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In this season given to tidings of comfort and joy, word has come that we New Yorkers are the sad sacks of the United States. This is something of a surprise. Sure, we complain a lot. Grumbling could qualify as the official state sport. But are we really the unhappiest of them all? It seems so, judging from a study by two economics professors, newly published in Science magazine. The academics — Andrew J. Oswald, of the University of Warwick in Britain, and Stephen Wu, of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. — examined piles of data, tossed them into a...

Buckled up and ready for takeoff, the 47 “wish kids” and their families erupted in deafening screams and applause as the Air Transat flight started to taxi down the runway. The festive, 90-minute flight was sponsored by Air Transat and organized by the Children’s Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.

Louisiana really seems to take the term "Big Easy" to hear as it clocks in as the happiest state in America, while New York is the least happiest or saddest. The list that measures the Happiness level states in America was the result of work done by researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK and Hamilton College in the United States and published in the journal Science. "The researchers examined a 2005- 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System random sample of 1.3 million United States citizens in which Life-satisfaction in each U.S. state is measured. This provided a...

Do you live in the happiest state in America? Well if you live in New York, you're in the least happy state according to the Huffington Post article. The top thing on the list that made the Empire State the least happy was the government. One resident described the government as “…corrupt, self-dealing and too quick to increase taxes.” It is no secret that New York has had a troubled government for sometime now. Constantly cutting well needed programs for children and the elderly. Not being able to pass a budget in a timely fashion or one that works for...

WASHINGTON — People in sunny, outdoorsy states — Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida — say they're the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why. A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine. The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing things like climate, crime rates, air quality and schools. The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It used data collected over...

WASHINGTON -- A new study found that people who report more satisfaction with their lives live in states that score well on things like good schools, low crime and short commuting time, perhaps a first objective look at why some states are happier than others. The state-by-state list, from happiest to least cheery: 1. Louisiana 2. Hawaii 3. Florida 4. Tennessee 5. Arizona (snip) 45. Illinois 46. California 47. New Jersey 48. Indiana 49. Michigan 50. Connecticut 51. New York

"It can't be wrong when it feels so right." When Christian singer Debbie Boone crossed over onto the pop music charts in 1977 with "You Light Up My Life", it was these lyrics that made Christians really sit up and take notice. Does "feeling so right" really mean something must be right? Happiness. We all want it. In fact, we demand it. Now. On our terms. We're just claiming what is ours by right, because the Bible promises it ... doesn't it? After all, "happy is that people, whose God is the LORD."....

Sgt. Jonathon Chambers, a Streator, Ill. native with 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, helps separate supplies during a delivery to the Baghara Elementary School in Hawijah, Kirkuk province, Oct. 18. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Douglas, 1st Cav. Div. KIRKUK — Seeing a disparity in the quantity and quality of school supplies in some Iraqi primary schools, one U.S. Soldier here decided to do something about it. Staff Sgt. Jared Wiegand, a Fort Wayne, Ind. native with 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, was home last March...

"The woman's movement wasn't about happiness." That judgment, attributed to feminist Susan Faludi, seems to be the blunt assessment shared by many other women. As numerous recent studies now indicate, a remarkably large percentage of women describe themselves as increasingly unhappy. This issue came to light last month in a fascinating essay by Maureen Dowd of The New York Times. Dowd, whose columns often reveal the nation's Zeitgeist, cited the fact that a number of major studies indicate that "women are getting gloomier and men are getting happier." She asked: "Did the feminist revolution end up benefiting men more than...

First lady discusses her fitness routine, secrets for self-confidence and moreThe First Lady's number one health rule: Give yourself permission to be happy. Here she shares the eating habits, fitness routine, and secrets for inner confidence that she hopes to pass on to her daughters and the nation. An exclusive interview with Prevention Editor-in-Chief Liz Vaccariello. Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief of Prevention: My first question actually comes from my own mother. She wanted to know, have you always followed a healthy lifestyle, or did you have an "aha" moment? Story continues below ↓ advertisement | your ad here First Lady...

