Here are the most and least healthy states in America 16AUG22

 POINTING out the obvious hypocrisy of the "pro-life" activist, the states rated the least healthy are mostly states that have not expanded Medicaid to provide health insurance to their poorest residents and have the most repressive restrictions on abortion. These pro-fetus activist choose to ignore the Beatitudes and instead practice the teachings of alt jesus.....This from The Hill Changing America......

Here are the most and least healthy states in America

Story at a glance

A new analysis finds Washington, Massachusetts, Utah and Vermont are the healthiest states in the nation.

In contrast, states concentrated in the southeastern region of the U.S. largely have the worst health outcomes.

Findings highlight the strong association between social determinants of health and health outcomes.

A new report from NiceRx ranked the most and least healthy states in America, based on rates of adult smokers, obesity, binge drinking, life expectancy and other lifestyle factors. 

After compiling composite health scores for each state based in part on Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, researchers found Washington and Massachusetts were the top two healthiest states in the country, earning scores of 8.4 and 8.36, respectively, out of 10. Utah and Vermont each came in third with a score of 7.94.

Over 23 percent of those surveyed in Washington state reported being in “excellent health” and the state has an average life expectancy of 80 years. In 2021, average U.S. life expectancy was measured at 76.6 years, thanks in part to dramatic drops seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Obesity rates were based on self-reported metrics, while additional factors included the number of residents searching for fitness classes, percentage of adults who exercise regularly, and prevalence of fruit and vegetable intake.

Following the top four states were Connecticut, Colorado, New York, New Hampshire, California, and Oregon, respectively.

Washington, Connecticut, California,  Massachusetts, Colorado, and New Hampshire also all happen to be among the top 10 wealthiest states in the country as of 2021, based on median household income.

Notably, no states in the southeastern portion of the United States were found to be the healthiest, while Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky and West Virginia made up the bottom five slots. A lack of data on several factors meant New Jersey was not included in final results.

Rates of chronic disease have historically been concentrated in the southeast region and disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minority populations in these states. Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi are among the top states with the highest poverty rates, underscoring the relationship between low socioeconomic status and poor health.

Obesity is a key risk factor contributing to chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. As of 2020, CDC data show 35 percent or more of adults are obese in 16, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia. 

NiceRx data show Colorado is home to the least obese adult population at 24.2 percent, followed by Massachusetts and Hawaii. Utah, California and Massachusetts are home to the fewest smokers.

Average life expectancy was highest in California, at 80.9 years on average — a stark contrast to the lowest life expectancy recorded in Mississippi at 74.4 years. Mississippi also had the highest proportion of self-reported obese citizens at 39.7 percent. 

Several factors contribute to individuals’ personal health including access to affordable health insurance and social determinants of health (pollution exposure, socioeconomic status, etc). 

Some states in the southeast U.S. remain holdouts in adopting Medicaid expansion under the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which has been shown to improve health outcomes for the nation’s underserved communities. 

Binge drinking prevalence was highest in Wisconsin at nearly 26 percent, followed by Iowa, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota and surprisingly, Massachusetts and Hawaii. 

Published on Aug. 16, 2022

AT&T funded the Texas abortion ban

SIMILAR to old east germany's stasi, and north korea's requirement that everyone watch and report on everyone else including family, I do not understand the people of Texas tolerating the state's move to an authoritarian government. This law banning abortion, even in the case of rape or incest, and the toleration and support of this law by the people of Texas is disturbing and shows too many Texans would have been very comfortable in the third reich and would be very comfortable in the prc, n korea, venezuela, saudi arabia and afghanistan. PLEASE sign this petition to AT&T telling them to stop donations to all Texas politicians who voted for and / or support this law AND if you are an AT&T customer consider leaving them for another service provider. From UltraViolet ....

Can you sign the petition and demand AT&T stop funding abortion extremists? 

This is a red alert from Texas: S.B.8, the law that bans abortion at just six weeks of pregnancy and puts bounties on anyone who may have helped someone access abortion care has gone into effect in Texas after the Supreme Court refused to stop it in a dastardly 5-4 decision under the cloak of night. Abortion has been virtually banned in Texas.¹ And AT&T funded the politicians who passed this bill. 

Under this law, anyone who "aids or abets" an abortion could face legal consequences, including a friend or family member who gives a woman a ride to a clinic, or abortion care providers who provide non-medical services.² This horrifying law is perhaps the most far-reaching anti-abortion law ever. The law essentially bans abortion by restricting abortion after six weeks, before many people even know they are pregnant. But that's not all.

It gets worse: Anti-abortion extremists are getting ready to move through similar laws in other states in the South and Midwest. Now, with the blessing of the Supreme Court. The implications for abortion rights, and so many other rights, are vast and dire.

How do these extreme laws keep getting introduced and passed? Mega-corporations like AT&T, which is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, hold massive power and fund anti-women candidates. The #ReproReceipts compiled by UltraViolet show that AT&T has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to sponsors of this law, including state Representative Jeff Leach. AT&T gave Rep. Leach $15,000 in 2020. That is big bucks in a state-level race and often can mean the difference between a candidate winning or losing. In fact, AT&T supported four of the five primary sponsors of this law in 2020, according to internal UltraViolet research. 

If AT&T feels consumer heat for funding the politicians behind this law, we might be able to force AT&T to speak out against the law and stop funding the extremist politicians behind it. 

Thanks for speaking out!

