Nobel Peace Prize

The Endless Payments For Wars Since The Civil War To The Present, And The Long Term Future!

Ronald 7 Comments

It is so easy for leaders of governments to send their military forces into war, not fully realizing that the long range economic effect goes on way beyond their lifetime and for the next century and more!

Here we are, 149 years after the end of the Civil War, and we are paying a small pension to the daughter of a Civil War veteran who married a young woman in his old age, and the daughter from that marriage is now 84 years old!

While the last World War I veteran died in 2011, there are still 4,038 widows, sons and daughters who get a veterans’ pension or other payments from that war service.

Not many are aware that spouses, parents, and children of deceased veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan received $6.7 billion in 2013, based on financial need, any disabilities, and whether the veteran’s death wsas tied to military service.

And this does not include the costs of the war itself, or the care of the veterans. The final bill for Iraq and Afghanistan is estimated to be $4 trillion to $6 trillion dollars over the next century!

This is a commitment that must be met, but it is something which should sober leaders, and clearly has affected Barack Obama, who is doing his best to avoid future conflict, a mark of a true statesman! For that effort alone, he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize he won prematurely in 2009!

88th Birthday Of President Jimmy Carter: Time For Republican Party To Stop Trashing Him!

Ronald Leave a comment

President Jimmy Carter reached his 88th birthday today, making him the seventh American President to reach that ripe old age!

Only George H. W. Bush, who reached the same age on June 12; Harry Truman who lived to 88 years and almost eight months; Herbert Hoover and John Adams, who lived to 90; and Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford, who reached 93, with Ford outliving Reagan by six weeks, have had longer life spans.

Jimmy Carter reaches 88 in the best physical and mental condition of any President who has reached that age, as all the others were declining noticeably, and even Bush has shown signs of wear and tear far greater than Carter.

Carter, and his wife Rosalynn, still travel the world promoting free elections, democracy, fighting hunger, and promoting the struggle against poverty and disease through the Carter Center and the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta. He also gained prestige by winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his works.

Carter has become, without question, the most active and involved President in his post Presidential career, and has often been called the “best” former President of the United States.

Despite all this, Carter has been the butt of attacks and vicious denunciations by conservatives and Republicans for his “failings” while in office from 1977-1981, and the fact that he is now 88, and out of office nearly 32 years, has not slowed up the nasty treatment.

The Democrats denounced Herbert Hoover for the Great Depression for a long time, but in his last years, a truce was declared, as the thought was that it was time to stop the attacks as unseemly on an old man who, despite his shortcomings, had made some notable contributions while President and after.

So in the spirit of fairness, it is time for the Republicans and conservatives to stop using Jimmy Carter as a political football, show some respect and deference, and give him the recognition that he deserves for his true accomplishments in office, including:

The Egyptian Israeli Peace Treaty
The Panama Canal Treaty
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty Two With the Soviet Union
Promotion of Human Rights
Advocacy of the Environment, making him the third best on that after Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon
Creation of the Department of Education and Department of Energy Cabinet posts
Promotion of a national energy policy which was ignored by his successor, Ronald Reagan
Granting of real authority and influence to his Vice President, Walter Mondale, making it a powerful office
Promotion of civil rights advancements
Healing the Vietnam War divisions by giving amnesty to draft evaders who had fled to Canada during the war

Happy Birthday, President Carter, and many more healthful years to you and your wife!

One Term Presidencies: Seven Significant Leaders Not Appreciated

Ronald Leave a comment

Tomorrow marks one year to the inauguration of the next President of the United States, and the question arises whether Barack Obama will become another one term President.

Historically, those who have been one term Presidents and lost re-election have tended to go down in history as “losers”, “failures”, and as “insignificant” in American history.

But nothing could be further from the truth. Consider the following cases:

John Adams–one of the most significant Founding Fathers in the Revolution and Federalist Eras, but defeated by Thomas Jefferson in the first political party struggle.

John Quincy Adams–brilliant in diplomacy before his Presidency as one of our greatest Secretaries of State, and exceptional as a Congressman for nearly 18 years after his Presidency, fighting against the evil of slavery, but losing to Andrew Jackson.

William Howard Taft–much underrated President who also served later as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but losing to Woodrow Wilson, and even ending up behind his promoter, Theodore Roosevelt, who ran on a third party line, the Progressive Party, the greatest third party performance in American history.

Herbert Hoover–acknowledged as great humanitarian as aide to Woodrow Wilson during World War I, and as Secretary of Commerce under Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, but paralyzed by the Great Depression and slow to react to the massive crisis it presented.

Jimmy Carter–Despite major accomplishments in office, particularly in foreign policy, lost reelection to Ronald Reagan because of the Iranian hostage crisis, but pursued commitment to fighting disease and promoted diplomacy and free elections after his Presidency, and won the Nobel Peace Prize.

George H. W. Bush–very talented as Ambassador to China, United Nations Ambassador, and head of the Central Intelligence Agency before his Presidency, but despite his victory in the Gulf War, he was defeated due to the economic recession and the third party candidacy of Ross Perot, and lost to Bill Clinton.

Another one term President who chose NOT to run for re-election, of course, had a very successful term of office. James K. Polk gained the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain, giving America the Pacific Northwest states, and waged war with Mexico, gaining California and the Southwest states. Worn out by his labors, he chose not to run, and died 103 days after retirement, the shortest retirement period of any President in American history.

So the whole concept that one term Presidents do not matter is shown to be totally incorrect.

The Obama Doctrine: Realistic And Statesmanlike

Ronald 1 Comment

President Obama, in his Nobel Peace Prize speech, enunciated what is already being termed the “Obama Doctrine.”

