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By gauging happiness, there'd be more to consider than cold hard cash when deciding matters that affect daily lives, according to a report this week from the National Academy of Sciences, which advises the government. The panel of economists, psychologists and other experts assembled by the academy recommended that federal statistics and surveys, which normally deal with income, spending, health and housing, include a few extra questions on happiness.

This "Thanksgiving MULLINGS" was first published in 2002. Please take a moment on this Thanksgiving to say a Prayer of Thanks for those brave Americans in uniform, and also for the civilians, who are serving in far off places, away from their families, protecting us, and projecting America's values as we enjoy our Thanksgiving dinners safe from fear, and from want; and as we exercise our freedoms of worship and of speech. In 2003, I wrote the Thanksgiving column from Camp Victory just outside of Baghdad. Please take a look back at the Iraq Travelogue by clicking here: "Good Morning...

Left-wing actor Sean Penn urged President Obama to “use his executive authority to have Senator Cruz committed to a mental hospital. Obviously, the man is not happy. Our Constitution guarantees a person’s right to happiness. I believe that Cruz would truly be happier if he were confined and medicated. I know I would.” “Since he won’t go of his own free will it falls on the president to take action to protect the Senator’s happiness by compelling him to enter treatment for his own good,” Penn argued. “The highest obligation of a ruler is the happiness of his people. Going...

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Americans may insist on the right to pursue happiness, but Venezuela now has a formal government agency in charge of enforcing it. President Nicolas Maduro says the new Vice Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness will coordinate all the "mission" programs created by the late President Hugo Chavez to alleviate poverty. Wags had a field day Friday, waxing sarcastic on Twitter about how happy they felt less than 24 hours after the announcement.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Aaron Alexis was so unhappy with his life in America — where he was beset by money woes and felt slighted as a veteran — that he was "ready to move out of the country" last year, a friend said Tuesday. "He was tired of dealing with the government," said Kristi Suthamtewkal, whose husband owns the Thai Bowl Restaurant in Fort Worth, where Alexis worked in exchange for room and board. But instead of leaving the U.S., the former Navy reservist relocated from Texas to Virginia, where an IT company called The Experts put him on...

United States residents have an extra reason to smile according to a recent report released by Columbia University's Earth Institute. According to their findings, northern Europe received the highest satisfaction and happiness ranking in life, while Egypt and a few others hit the lowest since the Eurozone crisis via background information from the 2013 World Happiness Report released Monday. When looking at a survey of over 156 countries, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Sweden were ranked as the happiest places, and regions in Sub-Saharan Africa were noted as being the least likely places for overall life satisfaction, according to...

Facebook could be spreading unhappiness through society as well as keeping people connected, research has shown. The number one social networking site is strongly associated with declines in well-being, psychologists claim. Scientists found the more time people spent on Facebook over a two-week period, the worse they subsequently felt. In contrast, talking to friends on the phone or meeting them in person led to greater levels of happiness. "On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection," said Study leader Ethan Kross, from the University of Michigan. "But rather than enhance well-being,...

Thanks to a couple of surveys, it’s being put about in certain circles that atheists have higher IQs than believers. That may or may not be the case, but one problem with this argument is that, if you accept "average group differences in IQ”, you get into all sorts of sinister debates which bien pensant atheist Lefties might find less to their liking.

Christianity is not just about being happy and feeling good and being liked by others What’s at the root of this movement to back away from moral issues? Here’s what I think is the problem. When you advocate for moral causes like protecting the unborn, or school choice, or freeing the slaves, a bunch of people are not going to like you. Christians in the time of Jesus knew that being bold about their Christian convictions would make a lot of people think bad things about them – they expected it. But young evangelicals have gotten the idea that being...

Happiness peaks at age 23 and again at age 69, according to a wide-ranging study just completed by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. The study surveyed 23,161 individuals between ages 17 and 85 and found that life satisfaction was highest for those at ages 23 and 69. According to researchers, people in their early twenties overestimate their future life satisfaction by an average of around 10 percent, before the disappointments of life kick in. As people pass through the next decades, they face declining expectations, hitting their low point during their mid-fifties, when researchers...

Yes, as the title says, the devil does actually make us do and feel things that are against our best interests and others. We do have a responsibility to see it and not be in a sort of mindless collusion with its evil motives, and this very brief video will direct you to the path of how to do that. The same path that is being used by the U.S. military now for post traumatic stress, because it works wonders to cure it! Fact.

The residents of Switzerland are the most satisfied with their lives, according to the latest Better Life Index report, released this week by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Switzerland has moved up to the top spot, bumping Denmark to fifth. For the third year, the United States failed to make the top 10, while countries like Canada, Mexico and all the Scandinavian nations did. The Better Life Index rates the 36 OECD countries in 11 areas that aim to cover every aspect of life. The OECD looked at housing, income, jobs, education, community, the environment, civic engagement,...

Retiring early can make you depressed and unhealthy, as well as poor, according to a new study by the Institute of Economic Affairs, a British think tank. The IEA looked at micro-level data from 11 countries on the physical and mental health of retirees. Here were some of the report’s findings: – Retirement increases the probability of suffering from clinical depression by about 40 per cent – Retirement increases the probability of having at least one diagnosed physical condition by about 60 percent – Retirement increases the probability of taking a drug for such a condition by about 60 per...

Philipians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.

The World's Happiest Countries: 1. Norway 2. Denmark 3. Sweden 4. Australia 5. New Zealand 6. Canada 7. Finland 8. The Netherlands 9. Switzerland 10. Ireland So where does the United States rank? It's at 12th place this year, slipping from 10th. According to Legatum, the U.S. has slipped in the areas of governance, personal freedom, and most troubling, in entrepreneurship & opportunity. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, but Legatum notes "a decline in citizens' perception that working hard gets you ahead."

I suppose I'm a bad woman -- by today's standards that is. For some reason, I take absolutely no pride in the accomplishments of women per se. I am utterly uninspired by first women astronauts or Secretaries of State. It is of no consequence to me what percentage of the United States Senate or House of Representatives shares my chromosomes. I don't wait with gnawing impatience for America to pass the milestone of needing a fellow to fill the post of First Gentleman. This is not to say that I resent or disparage female accomplishment. I admire excellence wherever...

Many have spent long hours wondering if a marriage is going to last, considering things like love, children, taxes, and the opinion of friends and professionals. But the best and easiest answer may be this formula: frequency of lovemaking minus frequency of quarrels A positive difference predicts marital happiness, a negative one unhappiness. The formula was derived from a series of studies in the 1970s. One study of married students at University of Missouri-Kansas City found that 28 out of 30 self-described happy couples had sex more than they argued, while all 12 self-described unhappy couples argued more. These results...

Gallup Inc. asked roughly 1,000 people in each of 148 countries the following questions: Did you feel well-respected yesterday? Were you treated with respect all day yesterday? Did you laugh or smile a lot yesterday? Did you learn or do something interesting yesterday? Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday? How about enjoyment? Here are the 10 the countries where the highest percentage of people answered "yes" to all five questions, and the nine countries with the lowest percentages: HAPPIEST Panama, 85 percent Paraguay, 85 percent El Salvador, 84 percent Venezuela, 84 percent Trinidad...

12 Things You Should Be Able to Say About Yourself You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. - Mae West You know you’re on the right track when you can repeat each of the following headlines to yourself, honestly. (And if you can’t, this list gives you something positive to work on.) 1. I am following my heart and intuition. Don’t be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams. Live the life you want to live. Be the person you want to remember years from now. Make decisions and act on them....