Was COVID-19 the third most common mortality cause in Maine in 2021?

 The Maine Shared Community Health Needs Assessment Report 2022 was just released by the State of Maine. The Executive Summary (p. 2), states:

In only two years, COVID-19 deaths have overtaken unintentional injury, chronic lower respiratory disease, and stroke to become the 3rd leading cause of death in Maine. 

Immediately following this statement is Table 1. Leading Causes of Death: 2021. Table 1 provides this rank ordered of 'leading causes of death' of Mainers in 2021:

1. Cancer
2. Heart Disease
3. COVID-19
4. Unintentional Injury
5. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease

 A Maine Shared Community Needs Health Report report for each of Maine's 16 counties accompanies the state report. Each state report includes a Table 1 Leading Causes of Death. The table reports the top five mortality causes for Maine and for the County.  The table below summarizes the top five mortality causes provided in the state report and in each of the county reports:

For a larger version of the table: click here

Key Take-aways from the summary table:

• The 2022 State report includes COVID-19 as a top five mortality cause (see above). 
• Table 1, included in each county report, lists the top five mortality causes in the state of Maine as follows:

1. Cancer
2. Heart Disease
3. Unintentional Injury
4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
5. Stroke

• Table 1 in none the county reports list COVID-19 as a top five mortality cause in the state of Maine.
• COVID-19 is not a top five 2021 mortality cause in any of Maine's 16 counties (see summary table above).  
• Cancer is the top ranked 2021 mortality cause in 13 of Maine's 16 counties.  
• Heart disease is the second ranked 2021 mortality cause in 13 of Maine's 16 counties.    

The top five 2021 mortality causes in Maine, as listed in Table 1 in each county report, aligns with teh county level data. The top five 2021 mortality causes in main, as listed in Table 1 of the state report does not align with the county data.  

What explains the disconnect between the top five 2021 mortality causes in Maine as presented in the states report's Executive Summary vs. what the top five 2021 mortality causes in Maine that are reported in each of the county reports? Why does the state Maine Shared Community Needs Health Report claim that COVID-19 is the third most common mortality cause?

 

Wal-Mart, Compassion, Midwestern Values and Economic Indicators

The current default mode in Washington is government takeover: health care, student loans, the financial sector, etc. The assumption is that the government is better equipped to manage elements of our lives than we ourselves are; that the capabilities of the government exceed those of the private sector. Implicit in this mode is the assumption that individuals turn first to the government for solutions to life challenges. Have those leading this charge bothered to ask individuals how they would prefer to manage their lives; whether they share the belief that government is better equipped than the private sector to provide long-term sustainable solutions to health care innovation or job growth, for example?

This afternoon, when pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot, I saw a 30-something man, in apparent good health and wellness of mind, standing at the Wal-Mart parking lot exit holding a hand lettered sign that read:

Need Work.
Donations Accepted.
God Bless.

With unemployment in the 11% range, northwestern Ohio's economy is in a challenged state. The unemployment is impacting folks across the spectrum of jobs. Unusual, in this area, is to see an unemployed individual actively reach out like this. Sure, I've seen individuals elsewhere -- Boston, Phoenix -- use this approach. Never before have I seen it in our smallish town. Could this be a leading economic indicator? Could this be an indicator that the economy is lagging in a way the media is reluctant to report? Or is this a one-off event?

Is this man acting in the way the government expects? Why was he reaching out to his fellow townspeople? Why was he at Wal-Mart and not at the local unemployment center registering for entitlement benefits? Is this a leading indicator? An indicator that individuals prefer to solve life challenges using the resources available to them?

When exiting the Wal-Mart parking lot, the woman driving the Honda Civic ahead of me stopped. She handed the sign holder a bag of grocery items just purchased at Wal-Mart. A few words were exchanged. She drove on.

Did I witness a leading indicator of how individuals prefer to solve life challenges through voluntary assistance of one another? Do individuals outside of D.C. view Wal-Mart as key to restoring the economic health of this country?

Intrade Trending Favorably for a Brown Win in Mass.

The Intrade market on winning the Senatorial special election in Massachusetts is trending toward a Brown win:



The contract ID of this contract is: 693300

Obama goes to the land of Teddy Kennedy and Discovers the Chappaquiddick is Chilly

Obama goes to the land of Teddy Kennedy gets heckled and can't fill the hall. Meanwhile, Teddy's stand-in, Kirk, can't function as a Senator after January 19th More here. Currently inTrade, the most accurate predictor of election outcomes, is trending toward a decisive victory by Brown. This is getting very interesting. I agree with Cramer, a Brown victory will go a long way toward reducing the uncertainty that paralyzes business leaders and is stunting the economy; a Brown victory will unleash the markets.

In case you were wondering, it's all Bush's fault.

Umm ... yeah. Right.

Is Election Fraud the New Normal?

Massachusetts senatorial candidate Scott Brown's Chief Legal Council is calling for volunteers for Scott Brown's legal team to assemble:

a volunteer team to ensure that every legally cast ballot is accurately counted. The citizens of Massachusetts deserve a fair and honest election.

Given the gyrations the Wisconsin Comedian's legal team executed, this seems a wise move. If the election is close, cheating will occur. It saddens me to conclude that election fraud is the new normal.

UPDATE: Here's a nice summary of a systemic effort to implant election fraud as business as usual.

Is it possible that healthcare "reform is really ...

President Obama met today with union leaders. Is it possible that health care "reform" is actually cover for relieving the unions of their massive health care pension obligations?

Update: Bingo!

Is global warming ...

Is global warming the best policy money can buy? Just wondering.