What Does "Gross National Product" Measure?

"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things."

"Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children."

"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials."

" It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."

- Robert F. Kennedy Address, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, March 18, 1968

Triumph!

Overcoming Adversity

What matters most to you?

Life... family... health...love... wealth... your career?
Perhaps all of these things.
But, when the test comes in your life, as it most surely will come, will you have the courage to put everything on the line and follow your conscience, overcome adversity and stay in the fight?

These people did. They never gave up and they were triumphant!

Our Flag - a Symbol of 200 Years of Religious Freedom
by Forrest R. Baker

From Child on Street to Nobel Laureate
by Christopher Lee, Staff Writer - Washington Post

A Beloved Professor Delivers The Lecture of a Lifetime
Jeff Zaslow -The Wall Street Journal
(Jeff Zaslow died in a car accicdent in northern Michigan, 10 Feb 2012.)

Dr. Randy Pausch passed on July 25, 2008

What Does Gross National Product Measure?
by Robert F Kennedy

Making A Difference... Now

	Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Video not available. Please click audio recording >>>

Ideas Can Change the World
here are a few of them...

"Pay It Forward" Pays Off
by Newswise

Worldwide poll: Vast Majority Say Capitalism Not Working
by BBC

Why Is It We Have Finite Resources for Health Care but Unlimited Money for War?
by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)

There is Reason to be Optimistic
by Dr. Hans Rosling

Hans Rosling's famous lectures combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport's commentator's style to reveal the story of the world's past, present and future development. Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before - using augmented reality animation. In this spectacular section of 'The Joy of Stats' he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Dr. Rosling, Professor of Global Health, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine. Studying history will always be a passion of mine, thank you U of A. Go here for more of Dr. Rosling's work >>> http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html

IBM Eyes DNA For Chip Development
by Paul McDougall

U.S., China Coordinating On Climate Change
by Anthony Kuhn

Globalization: Insights and Suggestions
by Gary R. Baker

Looking for Hope in Hard Times
by Gary R. Baker

New Way to Generate Electricity from the Detroit River Current
by Tina Lam, Physorg.com

Alcohol Can be A Gas, by David Blume...watch the video ...
Alternative Fuel... Why aren't we doing this?

Vertical Windspire, bird-friendly, generates electricity for home use...
based on thousand-year-old Egyptian design...
Why isn't the federal government promoting this concept?

 

This I Believe... from NPR

Finding the Strength to Fight Our Fears
by Terry Ahwal

The Right to Be Fully American
by Yasir Billoo

The Questions We Must Ask
by Tamar Duke-Cohan

A Public Man Must Live in the Present
by President Harry S. Truman

Keeping an Open Heart
by Peter, L.A