Uh-oh! We Made the News Again - and Again - and Again

To be such a small state, South Carolina has certainly made its share of the news this year.  And here we go again!

Yale University (through its has just released its list of the "Top Ten Quotes of the Year."  Yep, there's a quote from a South Carolinian in those ten.  There's even a second one - and even a third one.  Three of the ten.  Can this be a good thing?

The top quote of the year was at a town meeting in Simpsonville, SC, from a constituent of SC Rep. Bob Inglis:  "Just keep your government hands off of my Medicare."  (I understand this sentiment; I want the government to keep out of a lot of what I do.)

Fourth on the Yale list was the shout heard 'round the world.  This was SC Rep. Joe Wilson's "You lie" during President Obama's address to Congress. 

And, finally, another one that seems to have gotten world-wide coverage.  It was from Gov. Mark Sanford's spokesman about the governor's whereabouts when he couldn't be located in June:  "The governor is hiking the Appalachian Trail."

Fortunately, there's other news today about a South Carolina native.  Ben Bernanke, a Dillon native, has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year.  (Another tidbit of information: you may not be familiar with Dillon, South Carolina, but if you've ever driven on many parts of I-95, you've probably seen signs for a Dillon tourist trap attraction - South of the Border.)

Below is the 2009 roll of quotes from Yale:

1. "Keep your government hands off my Medicare."  Rep. Bob Inglis at health care reform town hall meeting in Simpsonville, S.C., commenting on the government-created Medicare program, quoted by The Washington Post on July 28.

2. "We're going to be in the Hudson."  Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, responding to air traffic controllers asking on which runway he preferred to land US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15 before he landed in the Hudson River.

3. "There's an app for that."  Apple's advertising slogan for the iPhone.

4. "You lie!"   Rep. Joe Wilson's shouted retort to Obama's address before a joint session of Congress September 9.

5. "The Cambridge police acted stupidly." Obama, commenting on a white police officer's arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home in Cambridge, Mass., at a news conference July 22.

6. "I'm going to let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"  Kanye West, interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 13.

7. "Um, you guys said that we, um, did this for the show."  Falcon Heene, during an interview on CNN about his parents' balloon hoax on Oct. 15.

8. "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel.'"  Sarah Palin, posting on her Facebook page on Aug. 7.

9. "The governor is hiking the Appalachian Trail."  Spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford regarding Sanford's disappearance on June 22.

10. "You give me a water board, Dick Cheney and one hour, and I'll have him confess to the Sharon Tate murders."    Jesse Ventura, during a CNN interview May 11.

Do you remember most or all of the above utterances?


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Questions About Peace Prize?

The e-mail message from my son was short: “Any thoughts about this year's Peace Prize?”

Absolutely!!! I definitely had thoughts.

More than thoughts, though, were the questions.

What I question is the nominating process, criteria used and time frame.

According to news reports, Barack Obama was nominated no later than a few days into his presidency. What was the basis for the nomination at that point? Does the selection committee consider only those things done up until the point of nomination, or is it allowable to nominate someone who shows promise or someone who is expected to accomplish certain things?

The prize for literature isn't given to someone because of what he or she may write in the future or for qualities and skills that show promise of authorship. Likewise with the other categories in which Nobel prizes are given. The previous awards have been for something specific that has been discovered, studied, written, accomplished, done.

Was the prize awarded to Obama simply because of his election? Did the committee believe that his election sent a peaceful message to the world? If the award was on that basis, then the committee should have said so.

Instead, the committee said it was “motivated by Obama's initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism.”  Had those initiatives been undertaken at the time the nomination was made?

The five Nobel prizes were created by Alfred Nobel in his 1895 will, which designated the peace prize for "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."  [emphasis added](http://www.nobelprize.org/) The Nobel prize web site further says that the annual prizes are given "to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."

Poland’s Lech Walesa won the peace prize in 1983. When asked by a news organization about Obama’s recognition, he replied, “So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far….”

The 1984 recipient, Archbishop Desmond Tutu called this “an award that speaks to the promise of (Barack Obama)…”

One thing is clear. This was indeed a selection made by choice rather than by default. There were 199 nominees this year, the most nominations ever. Among the reported nominees were Colin Powell and singers Pete Seeger and U2’s Bono. Further, there have been 19 years in which no prize was given, including during the two world wars.

Yes, I have questions but I also have hope. I hope Obama will live up to the award and help attain peace and stability.