JibJab - 2013 - The Year in Review.

The Greatest Country on Earth?

• The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population.   But it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners. SOURCE
• The United States has the highest gun ownership rate in the world and the highest per capita rate of firearm-related murders of all developed countries.   SOURCE
• One-fifth of U.S. Children are officially "Poor" and 2.8 Million are in "Extreme Poverty".   SOURCE
• Among advanced economies, the U.S. spends the most on health care on a relative cost basis with the worst outcome.   SOURCE
  In other words, the world's richest country spends more of its money on health care while getting less than almost every other nation in return.
• In 2012, the most recent year for which complete data is available, the U.S. approved $645.7 billion in defense budget authority (fiscal year 2013 dollars).   This figure includes funding for the Pentagon base budget, Department of Energy-administered nuclear weapons activities, and the war in Afghanistan.   This number is six times more than China, 11 times more than Russia, 27 times more than Iran and 33 times more than Israel. Though China is often cited as the country’s next great military adversary, U.S. military spending currently doubles that of all of the countries in Asia combined.   SOURCE
• The government shutdown took $24 billion out of the U.S. economy, and reduced projected fourth-quarter GDP growth from 3 percent to 2.4 percent.   SOURCE
• American teens scored below the international average in math and roughly average in science and reading, compared against dozens of other countries that participated in the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which was administered last fall.   The United States ranked 26th in math — trailing nations such as the Slovakia, Portugal and Russia. What’s more, American high school students dropped to 21st in science (from 17th in 2009) and slipped to 17th in reading (from 14th in 2009), according to the results.   SOURCE
• Overeating, lack of health insurance access and comparatively high poverty are among the many reasons why the U.S. has the highest obesity rate with 34 percent of the adult population classified as obese.   SOURCE
• In terms of National IQ scores, The United States ranks behind China, Mongolia, Poland, the Czech Republic and a dozen other countries!   SOURCE
• 33% of Americans reject the idea of evolution, saying that “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.”   SOURCE

Merry Christmas!

2013 - The in WEB Review!

I'm speechless!   Got me all choked up!

The Back Nine!

I received this message in an e-mail from an OLD friend & fraternity brother.   It really hit home!   Truer words were never spoken!

You know...time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years.   It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate.   Yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went.   I know that I lived them all.   I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams.

The image above is the 18th hole of Bermuda's Mid Ocean Club.

But, here it is...the "back nine" of my life and it catches me by surprise. How did I get here so fast?

Where did the years go and where did my youth go?

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that "I was only on the first hole" and the "back nine" was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like.

But, here it is... my friends are retired and getting gray... they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me... but, I see the great change... Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd become.

Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day!   And taking a nap is not a treat anymore... it's mandatory!   Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!

And so... now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!!

But, at least I know, that though I'm on the "back nine," and I'm not sure how long it will last... this I know, that when it's over on this earth... it's over.   A new adventure will begin!   Yes, I have regrets.   There are things I wish I hadn't done... things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime.

So, if you're not on the "back nine" yet... let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think.   So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly!   Don't put things off too long!!   Life goes by quickly.   So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether you're on the "back nine" or not!

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life... so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember... and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!

"Life" is a gift to you.   The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after.   Make it a fantastic one.   LIVE IT WELL!   ENJOY TODAY!   DO SOMETHING FUN!   BE HAPPY!   HAVE A GREAT DAY!

Remember it is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.

LASTLY, CONSIDER THIS:

• Your kids are becoming you...but your grandchildren are perfect!
• Going out is good...Coming home is better!
• You forget names... but it's OK because other people forgot they even knew you!!!
• You realize you're never going to be really good at anything...especially golf.
• The things you used to care to do, you no longer care to do, but you really do care that you don't care to do them anymore.
• You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV blaring than in bed.   It's called "pre-sleep."
• You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF" switch.
• You tend to use more 4 letter words..."what?"..."when?"...???
• Now that you can afford expensive jewelry, it's not safe to wear it anywhere.
• You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!
• What used to be freckles are now liver spots.
• Everybody whispers.
• You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet...2 of which you will never wear.

But Old is good in some things:
Old Songs, Old movies, and best of all, OLD FRIENDS!!

President Obama is a Pigmy???

It scares me to think of how many followers Pat Robertson has !   Even if it's just one...that's one too many!

Religion is like a Penis

Microaggressions!

The term “microaggression” was coined by Columbia professor Derald Sue to refer to “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color."

More over at Buzzfeed!

Terence Noel

Happy Birthday Terry!   I/we miss you and love you.   You were taken too soon!   And...they tell me...there is a God?

Procreate - iPad Art! Blew me away!

Find out more about Procreate here!

Nelson Mandela...R.I.P.

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

- Nelson Mandela, speech from the dock, Rivonia Trial, Pretoria, South Africa, April 20, 1964

Separation of Church & State!

Compliments of the 2nd Amendment!

2nd Amendement:
"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

And from the NRA...
"While widely recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights, the NRA has, since its inception, been the premier firearms education organization in the world.   But our successes would not be possible without the tireless efforts and countless hours of service our nearly four million members have given to champion Second Amendment rights and support NRA programs."

But I've bitched about this before!