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This is what he did in 1st term.Member Log In|Subscribe NowFriday, June 21, 2019OPINION: WASHINGTON SECRETSTrump’s list: 289 accomplishments in just 20 months, ‘relentless’ promise-keepingby Paul Bedard| October 12, 2018 08:43 AMPrint this articleThe Trump administration’s often overlooked list of achievements has surpassed those of former President Ronald Reagan at this time and more than doubled since the last tally of accomplishments after his first year in office, giving President Trump a solid platform to run for re-election on.As Trump nears the two-year mark of his historic election and conducts political rallies around the country, during which he talks up his wins in hopes it will energize Republican voters, the administration has counted up 289 accomplishments in 18 categories, capped by the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.They include 173 major wins, such as adding more than 4 million jobs, and another 116 smaller victories, some with outsize importance, such as the 83 percent one-year increase in arrests of MS-13 gang members.Green Berets: A warrior class of their ownWatch Full Screen to Skip Ads“Trump’s successes in reducing the cost of taxes and regulations, rebuilding our military, avoiding wars of choice and changing the courts rival those of all previous Republican presidents,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.“Trump has an advantage over Ronald Reagan: He has a Reagan Republican House and Senate while Reagan had a [Democratic Speaker] Tip O’Neill House and a pre-Reagan Republican Senate. Reagan and [former GOP Speaker] Newt Gingrich were the ice breakers that allowed Trump’s victories to grow in number and significance,” he added.Unlike the Year One list which included many proposals and orders still to be acted on, the new collection includes dozens of actions already in place, signed legislation, and enforced executive orders.For example, while the Year One list bragged about the administration’s efforts to rewrite the much-maligned NAFTA trade deal with Canada and Mexico, the Year Two list said: “Negotiated an historic U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement to replace NAFTA.”In December, Secrets reported on the first list of White House accomplishments.And shockingly the NAFTA achievement is presented as a sidebar to the larger achievement that reads, “President Trump is negotiating and renegotiating better trade deals, achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade for the United States.” Under that umbrella are eight trade deals cut with Japan, South Korea, Europe and China.“President Trump is a truly unique leader in American history. He’s a kid from Queens who became an international business leader and made billions by getting things when no one said he could,” said Trump’s 2016 campaign pollster John McLaughlin.“They told him he couldn’t be president and beat the establishment and he did. For two years the establishment is telling him he can’t do things in Washington and he’s succeeding in spite of them. He never retreats. He doesn’t back up. He’s relentless. He just wins,” he added.Comparing the two years shows that the latest has an expanded group of economic achievements while the pro-life category was folded into the health care section.Along the way, there have been some disappointments, such as failing to replace Obamacare, fund a big infrastructure plan, and build the border wall.But the White House believes that despite a lack of media coverage of his accomplishments, supporters know about them and will head to the voting polls to help the GOP maintain control of the House and keep the president on what CNN dubbed a “winning streak.”In the Washington Post Friday, former Bush speechwriter and columnist Marc Thiessen agreed and said that Trump has proven to be successful at keeping his campaign promises. He wrote, “The fact is, in his first two years, Trump has compiled a remarkable record of presidential promise-keeping.”The list:Economic Growth4.2 percent growth in the second quarter of 2018.For the first time in more than a decade, growth is projected to exceed 3 percent over the calendar year.Jobs4 million new jobs have been created since the election, and more than 3.5 million since Trump took office.More Americans are employed now than ever before in our history.Jobless claims at lowest level in nearly five decades.The economy has achieved the longest positive job-growth streak on record.Job openings are at an all-time high and outnumber job seekers for the first time on record.Unemployment claims at 50 year lowAfrican-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American unemployment rates have all recently reached record lows.African-American unemployment hit a record low of 5.9 percent in May 2018.Hispanic unemployment at 4.5 percent.Asian-American unemployment at record low of 2 percent.Women’s unemployment recently at lowest rate in nearly 65 years.Female unemployment dropped to 3.6 percent in May 2018, the lowest since October 1953.Youth unemployment recently reached its lowest level in more than 50 years.July 2018’s youth unemployment rate of 9.2 percent was the lowest since July 1966.Veterans’ unemployment recently hit its lowest level in nearly two decades.July 2018’s veterans’ unemployment rate of 3.0 percent matched the lowest rate since May 2001.Unemployment rate for Americans without a high school diploma recently reached a record low.Rate for disabled Americans recently hit a record low.Blue-collar jobs recently grew at the fastest rate in more than three decades.Poll found that 85 percent of blue-collar workers believe their lives are headed “in the right direction.”68 percent reported receiving a pay increase in the past year.Last year, job satisfaction among American workers hit its highest level since 2005.Nearly two-thirds of Americans rate now as a good time to find a quality job.Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percent.Added more than 400,000 manufacturing jobs since the election.Manufacturing employment is growing at its fastest pace in more than two decades.100,000 new jobs supporting the production & transport of oil & natural gas.American IncomeMedian household income rose to $61,372 in 2017, a post-recession high.Wages up in August by their fastest rate since June 2009.Paychecks rose by 3.3 percent between 2016 and 2017, the most in a decade.Council of Economic Advisers found that real wage compensation has grown by 1.4 percent over the past year.Some 3.9 million Americans off food stamps since the election.Median income for Hispanic-Americans rose by 3.7 percent and surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever in history.Home-ownership among Hispanics is at the highest rate in nearly a decade.Poverty rates for African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans have reached their lowest levels ever recorded.American OptimismSmall business optimism has hit historic highs.NFIB’s small business optimism index broke a 35 year-old record in August.SurveyMonkey/CNBC’s small business confidence survey for Q3 of 2018 matched its all-time high.Manufacturers are more confident than ever.95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are optimistic about the future, the highest ever.Consumer confidence is at an 18-year high.12 percent of Americans rate the economy as the most significant problem facing our country, the lowest level on record.Confidence in the economy is near a two-decade high, with 51 percent rating the economy as good or excellent.American BusinessInvestment is flooding back into the United States due to the tax cuts.Over $450 billion dollars has already poured back into the U.S., including more than $300 billion in the first quarter of 2018.Retail sales have surged. Commerce Department figures from August show that retail sales increased 0.5 percent in July 2018, an increase of 6.4 percent from July 2017.ISM’s index of manufacturing scored its highest reading in 14 years.Worker productivity is the highest it has been in more than three years.Steel and aluminum producers are re-opening.Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and NASDAQ have all notched record highs.Dow hit record highs 70 times in 2017 alone, the most ever recorded in one year.DeregulationAchieved massive deregulation at a rapid pace, completing 22 deregulatory actions to every one regulatory action during his first year in office.Signed legislation to roll back costly and harmful provisions of Dodd-Frank, providing relief to credit unions, and community and regional banks.Federal agencies achieved more than $8 billion in lifetime net regulatory cost savings.Rolled back Obama’s burdensome Waters of the U.S. rule.Used the Congressional Review Act to repeal regulations more times than in history.Tax CutsBiggest tax cuts and reforms in American history by signing the Tax Cuts and Jobs act into lawProvided more than $5.5 trillion in gross tax cuts, nearly 60 percent of which will go to families.Increased the exemption for the death tax to help save Family Farms & Small Business.Nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals and families.Enabled vast majority of American families will be able to file their taxes on a single page by claiming the standard deduction.Doubled the child tax credit to help lessen the financial burden of raising a family.Lowered America’s corporate tax rate from the highest in the developed world to allow American businesses to compete and win.Small businesses can now deduct 20 percent of their business income.Cut dozens of special interest tax breaks and closed loopholes for the wealthy.9 in 10 American workers are expected see an increase in their paychecks thanks to the tax cuts, according to the Treasury Department.More than 6 million of American workers have received wage increases, bonuses, and increased