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Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, known as the emolument clause, states: "And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Price or foreign State. …" Most Americans may not realize, as I did not until very recently, that the Nobel commission is elected by the parliament of Norway. That means the peace prize is made by a commission representing the legislature of a foreign state. There's little question the award amounts to an...

If only the Nobel Committee and the American voting public had dug a bit deeper before they endorsed Obama, they might not have been so surprised when he morphed into an unexpected type of president. The New York Times reported in February 2008 that Obama had a history of stretching his accomplishments and playing to his audience of the moment. It would have been easy to see what was coming if only voters had paid more attention to his record as a twister of facts and prince of prevarication...

The classic textbook example of the fallacy is a stadium full of seated people. When one person stands up, he gets a better view -- which he acquires at the expense of the people behind him. But if everyone stands up, then nobody's view is really improved. The fallacy is commonly committed when you conclude, after seeing that one person can live better at someone else's expense, that everyone can therefore live better at everyone else's expense. If a scheme relies on shifting costs to somebody else, then it will only work as long as someone exists to absorb the...

Firebrand leaders Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales and Robert Mugabe turned up the heat at the UN climate talks, dumping the blame for global warming squarely at the feet of capitalism. Mr Chavez, the President of Venezuela, was one of the first world leaders to take the podium at the venue of the Copenhagen talks. He seized the occasion to characterise newly-minted Nobel Peace laureate US President Barack Obama as a warmonger. "I don't think Obama is here yet," said Mr Chavez. "He got the Nobel Peace Prize almost the same day as he sent 30,000 soldiers to kill innocent people...

Toby Keith may think his Nobel Peace Prize party eye gesture wasn't a big deal -- but TWO Asian organizations are furious about it, claiming the "racist" maneuver wasn't just offensive, it was an embarrassment to his country. As TMZ first reported, Keith pulled back his eyes when Will Smith rapped the word "yellow" during an impromptu performance in Norway a few days ago -- Toby's rep blew it off, telling us, "nobody at the party thought Toby was out of line." But outside the party -- people are pissed. A rep for the Asian American Justice Center tells TMZ,...

Video can be found at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-LwgTbgbHE Just wanted to share this video the University Republicans made in response to Obama accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. The group went around campus for a couple hours asking students what they "intend" to do to receive a Nobel Peace Prize; for their responses, students were given edible, chocolate Prizes. :-) We wanted to make a serious and entertaining policy critique while showing the various student responses. There are some student responses at the beginning; then a hypocrisy-and-inaction montage of news clips; then back to student responses after Professor Pape's commentary at...

BOSTON (Reuters) – Paul Samuelson, whose work helped form the basis of modern economics, died on Sunday in his home in Belmont, Massachusetts, after a brief illness. He was 94. > Among MIT's prominent alumni are Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke, Nobel laureate New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, and Christina Romer, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. >

Here is video of Mike Huckabee giving his take on Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech...(Video)Huckabee said "the fact that some in the audience and others in the Left Wing fringe back home hated the speech is probably a good indication that it was a reasonable and rational explanation for why sometimes war is a necessary act." Huckabee said Obama showed "courage and clarity" in what he said and urged Obama to show the same "clarity" on the domestic issues when he returns home.

Current TV, the independent cable network led by former VP Al Gore aired this cartoon parody of Obama's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize. The cartoon character Thorbjorn Jagland is just a tad reluctant to hand over the medal to Obama in light of the decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan. The decision "feels very Bushy." Evidently Al and libs have a hard time with the decision despite Obama's repeated campaign promise to focus on finishing the job in Afghanistan. Is it me or did everyone who voted for Obama just hear what they wanted to hear during that...

This is precious! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Uny-qSz6Wk

Here is video of John Bolton talking with Laura Ingraham about Obama's Nobel speech...(Video)John Bolton called the speech "shallow and sophomoric" and said "because he says a nice thing about America every once in a while doesn't change the fundamental philosophy at work in his brain." Bolton said Obama's speech was "filled with fundamental errors" and revealed "his mindset which is post-American."

OSLO, Norway - There’s no reason to apologize for supporting U.S. war efforts, American country singer Toby Keith said Friday, just hours before performing at the annual Nobel Peace Prize concert. Keith, whose 2002 saber-rattling hit “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” was inspired by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said he stands by President Barack Obama’s decision to send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. Keith’s appearance at the downtown Oslo Spektrum arena, scheduled for 1900 GMT (2 p.m. EST), has been questioned by Norwegians dismayed that a performer known for a fervent pro-war anthem is playing...

After seeing the nausea inspiring dress Michelle Obama wore to the Nobel reception for her Zero, I am forced to admit something disturbing. As the great Christopher Walkin would say, I got a fever and the only prescription is more boob belt!

