Undeserved...

Holy smoke. I have heard of unwarranted accolades, but this is entirely
ridiculous. One speech in Egypt does not a peace prize make. I like the
President, but this is absurd. Once again, we are witness to the further
politicization of the Peace Prize. To place Obama with the likes of Sadat
and Begin is unthinkable.

The United States radically revamed its awarding of the Medal of Honor from
Civil War handouts to rigorous, vetted and deserving selection processes. I
am frankly at a loss.

-----Original Message-----
From: The Huffington Post [mailto:dailybrief@huffingtonpost.com]
Sent: Friday, October 09, 2009 6:35 AM
Subject: ALERT: Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

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October 09, 2009

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Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize
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President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his
extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation
between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to
the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

The stunning choice made Obama the third sitting U.S. president to win the
Nobel Peace Prize and shocked Nobel observers because Obama took office less
than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline. Obama's name had been
mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed
it was too early to award the president.

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Crossing the line...

I run the header of Day by Day Cartoons by Chris Muir because I like his art, generally agree with the premise of the cartoon and have actively supported his work financially. I am not, however, very fond of the most recent strip detailing salacious attributes to Obama political appointee Kevin Jennings.

Claims made by various pundits on media outlets, like FOX and CNN, have been proven to be incorrect and exaggerated. Media Matters details the pivotal issue around a self reported event by Mr. Jennings which occurred early in his teaching career. This is a baseless measure for pursuing his resignation. Whether he is qualified to hold the post by virtue of academic or experiential qualifications is a different matter.

A person’s sexual orientation should generally be off limits. There are boundaries – pedophiles are clearly a category in which orientation should be considered disqualifying.

What concerns me is the role these “czar’s” play in policy development. Having known a number of political appointees, I have found them to be a mixed bag. In areas requiring highly specialized knowledge, they tend to be well qualified and provide value to the nation. In roles in which their position is simply to maintain the administration’s philosophy, I have found them to be negative influences on their organization, and by extension the nation.

I would like to see more accountability from our government and much better transparency. I trust the government to act in my best interests and spend my money wisely, both for today and tomorrow.