benefits thanks to tax cuts.Over 100 utility companies have lowered electric, gas, or water rates thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.Ernst & Young found 89 percent of companies planned to increase worker compensation thanks to the Trump tax cuts.Established opportunity zones to spur investment in left behind communities.Worker DevelopmentEstablished a National Council for the American Worker to develop a national strategy for training and retraining America’s workers for high-demand industries.Employers have signed Trump’s “Pledge to America’s Workers,” committing to train or retrain more than 4.2 million workers and students.Signed the first Perkins CTE reauthorization since 2006, authorizing more than $1 billion for states each year to fund vocational and career education programs.Executive order expanding apprenticeship opportunities for students and workers.Domestic InfrastructureProposed infrastructure plan would utilize $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investment across the country.Executive order expediting environmental reviews and approvals for high priority infrastructure projects.Federal agencies have signed the One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) streamlining the federal permitting process for infrastructure projects.Rural prosperity task force and signed an executive order to help expand broadband access in rural areas.Health CareSigned an executive order to help minimize the financial burden felt by American households Signed legislation to improve the National Suicide Hotline.Signed the most comprehensive childhood cancer legislation ever into law, which will advance childhood cancer research and improve treatments.Signed Right-to-Try legislation, expanding health care options for terminally ill patients.Enacted changes to the Medicare 340B program, saving seniors an estimated $320 million on drugs in 2018 alone.FDA set a new record for generic drug approvals in 2017, saving consumers nearly $9 billion.Released a blueprint to drive down drug prices for American patients, leading multiple major drug companies to announce they will freeze or reverse price increases.Expanded short-term, limited-duration health plans.Let more employers to form Association Health Plans, enabling more small businesses to join together and affordably provide health insurance to their employees.Cut Obamacare’s burdensome individual mandate penalty.Signed legislation repealing Obamacare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board, also known as the “death panels.”USDA invested more than $1 billion in rural health care in 2017, improving access to health care for 2.5 million people in rural communities across 41 statesProposed Title X rule to help ensure taxpayers do not fund the abortion industry in violation of the law.Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy to keep foreign aid from supporting the global abortion industry.HHS formed a new division over protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom.Overturned Obama administration’s midnight regulation prohibiting states from defunding certain abortion facilities.Signed executive order to help ensure that religious organizations are not forced to choose between violating their religious beliefs by complying with Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate or shutting their doors.

This answer may contain sensitive images. Click on an image to unblur it.How can we stop the school shootings?There isn’t anything that will make mass shootings and school shootings end completely, but there are ways we can decrease the frequency and deadliness of such attacks.Learn from Serial Killings and SuicidesWe have been experiencing a massive drop in the number of serial killings in the US for the past three decades and a drop in the number of serial killers. Much like with “gun deaths”, the US has and still does outpace the rest of the world in serial killings. In some decades the US had about 500 more cases than the rest of the world. In every decade since the 1970s and 1980s the US has cut serial killer activity dramatically.http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/S...As serial killings have decline have mass shootings filled the gap?But this perception [that mass shootings are increasing] isn’t because of some unprecedented rise in the rate of mass public shootings—far from it. They’re roughly as common now as they were in the 1980s and ’90s. And the data offer a stark finding: Over the past decade, mass public shootings haven’t become particularly more prevalent, they’ve simply become deadlier.Mass Shootings Are Getting Deadlier, Not More FrequentWhat we see, thanks to a variety of variables, is (mostly) young disturbed men prefer to become mass shooters and not serial killers. The only difference is fewer are successful in acting out their plans. The general profile of serial killers and mass shooters are remarkably similar as well.Then there is this factor,The media's growing obsession with serial killers in the 1970s and '80s may have created a minor snowball effect, offering a short path to celebrity.The decline of the serial killer.The public eye has long moved on from the serial killer shows and news series of the past, placing mass shooters as the surest road to fame. The news reports have become more detailed, more graphic, and often focus on every aspect of the attacker’s life for weeks to months later. This kind of attention is appealing to those that feel nameless, faceless, and voiceless.This has been a phenomenon the FBI identified after a mass shootings in the 1990s,Ever since Columbine, the FBI has been studying what drives people to commit mass shootings. Last fall it issued a report on 160 active-shooter cases, and what Simons could disclose from its continuing analysis was chilling: To a much greater degree than is generally understood, there’s strong evidence of a copycat effect rippling through many cases, both among mass shooters and those aspiring to kill. Perpetrators and plotters look to past attacks for not only inspiration but operational details, in hopes of causing even greater carnage. Emerging research—including our own analysis of the “Columbine effect“—could have major implications for both threat assessment and how the media should cover mass shootings.Inside the race to stop the next mass shooterFrom a recently foiled shooting we can see pretty clearly the media attention is a pretty big deal, shooters are motivated by fame, and that they do learn from past shooters. From the journal of a foiled shooter,“I’ve been thinking a lot,” he added, according to the court records. “I need to make this shooting/bombing at Kamiak infamous. I need to get the biggest fatality number I possibly can. I need to make this count.“I’ve been reviewing many mass shootings/bombings (and attempted bombings) I’m learning from past shooters/bombers mistakes, so I don’t make the same ones.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/n...In addition to a shift in media attention we have also been experiencing a shift in general culture. We know with the advent of social media people have become more isolated and lonely, as well as instilling a preference for instant gratification. It would make sense that deranged people would gravitate toward instant results, but this is a topic I have not seen much research on.Just like with serial killings suicides decreased after media attention was severely curbed. Suicide research provides a pretty clear model of “behavioral contagion”, which may be at play with mass shootings as it most likely was with serial killings, emphasis mine,The media affords the opportunity for indirect transmission of suicide contagion, the process by which one suicide becomes a compelling model for successive suicides.1,2 This means of influence is potentially more far reaching than direct person-to-person propagation. Suicide contagion can be viewed within the larger context of behavioral contagion, which has been described as the situation in which the same behavior spreads quickly and spontaneously through a group.3 Behavioral contagion has also been conjectured to influence the transmission of conduct disorder, drug abuse, and teenage pregnancy.4,5 According to behavioral contagion theory, an individual has a preexisting motivation to perform a particular behavior, which is offset by an avoidance gradient, such that an approach-avoidance conflict exists.6 The occurrence of suicides in the media may serve to reduce the avoidance gradient—the observer’s internal restraints against performing the behavior. Social learning theory also provides a foundation on which aspects of suicide contagion may build. According to this theory, most human behavior is learned observationally through modeling.7 Imitative learning is influenced by a number of factors, including the characteristics of the model and the consequences or rewards associated with the observed behavior.8 Consequences or rewards, such as public attention, may lower behavior restraints and lead to the disinhibition of otherwise “frowned upon” behavior.9http://www.columbia.edu/itc/hs/medical/bioethics/nyspi/material/SuicideAndTheMedia.pdfTo me the case looks pretty clear; some troubled people turn into monsters but now have shifted from serial killings to mass shootings in step with the shift in media attention and society in general. Media coverage is an important motivator for most shooters; it allows them to address a perceived wrong in front of the entire world, immortalize their name, and ensure the entire world knows all about their life. Past trends in serial killings and suicide show media restrictions can save lives.Dr. O'Toole, who is Editor-in-Chief of Violence and Gender, calls on the media to stop using the names of mass murders, which only fuels their desire for fame and is "a very powerful motivator," Targeted mass killings can be preventedMental Health ReformMental illness is often cited as the primary motivator in a shooting, but that is a flawed sentiment as there are obviously other motivators. If it were truly due to mental health issues alone mass shootings most likely would be completely random and not planned. Mental health issues are a contributing factor, but not the factor as many make it out to be,In an analysis of 235 mass killings, many of which were carried out with firearms, 22 percent of the perpetrators could be considered mentally ill. Checking Facts and Falsehoods About Gun Violence and Mental Illness After Parkland ShootingIf a minority of mass killings the attacker was found to have some sort of mental illness. Why does it seem mental health is such a big deal? We need to understand the motivations of the attackers in order to find any kind of predictable factors. Experts have researched this topic extensively,Although some mass shooters are found to have a history of psychiatric illness, no reliable research has suggested that a majority of perpetrators are primarily influenced by serious mental illness as opposed to, for example, psychological turmoil flowing from other sources. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/appi.books.9781615371099The major issue with mental health reform as a primary mechanism against mass shootings is that mental health is completely voluntary.Even if mental health services are free that does not mean individuals who need them most, from society's perspective, will seek the services out. In fact, the mental health disorders that are most prevalent in violent individuals typically push those individuals away from help if left on their own. Anecdotally, someone in my extended family has some mental health issues that clearly damage the well-being of themselves and their children, but not to the point where Child Protective Services or law enforcement can intervene. This individual refuses to accept help, even though others have offered referrals and to pay for the services. No one can force mental health services on anyone until there is a breech large enough for the legal system to intervene. Oftentimes in the case of a mass shooter the individual is a loner and has no one to advocate for them and do not have any breeches that warrant investigation or intervention by the legal system.When these individuals are forced to use mental health services in many cases it is not like a medical procedure that operates separate of the will of the individual, and prescription drugs alone are not a solution. Psychotropic drugs have actually been shown to increase destructive behavior and the severity of the destructive behavior in many cases. The individual must necessarily want to be better in order for any treatment to be effective. Mental health is also a process, it is not a silver-bullet instant fix. Even if an individual is getting help they may still be a risk to themselves or others at any point during the process; once someone begins to get help that doesn't mean they are immediately fixed and peaceful. In fact, in many cases people become more irate and agitated by facing their issues and giving up destructive coping mechanisms throughout the process. I think many people have a deep misunderstanding of mental health; it isn't like yoga where you go for an hour and feel peaceful and relaxed afterward. Sometimes it works out like yoga, but in some cases it can be deeply unsettling and uncomfortable, but it is required to get to real long-term healing. For severe cases that justify the use of prescription drugs it's as simple as not taking the medication and you now have an individual that is on par with someone that has never had any help.We do need to increase mental health care in the United States and that may decrease the number of cases of violent crime, including mass shootings, but that is a difficult argument to make at this point. I do not believe better funded mental health services will end mass shootings completely, especially if it is viewed as the singular silver bullet fix, but I do believe it will benefit society as a whole. Mental health access in conjunction with other points here can help through a multi-layered approach to help reform people and shift them to a better path, but even that is not foolproof.InterventionWhat we find in the past profiles of mass shooters are preexisting motivations, consistent with the behavioral contagion theory in a previous section, that are obvious “warning signs” after the fact. The problem is there are too many people that have these warning signs that are adequately deterred by a number of conditions for these “warning signs” to have any predictive value. In addition, the actions law enforcement can take against the individuals that display such “warning signs” is quite limited until a breech that is serious enough is committed. In some cases this breech is simple assault, theft, or other petty crimes that could be called “cries for help” or otherwise emotional outlets, in the most rare of cases it is a mass shooting attempt.What can we do about this? We need to be involved as a community with our youth and those in our lives. Parents, family, friends, we are all the first line of defense for a safe society. We know the troubled people in our lives more than anyone else, and we are in positions to not only monitor them but intervene in their lives. We can help them find the help they need to keep their issues from escalating, if they will accept help and want to face their issues. The profile of mass shooters usually includes isolation and estrangement from family, lack of friends, and so on so this isn’t always possible, but it does help us as a society and may reduce the escalation of issues that lead to mass shootings.This idea has been tested and it has worked to a degree, but it is a constant effort,The threat assessment team had to decide just how dangerous Ayala might be and whether they could help turn his life around. As soon as they determined he didn’t have any weapons, they launched a “wraparound intervention”—in his case, counseling, in-home tutoring, and help pursuing his interests in music and computers.“He was a very gifted, bright young man,” recalls John Van Dreal, a psychologist and threat assessment expert involved in the case. “A lot of what was done for him was to move him away from thinking about terrible acts.”As the year went on, the team kept close tabs on Ayala. The school cops would strike up casual conversations with him and his buddies Kyle and Mike so they could gauge his progress and stability. A teacher Ayala admired would also do “check and connects” with him and pass on information to the team. Over the next year and a half, the high schooler’s outlook improved and the warning signs dissipated.When Ayala graduated in 2002, the school-based team handed off his case to the local adult threat assessment team, which included members of the Salem Police Department and the county health agency. Ayala lived with his parents and got an IT job at a Fry’s Electronics. He grew frustrated that his computer skills were being underutilized and occasionally still vented to his buddies, but with continued counseling and a network of support, he seemed back on track.The two teams “successfully interrupted Ayala’s process of planning to harm people,” Van Dreal says. “We moved in front of him and nudged him onto a path of success and safety.”But then that path took him to another city 60 miles away, where he barely knew anyone.Inside the race to stop the next mass shooterIntervention works until you stop working at it. Combined with mental health services and the coping skills they can provide intervention and social engagement goes a long way. Sometimes that intervention goes beyond logical discourse, referring to mental health services, and caring. At that point law enforcement must step in,[A]uthorities say that Cathi O’Connor contacted police after reading entries in 18-year-old Joshua Alexander O’Connor’s journal.Grandmother Stops Teen Who Was Allegedly Planning a School Shooting“This is a case where the adage ‘see something, say something’ potentially saved many lives,” Everett Police Chief Dan Templeman said late Thursday in the statement. “It is critically important for community members, to include students and parents, to remain observant and immediately report odd or suspicious behaviors with our children or with fellow students. We were fortunate that a family member believed there were credible threats and contacted law enforcement for further investigation. I’m sure the decision was difficult to make, but fortunately, it was the correct one.”https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/02/15/a-would-be-shooter-tossed-a-coin-to-pick-a-school-police-say-his-grandmother-foiled-his-plan/?utm_term=.c4f8a8bf1ab5Law EnforcementIn recent shootings many have placed the blame squarely on failures in law enforcement. Multiple tips were not followed up on, but that doesn’t mean we should stop reporting suspicious activity. To make our communities safer from all kinds of crimes community policing is the answer, as shown in New York City, which has experienced a steady drop in crime to all-time lows,The NYPD credited the stark reduction to its new precision policing approach to fighting crime, in which investigators focus on people who have shown a pattern of committing crimes.In March, several NYPD units, including the department’s detective squads and vice, narcotics, gangs and organized crime investigation divisions, were given new bosses — an “investigative chief” in each patrol borough. The chiefs, in turn, report to Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, officials said.The overhaul — which dismantled the department’s Organized Crime Control Bureau, placing its units under Boyce’s umbrella — has been credited with