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Sunday, December 30, 2012

Find a sober New Year's Party in your state

This list, put out by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, provides dozens of New Year's parties that will be sober this year.  Unfortunately, there aren't any listed in Wisconsin, where I live. Perhaps this list will grow in the future - I think it's a great idea!

Link:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/12/27/find-sober-new-year-s-eve-celebration-near-you

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Russia Set to Halt Adoptions to U.S. in Response to Abuse Cases

I am saddened to learn that Russia's government is set to end adoptions to the United States in what looks like an overreaction to cases involving child abuse of adoptees.  I am not saying that the cases of abuse are not awful, like this case in South Central Wisconsin, but with better monitoring of new adoptions as required under the Hague Adoption Convention these cases might be better averted in the future. Russia's 100,000-plus children living in orphanages will suffer the most by this extreme decision, and I hope that more can be done to promote foster care and in-country adoption within Russia.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Stress Raises Heart Attack Risks by 27 Percent, Equivalent to Moderate Smoking

Far from good news, new research points to the importance of working to decrease stress levels to avoid the risks of high blood pressure, stroke, and ultimately, heart attacks. 

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Geographic Channel Program about DMT

The National Geographic Channel has a program called Drugs, Inc.  Below is a clip from an episode called DMT: A Psychedelic New Drug [sic].  The program will re-air on Sunday, December 30th.



Link: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/drugs-inc/videos/dmt-a-psychedelic-new-drug/

Accidental, Suicide, Friendly Fire, & Police Deaths Continue to be Ignored


As the United States finally begins a long awaited debate about how much regulation, if any, guns deserve in our society.  Some statistics that are being left out of the discussion, but which should be considered are:

Fatalities of civilians by police officers.  In 2011, over 1,100 people were shot, of whom over 600 died.

Fatalities of police officers.  In 2012, 47 police officers have been killed by guns in the line of duty.  It is with regret that I learned about 2 such police killings today in Texas and Wisconsin.

Fatalities of civilians abroad by U.S. soldiers.  The number is not tracked by the U.S. Government, but in March of this year a U.S. soldier went on a rampage killing 9 children and 7 adults in an Afghani village

About 1 percent of U.S. soldiers who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq died due to 'friendly fire.'

Most deaths from guns are suicides.  In 2007 there were over 17,000 suicide deaths due to firearms.

About one-third of all non-fatal gun related injuries are accidental

About 5% of all fatalities due to guns are accidental.

Now, consider that the NRA's solution to school shootings is to place armed volunteers at thousands of schools around the country - how long do you think it will be before someone gets shot and killed - intentionally or otherwise?

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Violence and How Best to Prevent It

After the recent shootings in Aurora, Colorado, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and Newtown, Connecticut, we are being forced to confront an undercurrent of violence in American society.  Mass murders, like the ones mentioned above, are certainly uncharacteristic among similar countries in terms of economy and political system. But mass violence is really just the tip of the iceberg. By far, most violence occurs in more localized incidents - many of them suicides - among the youngest and most vulnerable members of society.  As I wrote just a week before the shooting in Newtown, after a 4-year-old accidentally shot and killed his 2-year-old sibling in Minneapolis, many of the victims are also from accidental shootings.  Even police shootings account for approximately 500 deaths per year.

I truly believe that President Obama is correct to call gun violence an epidemic.  There are multiple sources of evidence showing this. Gun violence is one the most common forms of violent death for people between 15-44 (CDC data for 2010). 

Regardless of whether you think gun violence is a problem (and with 40,000 people - mostly young dying per year it's hard to argue that it isn't), the United States must come to terms with the extraordinary difference in the number of assault deaths we experience and those experienced in other so-called First World countries. Even if the numbers are declining since the mid-nineteen seventies, our numbers are at least twice as high as other countries. (See chart and link below)


Gun ownership cannot effectively control violent assault. It simple adds to it.  If increased gun ownership and decreased gun regulation over the past ten years were a factor, then why has the number of deaths from firearms increased, rather than decreased?  