--Sonja, Kathy, Melody, Lindsay, Shaunna, Kimberly, Maria, Elisa, KaeLyn, KD, Iris, Bridget, Katie, Isatou, Meena, and Jaya, the UltraViolet Action team 

Sources:

1. After Silence From Supreme Court, Texas Clinics Confront Near-Total Abortion Ban, The New York Times, September 1, 2021

2. Ibid. 

YOU KNOW THAT LOOK.......

 

AT&T, Coca-Cola, Disney, Nike, Procter & Gamble, and Uber: Stop funding anti-choice politicians and invest in reproductive justice instead! 15SEP20

 

THESE COMPANIES AND THE POLITICIANS THEY FUND ARE NOT PRO-LIFE, THEY ARE PRO-FETUS. They work tirelessly to keep corporate tax rates low, to maintain corporate tax breaks, and to keep social safety net programs as well as the American Social Contract grossly underfunded. It is nothing more than corporate greed teamed with the right wing evangelical gospel of greed (the alt-Jesus church) inflicting the hypocrisy of christian sharia on our nation. This is more class warfare against all families in America. Please sign this petition from UltraViolet calling on these six "pro-family" companies to stop funding the anti-choice politicians now, and boycott their products until they do.

Corporate America is one of the largest supporters of anti-choice, anti-women politicians -- even those who claim they are pro-woman. Some of the worst offenders champion anti-choice candidates at the local, state, and federal level, empowering an extremist agenda that is not only anti-abortion and anti-women but antithetical to equality and justice. 

As consumers, we have the power to hold corporations accountable and demand they actually stand for the values they sell in PR statements and advertisements.¹ This is why UltraViolet is collecting the receipts and launching a major campaign calling out six of the biggest companies in America to stop supporting the dangerous anti-women, anti-justice political agenda. 

But we need your help to show that consumers care about reproductive rights and will not stand for corporations funding extremist politicians like Senator Ted Cruz. Recently, Sen. Cruz attempted to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to continue its restrictions on medication abortion. Cruz stated, “Pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness,”² despite the rising maternal mortality rate in the country, especially for women of color.³ Can you sign our petition?

AT&T, Coca-Cola, Disney, Nike, Procter & Gamble, and Uber: Stop funding anti-choice politicians and invest in reproductive justice instead!

Sign the petition

Here are the receipts: Company giving to anti-choice candidates or their associated PACs/committees⁴

• AT&T: $1,956,953 
• Coca-Cola: $1,028,838 
• Disney: $203,350
• Nike: $99,000 
• Procter & Gamble: $144,000 
• Uber: $148,000 

The total? Over $3.6 million. The actual total and cost for women around the country? Incalculable. The reality of the impact of these political donations goes beyond the raw numbers. Hundreds of bans and restrictions. Several lawsuits. Clinics closed. Lives disrupted. Futures denied. These corporate titans are complicit in the denial of our rights through their political giving and make these extremist views acceptable and even “normal.”  But these views are not normal or acceptable. They are at odds with the majority of Americans who support legal abortion, and the millions of people who need accessible reproductive healthcare.⁵ 

Many of these companies have bragged about their social justice cred to consumers in the face of Black Lives Matter and the racial pandemic.⁶ But what about the Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer, rural, and young people who bear the brunt of the impact of anti-choice policy? ⁷ Oftentimes, anti-choice views are a sign of a larger framework that is also opposed to racial justice efforts and to science-backed responses to the pandemic. Many of the candidates these contributions support are not just anti-women, they are anti-justice and have harmed our nation’s journey toward progress. Let’s call on these companies and demand they stand by the values they espouse where they can have real impact: their political giving.

All of these corporations claim to support women in their workplaces and, sometimes, in their products or where they will do business. But you can’t say you are for women in the workplace or racial justice but stay silent on reproductive rights. Women live intersectional lives and it is time corporations center intersectional policies.

As consumers, we have the power to change this narrative. Corporations know that increasingly consumers care about the social impact of corporate power and demand more from corporations than one-time donations or PR statements. Corporations have changed their policies in response to consumer pressure. Just last year, UV members organized to force Netflix to denounce the  6-week abortion ban in Georgia.⁸ This year, we made tech platforms change their moderation policies.⁹ There is a fierce urgency now. With our rights and lives on the line this election, we need to push on all fronts to ensure reproductive justice now and in the future.

Can you join our #ReproReceipts campaign? Sign the petition and tell these companies enough is enough. Stop the anti-choice political giving!

Thanks for speaking out!

--Shaunna, Kathy, Sonja, Melody, Lindsay, Maria, Kimberly, Elisa, KaeLyn, Iris, KD, and Katie, the UltraViolet team

 Sources:

1. How Corporate Social Responsibility Influences Buying Decisions, Clutch Report, January 7, 2019

2. 'Pregnancy is not a life-threatening illness': Ted Cruz takes heat in call to ban abortion pill, USA Today, September 3, 2020

3. Huge Racial Disparities Found in Deaths Linked to Pregnancy, The New York Times, May 7, 2019

4. #ReproReceipts, UltraViolet, accessed September 14, 2020

5. 6/7: The Abortion Debate in the United States, NPR/Marist, accessed September 9, 2020

6. Corporate Voices Get Behind ‘Black Lives Matter’ Cause, The New York Times, May 31, 2020

7. Recent abortion bans will impact poor people and people of color most, VOX, May 18, 2019

8. Netflix May ‘Rethink’ Georgia if Abortion Law Takes Effect, The New York Times, May 28, 2019

9. Social media platforms face a reckoning over hate speech, AP Wire, June 29, 2020