reducing the number of shootings across the city, officials said.NYC saw historically low number of shootings in 2016Who could have guessed targeting career criminals would decrease crime? Oh yeah, criminologists,In an email, Pfaff pointed out that Monday’s data matched what scholars already knew. “Crime has always been highly localized,” Pfaff said. “Studies in several cities have shown that about half of all reported crime occurs in under 10 percent of all city blocks, and almost all crime in under half. And those ‘at risk’ blocks remain fairly constant over time. So talking about crime in ‘the U.S.,’ or ‘Illinois,’ or even ‘Chicago’ has always been somewhat misleading.” What the FBI's Latest Crime Report Really ShowsBut New Yorkers knew this already,It’s a very small percentage of the population in New York City that’s involved in crime,” O’Neill said in an interview with the Daily News in September. “If the same cops are there every day, they know who the good people are — which is the vast majority of them. ... It’s going to have a real effect on what goes on. NYC saw historically low number of shootings in 2016The move to effective policing not only results in lower crime and more lives saved it also frees up resources to conduct more on-the-ground investigations, the lack of which led to the failures by law enforcement in recent shootings. Generally, the community knows who the problem people are and can point police in the right direction. Why don’t all areas use community policing? Many can’t because a career in law enforcement is not appealing, so getting local applicants isn’t really an option. In some areas the local populace feels victimized and abused by law enforcement and so they have a deep level of distrust. This decreases the effectiveness of police and builds up an attitude of “us vs them”, also called police militarization.When people in authority abuse power, trust and connectedness to a community erode. "It leads to a breakdown of that which holds society together," Teresa Cordova, director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told us. "It's that sense of connectedness that has always been such a powerful part of Chicago neighborhoods."When Chicagoans don't trust police, the city suffersJustice officials make the case that building trust and combating crime will be intertwined. "For Chicago to find solutions — short- and long-term — for making those neighborhoods safe, it is imperative that the City rebuild trust between CPD and the people it serves, particularly in these communities," the report says.Chicago police use excessive force, scathing Justice Department report findsSo what does all this have to do with mass shootings? The more connected a community is with police and the more trust that exists the easier it is for police to do their job and the more likely they will do a better job of it as well. As we saw in the example of the grandmother calling on her grandson, the ability to pick up the phone to call the police, and feel safe doing so, goes a long way. If you suspect something call on it; see something, say something.We certainly don’t make it easy for law enforcement to do their job in many cases. The background check system is our most important law enforcement tool in terms of controlling access to guns. Federal gun control legislation in the context of mental health relies on this question on the background check form: “Have you ever been declared incompetent or involuntarily committed to a mental institution?”. That would leave out quite a few mass shooters of the past, and did not stop others. Here’s the real problem, though. Even with the laws in place they cannot be effectively enforced,There are an estimated 3 million living Americans who have been involuntarily committed to mental institutions. The NICS database only contains the names of about 90,000 of these individuals. There are only 17 states that provide information on involuntary commitment for inclusion in the NICS database. Many of the noncompliant states simply have not computerized their records on involuntary commitment. However, a large number of the noncompliant states are also grappling with serious health-information privacy issues and are reluctant to provide the required data to NICS before these issues are resolved.Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, mental health records may only be released to medical professionals, health insurance workers and quality-control personnel. Ohio’s attorney general has not yet determined how to gain access to the medical records needed to process CCW applications. Because Ohio has a relatively new CCW law, sheriffs are being asked to assist temporarily in checking courthouse records for involuntary-commitment orders. This exercise is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. It’s also unlikely to produce all of the information needed to verify the accuracy of answers provided on Ohio CCW permit applications.Although federal and state laws establish involuntary commitment as a prohibiting factor for gun purchases, mental health professionals contend that there is no scientific basis for this prohibition.According to Dr. Paul Applebaum, vice president of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), “checking for involuntary commitments…doesn’t make sense because past mental illness does not predict future violence.”Mental Illness And Gun Ownership - Guns & AmmoWe could take recent events and use it as a rallying cry against law enforcement, but we really need to stand by our law enforcement officers and find ways to help them do their jobs better because our safety is not their job, it’s everyone’s job. We also need to look at some of the gaps and ineffective policies in the current laws we have to make them more easily enforceable and more effective at getting the results we want.ResistanceMetal detectors, harsh punishments for infractions, and general education are all great, but will not stop attacks. These measures all have flaws that can allow an individual to slip through the cracks and do not matter to a motivated monster. The only measure that will save lives when all the preventative measures have failed or been completely skipped over is immediate overwhelming force. Overwhelmingly mass shootings have taken place in gun-free zones. Whether it is the gun-free zone policy that impacts the location picked is up for debate; there is usually a primary motivator beyond just the gun-free zone status, such as some kind of injustice, but with the recently foiled shooting plot we do see a clear case that the location was picked for “maximum damage”. Regardless, making it easier to kill doesn’t help the people in those situations. Armed resistance is a simple way to save lives.This can take many forms. There is the idea of arming school teachers (or simply allowing them to be armed) that are willing or have already become licensed and trained to carry a firearm. Some teachers have already taken the necessary training and licensing to carry a concealed firearm in public, but cannot carry inside the school building. What makes them fundamentally unfit to carry a firearm in a school building when they are deemed fit to carry a firearm in public, sometimes around the same children that are in the school? If the concern is due to a firearm on the teacher’s person there is the idea of securing a gun safe in the room with access to the teacher and an administrator. In the case of a shooting accessing the firearm does not change the lockdown procedure.Since some deem teachers inept and fundamentally too incompetent to carry a firearm upon entering a school building there is the idea of external security, such as security guards. The idea of employing veterans to do this has been tossed around as well. School Resource Officers can be found in some schools but not all, so some argue we should apply the same protection to each school, employing a SRO for security and general order in the school.Each of these ideas have backlash, but the idea is sound. Responding police have the luxury of waiting in safety for backup (and have in many cases in the past), despite going against protocol. When you are faced with an attacker you have to respond, being armed gives you one more tool to respond with, otherwise you are limited to running and hiding and cannot help anyone but yourself.There are many instances where armed resistance has stopped a shooting. Most of the stories are not as well-publicized as the “successful” mass shootings, most likely because they don’t have the same ability to keep viewers (and sell ads).How an Assistant Principal With a Gun Stopped a School ShooterOpinion | Do citizens (not police officers) with guns ever stop mass shootings?These examples are often ignored or even worse said not to exist in the first place. The arguments against immediate armed resistance are head-scratchingly fuzzy, such as Mother Jones arguing because an individual may be wounded or killed by the attacker they should not have the ability to shoot back at the attacker and instead it would be better to be wounded or killed while unarmed or that in some cases the responding individual was a security official or ex-military/LEO. These cases clearly show armed resistance acting immediately can save lives, it doesn’t matter who makes up that resistance. There is also the argument individuals should not be armed because in one case,it was “not clear at all” whether the kid had intended to do any further shooting after he’d left the building.I don’t believe “the kid only killed the people he wanted to and left” is a good reason to keep people that are licensed, trained, and willing to carry firearms from being able to do so.Armed resistance also presents a deterrent effect, although we can’t really measure this effectively for any topic. One of the interesting shifts in programming around serial killers was a