According to the United States General Social Survey, women’s overall level of happiness has dropped since 1972.  Two professors at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania released a paper exploring female happiness, “The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,” this spring which garnered national press attention.   One of the major findings in this study is that women’s happiness has declined both compared to 35 years ago and compared to men’s happiness. This study has prompted me to ask once again—Is feminism good for women?  Does feminism make women happier?  What does feminism hold for me?                I began asking these...

"[W]e are born to be happy, to be abundantly supplied with every good thing, to have fun in living, to consciously unite with the Divine Power that is around us and within us, and to grow and expand forever. " -- Ernest Holmes

Taller People Make Happier People, Study Shows Taller people appear to live happier lives, according to a new study.Researchers conducted a phone survey among more than 454,065 adults aged 18 and older between January 2008 and April 2009.Participants were asked to give their height as well as answer questions about their standard of living.Writing in the journal Economics and Human Biology, researchers said they used the Cantril "self-measuring striving scale", which allows participants to describe their quality of life through imagining a “life ladder” with rungs numbered from zero to 10 at the top. The top rung is associated...

Freeper Canteen:Who's Happier: You or Your Pet?   Today We Want To Know...Who's Happier: You or Your Pet Click here and take the quiz! At the last question, choose "CODE", then submit, to get your answer. After you do so, please post your findings in the Canteen!   Have fun!

In my Open Letter to Sarah Palin I tried to explain why so many people seem to hate her, and I think I did. But the extreme kind of hysterical malignity displayed by some toward Mrs. Palin is beyond explanation. This irrational hatred is very widespread, and I'm not the only one noticing it. Lorie Byrd observes that nothing seems to "explain the Sarah Palin hatred. It is so deep as to be pathological." She includes a list of some of the lies that are being told about Sarah, and it's always lies. If Sarah is worthy of such hatred,...

Years ago, during the Bosnian War, I heard someone say something that I'll never forget. U.S. troops were taking part in the U.N. effort to prevent more genocide, and desperate Bosnian people were scrounging through the huge garbage piles accumulated by the American forces looking for valuables they could see or food they could feed their families. A reporter interviewed a man on the trash piles, who said, "We are living like animals. Is this all there is to our lives? Is there nothing more?" It dawned on me that an incredibly poor, desperate Bosnian, or a hugely successful rock...

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” So reads the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, which the original 13 states of America passed unanimously on July 4, 1776. It is worth noting that the independence that Congress had in mind when it passed its declaration was not from religion, reason or rectitude, but from Great Britain. More specifically, it was from an “absolute despotism.” Life, liberty and the pursuit of...

According to Wikipedia, Marriage is a social, spiritual, and/or legal union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock. Marriage may take many forms: for example, a union between one man and one woman as husband and wife is a monogamous heterosexual marriage; polygamy – in which a person takes more than one spouse – which includes, polygyny in which a man takes more than one wife, and polyandry in which a woman takes more than one husband...

Say hello, get socializing and be happy. Medical researchers have established a direct link between a buoyant, outgoing personality and better health.

Over the last four decades, American women have got almost everything the feminist movement promised. Lucky us! Are we happy now? No, we are not. All across the industrialized world, wherever egalitarian feminism has sprinkled its fairy dust, women report that they are considerably less happy and satisfied with life then were their benighted, patriarchy-oppressed, apron-wearing sisters of yore. “The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,” a new study conducted by Wharton academics Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers, finds that the happiness of Western women has been steadily declining over the exact period during which egalitarian feminism has supposedly been delivering...

Republicans are Happier Than DemocratsMen are happier than women, older people are happier than the middle-aged, and Republicans are happier than Democrats. This according to the latest PEW survey as reported by Robert Roy Britt in Live Science. How can this be, with the GOP in disarray? I think it is because conservatives are better able to separate real life from politics and pop culture. We don't derive our identity from movements and causes. Conservatives also tend to be realists, understanding that mankind is irreparably flawed. World peace will never happen and ending poverty is a pipe dream. We are...

