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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Obama got to keep the Nobel Peace Prize but Milli Vanilli had to give the Grammy back"
(If you don't know why Milli Vanilli had to give up its grammy award, it was because its members Rob Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan "were revealed to be models who publicly lip-synced to tracks recorded by anonymous studio vocalists."
A recent VERY provocative John Fugelsang commentary from last Thursday Viewpoint about the Obama administration's drone policy:
Now, this will upset some Obama supporters who wont accept any criticism of our president, but in 2010, President Obama sent this greeting to Netroots Nation where he said, What Im asking you is to keep making your voices heard, to keep holding me accountable.
You got it, Mr. President. Now, at Viewpoint we dont respect blind allegiance to politicians, and I suspect Mr. Obama doesnt respect it either. And some of us critique this guy because we care about him and we care about his legacy.
Now, the Obama administration has continually defended its use of drones to kill people including American citizens as legal, wise and ethical. But this week the administration refused to send a witness to testify at the Senate Judiciary Committees hearings on the legality of the drone program.
The use of drones has increased dramatically since the first strike under the Bush administration back in 2001. And since then, some 4,000 people have been killed in targeted operations, including American citizens like Anwar al-Awlaki and his teenage son, who was 16 years old.
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) predicts in the next 15 years more than 20,000 drones will occupy U.S. air space, including police drones, military drones, corporate drones and the entire cast of The Five on Fox News.
And even if you accept the meme that drones are the new normal, they save U.S. troops lives by keeping boots off the ground theres still reason to object. And its all a part of a little formula I call IBM.
OK, I is for imminent. The administration believes it can kill American citizens without a trial if that person presents an imminent threat of violent attack against the U.S. But John Brennan and the White House have what they call a broader concept of imminence. Meaning that if they think you might be an imminent threat someday, like in 10 years, thats enough and they can kill you now.
OK, thats like buying tickets today for the imminent production of Steven Seagal playing King Lear in 20 years. And thats not going to happen, either.
Now B is for blowback. According to a joint study by Stanford and NYU, only one in 50 victims of drone strikes in Pakistan is a militant. The rest are innocent civilians, or as Dick Cheney would call them, collateral damage. And every time a drone kills a few innocents along with an America hater, we generate all new America haters, or Dont radicalize me, bro.
And finally, M is for militant, the most abused word in the entire drone campaign. Because under current U.S. policy, all military-age males who live in a combat zone are considered to be enemy combatants. The White House, Pentagon and DOJ [Department of Justice] all use this tactic to keep the civilian death count low, so if youre a nonmilitant who happens to get killed by a drone that kills militants, youre a de facto militant. Thats like saying going into a gay bar just makes you a Lady Gaga fan.
So what do you call a president who has killed thousands of Muslims with drones, escalated war in Afghanistan, personally thrown Palestinian statehood under the bus at the U.N., kept Gitmo open and ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden? Well, our right-wing friends call him part of the Muslim Brotherhood.
But we know the right wings not going do anything about this. Rand Paul has already changed positions like a yoga teacher on tainted meth. No, my friends, Im afraid its up to you: the Obama supporters who are mad at me right now for criticizing him, the Obama supporters who refuse to ever criticize him. Remember what the president said at Netroots: Hold him accountable.
And if the policy doesnt change and we keep on doing this and he damages his own legacy by killing so many innocent civilians overseas, you, my friend, if you ever get to go to the White House, are now morally authorized to walk around, find the presidents Nobel Peace Prize and draw quotation marks on it.
limpyhobbler
(8,244 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)one month into his presidency did not do him or the reputation of the prize any good. He should have turned it down and said he will accept it once it is something he has earned. That would have made a greater impact than what happened in February 2009.
alp227
(32,026 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)submitting the nomination is February 1. So Preseident Obama won based on what he did prior to that.
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)A big part of why they gave Obama the Nobel Prize was because of his efforts on nuclear disarmament/non-proliferationhe - Obama began that while he was still a U.S. Senator. Also, President Obama donated ALL of the $1,000,000+ prize money to charity!
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."
Oslo, October 9, 2009
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2009/press.html
Cha
(297,275 posts)John Fugelsang is stupid if he thinks comparing milli vanilli to President Obama is going to get him anywhere.
I'm glad he received it.. didn't mean he was going to give enemies of humanity free reign.
