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When I began Schwartzreport my purpose was to produce an entirely fact-based daily publication in favor of the earth, the inter-connectedness and interdependence of all life, democracy, equality for all, liberty, and things that are life-affirming. Also, to warn my readers about actions, events, and trends that threaten those values. Our country now stands at a crossroads, indeed, the world stands at a crossroads where those values are very much at risk and it is up to each of us who care about wellbeing to do what we can to defend those principles. I want to thank all of you who have contributed to SR, particularly those of you who have scheduled an ongoing monthly contribution. It makes a big difference and is much appreciated. It is one thing to put in the hours each day and to do the work for free, but another to have to cover the rising out-of-pocket costs. For those of you who haven’t done so, but read SR regularly, I ask that you consider supporting it.
Stephan: Here is yet further evidence in support of my Social Values, Social Wellness trend assessment. Living in states controlled by the Theocratic Right is, as this story shows, dangerous to a person's health.
View and export complete wellbeing data by metro area using Gallup's U.S. City Wellbeing Tracking interactive.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans living in the nation’s metropolitan areas with the lowest wellbeing are about twice as likely to report having a heart attack than are residents living in the metros with the highest wellbeing. An average of 5.5% of Americans living in the 10 metro areas with the lowest wellbeing in the U.S. report having had a heart attack, compared with 2.8% of residents in the 10 metro areas with the highest levels of wellbeing.
Heart Attack Rates in 10 MSAs with Highest and Lowest Wellbeing
These findings are based on an analysis of more than 230,000 interviews across 190 metropolitan areas conducted throughout 2012 with adults aged 18 and older, collected as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
The metros with the highest Well-Being Index scores in 2012 include Lincoln, Neb.; Boulder, Colo.; and Provo-Orem, Utah. Those with the lowest Well-Being Index scores in 2012 include Charleston, W.Va.; Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio; and Mobile, Ala. Out of the approximately 3 million adult residents living in the 10 metro areas with the lowest wellbeing, about 161,000 have experienced a heart attack. If these cities experienced the same rate of heart attacks as what is found in the 10 metro areas with the highest […]
Stephan: This Gallup survey is very important. Look at the lists, now consider the social policies of the states that are both the best and the worst.
This is why I make a point of defining the trends of the various interest groups in this country; I care about social outcomes. This is why I say Theocratic Right, Red value, Blue value. We should be making social policy on the basis of data, not ideology or theology. The proof of this is found in the order of the states in terms of wellbeing.
The purpose of government should be to produce wellness. It is the measure of our failure how far we fall from that standard.
Click through to see Gallup's always well-designed graphics.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hawaii residents have the highest wellbeing in the nation for the fourth consecutive year, with a Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index score of 71.1 in 2012 — up from 70.2 in 2011. Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, and Vermont rounded out the top five states with the highest wellbeing scores last year. West Virginia residents have the lowest overall wellbeing for the fourth year in a row, with a Well-Being Index score of 61.3 in 2012 — slightly lower than the 62.3 in 2011. Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas also had among the five lowest wellbeing scores in the country.
Overall, there were few changes from 2011 to 2012 in the states with the highest and lowest wellbeing scores. Seven states with the 10 highest wellbeing scores and eight states with the 10 lowest wellbeing scores in 2012 held those same distinctions in 2011. Vermont, Massachusetts, and Iowa joined the top 10 highest wellbeing states in 2012. Louisiana, Indiana, South Carolina, and Oklahoma newly rank among the bottom 10 states this year.
These state-level data are based on daily surveys conducted from January through December 2012, including interviews with more than 350,000 Americans nationwide and at least 1,000 residents in each state except […]
One of the reasons we moved to a Blue state 15 years ago was what I saw happening with climate change. The other reason was I could see the rise of fascism in the United States; it was one of the reasons I walked away from a career in government, even though I had been approached to work for the President after being a Special Assistant for two Chiefs of Naval Operations. And I am so glad we did. Blue states are preparing for climate change as Red states are not, and now Blue state governors and legislatures are doing everything they can to Trump-proof themselves. Yesterday two people, one of whom I knew but the other I did not, and today a third person I didn’t know, all SR readers, wrote to tell me they were living in Red States and wanted to move, and what did I suggest? I told them all to look at the Pacific Northwest.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, center left, stands during the roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. Credit: AP
Democratic governors and attorneys general are working to Trump-proof their states ahead of his inauguration, gearing up to ensure their residents have access to medication abortion and the resources in place to fight Donald Trump’s actions in court.
On Thursday morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he is taking the first step to safeguard his state from some of Trump’s worst policies by calling a special legislative session. Newsom wants the legislature to pass more funding for the California Department of Justice so that it can file lawsuits against Trump’s actions if need be.
“The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack—and we won’t sit idle,” Newsom said in a release. “California has faced this challenge before, and we know how to respond. We are prepared, and we will do everything necessary to ensure Californians have the support and resources they need to thrive.”
Newsom thinks California will have to fight Trump on reproductive freedom […]
PETER SINGER, Professor Emeritus of Bioethics at Princeton University - Time
Stephan:
Yet another way in which the United States is second-rate. Why is this? Because the corruption of our political system, stops regulatory agencies from imposing decency on commercial agriculture and animal exploitation businesses. We are becoming increasingly pathetic as a country, and we need massive changes in everything from healthcare, maternal care, childcare, and pig and chicken care.
Chicken in anti-wellbeing cages. Credit: Getty
Imagine that you are going to be reincarnated as a domesticated animal, and you can choose whether to be reincarnated in the U.S., or in Spain. Which country would you pick?
My guess is that many of you will think that if you choose to be reincarnated in Spain, there’s a chance you might be a bull raised to die in a bullfight, and so it is better to pick the U.S and avoid such a fate.
Take, for instance, the matter of egg-laying hens. Around 230 million of them in the U.S.—almost 60% of the hen population there—are crammed into bare wire cages that do not allow them enough space to fully stretch their wings. Whereas in Spain keeping hens in such conditions is illegal, and Spain’s 46 million hens have almost twice the space given. They also have access to […]
Melissa Segura, Staff Writer - The Guardian (U.K.)
Stephan:
If you, or anyone you know, is planning or has voted for Republicans, I hope you or they realize that the christofascists have been working for years to reduce women to second class status, and they are looking forward to Trump winning so they can finally achieve this goal.
Leonard Leo, who has been working for years to turn the United States into a fascist nation. Credit: Carolyn Kaster / AP
In the second year of Donald Trump’s presidency, a young lawyer with crisply shorn blond hair approached the podium at a gathering for Texas members of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal group that wields immense power in the US judicial system. As vice-president of the group’s Fort Worth chapter, Matthew Kacsmaryk had the honor of presenting the first speaker.
“We are blessed to have Judge Edith Jones,” Kacsmaryk announced. Jones, a longtime judge on the US fifth circuit court of appeals, stepped on stage to introduce the evening’s guest, her friend, the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas. In her introduction, Jones also hailed the four new conservative judges Trump had appointed to join her on the appeals court.
“They’ve raised the bar for the fifth circuit since I got on,” she said. “And that’s thanks to the Federalist Society, to Leonard.”
Leonard Leo needed no last name in his introduction to this crowd as he took his seat […]
