Cartoon

No Panic

Written by SK Ashby

(Cartoonist - Stuart Carlson)

In other news, almost 60 percent of Republicans say Trump calling dead service members "losers" hasn't changed their opinion of him according to a new Reuters poll, which isn't surprising, but almost 20 percent said Trump's comments made them more likely to vote for him.

Meanwhile, law enforcement and fire fighting officials say their response to wildfires up and down the west coast has been hampered by misinformation spread online. The president of Washington state's firefighters union has a few words about Facebook.

A firefighters union in Washington state called Facebook “an absolute cesspool of misinformation right now,” in a post that sought to quell more rumors about the fires’ origins.

Finally, suicides among young people ages 10 to 24 have surged by a staggering amount according to a Syracuse University study. Rates have increased anywhere from 14 percent to over 110 percent at the high end.

The 2016 to 2018 suicide rate among those between ages 10 and 24 was highest in more rural states including Alaska, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Alaska topped that list with 31.4 young suicides per 100,000 population.

Northeastern states -- including New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts -- showed the lowest rates. Despite their relatively small numbers, New Jersey experienced a 39% rise, New York saw an increase of about 44%, and Massachusetts showed a jump of 64%.

Rates more than doubled in New Hampshire, and the majority of states showed an increase between 30% and 60%.

Lurching from one disaster to another every month if not every week or every day is not sustainable. And you know what? Kids aren't stupid. They know we've wrecked the planet for them.

Have a good weekend.