move from “we’ll never catch them”, “cold cases”, “mystery murder” shows and news programs to “how we caught them” shows. The messaging changed from “serial killers can’t be caught” to “serial killers will be caught”, changing the way people feel about serial killers, including those that may have considered doing it themselves. This created a deterrent effect that we really can’t quantify. The issue with mass shootings is the attacker is usually motivated enough to not care about dying or actually wants to die, but we also know mass shooters are cowards. We can’t quantify and compare the “coward quotient” compared to the motivation to conduct a shooting, but the potential benefit from armed resistance remains: lives saved.The SolutionThere is no single silver-bullet fix to end mass shootings or school shootings. We need to do the hard work of building up and maintaining a stable and peaceful society. That means being active in our communities (especially with youth), improving access to mental health services outside a mental illness diagnosis, supporting our police, calling for effective evidence-backed legislative policies and not “feel good” legislation, and protecting what matters to us all along the way. I wish there were a way to pass a law and end all bad things, but that is not the way it works. Evil will always exist, but we can work in the lives of those around us to integrate people into society and create a sense of belonging. One pattern seems to emerge from the past; whether it be serial killings, suicides, or mass shootings; the people that commit these acts overwhelmingly feel disintegrated from society, isolated, alone, and “other” from those around them. With the prevalence of social media in place of social interaction the main factors that cause negative patterns to develop are only exacerbated. We all need to do the work to keep us all safe, including those that on their own would develop into monsters we could one day hear about on the news.

This answer may contain sensitive images. Click on an image to unblur it.In this answer we are going to see how 49 singers died tragically. I will tell you which one of them I think had the most tragic death and why. At the end you can also give your opinion in the comments section.1AaliyahAaliyah Haughton’s had already released three albums. Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a Number, One in a Million, The third, issued a month before she died, debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. By the time of Aaliyah, she had branched out into movies. Her 1999 film Romeo Must Die was a surprise box office hit.Aaliyah embarked to the Bahamas to film a video for the second Aaliyah single, “Rock the Boat.” She and 8 members of her entourage died when the return plane crashed shortly after takeoff on August 21, 2001. She was 22.2GG AllinGG Allin loved to put on an entertaining live show that included peeing on people, eating his own shit, and ripping off bats’ heads and eating them.Allin promised for several years that he would commit suicide on stage during one of his concerts, but instead died offstage from an accidental heroin overdose on June 28, 1993. He was aged 36.3Duane AllmanA scorching, career-defining live album, At Fillmore East, had been released and was cementing the Allman Brothers Band’s rep.Two months later, when Duane Allman took off on his Harley near Macon, Georgia on the late afternoon of October 29, both he and the band had good reason to chill and cut loose.After a short detox stint by Allman, the band was finishing up its next album, Eat a Peach.Allman went biking. Swerving to avoid a truck, Allman, he was suddenly thrown from his bike, which landed on top of him. Allman died in 1971 from massive internal injuries aged 24.4Chester BenningtonSince the Linking Park’s mega-selling breakthrough debut, Hybrid Theory, came out in 2000, Bennington had become the overdriven voice of a generation.Linkin Park’s seventh album, One More Light, had reached Number One on the Billboard chart. It was their fifth to do so.The band was just about to set out on a North American tour that would have seen them playing stadiums as well as arenas, when Bennington was declared dead through suicide by hanging. That was in June of 2017. Bennington was 41 and at the top of his career.5Notorious B.I.G.Hip-hop culture was being consumed by street violence. So several reconciliation summits were organized to renounce any “East Coast-West Coast” conflict.Biggie Smalls was murdered during a still-unsolved drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997. He was aged 24.Biggie’s final album, Life After Death, dropped on March 25, 1997, to an overwhelming success. It cemented Notorious B.I.G.’s reputation as one of the most skilled lyricists of his generation.6Marc BolanRock pioneer Bolan helped shape glam as we knew it. He symbolized the evolution of rock subculture in the Seventies.His band and music career fell off in the mid Seventies. However Bolan found a new calling as the host of the 1977 series Marc. This was where he performed, also with a mixture of new and established musicians.A week after the final episode – which featured Bowie and Bolan singing “Heroes” together –Bolan’s wife Gloria Jones lost control of their vehicle. The car crashed and killed the singer instantly in 1977, just two weeks before his thirtieth birthday. So Bennington was 297John BonhamJohn Bonham was a drummer for Lead Zeppelin, renowned in the 1970s for his driving rock beats as well as his lyrical and mysterious poetry.On September 25th, 1980, at the time Zeppelin was preparing for an American tour, he consumed somewhere in the vicinity of 40 shots of vodka over the course of just 24 hours.John Bonham was found dead in his home the following morning. He was aged 32.8David BowieDavid Robert Jones (January 8, 1947 - January 10, 2016), born David Bowie, was an English singer born in London, the son of a fundraiser and a waitress.Bowie was loved by millions and continued to amaze as he got older.He kept his battle against cancer a secret, so that his fans won't be saddened on his final days.The music video of his song, "Lazarus", released only days before he passed away, was Bowie’s final goodbye to the world.9Cliff BurtonClifford Lee "Cliff" Burton was an American musician. He is best known as the second bass guitarist for the American thrash metal band Metallica. They recorded three studio albums.Whilst promoting, Metallica's tour van drove into a tree. And Cliff Burton died there in Copenhagen, on September 27th 1986 aged 24.His band, Metallica, would soon go off to make millions with albums like Load and Loader.10Patsy ClinePatsy Cline became one of the greatest vocal talents of the 20th century by fusing country charm and big-city boldness to a sterling voice.Hits like “I Fall to Pieces,” “Walkin’ After Midnight” and Willie Nelson’s “Crazy” assured her slow ascent to stardom.Patsy Cline died in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee in 1963, aged 30.In 1973, she became the first solo female artist elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Patsy Cline Museum, the shrine to her in downtown Nashville, houses memorabilia from her 1961 Carnegie Hall debut, her history-making Las Vegas engagement the following year and the elegant wristwatch she was wearing during the accident just a few months later.Portrayals of Patsy Cline and continuing interest in her hits via jukeboxes and karaoke, spurred Cline’s Greatest Hits album to sales in excess of 10 million, earning a Guinness World Records spot for its chart longevity.11Kurt CobainKurt Cobain, born on February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington, started the successful grunge band Nirvana in 1987. He became a rock legend in the 1990s.Cobain had a dependency he blamed on a lifelong and cripplingly painful stomach ailment. After briefly spending time in rehab, he committed suicide in 1994 with a shotgun in his Seattle home at age 27. “I don’t have the passion anymore,” he wrote in his suicide note before quoting Neil Young. “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.”He is also said to have been shot to death by an unknown assailant. Some say that he was murdered by his then-girlfriend, who later went on to great success with her band, Whole.12Sam CookeBorn in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, Sam Cooke helped shape soul music by bridging gospel and pop. He rose to stardom during the Fifties as a member of the Soul Stirrers. Then he crossed over with the 1957 classic “You Send Me,” which went to Number One.A top 40 staple throughout the early Sixties, Sam Cooke aged 33 was killed on December 11, 1964, in Los Angeles when a hotel manager claimed she shot him in self-defense after he’d allegedly tried to rape a 22-year-old woman and then turned on her. The coroner ruled it a justifiable homicide but the circumstances around the shooting are still murky.Eleven days after his death, Cooke’s greatest song, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” based on his own experience being turned away from a whites-only motel in Louisiana, was released. It became a Civil Rights anthem and one of the landmark records of the Sixties.13Chris CornellTwelve dates into their 2017 tour, Soundgarden touched down at Detroit’s Fox Theater on May 17th. Although it was an uneventful show, Chris Cornell wrenching growl and his fame as one of the most formidable vocalists of his generation, were powerful.When Chris Cornell went back to his room at the MGM Grand Detroit, he asked for help from his security guard and a hotel staffer to fix his Apple TV.In the night he hanged himself on a red elastic exercise band attached to the top of his bathroom door. He was 52.A toxicology report discovered numerous drugs in his system, including Ativan, the sedative Butalbital and barbiturates. Although Chris Cornell