Americans grow happier as they age, surveys find. And a new Pew Research Center survey shows the tendency is holding up as the economy tanks. Happiness is a complex thing. Past studies have found that happiness is partly inherited, that Republicans are happier than Democrats, and that old men tend to be happier than old women. And even before the economy got nasty, seniors were found to be generally happier than Baby Boomers. Some of that owes to the American Dream being lived by past generations, while Boomers work two jobs and watch the dream wither. In times like this,...

The common thread throughout Darwin’s life was his continual struggle with the issue of death and suffering. He was never able to reconcile the existence of death, disease, and struggle with the character of a loving God: I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars, or that a cat should play with mice.[1] Darwin was unable to understand why a loving Creator God would allow the horrible things he witnessed in nature and everyday life. Animals fed on one...

It seems that we take our good fortune for granted, and when fortune turns ugly we lament the world’s unfairness. What do those who are blessed by fortune really know about the unfairness of the world? If the U.S. economy collapses and America goes hungry, will we remember the misfortunes of Bangladesh, Biafra, or Sudan? If millions suffer abroad, do we imagine that we are immune? The happiness of America, suggests Philosophy, is chance happiness. By its very nature, this happiness cannot last. It is temporal, it is transitory. One day our material happiness must turn to physical suffering and...

<p>TODAY, in the Course of human Events, it has become necessary for the American People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's GOD entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the Causes which impel them to the Separation.</p>

Happiness is...Gridlock by: Daniel Allen, March 16, 2009 Congressman Tom Price (R-GA), who represents the “happiest district in the nation” according to a recent study, expressed his regrets that his district “is not happy about what’s going on here in Washington right now.” Congressman Price serves as the Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and was a strong opponent of the omnibus bill which Congress has now passed and sent to President Obama for his signature. The Congressman, who addressed an audience at the Heritage Foundation on March 10th, took the opportunity to describe the mood of policymakers and constituents...

Gallup has set up a very cool site that breaks down data from its "well-being index" by congressional district -- and you can browse by map or in list form. So, I decided to take it out for a spin. And there seems to be a partisan pattern. Seven of the 10 most content districts were represented by Republicans -- nine of the 10 unhappiest were represented by Democrats.

This paper presents the first-ever comprehensive ranking of the American states on their public policies affecting individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. [snip] This study improves on prior attempts to score economic freedom for American states in three primary ways: (1) it includes measures of social and personal freedoms such as peaceable citizens’ rights to educate their own children, own and carry firearms, and be free from unreasonable search and seizure; (2) it includes far more variables, even on economic policies alone, than prior studies, and there are no missing data on any variable; and (3) it...

Reassuring to those who pray with their kids, drag them to Sunday school: Kids who have a strong sense of spirituality are not only happier, they are healthier. A connection with "the sacred" helps those with chronic ailments.

Overweight, overleveraged, overdrawn, overburdened with too much stuff. We like stuff, and we love shopping for it. Even a liberal realizes this can't bring salvation. Anne Quindlen writes: These are dark days in the United States: the cataclysmic stock-market declines, the industries edging up on bankruptcy, the home foreclosures and the waves of layoffs. But the prospect of an end to plenty has uncovered what may ultimately be a more pernicious problem, an addiction to consumption so out of control that it qualifies as a sickness. The suffocation of a store employee by a stampede of shoppers was horrifying, but...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Dec. 22, 2008 – For the first time in 26 years, Army Capt. Michael Beissinger won’t be home for Christmas. Army Capt. Michael Beissinger distributes gifts to members of his unit during their company Christmas celebration at Camp Taji, Iraq, Dec. 15, 2008. Beissinger’s parents, Stephen and Chris Beissinger, managed to gather support from more than 60 families from the Winter Haven, Fla., area to help make his company's holiday season a little happier. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Michael Shaw  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Apache attack helicopter platoon leader, along with 32...

