Minnesota beating Wisconsin on 37 of 51 health indicators

I blame Wisconsin state government's lackluster approach to public health over the past couple of years, as well as the influence of special interest groups.

Link: http://www.minnpost.com/second-opinion/2013/01/minnesota-outscores-wisconsin-39-health-measures-uw-study-finds

John Mackey's ideas on capitalism, health, wellness, and Obamacare

I recently watched a fascinating interview with one of the most successful health and wellness business leaders in the U.S., John Mackey of Whole Foods Markets. I am not a big fan of Whole Foods approach to unions, but I do think that Whole Foods takes much better care of their workers than most (possibly all) other chain stores out there - plus they add value to the entire food supply chain and maintain high ethical and environmental standards.  Do they prevent coops or other models of grocery stores from thriving?  Maybe - but you better believe that if something else - perhaps a WalMart would jump right in and take their place if they weren't there.  Whole Foods is tiny compared to these other grocery chains (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_supermarket_chains_in_the_United_States).

Teen Allegedly Murders Family with AR-15 Day After Gun Appreciation Day

News reports are still coming out, but it appears as though a young man has been arrested for allegedly killing five people with an AR-15 assault rifle in New Mexico.  Gun Appreciation Day, which was held as gun shows throughout the country only yesterday, resulted in several accidental shootings.

Link:  http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/01/teenager-reportedly-used-ar-15-kill-five-new-mexico/61199/

Find Volunteer and Service Opportunities for National Day of Service, Saturday, January 18th

The National Day of Service is set for Saturday, January 18th, across the United States.  The event is in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who gave his life to making life better for others.  A good rule of thumb, in my opinion, is to spend between 4 and 20 hours per week of doing unpaid volunteer work at a minimum (volunteer work is work that helps strangers, the environment or animals, the poor, the sick, etc.).

If you don't currently volunteer, please consider it!  You can find a project near you, or even add your own at this website: http://www.2013pic.org/service

How to be More Calm as a Parent

As a parent of a 5 and 9 year old I've had plenty of opportunities to lose my cool.  Here's a good article on how to avoid getting towards 'the point of no return' around kids.

Link: http://www.empoweringparents.com/How-to-Get-Control-When-Your-Child-is-Making-You-Angry.php#