had been battling drug addiction and depression for much of his adult life, this was shocking because he was thought to be getting better.14Darby CrashDarby Crash was born Bobby Pyn. But later he changed his named to Darby Crash thinking it sounded cool.He fronted the San Francisco punk band The Germs and created the liberty spike punk haircut.After touring in England in 1980, Darby Crash committed suicide by hanging himself while reportedly listening to one of his records.15Ian CurtisJoy Division’s front man, Ian Curtis, remained aloof even when his group was just beginning to gain recognition as a groundbreaking post-punk act in the spring of 1980.Curtis was a deep baritone singer. He suffered from severe depression and epilepsy which sometimes made him have seizures onstage. Maybe because treatment options for both afflictions were minimally effective at that time, Ian Curtis infused nearly every Joy Division song with intense sorrow, emptiness and longing.Worse, consumed by the guilt he felt by cheating on his wife and mother of their newborn daughter, with a Belgian journalist, Ian Curtis poured all his pain into the lyrics of one of his final songs: “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”He hanged himself in his kitchen while listening to Iggy Pop’s The Idiot. That was 1980. And he was 23.16Dimebag DarrellDiamond Darrell or Dimebag Darrell, these were all nicknames for Darrell Lance Abbott.He was an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of two bands, Pantera and Damageplan, alongside his brother, Vinnie Paul.Abbott was shot to death in 2004 by a mentally unstable fan.17John DenverMany consider John Denver the greatest folk singer in American history.He recorded a bunch of hits like “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” “This Land is Your Land,” and “Rocky Mountain High.”Can you believe that John Denver left this world leaving on a jet plane that crashed over the Atlantic Ocean with his girlfriend Lauren Bessette?18Nick DrakeNick Drake was a Welsh folk singer/songwriter. Not only did he sing brilliantly depressing songs, he also crafted his songs in the dark.Since he wasn’t popular for most of his life, Nick Drake toured as much as he could to get his name out there.He died in his early 20’s while sleeping in his bed. It was later discovered that he died of an apparent overdose of vitamins. However, Nick Drake’s music lived on and his popularity grew.19Easy-EEasy-E is an American rapper, producer and founding memberof the N.W.A (Niggaz With Attitude) group.He is viewed as one of the founding fathers of the gangsta rap, having created Ruthless Records, the first label specialized in this type of music.Easy E, that master of 80’s Hip-Hop, succumbed recently to infection after a long battle with mercury poisoning.The exact cause remains unknown.20Jerry GarciaOne of the greatest songwriters and soloists in rock history, Jerry Garcia was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the ultra-hippie band Greatful Dead. During the four decades he played with them, stoners, beatniks and college dropouts idolized him.Jerry Garcia began smoking heroin in the ’70s. Full-on addiction triggered a downward health spiral worsened by diabetes, sleep apnea, cigarette smoking, other drug use and a toxic diet consisting mainly of meat and ice cream.After collapsing in 1986, he cleaned up, and the band’s popularity hit a new level. But he backslid, and old habits returned. Garcia died in the summer 1995 of cardiac arrest during an attempt at rehab. He was aged 53.Hippies worldwide mourned the loss of their overweight prophet by smoking his ashes.21Marvin GayeMarvin Gaye swiftly ascended the pop charts in the Sixties with catchy, moving singles like “Ain’t That Peculiar,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and established himself as a hit-maker.In 1971, he created soul music’s Sgt. Pepper – What’s Going On, a plea for compassion and humanity at the height of the Vietnam War. Within a couple of years, he scored Number One hits with “Let’s Get It On” and “Got to Give It Up”. But the 1982’s “Sexual Healing” missed the Top Spot, stalling at Number Three.Toward the end of the Seventies, though, Marvin Gaye’s personal life began going apart. He divorced his wife, Anna Gordy (the sister of Motown founder Berry), filed for bankruptcy, and moved to Europe to avoid the IRS.Marvin Gaye was battling depression and an addiction to cocaine, and in 1984, the year of his death. He threatened suicide multiple times. But it was his father, a preacher, who shot him at point-blank range one day before Marvin’s 45th birthday following an argument.22George HarrisonGeorge Harrison was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and music and film producer. He achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles.He survived stabbing, and even got through a fight with cancer.His last words were love one another!23Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix was one of the greatest American guitar players who wore a terrific afro.After the spring 1967 release of his first studio LP, Are You Experienced? he became the guitar god to which all other guitar gods would be measured.A year after playing a searing, psychedelic rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock, Jimmy Hendrix was found dead in 1970 aged 27.Known for his drug use, he had ostensibly choked on his own vomit after taking barbiturates.His death was officially declared accidental although suicide was not ruled out. Some skeptical fans even believe Jimmy Hendrix died from heart attack triggered by having sex with his current girlfriend.24Brian JonesThe Rolling Stones owe their existence to the efforts of original guitarist Brian Jones.He placed an ad in the May of 1962 issue of Jazz News looking for band mates. This enabled him to form the initial incarnation of the group which he named after the Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone Blues.”Brian Jones’ love of American R&B music was critical to the group’s early sound. But when Mick Jagger formed a songwriting partnership with Keith Richards and the group transitioned to original material, Brian Jones’ power in the band dramatically receded.A growing drug addiction made Brian Jones extremely unreliable and he lost more influence. This made the group to sack him in the summer of 1969.Weeks later, Brian Jones, aged 27, was found at the bottom of his swimming pool in Sussex, England. The coroner’s report read “death by misadventure.” But up to this day, some people suspect foul play.25Buddy HollyA 50’s legend as the voice of the burgeoning rock and roll youth culture of the Fifties, Buddy Holly was often referred to as the pioneer of blues rock. A master at the guitar and bass, his backing band was the Grasshoppers. They wrote classics like “Every Day,” “Peggy Sue,” and “Oh Donna.”As part of the Crickets and later as a solo artist, Buddy Holly’s distinctive vocal style and hits like “Not Fade Away” and “It’s So Easy!” gave him a significant influence on the next wave of rock and roll stars. These included John Lennon and Paul McCartney.On February 3, 1959, the 22-year-old Holly died in a plane crash which was flying to North Dakota with fellow stars Richie Valens and The Big Whopper (or Bopper).The crash, which was due to a hurricane, was later dubbed “The Day the Music Died” by Don McLean in “American Pie,” his signature hit.26Janis JoplinShe fled Port Arthur, Texas, as a teen, where she’d been routinely humiliated by hometown peers. She arrived in San Francisco to the hippie culture’s blossoming and became a star. First with Big Brother and then the Holding Company in the wake of a spectacular Monterey Pop festival appearance.She soon broke off and formed a band. Janis Joplin soon completed her first solo LP, Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!Working on a follow-up in 1970, after a summer of a media fiasco and a tumultuous relationship with a 21-year-old coke dealer, she overdosed on heroin alone in room #105 of the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood. She was 27.27Whitney HoustonWhitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, producer, and model born on August 9, 1963.Whitney Houston had everything which made her the ultimate crossover artist.She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of Dionne Warwick, the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin, Houston, and she had a rare voice.Beginning with her self-titled 1985 debut, Houston racked up 11 number one singles. These included “The Greatest Love of All” and “I Will Always Love You”.In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston sold an estimated 170–200 ...read more. She won seven Grammys. And inspired the likes of Mariah Carey, Adele, Ariana Grande and others.All this beautiful facade began cracking after the commercial peak of the Bodyguard soundtrack in 1992. Some of the ugly cracks came from a volatile marriage to Bobby Brown. Others were serious drug and alcohol addictions. They led to the diminishment of her once flawless instrument.On the eve of the Grammys in February 2012, exactly on February 11, 2012, she was found dead in a bathtub in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton. She was 48.Coroners ruled her death as accidental, citing heart disease and cocaine use, with multiple drugs found in her system.28Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, dancer, and songwriter also known as The King of Pop (a title given to him by Elizabeth Taylor) or under ...read more.He was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana.Michael Jackson’s unique blend of childlike innocence, songwriting magic, and incandescent performances made him an incomparable money-generator.A controversial figures in his last years, gossip was rife about his ostentatious wealth, extensive plastic surgery and bizarre habits.Accused