How to Win the Nobel Peace Prize In 12 Days

I've been reading about President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize today. To be honest, I was a little shocked. He's only been in office for 9 months, and he hasn't really done anything that has shown results.

I'm not alone, I've read several stories today that gave comments from around the world, and a lot of them are confused too. Even the President of another country said it was way too fast, that Obama hasn't had a chance to really do anything.

It made me wonder just how political this award is. But nothing really said like this article about how the nominations are done for the Nobel prize. It turns out that nominations we due just 12 days after Obama began his term in office.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2009/10/09/tommy-seno-obama-nobel-prize-win/

Is the Honeymoon Over?

I saw a skit on Saturday Night Live last weekend that really surprised me. Fred Arnison started the show doing his Obama impersonation, sitting in the Oval Office addressing the American people.

He begins by saying he was elected on a platform of change, but that people were saying the U.S. is starting to look like a Socialist country. He said that if we’re starting to look like a Socialist nation it couldn’t be his fault because if you check his record you’ll see that he’s hasn’t really done anything.

He then shows a list of things he was supposed to do with checkboxes next to each item under headings of “Done” and “Not Done”. The list was long, and included closing Guantanamo Bay, pulling out of Iraq, improving Afghanistan, Health Care Reform, Immigration Reform, Gays in the Military, Limits on Executive Powers, Torture Prosecution, and Global Warming. He then went through and checked every single item as “Not Done.”

To see an outlet like SNL spoof the president like this blew my mind. It gave a clear signal that the honeymoon is over, and Obama needs to start getting results or his popularity will suffer.

The one thing they left off the list was Obama’s promise that the $787 billion stimulus package would create 3.5 million jobs. The answer to that is also “Not Done,” and with the worst unemployment in over 25 years this wasn’t a promise I wanted to see unfulfilled.

To further add to Obama’s diminishing star, the Olympic Committee this week took the U.S. out of the running for hosting the 2016 Olympics in the FIRST round. Oy. The indignant shock in Chicago was palpable. They thought there was no way they could lose with Barack, Michelle AND Oprah personally going over there to make the presentation. The Olympic Committee wasn’t impressed though, and it’s a shame because I was really hoping the U.S. would get the Olympics again.

Personally I’m glad the honeymoon is coming to an end so maybe we can get real now. I hope that everyone, conservative and liberal alike will now start holding the president accountable for results. We really need some.

“God, please bless the president and his family. Help strengthen him and guide him during these difficult times in our country, and let your light shine through it all. Amen.”

Shrouded

I read an article today entitled “Scientist recreates Turin Shroud to show it’s fake.” I chuckled when I read the title because I thought it was pretty stupid to say that just because they can make one that looks like the original that it means the original is a fake. That’s like saying if we can create fire by rubbing two sticks together like they did before matches then the original fire was fake.

To me, the disturbing part isn’t whether or not the shroud is a fake, I could care less, it’s that they’re touting this experiment as a means to take a shot at religion. They know they can’t disprove Christ completely, so they have to go after the next best thing: the religious icons.

Intelligent people understand that even if a religious icon is proven to be a fake, it doesn’t change the message of Christ. Unfortunately there are unsaved people out there that view this revelation to mean that Christians are liars, and now they’ve been found out.

It’s a simple tactic to chip away at the legitimacy of religion and scare people away from seeking God.

If you think I’m being paranoid, then think about the fact that the entire experiment was commissioned and funded by the Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics. Why would they go through such lengths to prove the shroud is a fake? What would be the purpose of an organization that doesn’t believe in God to spend a lot of money just to say “Ha! You’re religious icon isn’t real!”

This of course brings up the inherent problem of people putting stock in a religious icon as something of faithful significance.

Christ stayed away from that kind of stuff. His only ceremony was the last supper, and the only icon he presented, in my mind anyway, was washing his disciple’s feet.

But unfortunately various religions use icons as part of their belief system, and when someone debunks the icon, it leaves a hole in their faith, and brings doubt upon whether or not the god they believe in is truly real.

The Shroud of Turin is just a cloth with an impression on it. No one knows for sure if it was on Jesus or not, so the easy answer is to believe that it is not.

Stick with the things that are real, like the teachings of Christ. You can’t go wrong with that.

“God, the enemy never rests in their effort to keep people away from you. Help those of us who believe in your grace and glory to do a better job of making sure they fail. Amen.”

Reclaimed

My wife and I are members of the McNay Art Museum and were invited to a preview event for an art exhibit opening this week. The collection of paintings is incredible, and the story behind them is even more astounding.

Jacques Goudstikker was a man living in Amsterdam in the late 30’s who had a passion for art. He spent years collecting works of European old world masters and amassed a collection estimated to be 1,400 paintings which he displayed in his art museum. It included such works as The entrance to a harbor by Simon de Vlieger and Ferry Boat with cattle on the River Vecht near Nijenrode by Salomon van Ruysdael, to name a few.

Life was good. Jacques met and married Viennese opera singer Désirée von Halban Kurz in 1937, and they were the toast of Amsterdam.

Then the Nazis came to town. Jacques hid his family, and for a few months tried to smuggle things out of the country. But he soon felt it was too dangerous for them to stay in the country because you see, Jacques was a Jew.

Jacques and his family managed to get passage on a ship out of the country. Unfortunately most of his relatives decided to stay, and died at Auschwitz. But just as tragically, less than 48 hours after Jacques escaped the country he took a late night walk on the deck of the ship and fell through an open passage hatch and died.

Back in Amsterdam, the Nazis looted his museum. Hermann Göring himself came to the museum and took several hundred paintings.

For over 60 years Jacques family has been trying to hunt down the stolen collection. After WWII the paintings that Göring stole ended up in the hands of the Dutch, but for some reason they wouldn’t return them.

Between 1996 and 1998, Dutch investigative journalist Pieter den Hollander attracted international attention with his exposé of how the post-war restitution of stolen art often ignored the rights of the legal owners. But thanks to the efforts of many people fighting for the family’s rights, 202 paintings were returned to them in 2006.

These paintings are on display at the McNay until January 10th of next year, and they are stunning. Jacques daughter-in-law and grand daughter were there last night to give a presentation about the exhibit. Their story is compelling, and their work is far from over.

Interestingly enough, they said that most of the time when they discover some of their stolen artwork in European museums it is returned almost immediately now. The country that has given them the most problem is… you guessed it… the United States. They are battling several museums in California who refuse to return their paintings even when presented with positive proof of ownership. The one U.S. museum that did immediately return a painting that was discovered in it was here in Texas. It’s nice to know Texans respect other people’s property.

“God, war is never a good thing, and the events of WWII continue to affect us even today. I pray that we never let this happen again. Amen.”

What if it happened to you?

A judge in Switzerland denied Roman Polanski’s request to be released from prison today. I was amazed he even asked! Here’s a guy who did bad things to a child and then admitted it, but after being let out on bail he fled to France.

What disturbs me about this is how big Hollywood stars are clamoring for his release. What’s wrong with these people? He’s an admitted sex offender who fled from justice, and because he went to France and made some good movies he should get a pass?

I’d like to see how they’d feel if it had been THEIR daughter Polanski molested.

Just my two cents.