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)Obama Announces Charities Where He'll Donate Nobel Peace Prize Money
The White House announced the 10 charities where President Obama will donate the winnings from his Nobel Peace Prize. Among them is the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund to help with recovery from the massive earthquake earlier this year.
"These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need. I'm proud to support their work." Obama said in a statement.
$250,000 to Fisher House
Fisher House is a national non-profit organization that provides housing for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers.
$200,000 to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund
In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, President Obama asked former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton to create the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund to raise funds for long-term relief efforts in Haiti.
$125,000 to College Summit
College Summit is a national non-profit organization that partners with elementary and middle schools and school districts to strengthen college-going culture and increase college enrollment rates, so that all students graduate from high school career and college-ready.
$125,000 to the Posse Foundation
The Posse Foundation is a national non-profit organization that identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse's college and university partners award Posse Scholars four-year, full-tuition leadership scholarships. The scholars graduate at a rate of 90 percent.
$125,000 to the United Negro College Fund
The United Negro College Fund plays a critical role in enabling more than 60,000 students each year to attend college through scholarship and internship programs.
$125,000 to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) is the nation's leading Hispanic scholarship organization, providing the Hispanic community more college scholarships and educational outreach support than any other organization in the country. In its 34 year history, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund has awarded close to $280M in scholarships to more than 90,000 students in need.
$125,000 to the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation
A non-profit organization funded by foundations and companies, ALEF supports and enables young men and women from Appalachia to pursue higher education though scholarship and leadership curriculum.
$125,000 to the American Indian College Fund
The American Indian College Fund transforms Indian higher education by funding and creating awareness of the unique, community-based accredited Tribal Colleges and Universities, offering students access to knowledge, skills, and cultural values which enhance their communities and the country as a whole. The Fund disburses approximately 6,000 scholarships annually for American Indian students seeking to better their lives through higher education. The Fund also provides support for tribal college needs, ranging from capital support to cultural preservation curricula.
$100,000 to AfriCare
AfriCare was founded in 1970 and has more projects in Africa than any other U.S. based charity, reaching communities in 25 countries, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its programs address needs in three principal areas: health and HIV/AIDS; food security and agriculture; and water resource development.
$100,000 to the Central Asia Institute
The Central Asia Institute promotes and supports community-based education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Institute's co-founder, Greg Mortenson, was also a Nobel Peace Prize nominee this year, whose book, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace, One School at a Time, recounts his attempt to successfully establish dozens of schools and promote girls' education in rural Afghanistan and Pakistan.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/obama-announces-charities-where-hell-donate-nobel-peace-prize-money.php?ref=fpa
Cha
(297,275 posts)thanks Tx
SunSeeker
(51,564 posts)Rachel Maddow has done a few stories on this very low key but crucial program.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)Now it's the norm. Bunch of no talent hacks lip syncing while they dance around like morons. I wish I could resurrect Janis Joplin.
So Obama keeping his unearned Peace Prize is par.
Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)I read post six, sallied forth anyway.
Frankly, I feel the Milli Vanilli statement was the more important of the things I said.
Hello back.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)I imagine many people feel that statements about Milli Vanilli are indeed, quite important, while yet others may engage in Very Important Discourse about the The Bay City Rollers.
Heady conversations for smart people...
Skittles
(153,164 posts)what passes for talent now is pathetic
LuvNewcastle
(16,846 posts)It has been for quite some time now. If they can give one to Kissinger, they might as well give one to Obama.
duffyduff
(3,251 posts)When a certifiable crackpot like Milton Friedman got the prize, it completely discredited it.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)FSogol
(45,488 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Just a few reasons why this article is so stupid as to be worthy of contempt:
1) Milli Vanilli lost the grammy because they never even made their own music. There has been no allegation that Obama is not responsible for Obama's policies.
2) Obama got the peace prize for anti-nuclear proliferation efforts. That has diddly squat to do with drones.
3) Virtually every governmental figure who's won the peace prize has some deep flaws in their history. Kissinger, Le Duc Tho, Arafat, Peres, Rabin, Carter, Begin, Sadat, Gorbachev, the European Union, Gore, Trimble etc etc etc.
4) "hold him accountable" is a bucket of room temperature pig spit. All it means is "complain." Complaining isn't going to hold anyone accountable.