of child sexual abuse and acquitted in a 2005 trial, the charges haunted his career and reputation. Therefore a series of 2009 London shows titled “This Is It” were planned to shore up his unstable finances as well as reward his fans with live performance.But on June 25, 2009, Jackson suddenly passed away at 50 years after overdosing on medication prescribed by his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. He was later tried and convicted.Michael Jackson’s memorial service was broadcast on national television and given the status of a state funeral.Many of Michael Jackson’s massive, culture-defining hits like “Billie Jean,” “Bad” and “Black or White” reentered the charts.29John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE, was an English singer and songwriter. He rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles. An amazing singer and songwriter, he left us such famous anthems as “Give Peace a Chance,” “Imagine,” and “Band on the Run.”On December 8th he was heading over to the Record Plant to work on a remix of “Walking On Thin Ice.” He arrived home in the Village of NYC and was gunned down by an obsessed fan, Mark David Chapman. He was 40.The news was announced on Monday Night Football by Howard Cosell. It sent mourners thronging to the building site to share their grief, sing songs of peace and try to make sense of the horrific tragedy.To me, John Lennon's death was one of the most tragic among tragic celebrity deaths. He didn't die of a drug overdose. He didn't commit suicide. A zealous fan killed him.After five years of seclusion in the late 1970s focusing on his family, John Lennon was about to return to public life in late 1980 with his new album Double Fantasy. He was excited about it.That fateful day, he went home early instead of going out to eat. A good father, he wanted to see his son Sean and tuck him into bed. And instead of that noble act, he was shot in the back and pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.30Bob MarleyRobert Nesta Marley was the most famous reggae musicians that Jamaica gave the world.Bob Marley, as he was called, was part of the reggae/rocksteady group The Wailers. He recorded such hits as ” Jammin’,” “One Love” “No Women No Cry” and the cover of Eric Clapton’s hit “I Shot the Sheriff.”Marley was only 35 when he passed away from cancer.11th May, the day he passed away, is still celebrated throughout the world, perpetuating his legendary status.His music still lives on through his 20 children like Ziggy, Damien, Stephen, Jacob, Ky-Mani, Julian, and Billy he had with various women including Rita Marley, one of his backup singers.31Hideto MatsumotoHideto Matsumoto (X-Japan) was a stunning lyricist, and a great guitarist. He displayed such a vibrant appearance. In terms of attitude, he could be wild and crazy on stage but logical and kind.Even more than two decades after his death, Hideto Matsumoto continues to have and gain fans and inspire many. It’s safe to conjecture that he could have been a musical giant like the others if fate hadn’t been so cruel too him or if the Western world had been more receptive of Asian musicians back in the 1980s/1990s.It’s amazing that people continue to mourn this guy who was born on December 13, 1964 and passed away on May 2, 1998.32Freddie MercuryFreddie Mercury was born Farrokh Bulsara on 5th September 1946.A British singer of Zanzibari Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, he was the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen.Freddie Mercury dressed up like a woman sometimes and painted his face all psychedelic colors. He was also known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave voice.Some of the hits that Freddie Mercury wrote were “We Are the Champions,” “Changes,” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”In the late 80’s, Mercury ventured into many Russian bathhouses where he met different types of people who later became his drinking buddies. A decade later, rumors began circulating that he had contracted AIDS, which Freddie Mercury confirmed. Just two days later he died of bronchial pneumonia, a side effect of his disease on 24th November 1991 at the age of 45.Freddie Mercury’s music has gone on to inspire many musicians, from Lady Gaga to Metallica.P.S: Freddie is said not to be gay. He was bisexual. His main female love was Mary Austin about whom he wrote a song called Love of my life.33George MichaelGeorge Michael was a former Wham! front man, one of the great pop vocalists of all time, an icon.He lived a very private life. To that end, he rarely went on the road.So when he was rarely seen in public throughout 2015 and 2016, it didn’t raise many red flags. But due to pneumonia and complaints of severe chest pains, he had to cancel many dates on his 2011 tour. Fred was then in his early 50s and didn’t seem to have any sort of fatal condition.So imagine the shock when he was discovered dead in his bed at his home in Goring-on-Thames, England on Christmas of 2016!An autopsy revealed Freddie Michael, 53, suffered from the heart condition called dilated cardiomyopathy.34Keith MoonIf there is anybody who has fully embraced the rock star lifestyle, it is Who drummer Keith Moon.Imagine that just as the group was beginning to rack up a tiny bit of notoriety, Keith Moon’s life became one of nonstop drunken orgy of trashed hotels rooms, crashed cars and parties that lasted for days on end at a time.One of the greatest drummers in rock history, Keith Moon was a feral force-of-nature who became the backbone of the Who’s Maximum R&B sound when he joined the group in 1964. He turned classic songs like “Won’t Get Fooled Again” into showcases for his wildly idiosyncratic playing.But by 1978 that lifestyle had gotten the best of him. Keith Moon became bloated, hopelessly addicted to alcohol and couldn’t lay down even basic drum tracks during recording sessions.On September 6th of the same year, he went to the premier of the Buddy Holly Story. Then he retired to his London flat, the same place where Mama Cass had died four years earlier.That evening the 32-year-old took 32 clomethiazole tablets which, instead of fighting off the effects of alcohol withdrawal, killed him.35Jim MorrisonJim Morrison was the superb front man for the Doors. He was also an excellent poet, writer and lyricist. Some even claim he was one of the greatest rock singers ever.During his short career, Morrison personified the psychedelic movement. Fans of the Doors considered his erratic outbursts and stage performances as part of the appeal of the seminal psychedelic rock band.But towards his final months, he lived the hard and fast lifestyle of his songs. Though he loved to use drugs like LSD, Morrison’s main vice was alcohol.By 1969, just two years after his band became one of the biggest names in rock music, he was almost physically unrecognizable. His concert outbursts became more violent and unhinged. He was even arrested in Florida for indecent exposure.While living in Paris in 1971 with his girlfriend Pamela Courson, she found him dead in their bathtub. The official cause of death for the 27-year-old was listed as heart failure.36Bradley NowellBradley Nowell, or Brad for short, was the lead singer and bass player of the California hippie reggae band Sublime.Sublime became popular, especially among college students and vagabonds when the band signed with Skunk Records.Many of their songs were at the top of the Billboard charts, including “What I Got” and “Wrong Day.”In 1997, after the band’s major label debut got released, Brad Nowell was found dead in his apartment of a cocaine overdose.37Selena Quintanilla-PérezSelena Quintanilla-Pérez’s father, former doo-wop singer Abraham Quintanilla Jr., made her drop out of school in the 8th grade to sing in the family band, Selena y Los Dinos.Quickly, this third-generation Tejana singer became a hero to many young Latinos and an example for women in Tejano music.Crowned queen of that music, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez eventually won the Tejano Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. And this, nine years in a row.In 1994 she grabbed a Grammy for Selena Live! and broke attendance records at Houston Astrodome and Miami’s Calle Ocho festival.In March 1995, Yolanda Saldívar, manager of Selena’s fan club and fashion boutique Selena Etc., who was under fire by the Quintanilla family for embezzlement of funds, shot her dead at a Days Inn in Corpus Christi, Texas.At that time, the 23-year-old was working on her English crossover album, Dreaming of You, the follow-up to her smash 1994 LP, Amor Prohibido.Three months after she died, Dreaming debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart – a first for any Latin artist in history.38Elvis PresleyBeginning in the mid-fifties, Elvis Presley took a nation of teenagers by storm with his hip-swiveling performances on TV and Number One records like “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”His easygoing demeanor, boyish good looks and golden voice made him early rock & roll’s greatest success story, with the release of uncountable classic albums and movies.The icon, who could sing country, rock & roll and gospel, played at many casinos in the 1960s, and was mostly popular in Las Vegas.Elvis took a two-year hiatus from performing when he was drafted into the Army in 1958. Thanks to a string of hits he had before entering the service and an appearance on Frank Sinatra’s TV special in 1960, the draft didn’t affect his career.After spending much of the Sixties making movies, Elvis Presley reestablished himself as a singing star with an NBC special (his “’68 Comeback”). Then he began playing residencies in Las Vegas. This eventually got him his first Number One in close to a decade with “Suspicious Minds.”But in the Seventies, Elvis’ personal life began falling apart. He divorced his wife Priscilla, began gaining