House Republicans were heading toward a down-in-the-dumps holiday. Then the House ethics committee handed them a gift. The committee's investigation of Rep. Charles Rangel's tax problems is expanding, turning what has been a minor headache for Democratic leaders into a New Year's migraine. The last thing Democrats need is an ethics cloud hovering over 20-term House veteran who, as House Ways and Means Committee chairman, will play a critical role in advancing President-elect Barack Obama's goals of an economic recovery plan, middle-class tax relief and expanded health insurance. It was only last month that the top House Democrat, Speaker Nancy...

A new study by sociologists at the University of Maryland concludes that unhappy people watch more TV, while people who describe themselves as very happy spend more time reading and socializing. The study appears in the December issue of the journal Social Indicators Research.Analyzing 30-years worth of national data from time-use studies and a continuing series of social attitude surveys, the Maryland researchers report that spending time watching television may contribute to viewers' happiness in the moment, with less positive effects in the long run. "TV doesn't really seem to satisfy people over the long haul the way that social...

Listening to music that makes you happy, especially if it's country music, may be good for your heart, a new study suggests. In a small study of 10 participants, researchers found that music that makes the listener feel good causes the inner lining of the blood vessels to expand, which increases blood flow to the heart. On average, listening to joyful music led blood-vessel dilation in the upper arm to increase by 26 per cent, while music that induced anxiety caused the vessels to narrow by six per cent. The theory is that the positive emotions trigger the release of...

WASHINGTON — The good news for Republicans: You are happier than Democrats. You always have been, and you probably always will be. Never mind that your presidential candidate is sinking in the polls while your president plumbs historic depths of popular scorn and your free market squeals for intervention while your Wall Street investments evaporate. You are not just happier than the other guys, but more of you are very happy, according to new survey results published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. The pollsters were in the field asking about happiness this month, when economic news was gloomy for...

WASHINGTON — Now the good news for Republicans: They are happier than Democrats. They always have been, and they probably always will be. Never mind that their presidential candidate is sinking in the polls while their president plumbs historic depths of popular scorn and their free market squeals for intervention while their investments evaporate on Wall Street. They are not just happier than the other guys, but more of them are very happy indeed, according to new survey results published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. The pollsters were in the field asking about happiness this month, a period when...

Now the good news for Republicans: You are happier than Democrats. You always have been, and you probably always will be. Never mind that your presidential candidate is sinking in the polls while your president plumbs historic depths of popular scorn and your free market squeals for intervention while your investments evaporate on Wall Street. You are not just happier than the other guys, but more of you are very happy indeed, according to new survey results published yesterday by the Pew Research Center. The pollsters were in the field asking about happiness this month, a period when economic news...

Americans Happier, Says Report by: Jesse Masai, October 22, 2008 Citizens of the United States may be happier than acknowledged by some, according to the Legatum Prosperity Index. Legatum is an international investment organization. Australia led the top-twenty countries in the happiness list on which America ranked a happy fourth. “The USA remains the world’s sole global military, economic, and cultural superpower: a position that it has occupied since the end of the Cold War. American democracy is robust and its citizens enjoy high levels of personal and economic freedom,” says the report. And it adds: “In recent years, however,...

This was the happiest convention I have attended. In seven conventions going back to 1984, I have never seen delegates as happy. I have seen them eager, energized, committed, determined but the underlying mood last night was sheer joy. There was joy that Senator McCain had had the courage to pick Governor Palin. There was joy that she and her family had come through the week of attacks smiling and eager to campaign. There was joy that Governor Palin's Wednesday night speech completely vindicated Senator McCain's choice. There was joy that 37 million Americans had seen her speech. That is...

In his new book, "Makers and Takers," Peter Schweizer, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and Stanford University, explores why conservatives work harder, feel happier, have closer families, take fewer drugs, give more generously, value honesty more, are less materialistic and envious, whine less and even hug their children more than liberals. Using the latest data and research, Schweizer shows that the claims that conservatives are mean-spirited, greedy, selfish malcontents with authoritarian tendencies are a myth. Instead, he finds that many of these claims actually apply more to liberals than to conservatives. For example: Some 71 percent of conservatives...

