This will be short, as I have to go pick up my Nobel for sitting here.

The recent addition of another canine to my household has limited my ability (and energy) to post a column, but today's events have given me enough impetus to bribe my pets with treats to give me a few moments to get some thoughts on to (digital) paper. I have revoked Ms. 7DB's Internet privileges for one hour, buying me some time before we have another new animal at the Estate du 7DB. (Love you, Lovey!)

With Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, I believe that something monumental has just taken place: The Nobel has jumped the shark.

Some history on the Nobel: In 1895, the Nobel Foundation was started out of the estate of Alfred Nobel, in response to some guilt ovber inventing something so destructive (dynamite) that his recourse for his guilt was to award money and prizes to those who work towards a better world. Winners of the Nobel range from Max Planck and Albert Einstein in Physics, Kipling, Hemingway, Yeats and Steinbeck in Literature, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Elie Wiesel and Jimmy Carter for the Peace Prize, and far too many other to ennumerate here. The award was declined by the German government for three different winners during the Nazi Occupation, as well as by a Russian writer in the heat of the Cold War. This award has stood as a international acknowledgement of the ideals of Nobel and the ideals of 'the world' for more than a century.

Some would argue that the award has been cheapened by some of its recipients in recent years, including Yassar Arafat winning in 1994 (along with Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin) for their efforts in the Israeli/Palestine conflict. For those who are unaware, there is still a conflict, and piles of bodies mound on building tensions on a far-too-regular of a basis.

Arafat perpetuated this warring in the opinions of many, yet was given the award for his 'efforts' towards peace. This must be the impetus behind giving it to our President, the first sitting President to win since...Woodrow Wilson? Yes, Woodrow Wilson, the man who ended World War I by sending American troops to Europe and aiding his Allies, by going there himself to assist in establishing the League of Nations (now known as the United Nations), who helped shape the Treaty of Versailles (which pretty much invented the 'nation building' concept), who spent his youth working at his father's abolitionist newspaper...I see the similarities between Wilson and Obama. They list as follows:

-Democratic President

(Um...that is it.)

Wilson did something. Here's my vote for who should have won it: Greg Mortenson.

I made mention of Mortenson in a prior post, as a profile of his story and noble efforts have been chronicled in a best-selling book called Three Cups of Tea. Pick it up at the library if you have some time, and get through the first 60 or so pages before giving up...it pays off, I promise. Here, a Reader's Digest verison:

Mortenson started the Central Asia Institute, an organization dedicated to expanding educational opportunities in rural Pakistan, Afganistan and other outlying areas in the region. These areas are generally poor and de-emphasize educating young girls (due to tradition and some Islamic practice), yet there have been over 130 schools built in the region, including several dedicated schools for young women that have been approved by local Muslim leaders, after Mortenson had a revelation during a failed bid to climb K2. He came back to America, sold all of his stuff, and dedicated himself to finding the means to build schools for children that may never have seen a schoolhouse without him.

The selflessness of Mortenson's work deserves the acknowledgement. Wilson's policies stood as a template for the globalized world we live in now. The campaign promises of a President with toothless policies (thus far) despite having a filibuster-proof majority in Congress just doesn't add up. Oh, and he is about to start a war in Afganistan, and has sent troops into Somalia. Not very 'peaceful', is it?

Put aside for a moment where you stand on health care or gay marriage or Iraq and look at what this is: an acknowledgement from an esteemed institution for his world impact. Voted on by members of the Norwegian government, the Peace Prize is considered by many to be the most prestigious of the prizes, yet is voted on by members of a socialist government.

I could list a thousand folks who have been passed over for major accomplishments (Reagan/Gorbachev in 1985? Rememeber the Cold War?), but cannot name three things Obama has accomplished, much less three things worthy of mention for this award.

In 7DB's eyes, the award has lost prestige. Obama himself said there are more deserving recipients (Obama also promised the prize of about $1.5 mil to be donated to 'charity'. Hope he picks one or two before people move on to the next news item.) than he. Arafat was a miscarriage of the award, but it's design was to continue the peace process moving forward. Something can be said for that...but what has Obama done? The nominations were due in early February of this year, which means Obama was nominated before he had been in office for a month! Shame on Oslo, shame on Stockholm, shame on those who have defaced Alfred Nobel's will with this decision.

(For more on the Central Asia Institute, visit www.ikat.org)

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Quick hits:

-Brett Favre smoking the Packers like cheap cigars is always fun to watch. Still don't want him QB'ing the Vikings, but it is better than the pupu platter they would have rolled out if Kiln, Mississippi's most famous resident had stayed on his farm. I wonder if the Packer fans who named their children after him are yelling up the stairs, "Traitor! Hurry up and get dressed! The school bus doesn't wait for Traitors!"...

-The University of North Dakota is in a running dispute with some non-local Native Americans in regards to the mascot. The school has used 'The Fighting Sioux' as their nickname for about a century, most of that time with the blessing of the local Sioux community, as the school holds out scholarships for Sioux students who may not be able to afford the education. The main complainers include Russell Means, a non-Sioux Native American who has made his name as an actor in Hollywood, mostly playing stereotypical Indian roles.

In a related story, the Detroit Pistons have received complaints from local automobile owners whose cars are complaining about their parts being used as mascots for teams located in the city of Detroit. The activist parts group Michigan Organization of Various Engines (MOVE) wants the team returned to their original home of Fort Wayne, where they are less likely to be stolen from the cars where they currently reside.

-As predicted, Randy Quaid's arrest for him and his wife accosting a police officer after being stopped on warrants for skipping out on a $10k hotel bill 4 states away has been quietly swept into the tide of new daily news. My theory that the inundation of news outlets and Internet access have made people too passive, as their outrage can be saved for a day when they've had their Satrbucks, and the new items in the news can raise people's hackles. Lazy minds make for easy pickings for the hustlers of the world...be warned. They may have an award to give you.