weight and overused barbiturates, tranquilizers and amphetamines.At age 42 and in 1977, his girlfriend found him naked and dead on the toilet at his Graceland estate in Las Vegas.Elvis Presley’s death was officially ruled a casualty of heart disease. But he apparently died from an accidental overdose of the combination of too many anti-anxiety pills and painkillers with sleeping pills.His body is laid to rest in Graceland, located in Nashville, Kentucky but his numerous fans believe to this day that he walks among us.39PrincePrince “produced, arranged, composed and performed” all the music on his debut album, For You, which he released only aged 19. Throughout the rest of his career also, he displayed talent as a multi-instrumentalist by moving from one instrument to the other with virtuosity.In the late Seventies and early Eighties Prince became a hit-maker with his provocative, sexually charged image and pop, R&B and dance charts singles like “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” “Uptown” and “Controversy.”He became ready for primetime with the 1999 album and a megastar with Purple Rain, the movie with a diamond-certified soundtrack, which had hits like “Let’s Go Crazy” the epic title track and “When Doves Cry.”As Prince released hit album after hit album, his legend continued to grow into the Nineties. Then he fell out with his label, Warner Bros whom he accused of giving him a bad deal.Prince scrawled “slave” on his face, changed his name to a sigil and fought to become an independent artist. He proved the rightness of all this contesting with the double-platinum 1996 LP Emancipation.Prince continued to score Top 10 albums into the 2010s, experimented with releasing songs on Twitter and toured when and how he felt like it.Prince developed a hidden addiction to painkillers. Possibly as treatment after he allegedly got hip-replacement surgery.Prince died of an overdose of the opioid Fentanyl in April 2016. He was aged 57.The week after his death, Billboard reported that The Very Best of Prince and Purple Rain claimed the top two spots of its albums chart.40Joey RamoneThe Howard Stern look-a-like Jeff Hyman fronted the Bronx New York punk rock group the Ramones.He was an excellent singer having a lot of range and diversity. People often described him as the Jim Morrison of punk rock.Johnny, Dee Dee and Joey Ramone were the only original members of the band who stuck with the band to the end.Joey died suddenly of lymphoma in 2000 in New York which dedicated a midtown street after him called Joey Ramone’s Place.41Otis ReddingOtis Redding’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 was not only incredible, it brought soul music to a white rock audience. This became a landmark boundary-breaking moment in pop music history.Just a few months later, precisely on December 10, Redding died in a plane crash near Madison, Wisconsin, where he was scheduled to perform that night. He was aged 26.With hits like “Try A Little Tenderness,” “Pain In My Heart” and his hard-hitting cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”, Redding had already established himself as a vibrant force in R&B. At the time of his death, Otis Redding was wrapping up the recording of “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay”.Steve Cropper of Booker T & the MGs, to whom fell the task of mixing the final version of “Dock of the Bay” after Redding died, said: “Elvis was the King of rock. Otis was the king of soul. Had he lived, I think he would’ve been King of them all.”42Randy RhodesRandy Rhodes was not only a British guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne’s band but also a good friend of his.Ozzy nicknamed him Whammy because he was such a klutz who knocked down guitars, tripped over wires, and other clumsily things.One day while tripping over something, he had the idea to develop a guitar leveler for the guitar called the whammy bar.While other members were sleeping, Randy Rhodes flew a small plane near his tour bus. He ended up flying the plane into a mansion. Randy Rhodes died instantly.43Tupac ShakurTupac Shakur rose to fame with the popular group De La Soul. He also later became famous as a solo artist with such hits as “Keep Your Heads Ringin,” and “I Get Around.”During a 1994 trial for sexual assault, he was shot five times by unknown assailants at Quad Studios in New York City. And found guilty on numerous counts the next day.While in prison, he released Me Against the World in 1995. Several months later, his multi-platinum All Eyez on Me made him bigger than ever. Tupac’s powerful, incendiary raps expressed the joys and pain of a young man trying to make sense of his chaotic life.Tupac was gunned down in a hail of bullets on September 7, 1996 in Las Vegas and he died in a nearby hospital a week later, aged 25. The circumstances surrounding the death is shrouded in controversy.Even a little over two decades after his death, Tupac Shakur remains one of the most popular rappers in the world, having released more albums dead than he did alive.Many still believe that Tupac Shakur was still alive, perhaps inspired by his final posthumous album under the Makaveli alias, Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. He is also rumored to be living in the Bahamas with his biotches, his death faked in order to avoid the gangs of the West Coast and the IRS.44Elliot SmithElliot Smith was a brilliant songwriter and composer, famous not only for his music, but also for his appearances in The Royal Tenenbaums and There’s Something About Mary.He made a suicide attempt but it did not succeed.Curiously, it was the moment his life seemed to be looking up that fate had it that his girlfriend bought a new kitchen knife and left it on the floor. Elliot Smith stepped on a loose plank and the knife flipped up and disemboweling him.Sadly, when his girlfriend called paramedics two hours later, he was already gone.I think Elliot Smith had the most tragic death.He tried suicide but it failed to take his life. Just as he was picking up his life again, a freaky accident causes a knife to disembowel him. What a tragedy!45Joe StrummerJoe Strummer, or Jon Mellor, was the lead guitarist and singer of the legendary punk band the Clash.Strummer began first with a psychobilly band The 101ers before joining The Clash, a group already formed by Mick Jones and Paul Simonon. Together, they created some of the best punk music ever.After the Clash, Joe Strummer went on to form The Mescaleros. He then sang in the Pogues after Shane McGowan quit the band.Just when things were getting good for Strummer again, he was suddenly struck by a heart attack. Joe Strummer died just before Christmas.46Johnny ThundersJohnny Thunders was born John Paul Beahm. He was often referred to as “The 5th Sex Pistol.”The singer rose to prominence as a singer in many punk rock bands like New York Dolls, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Johnny Thunders Band. He was a punk rock icon that others imitated often.Johnny Thunders wowed audiences with his drug-fueled performances. His death was declared suicide by heroin in 1980.47Amy WinehouseAmy Winehouse was already a whirlwind when the world discovered her.Her 2006 sophomore album Back to Black became an international success. This brought her smoky, Mark Ronson-assisted retro-soul to the masses. It also made her the world’s foremost vocal diva. Unfortunately this turned out to be her final LP.In effect, as Amy Winehouse rose to success so did her dependency on alcohol and drugs. This made the omnipresence of her biggest single “Rehab” even more ironic and heartbreaking.Amy spiraled out very publicly. This continued up to her death from alcohol poisoning in 2011. She was aged 27.48Sid ViciousSid Vicious was born Simon Ritchie. The infamous bassist of the classic London punk band the Sex Pistols, changed his named after his grandfather, Sid Vicicci.Sid Vicious couldn’t play the bass at all. But he wanted to be famous. So he did a lot of drugs and acted crazy on stage for attention.While making the movie “Sid & Nancy” with his girlfriend, Sid accidentally stabbed her on set. She died from the wounds the next day. Arrested, Sid was later released on bail since he didn’t remember the murder at all.Only a few weeks later, Sid died in his apartment in London while doing more drugs. Some say he committed suicide because he missed Nancy.49Ronnie Van ZantRonnie Van Zant was one of rock’s major bands’ front men. He was also the most powerful singer and lyricist produced by Southern rock since Gregg Allman.A high school dropout with a criminal record behind him, Van Zant was also a genuine populist. He projected anti-corporate Southern pride (“Workin’ for MCA”).Onstage, the stout, sullen Van Zant exuded a hardened, macho cool, like an American version of Van Morrison.The songs Ronnie Van Zant co-wrote for his band spoke of his early struggles (“Four Walls of Raiford”), dealt with his self-doubt and moral struggles (“Was I Right or Wrong”), viewed guns as being “good for nothin'” (“Saturday Night Special’), and exposed his melancholy (“Free Bird,” “Tuesday’s Gone”).The band boarded a chartered Convair on October 20, 1977 from Greenville, S.C., to Baton Rouge as part of a tour in support of their new album, Street Survivors.Guitarist Allen Collins was freaked after seeing a flame erupt out of the right engine.“If the Lord wants you to die on this plane, when it’s your time, it’s your time,” Ronnie Van Zant told them. “Let’s go, man. We’ve got a gig to do.”The pilots were forced to attempt an emergency landing in a Mississippi field. On clipping trees the plane smashed into the ground.While most of the band survived, 29-year-old Van Zant was killed instantly. Guitarist Steve Gaines, his sister Cassie (a backup singer) and road manager Dean Kilpatrick also lost their lives.Now, which of those 49 celebrities do you think had the most tragic death?