Fortunately, there are still a few right thinking Americans who don’t feel the need to clap like trained seals every time Obama tosses them a sardine in the form of a positive comment about America. John Bolton gave his critique of Obama’s Nobel acceptance speech to Greta: “Greta: What do you think of the speech? Ambassador John Bolton: I thought it was a pretty bad speech. I thought it was turgid, repetitive, I thought it was analytically weak, sort of at a high school level. It’s like he didn’t have any lead in his pencil after his speeches at the...

Scenes from Oslo and a song about Obama from West Side Story. Due to high viewer demand, I, Granny Jan, sing again.

American country singer Toby Keith says he won't apologize for supporting U.S. war efforts just hours before performing at the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert. Keith says he supports American troops who "fight evil" abroad and that he stands by President Barack Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan. Obama is this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

As the majority of the country applauds Obama’s defense of a robust American foreign policy in Oslo, we should examine our assumptions. Is it really self-evident that we want to see an activist foreign policy employed by acolytes of Jeremiah “God Damn America” Wright who accused Israel of racism? Would we really be comfortable with the foreign policy initiatives of Bill ”Pentagon Bomber” Ayers? Of Van “I am a communist” Jones? Of Anita “My favorite political philosopher was Mao” Dunn? Is it unfair to point out that many in the Obama administration and in his past are not in the...

Many years ago there was a brief TV show which had as its highlight talking dogs. The dogs’ owners had trained their pets to utter sounds that sounded like a faint echo of human speech. After being prompted for a minute or so the dog would utter sound that sounded like a distorted version of human speech. The one word that I remember a dog sounding out was “hamburger.” And the crowd applauded. I was reminded of that after Obama gave his acceptance speech at Oslo’s Nobel Peace ceremony today. In it, the President of the United States stopped, just...

Earlier today, Pres. Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in a ceremony in Oslo. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton tells NRO that President Obama’s address in the Norwegian capital was “pedestrian, turgid, and uninspired.” “It followed the standard international leftist line,” says Bolton. “He played to the crowd and filled the speech with clichés from the American and international left by saying ‘America cannot act alone’ and that he ‘prohibited torture.’ The speech was also typical of Obama in its self-centeredness and ‘something for everybody’ approach.” “It was so diffuse that though I wouldn’t...

Repost considering the speech today. Hilarious Steven Crowder video. "Doing the laundry, got a peace prize Mowing the lawn, got a peace prize"

Repost considering the speech today. Hilarious Steven Crowder video. "Doing the laundry, got a peace prize Mowing the lawn, got a peace prize"

Earlier today in Oslo, Norway, President Barack Obama finally, formally accepted his Nobel Prize for "peace." But where are the internationally-acclaimed prizes for "liberty" and "justice"? These are far worthier goals -- far loftier ideals. Politically speaking, and in other ways too, what the world needs above all else -- today and always -- is individual liberty and universal justice! If the Nobel Committee is going to embrace questionable, unworthy goals and dubious, lowly ideals, why not sink all the way down to giving out renowned awards for international "security," or even multinational "stability"? Clearly there are times when peace...

"As a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism — it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason."

Here is video of Charles Krauthammer today reacting to President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech delivered in Oslo, Norway earlier today. Krauthammer described Obama as "preening" before a "hall of well-dressed European lefty twits." But he assessed it as a "rather good speech," because he defended the role of America in defending the security and stability of the world over the past 60 years. He defended "just war" as well. Krauthammer also praised the speech for criticizing human rights abuses in Iran and China, but said he wishes Obama's actions would match his words. . . . (VIDEO)

OSLO – President Barack Obama's decision to break with tradition and not follow the lead of past Nobel Peace Prize winners bewildered some Norwegians. Others thought he was being impolite. Obama had quite a whirlwind day Thursday — he signed the Nobel guest book, huddled with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, met with King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and delivered an acceptance speech after he was formally presented with the prize. He also was joining the king and queen at an evening banquet.

HAVANA: Fidel Castro is calling President Barack Obama's accepting of the Nobel Peace Prize a "cynical act," given that he is sending 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan. The 83-year-old former Cuban leader initially applauded Obama's selection, but he has backed off that recently. In a column on a government website on Wednesday, Castro wrote: "Why did Obama accept the Nobel Peace Prize when he had already decided to take the war in Afghanistan to its ultimate limit?" Castro said Obama "was not obligated to commit a cynical act" by accepting the prize. He said Obama's Dec. 1 speech during...

More than 6,000 people marched in Oslo after US President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize with a speech justifying war, urging him to live up to the accolade. The crowd marched in a peaceful, torchlight procession aimed at denouncing nuclear weapons and ended up outside Obama's hotel in the Norwegian capital, police and organisers said. Obama - who in his acceptance speech earlier on Thursday said "war is sometimes necessary, and war is at some level an expression of human feelings" - waved to the crowd from his hotel balcony for several minutes with his wife Michelle, protected...

