Obama May Regret His Receiving the Nobel Peace Prize

A commentary by Al Sigman

In an article written today by Time’s news analyst, Nancy Gibbs, she explains the problematic dilemma that the President may find himself facing as citizens of the our great country put into perspective his promises that seem to pervade his every speech since his inauguration in January of this year. I have taken the liberty of presenting her entire article as she wrote it for you to read.  Your comments are encouraged on this blog.
“The last thing Barack Obama needed at this moment in his presidency and our politics is a prize for a promise.
Inspirational words have brought him a long way - including to the night in Grant Park less than a year ago when he asked that we "join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand." (See pictures of Obama in Grant Park.)
By now there are surely more callouses on his lips than his hands. He, like every new president, has reckoned with both the power and the danger of words, dangers that are especially great for one who wields them as skillfully as he. A promise beautifully made raises hopes especially high: we will revive the economy while we rein in our spending; we will make health care simpler, safer, cheaper, fairer. We will rid the earth of its most lethal weapons. We will turn green and clean. We will all just get along. (See pictures of eight months of Obama's diplomacy.)
So when reality bites, it chomps down hard. The Nobel committee cited "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." His critics fault some of those efforts: those who favor a missile shield for Poland or a troop surge in Afghanistan or a harder line on Iran. But even his fans know that none of the dreams have yet come true, and a prize for even dreaming them can feed the illusion that they have. (See the Top 10 Obama Backlash Moments)
Maybe the prize will give him more power, new muscles to haul unruly nations in line. But peacemaking is more about ingenuity than inspiration, about reading other nations' selfish interests and cynically, strategically exploiting them for the common good. Will it help if fewer countries come to the table hating us? To a point. But it's a starting point, not an end in itself.
At this moment many Americans are longing for a president who is more bully, less pulpit. The president who leased his immense inaugural good will to the hungry appropriators writing the stimulus bill, who has not stopped negotiating health care reform except to say what is non-negotiable, whose solicitude for the wheelers and dealers who drove the financial system into a ditch leaves the rest of us wondering who has our back, has always shown great promise, said the right things, affirmed every time he opens his mouth that he understands the fears we face and the hopes we hold. But he presides over a capital whose day-to-day functioning has become part-travesty, part-tragedy, wasteful, blind, vain, petty, where even the best intentioned reformers measure their progress with teaspoons. There comes a time when a President needs to take a real risk - and putting his prestige on the line to win the Olympics for his home town does not remotely count.
Compare this to Greg Mortenson, nominated for the prize by some members of Congress, who the bookies gave 20-to-1 odds of winning. Son of a missionary, a former army Medic and mountaineer, he has made it his mission to build schools for girls in places where opium dealers and tribal warlords kill people for trying. His Central Asia Institute has built more than 130 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan - a mission which has, along the way, inspired millions of people to view the protection and education of girls as a key to peace and prosperity and progress.(See an interactive guide to Obama's first 100 days.)
Sometimes the words come first. Sometimes, it's better to let actions speak for themselves.”
By Nancy Gibbs(See pictures of Obama's European tour.)
See pictures of Barack Obama's college years.
View this article on Time.com

Seniors For Freedom

Commentary by Al Sigman


Revised October 7, 2009



I don't know about you, but I am frightened. Yes, I am frightened and concerned about what is happening to our country and to our fellow Americans. It seems that we are in a tailspin and where we will land and whether any of us will survive is in serious doubt.



I have agonized for a long while about making public my thoughts and opinions about the dilemmas facing our great country which we all love and call home. These thoughts bring me to consider just why, what, and how does our country qualify to be so honored in a way that is, I believe, hands and shoulders above all countries.



My progenitors came to this country in 1738 because of religious persecutions in their homeland of Germany. They came with very little in terms of worldly goods and with very little money. What they did come with was a sense of hope for a better life and the freedom to enjoy it. Little did they know that in some ways they were jumping from the "frying pan into the fire''. Ahead of them were physical hardships that were not expected and a revolutionary war. But, they preserved through it all and for the better.



Because they were strong people, willing to work for a better life and because they placed God first in their lives, they were willing to sacrifice for that in which they believed. This motivation for coming to America was not so much different from thousands of other immigrants who flooded this country in its early beginnings.



I am proud of my heritage and I give honor and respect to those who preceded me in building American into a great land of opportunity and privilege for all who were willing to work hard and suffer for what they had to gain. It pains me greatly to see it all fade away simply because we have seemingly lost sight of what we have fought so hard to gain.



It appears that we have become a nation of "gimmes". "Gimme" this and "gimme" that, has become the expectation of too many of our citizens. We now call this “gimme” an “entitlement”.



I recognize that entitlements for some are necessary. For those who are aged, disabled in some way or otherwise handicapped beyond their capacity for productive work, entitlements are for their good and benefit. Those who have worked long and hard during their life time and have earned a retirement and have paid into the Social Security program deserve the entitlements they have earned. The key word here is "earned'. For those who simply hold out their hands for help and do not fall into one of the categories previously mentioned, I don't have much empathy.



We must remember that we also had some help along the way. I sincerely believe that it was God's plan to make America great. America, a place where freedom and the right to choose our destinies, was God given. A land where He placed a great trust in those who were stalwarts in the great and continuing battle for freedom and other God given virtues. God needed a place where opportunity was available without needless oppression from government or dictators. America was it!



Well, enough of this as I think you get my meaning by now. If you don't then you can probably stop reading at this point and return to whatever you were doing before you began. If you don't get it now, you probably will not get it later.