Greater Milwaukee Men

A common scene by people protesting undocumented immigration In the current rhetoric of the day regarding immigrants, policy and perception against immigrants is too often spun to say that they are people with high crime rates that make our country worse just by being here. This is and has been used against blacks in America as well. We are told that they bring and create crime to our society. It creates a perception for whites that they need to defend themselves. We have seen how this perception affects things from the actions of police (justifying use of force) to national policy meant to keep them our of the country. But if you have seen or heard these arguments and leaned toward believing them, you might want to see some statistics for yourself and then form your own perception. Here is some help.

Why do we seem to flaunt many of our physical health problems and conquests, by hide our mental ones? That is a question that the Mental Health League , an apparel company that supports a mental health organization, seeks to not only answer, but turn on its head and conquer. Why do survivors of cancer wear shirts proudly declaring so, but we don't share surviving depression? Why do we have people sign our cast for a broken limb, but we can't share conquering anxiety? Why do we celebrate the steps made in physical therapy, but hide going to mental therapy? In our society, battling and recovering from a physical ailment: disease, injury, accidents, is seen as a badge of honor but dealing with a mental ailment is met with shame. We need to change that stigma.

One of most perplexing things to me is disregard for the environment. Whether people chose to believe the science behind global warming, in general there are more immediate, local impacts to not caring about what we and businesses do and don't do. Drinking water, wildlife, recreation all are impacted by how we act as consumers. While far from perfect, I am no hardcore environmentalist rather a pragmatist, I am always looking to reduce my family's impact. Image courtesy gentlebarn.com One new area I have begun to explore is the impact of diet on the environment, namely in the form of livestock. The more I look into human impact on the environment, the bigger the argument to try to give up the consumption of beef products, as well as other livestock. Cattle-rearing generates more global warming greenhouse gases, as measured in CO2 equivalent, than transportation, uses up more land and resources than the growing of plants, and creates immense waste. So for me, it is time to ...

(Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) With Giannis officially being the NBA MVP last night, Milwaukee, the 30th largest city in the US, has the current reigning MVP in baseball and basketball. This has happened 23 times before, and the next smallest metro area to do so before was 19th (St. Louis). But what does this mean, if anything? Does it help the city at all, especially for non-sportsballers? The short answer is: yes.

Participating businesses will make a contribution to the Bay View Wheel Park proposed skate park when you visit them on Friday, June 21 . Finding ways for kids to be able to get exercise is ever more important. Skateboarding is a very accessible activity that doesn't cost a lot to get into, and its a very social activity as well. Since kids can do it whenever they want, not needing two teams or multiple people, they can just pick up and go do it. Plus it's 'cool'. About the only thing needed other than a board (and hopefully a helmet and pads) is a place to do it. I am a big proponent of giving people official places to do their thing, so that its setup for their best safety and they aren't infringing on other areas causing disruption. The Milwaukee are has seen good response lately to new skate parks with ones in Wauwatosa, West Allis, Estabrook Park, and more. Now Bay View is getting in on the action after having been working on it since 2010. Bay View Compas...

It's Men's Health Week again, time to pass along some tips and resources. Did you know? While more commonly known for assisting women, Planned Parenthood also provides services to men. You can check out what they can do for you here . From Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin : Did you know that their health centers provide sexual and reproductive health care for men, like STD testing and treatment? Their doors are open to everyone. One of the most important services available for men is Testicular & Prostate Cancer Screenings . I know may men don't like going to the doctor, for many reasons, but at PP you can setup an appointment just for this check up. If you have questions or need assistance with reproductive or sexual health services, it may be a less intimidating or embarrassing outlet, instead of going to a regular doctor, sitting in a general practice waiting room, etc.

At an event that I organize, I was able to meet Earl Dotson at a booth for Henderson Helps , an organization founded by William Henderson, former - Super Bowl winning - Green Bay Packer. He was there promoting a motorcycle ride coming up this Saturday June 15: Henderson's Ride For Hope . The cause: raising awareness and money for anti-bullying programs, something dear to my heart. You can tell these guys are truly caring about kids, Earl came by and visited the students of the BUILD Moto Mentor program to encourage them in their work.