It seems that our country has lost its way on this issue due to mixed messages from powerful sports and self-defense lobby groups.  I think we need to set a course towards nonviolence.  In the coming days and weeks and months and years I hope to show, not tell, why as A.J. Muste, a pacifist, wrote, "There is no way to peace.  Peace is the way."

I hope that if you agree with me, or even if you are open minded to consider that violence may not actually prevent violence, I would urge you to investigate your own beliefs further as well as what the facts are on this important issue. 

Disclaimer: I realize that there are many more sides to this issue - including mental health, substance abuse, poverty (inequality), education, etc.  I intentionally chose to start with the concept of nonviolence and plan to address the other topics in the future.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Long Term Health and Well-being Study of Adventists

A very large study conducted by Loma Linda University looking at a variety of dietary choices by tens of thousands of study participants dating back to 1958 has found that those who kept a vegetarian diet tended to live longer than those who ate meat.  The study also found that vegans, or those who eschew dairy and eggs in addition to meat, had lower rates of cancer.

Vegetarian diets not only lengthened lifespans according to the study, but also would:
reduce a person's risk for diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, control body mass index and waist size, and boost brain health.
Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/12/vegetarians-live-longer-longevity_n_1961967.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Drug Overdoses Rising as Accidental Poisoning Surpasses Vehicular Deaths

The leading cause of death from unintentional injury has been for a few years accidental poisoning, which took the place of car-related deaths.  Now, however, the data is showing that most of the poisoning is from prescription drugs such as methadone.  Many of the deaths resulted, in part, from use in combination with alcohol or other drugs.
Drug-related deaths are increasing steadily in Wisconsin with the rate of fatal methadone overdoses jumping by 1,000 percent.

A report compiled by UW-Whitewater epidemiologist David Nordstrom shows that from 1999 to 2008 nearly 5,000 deaths were certified as drug-related, “That’s more than one every day and we found out that the majority of them were males and the average was about 43.”

Links: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/10/11/suicide-and-poisoning-rate-increased.aspx

http://www.wpr.org/news/display_headline_story.cfm?storyid=41049&search_text=

Gun Tragedies Continue to Affect Children, Policymakers AWOL on Issue

In policy studies, the tragic or otherwise unwanted consequences of enacting a law are known as unintended consequences.  Premature juvenile deaths could be said to be an unintended consequence of the desire of many adults to legally own weapons.

What is concerning to me, especially as more children and young adults continue to die from guns, is the question of responsibility.  Neither gun sellers nor manufacturers are willing to take any blame, let alone policymakers or the gun lobby.  Perhaps responsibility rests with the voters, who ultimately decide whether this is an issue they care about or not.

At least in the case of a 4-year-old boy in Minneapolis who shot and killed his 2-year-old brother over the weekend, charges may be brought against the parents for leaving out an unlocked and loaded firearm.

In another incident in Pennsylvania, a father whose handgun discharged and killed his 7-year-old son faces possible manslaughter charges.

Gun deaths are nearly equivalent to the number of driving related fatalities nation-wide, and now unintentional poisonings (mostly drug overdoses), at around the 40,000 mark. Many of the gun deaths are unintentional, and most are suicides.  But it is clear that the younger you are the greater the chance you have of dying by firearm.

We ought to really take a hard look at whether we want to continue to deregulate firearms.  The evidence shows that states with more stringent gun laws have both less crime as well as less gun deaths, accidental or otherwise.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Hopes to Ban Alcohol in Dorms

The new rule bans alcohol use in any dorm, regardless of the person's age.  I think this is a good idea.  Why?  Alcohol is a major health hazard and we should not be sending a message to young people that it is a good thing to be doing.  Just as cigarette smoking has been banned in dorms, it's time to ban alcohol as well.  People who want to use or abuse alcohol will still do it, but there will be less of it happening overall.

Link: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/chris_rickert/chris-rickert-a-hint-of-prohibition-in-drying-out-dorms/article_e2c40e3e-39bc-11e2-8e4b-0019bb2963f4.html