Obama stated that the US must adhere to a higher standard of conduct, including the ban on torture, and the closing of Guantanamo as a prison base for terrorists.

The nations of the world must engage in tough diplomacy against nations that create instability in the world, such as North Korea and Iran, and must do so in a sense of unity.

The nations of the world must also work to engage with rogue nations and bring them back into the diplomatic community.

Any nation denying economic justice or human rights must be opposed because it undermines the world and leads to war.

War sometimes is unavoidable and just, as for instance World War II against Adolf Hitler, and Al Qaeda since 2001.

The principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. are to be pursued when possible, but evil exists in the world and must be confronted.

The Obama Doctrine can be considered Realism in the world that we face today, and many on all sides of the political spectrum can join together in praising it as practical and statesmanlike!

Barack Obama, Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Distinguishes Himself In Acceptance Speech!

Ronald 3 Comments

As usual, Barack Obama distinguished and dignified himself in his acceptance speech today for the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway.

He conceded that he had fewer accomplishments and credentials to win the prize, so he acted appropriately humble.

At the same time, he made it clear that war is sometimes necessary when there is evil in the world, such as Hitler in the 1930s and 1940s and Al Qaeda terrorism today.

He therefore defended his decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, basing it on necessity, not on the basis of choice, but facing reality.

He handled himself in his speech and in his other public gatherings in a way that reflected well on his country.

We should all be very proud of him, and be assured that even if many do not think he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize now, he will be seen in history as having richly earned it by his actions in office during his Presidency!

Bill Clinton For Future Nobel Peace Prize?

Ronald Leave a comment

The Nobel Peace Prize has gone to four American Presidents (Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama), two Vice Presidents (Charles Dawes, Al Gore), and also to such luminaries as Henry Kissinger and Martin Luther King, Jr.

The awarding of the prize to Obama, based more on hope and expectation and judged on oratory and changed direction, makes one start to wonder about future years, and who might be eligible to gain the award.

One name that arises, despite many critics and enemies, is former President Bill Clinton.

Many people seem to have forgotten that he made real efforts at Camp David to get an agreement between Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Yassir Arafat, the Palestinian leader.

Also, Clinton intervened to bring peace to Bosnia and Kosovo in the Balkans, and peace has generally prevailed in recent years.

Most amazing of all, the fact that the Northern Ireland bloodshed was ended by President Clinton’s endeavors, culminating in a lasting agreement arranged in 1998, makes one realize that Bill Clinton is an excellent candidate for the Peace Prize in the future.

Just as Jimmy Carter received the award 22 years after leaving the Presidency, it seems to me that sometime soon, hopefully while Bill Clinton is still alive, he will win what he richly deserves: the Nobel Peace Prize!

Barack Obama And His Critics: The Challenge Of The Nobel Peace Prize

Ronald Leave a comment

Now that President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize, the weight on him to perform and fulfill what the Peace Prize represents, creates a greater challenge than any President has had since John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The challenges of Iran, North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Venezuela and numerous other issues complicate the goals of promoting world peace and ultimate nuclear disarmament.

Obama has the world behind him with the exception of the terrorists represented by Al Qaeda and the Taliban, who have denounced the awarding of the Peace Prize to him. Of course there is one more major critic: the right wing talk shows hosts, Fox, and of course, the bulk of the Republican party opposition.

It was very statesmanlike for Senator John McCain to congratulate President Obama, and to see the award as good news for the nation. But of course, Michael Steele, the GOP National Chairman, had to, again, prove how disgraceful and useless he is, by his statements critical of Obama, rather than rejoice in the honor of the moment. And Rush Limbaugh was his usual, predictably obnoxious self, denouncing the world and evoking super American nationalism’s attitude of condemning Europe and the United Nations.

Imagine cynical young and older people coming up with a conspiracy theory that the award was fixed, and even arranged by the President himself–this following his obvious inability to “fix” the Olympic Games location for 2016 in his home city of Chicago.

When we reach the point that many people in our country can condemn an honor bestowed on our President, which he made clear was an honor for the nation, then we have reached a dangerously poisonous atmosphere that is highly disturbing.

The President is pursuing a series of goals to improve the world scene, and he is graciously, appropriately, arranging for the $1.4 million prize to be donated to charity.

Despite the criticism and hypocrisy that is emerging, the nation should be rightfully proud of our President, who is emerging as a statesman!

Hallelujah! President Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize!

Ronald 2 Comments

Surprising but exciting news just occurred less than two hours ago when Norway announced that President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize!

He was awarded the prize for promotion of diplomacy in the quest for world peace and his efforts to work toward the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.

Obama is the fourth President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Theodore Roosevelt won it in 1906 for negotiating the end of the Russo Japanese War. Woodrow Wilson won it in 1919 for involvement in the negotiating of the Versailles Treaty after World War 1, although ironically, the US Senate refused to ratify the treaty or membership in the League of Nations. Jimmy Carter won it in 2002, more than 20 years after leaving office, for his promotion of free and fair elections in many countries around the world and his general efforts for world peace and diplomacy.

Additionally, two Vice Presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Charles Dawes, Vice President under Calvin Coolidge, won it in 1925 for negotiating the Dawes Plan, which lessened the debt burden on Weimar Germany that had been imposed on them by the Versailles Treaty. Al Gore won it out of office in 2007 for work on Global Warming and other environmental concerns.

This is a moment of rejoicing, but one wonders whether it will have any long range effects on diplomacy or domestic affairs. Also, it is certain that right wing talk show hosts and Fox will not see it as a plus or a victory for our nation, but rather as a negative in some fashion.

One thing is clear: We are in the midst of an historic Presidency, and I congratulate the President for this fantastic honor that has been bestowed upon him! 🙂