presidential lie of the day:

[spanone]

“the murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.” He blamed the news media for not publicizing this development, then added, “But the murder rate is the highest it’s been in, I guess, 45 to 47 years.”

The country’s murder rate is not the highest it’s been in 47 years. It is almost at its lowest point, actually, according to the FBI, which gathers statistics every year from police departments around the country.

The murder rate is defined as the number of murders and non-negligent homicides per 100,000 residents. Beginning in 1957, when the rate was 4.0 murders per 100,000 residents, the rate rose steadily to a high of 10.2 in 1980. It then steadily dropped, to 7.4 in 1996, to 6.1 in 2006, to 4.4 in 2014. It went up in 2015 to 4.9. But that is less than half the murder rate of 1980. The raw number of homicides in America has actually declined from 19,645 in 1996 to 15,696 in 2015, even while the population has risen from 265 million in 1996 to 321 million in 2015.

The violent crime rate in America also has plummeted over the years. Defined as murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, violent crimes peaked at a rate of 758 per 100,000 residents in 1991, and the rate was about 373 violent crimes per 100,000 in 2015, again a decline of more than half.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2017/02/07/trump-makes-false-statement-about-u-s-murder-rate-to-sheriffs-group/?utm_term=.0f6858cdf27c

[pkdu]

1. Angry-Spice ...over to you.... nt

[spooky3]

2. MSNBC reported it--I think Ari Melber (sitting in

For LOD) and/or his guests brought it up.

Catapulting the propaganda--a glorious Republican tradition.

[ginnyinWI]

3. CBS covered this in today's "Reality Check" spot

Evening news (Feb 7). Link with video:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-repeats-backwards-claim-about-murder-rates/

[struggle4progress]

4. The homicide rate reflects the interaction of serious assaults with medical practice

It has been falling, in part, because we are doing a better job medically with victims

But, of course, if we limit access to care, the homicide rate is likely to increase

[Charles Bukowski]

7. The crime rate has plummeted as well. Rapes, carjackings, etc.

Can't chalk that up to better medical care.

[krispos42]

9. That's actually not true, because the attempted homicide rate also fell

About 1970, two parts of our"liberal agenda" kicked in: giving women control over their reproductive system (the pill, the IUD, abortion) and removing lead from gasoline and thus the air, and thus the bodies of our children.

A generation later, fewer babies reach adulthood with the issues that make violent crime a lifestyle, and the crime rate drops.

Nothing to do with broken windows policing, or Rudy Giuliani, or the assault weapons ban, or 3 strikes and you're out.

And this is why conservative states will continue to have higher murder rates: not controlling polluters and not letting women control their bodies!

[struggle4progress]

10. Homicides Fall Despite Soaring Gun Violence

By GARY FIELDS and CAMERON MCWHIRTER
Updated Dec. 8, 2012 12:12 a.m. ET

BALTIMORE—The number of U.S. homicides has been falling for two decades, but America has become no less violent.

Crime experts who attribute the drop in killings to better policing or an aging population fail to square the image of a more tranquil nation with this statistic: The reported number of people treated for gunshot attacks from 2001 to 2011 has grown by nearly half.

"Did everybody become a lousy shot all of a sudden? No," said Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police, a union that represents about 330,000 officers. "The potential for a victim to survive a wound is greater than it was 15 years ago."

In other words, more people in the U.S. are getting shot, but doctors have gotten better at patching them up. Improved medical care doesn't account for the entire decline in homicides but experts say it is a major factor ...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324712504578131360684277812


These are complicated phenomena: it's better to be realistic than to be an ideologue

[LonePirate]

5. Three weeks ago we had a president who didn't lie, let alone tell multiple lies a day like this one.

[spanone]

6. you'd think that a complete disregard for the truth would be grounds for a presidential impeachment

[pansypoo53219]

8. he will be warning us of the spanish inquisition soon.