Ooooooooobama? Puzzling Prizes

Talk about the "American Dream!" Here's one that's international - The Nobel Prize. I'd like mine in literature one day. I've written some outlines and drafts, so can I pre-order it now so that it's ready when I make it big? Seriously, I know some literary figures who actually campaigned for it. That taints it a bit. One of them even won.

Nevertheless, I was celebrating the Nobel Prizes that were announced earlier in the week because whenever a woman earns one, I rejoice. I really do love female role models, especially when they're in a field I wouldn't dream of entering.

Hence, Israeli woman Ada Yonath made me dance for joy in my office - she rocked the ribosome in her chemistry research and made major waves. She's 70. She split the prize with two men who did similar research. They are also similar in age. It seems to me, this has been their life's work, celebrated for it's contribution to society, particularly medicine - as it relates to how antibiotics work in our bodies.

Brilliant. I can even understand the work that she did. In science. That's a big deal for my liberal arts brain.

Building diplomacy. That's a liberal arts topic if I've ever heard one. It's subjective and involves historical analysis. It happens over high tea, around a bonfire (no not really, I just like the image - and Hawaii is home of the luau) it does not happen in eight months of presidency. That's right folks. President Barak Obama was sworn in in January. I know we like him a lot, I know there's a lot of potential, but in what way has he changed the world for the better? What peace are we experiencing with troops in Iraq, in Afghanistan and elsewhere?

A friend posted that he couldn't imagine something that would turn his "liberal-loving friends" against Obama would be this ... but I think the rationale escapes us, and the evidence is shoddy at best. Yes, kind of like that birth certificate...

Maybe someone just wanted to give him the prize money - and this category was the best way to do it?

Sorry for my cynicism, if anyone would like to enlighten me, I'm all ears. Also, I'm not anti-American for questioning this. I may be anti the Nobel committee though. I feel some shivers coming from graves.