun free zones with his firearm. It doesn't occure to him that that makes him an irresponsible gun owner. He even carried a gun before it was legal to do so, which made him not just irresponsible, but a criminal. Ask you're responsible gun toting friend if they did the same thing. I'll bet they did.
Reacting to a recent East Towne Mall shooting in Madison between a couple of disputing "responsible" gun owners (until they're not), Rep.
Bob Gannon, R-Slinger, made it clear yet again that if you didn’t carry a gun, you're asking for it, especially in a gun free zone. It's Bizarro World, opposite day is everyday thinking.
This should be a national story. It blows the lid off the gun lunacy sweeping the nation. WISC:
"The universal symbol that is now referred to as
a 'target rich environment.' Wisconsin does not have a death penalty
law, but with significant practice and careful aim, law abiding citizens can
help clean our society of these scum bags. A
gang banger in the mall with a gun is going to think twice if there could be a
law abiding CCW holder standing behind them fully prepared to shoot center
mass, as this is how you’re trained to eliminate the threat these creeps pose
to you, your family, and all law abiding citizens unwillingly dragged into
their public crime spree."
“Criminals no longer have any fear of our courts or
our prisons, so it’s time that the citizens of this fine state stand up and
fight back … I refuse to spend my money at any business that
believes my Second Amendment rights have to be left in my car.”
Gannon: "If one in twenty at that mall had the ability to drop the creep, it would sure bring it to a close in a hurry. I refer to that as self defense. If it happens to terminate the bad guy, too bad, so sad-dy."
The Democratic response came from Rep. Chris Taylor:
"The incident at
East Towne Mall was scary, but the answer is not to add more people with guns
to the mix, and certainly not to call for private citizens to ‘shoot center
mass. Representative Gannon is living
in a James Bond dream world. If more guns made us safer, we would be the safest
country in the world." Taylor cites a Stanford University study that links conceal carry
laws to an increase in violent crime.
Gannon recently accused Democrats of blaming Republicans for "every malady known by man." Gannon focused on problems with unemployment and crime in Milwaukee's African American population, and said the city is "the anchor holding back the ship of state as far as jobs is concerned."
In 1960, Americans had the highest life expectancy, 2.4 years higher than the average for countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But the US started losing ground in the 1980s.
