THE Nobel Prize: Descendants of Vikings Heave a Collective Sigh

I am so embarrassed by the Young President's decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize that I may just have to throw up.

The whole mess reminds me of the state of children's sports, which I deplore, because the practice fails to teach kids how to be either good winners or good losers. We can't make anyone feel bad because he isn't on the top rung of the competitive ladder -- everyone gets a trophy for "participating." You don't really have to do anything, or excel at anything, or even "pay your dues" to get the chance to excel.

That about sums up the YP's contribution to world peace at the time his nomination was submitted -- he had expressed his deep desire to reach out for hands that had unclenched their fists. He delivered an inaugural speech that offered an olive branch, together with nuclear disarmament/non-proliferation, through very pretty words.

Oslo may have intended to encourage the YP and his America-Can-Be-Your-BFF mission, (whatever that may really be), but in the process it slapped many other legitimate nominees in their collective faces and colored their meager efforts as less than worthwhile. Just a few of those nominees, as posted at Moonbattery, include:

"Chinese Human Rights Activist Hu Jia - imprisoned for campaigning for human rights in the PRC, not as worthy as Barack Hussein Obama.

Wei Jingsheng, who spent 17 years in Chinese prisons for urging reforms of China's communist system. -- not as worthy as Barack Hussein Obama. (Not to mention the symbolic value of awarding a Chinese dissident on the 20th Anniversary of the Tianenmen Square Massacre.)

Greg Mortenson, founder of the Central Asia Institute has built nearly 80 schools, especially for girls, in remote areas of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past 15 years - not as worthy as Barack Hussein Obama.

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, a philosophy professor in Jordan who risks his life by advocating interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims, also not as worthy as Barack Hussein Obama.

Afghan human rights activist Sima Samar. She currently leads the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and serves as the U.N. special envoy to Darfur and is apparently also not as worthy as Barack Hussein Obama."

Now, those folks have paid some dues.

I'm thinking about renouncing my husband's Scandinavian heritage as a solitary, but stalwart, protest to the Nobel Committee's decision. Unless, of course, the YP decides to donate his big, fat check to my newly-founded charity that will award cash dollars, as reparation for their mistreatment, to all Viking descendants who didn't receive a Nobel medal, even though they like peace and think about it a lot. In that case, "Ahoy, Valhalla!"** will be my cry, cause we won't be getting anything else from the White House any time soon.

Somewhere, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and the scorned Dalai Lama must be so -- um -- thrilled. But, you know who has to be really miffed? Bill Clinton.

Heh.

** "Ahoy. A nautical hail, once the dreaded war cry of the Vikings."