There has been no call by the leftists of the world protesting his war. No Code Pink, International ANSWER, Not In Our Name or other similarly reprehensible group calling President Obama a "chickenhawk," "war criminal," or "murderer," as they did President Bush. No, on the contrary, President Obama received a prize for peace. Indeed he received the most famous such distinction - the Nobel Prize. For his part, President Obama refuted the antiwar mob. Whether he did so knowingly or not, he provided those who went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan - and those who ordered those wars -...

There has been no call by the leftists of the world protesting his war. No Code Pink, International ANSWER, Not In Our Name or other similarly reprehensible group calling President Obama a "chickenhawk," "war criminal," or "murderer," as they did President Bush. No, on the contrary, President Obama received a prize for peace. Indeed he received the most famous such distinction - the Nobel Prize. For his part, President Obama refuted ...

It was one of the lowest moments in 2009 for American celebrity. Taylor Swift was accepting her MTV Music Video Award for best female artist, but Kanye West thought he knew better. He leapt on stage, nicked the microphone, and offered this crude interruption: “Taylor, I’m really happy for you, and I’mma let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Beyoncé looked on, smiling at first, then – as his rant continued – with increasing alarm. It became an internet phenomenon. The words “I’mma let you finish” were plastered onto image after image online,...

As Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the Dalai Lama told Sky News he believed the award was "a little early". He also cautioned the US president against relying too much on his advisers. The Dalai Lama told Sky News: "I think if you are realistic, it may have been a little early but it doesn't matter, I know Obama is a very able person. "Sometimes these individual persons rely on different advice from different people so like former President Bush junior, as a human being I really love him, really wonderful person, very honest, very truthful....

President Obama really laid it on thick in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. He went from war to the economy to global warming. Here's part 1 of the speech. And here's part 2. So, what do you think of his speech?

The text of President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, delivered Thursday in Oslo, Norway, as provided by the White House: Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Distinguished Members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world: I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice. And yet I would be remiss if I did...

President Barack Obama, in Norway to pick up his Nobel Peace Prize, said on Thursday that he did not doubt there were others who may be more deserving of the honor. "I have no doubt that there are others who may be more deserving," Obama said during a press conference with Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. "My task here is to continue on the path that I believe is not only important for America but important for lasting peace and security in the world." The president will formally become a Nobel laureate later on Thursday when he receives his medal...

Barack Obama has arrived in Oslo to receive his Nobel peace prize amid considerable anger over the White House's decision to cancel a series of events normally attended by the prizewinner. Obama is scheduled to meet the Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, and the Norwegian royal family before receiving his medal at a ceremony due to begin at midday. His main speech is scheduled at a banquet tonight. But Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit. The White House has cancelled many of the events peace prize laureates...

Accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo will be one of the trickier occasions of Barack Obama’s presidency. A CNN poll has found that just 19 per cent of Americans think that Obama deserves the prize. And Obama’s facing a lot of heat from the Left over his Afghan war troop increase, including an online petition And the Norwegians, far from being grateful that Obama accepted the prize, are now griping that Obama isn’t spending the whole week there taking part in Scandinavian activities. Most Norwegians believe it was “impolite” of Obama not to lunch with their king, hold a...

OSLO (AFP) – Helicopters buzzed through central Oslo's grey skies Wednesday as the city beefed up security on the eve of US President Barack Obama's visit to accept his controversial Nobel Peace Prize. Two military choppers circled above Obama's hotel while others flew over the city centre, their sound reverberating throughout normally-peaceful Oslo as Norway laid on unprecedented security measures for the visit. "All that noise we are hearing and everything we are seeing, it's a bit creepy," May-Britt Gundersen told AFP as she walked alongside barricades blocking the street facing the Grand Hotel, adding that for Norwegians such a...

Trip to Norway Reignites Debate Over Obama's Qualifications for Prestigious Award. There is a bit of irony in that just 10 days after announcing the deployment of 30,000 more American troops to Afghanistan, President Obama will accept the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize Thursday in Oslo, Norway. the White House said he will acknowledge that he accepts the peace prize as a war president. Aides said he will address Afghanistan and the decision to add troops there and present it in the overall context of the award he is accepting. The peace prize sparked considerable debate over Obama's qualifications: Was his...

Finally some Europeans are angry with Obama—the very ones who are awarding him his Nobel. Katarina Andersson on the president's decision to decline lunch with King Harald and skip his own Nobel exhibit. A day before President Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the president’s treatment of his Norwegian hosts has become hot news across Scandinavia. News outlets across the region are calling Obama arrogant for slashing some of the prize winners’ traditional duties from his schedule. “Everybody wants to visit the Peace Center except Obama,” sniped the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, amid reports the president would snub his...