There is less happiness inequality today than in the 1970’s or 1980’s. And this has occurred despite large increases in income and consumption inequality. Betsey Stevenson and I spell out these facts in a lot more detail in a new paper, “Happiness Inequality in the United States,” forthcoming in the Journal of Legal Studies. That's Justin Wolfers, here is much more. This is one reason -- but not the only reason -- why so many moral arguments from the Left fall on deaf ears when it comes to most Americans. Of course happiness inequality is more fundamental than either income...

Less able to achieve their life goals, women end up unhappier than men later in life, even though they start out happier, a new survey of Americans suggests. Early in adult life, women are more likely than men to fulfill their family life and financial aspirations, leading to greater overall happiness...

In May 2008, the Gallup Organization asked 1,200 American adults how many days in the past week they had felt "outraged." The average number of angry days was 1.17, and 54% of those surveyed said none. Only one in 20 reported being outraged every day. Despite the litany of horrors presented to us daily by campaigning politicians, most of us appear to be doing really quite well managing our anger. ... Only one major group in the population has gotten angrier: people who call themselves "very liberal." While conservatives, moderates and nonextreme liberals all have seen their average levels of...

Chicago, IL (AHN) - A new University of Chicago study linked happiness with age, with older people apparently happier than the youth. The findings are based on a study by Yang Yang, a researcher of the university's General Social Survey, in which 50,000 Americans have been interviewed since 1972 repeatedly to check trends, make comparisons and trace changes in responses over time. Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey, reportedly said the findings had results that were contrary to popular expectations.Despite the health problems of older people, the study found that they have lesser financial, interpersonal and crime problems...

Study: Baby Boomers Are Gloomiest Generation POSTED: 9:01 am EDT July 12, 2008 UPDATED: 9:42 am EDT July 12, 2008 NEW YORK -- A new study by the Pew Research Center found 66 percent of baby boomers find it harder to get ahead now than in 1998. It also found that 86 percent say it's harder to maintain their standard of living than just five years ago. We talked to boomers in Brooklyn. "There just seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel." As they approach their golden years, baby boomers like Ros Aaron are worried --...

LONDON: Saudis are the happiest people of all Arabs and rank 26th among the happiest people in the world, according to a study released recently by the World Values Survey, a global network of social scientists based at the University of Michigan. The yardstick of happiness according to the study was the contentment of a people with their living standard. The participants were asked questions such as if they were very happy, happy or not at all happy, Asharq Al-Awsat reported yesterday. The study ranked the Danes first among the people from 97 countries while Zimbabwe came at the bottom....

In the course of human events it is necessary, now and again, to dissolve our political bands with the ninnies who keep abandoning our founding principles. It used to be self-evident that our government’s role was primarily to protect certain unalienable rights, such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It used to be that our government did the bidding of the people – that any power it derived was solely through the consent of the governed. It used to be our country believed in limited government – that government at its best was a necessary evil and should...

Denmark, with its democracy, social equality and peaceful atmosphere, is the happiest country in the world, researchers said on Monday. Zimbabwe, torn by political and social strife, is the least happy, while the world's richest nation, the United States, ranks 16th. Overall, the world is getting happier, according to the U.S. government-funded World Values Survey, done regularly by a global network of social scientists. It found increased happiness from 1981 to 2007 in 45 of 52 countries analyzed. "I strongly suspect that there is a strong correlation between peace and happiness," said Ronald Inglehart, a political scientist at the University...

We must hold our leaders accountable for the facts on happiness and refuse to take it lightly when politicians abridge the values of faith, work, family, charity, and freedom. -- Arthur C. Brooks

American Dream Revisited by: Bethany Stotts, June 18, 2008 The pursuit of happiness is an American “birthright” and should be at the center of American policy, argues Professor Arthur C. Brooks in his new book, Gross National Happiness. Drawn from international data, studies, and the General Social Survey (GSS), Brooks attempts to show that mainstream family values and morality cause Americans happiness. “I am confident in the findings in this book because multiple data sources told more or less the same story,” writes the Syracuse University professor. “The lesson in every chapter of this book is that our gross national...