[Editor’s note: The Nobel Peace Prize is supposed to recognize and reward contributions to world peace. But, for decades, the Prize Committee has made the award a tool of left-wing politics and UN chicanery, risibly awarding the prize to recipients including the late Yassir Arafat, a terrorist, global warmist Al Gore and now President Obama, in recognition of what they believe are Obama’s good intentions and not for anything he has accomplished to date. HUMAN EVENTS believes there are people who actually do contribute to our nation’s peace and prosperity far more than the Nobel recipients. From this year forward,...

We here in Britain are well-aquainted with the haughty disdain with which U.S. President Barack Obama likes to treat his European allies. We might have the largest military force of any European country fighting alongside the Americans in southern Afghanistan, but that doesn’t seem to count for much at the White House, where Mr Obama’s shabby treatment of our prime minister has now become the norm. Whether it is offering him a box set of dvds, or forcing him to conduct important bilateral meetings in the kitchens of the U.N. complex in New York, Mr Obama’s charmless treatment of Gordon...

Large circulation Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun's reporter in Washington, D.C., Mr. Etsunari Kurose, reports in Japanese that Americans are not so hot on the idea of Obama receiving that award in Oslo, Norway.66% of registered voters in a very recent Quinnipiac Poll said Mr. Obama did not have the right to receive that award. Only 26% said that he did.

(snip) The jump in public support for Obama's war policy comes as voters say 66 - 26 percent he does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he will be awarded this week, and 41 percent say the Nobel committee's choice of Obama for the award causes them to think less of it, while 6 percent say it makes them think better of the prize and 49 percent say it makes no difference. (snip) "It's probably a good thing for President Obama that the time difference from Norway means the Nobel presentation will occur while most Americans are sleeping and might...

The Nobel Foundation might  have to reduce the money it awards winners of its prestigous prizes due to the effects of the global financial crisis, its director said on Saturday. The foundation will give 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.5 million) for each prize this year as it has done for most of the last decade. But the downturn could strain resources for future prizes. "It might be in the future we would be forced to lower the prize," Michael Sohlman, Executive Director for the Nobel Foundation, told a press briefing. "We have sailed the storm, but have taken on some...

Oslo (dpa) -- US President Barack Obama will likely spend two nights in Oslo next week where he is to receive his Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said Tuesday. "What can be confirm today is that that he will arrive on Wednesday the 9th, and he will arrive 'late evening' it is said," Geir Lundestad, secretary of the committee, told broadcaster NRK. Obama is due on December 10 to receive his Nobel Peace Prize. He was cited by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The day before...

The Norwegian Government has allocated NOK 92 million to cover extraordinary costs in providing security for US President Barack Obama when he arrives in Oslo to accept his Nobel Peace Prize in December. The police will have NOK 80 million to draw on, and the Norwegian Defence NOK 12 million. Justice Minister Knut Storberget has said that if needed, another NOK 42 million will be available, depending on the length of Obama's visit. Nothing is official as yet, but the President may make a short stop-over at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen, before landing in Oslo on December 9th...

In 2003 Dr [Shirin]Ebadi became the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win the peace prize, which was awarded for her campaign for democracy and human rights. She was abroad during President Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in June and has spent the past five months travelling the world to draw attention to the regime’s alleged electoral fraud and suppression of the opposition. “I am effectively in exile,” she said recently. Oslo's Nobel Peace Committee is "outraged", summoned the Iranian envoy to complain, and plans on making a formal complaint. This is the first time any medal has ever been confiscated...

Obama will travel to Copenhagen next month to attend the climate change conference, ending weeks of uncertainty over whether he would go and after intense pressure from Europe for his presence. Obama will offer to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020, a 30 per cent reduction by 2025 and a 42 per cent drop by 2030... After he attends the summit on December 9, he will fly to Oslo to collect his recently awarded Nobel Peace Prize the following day, and then return to the US. Obama conceded during his trip to China...

White House aides: No Afghan decision before Thanksgiving By Anne E. Kornblut Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, November 19, 2009 12:23 PM SEOUL -- President Obama will not announce his decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan before the Thanksgiving holiday, senior aides said Thursday....

In less than a month President Obama will head to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize — awarded to him not for what he has done, but for what the judges hope he will achieve during his first term. The US leader rarely fails to inspire when he speaks, but he will need all his rhetorical powers when he mounts the podium for this acceptance address. Mr Obama has travelled more widely than any American president in his first year in office. He has delivered stirring speeches to the Arab and Muslim worlds, extended the hand of friendship to...