Free Republic

Truth often sounds like fiction, especially when it does not fit the listener’s model of the world and what they believe to be in the realm of possibility. If you lived in Germany in 1933, you might hear news the new chancellor, Adolf Hitler, was arresting political opponents and putting them in a newly built prison. Unless you knew those people personally, you might dismiss the news as a conspiracy theory designed to hurt Hitler. Later, in November of 1938, when you heard the news of Jews being rounded up and sent to the same prison, you might dismiss it...

President Obama on Friday praised Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo for his Nobel Peace Prize win and called on the Chinese government to release Liu from prison. He is serving an 11-year sentence for "subversion" related to his authoring of a treatise demanding broad political reform in the country. Obama, who won last year's Peace Prize, noted in a statement that "many others who have received the award [have] sacrificed" much more than he has. "That list now includes Mr. Liu, who has sacrificed his freedom for his beliefs," he said. "By granting the prize to Mr. Liu, the Nobel Committee...

[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,...

The Republican National Committee has issued a political response to the president’s Nobel Peace Prize, blasting the Nobel Committee for denying the prize to unnamed “tireless advocates” and attacking the president’s domestic record. The quote, from RNC Chairman Michael Steele: The real question Americans are asking is, “What has President Obama actually accomplished?” It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain — President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with...

Looking at the news and the millions of people around the globe mourning the Pope and the encomiums filing in from everyone, I can't help but to think that maybe the Noble Prize committee made a mistake when they did not give the Holy Father the Noble Peace Prize this past time. See story What struck me was Senator Dodd's statement that he met the Pope in 1983 and gave him a message from Lech Walesa:(See Story) "Lech Walesa wanted to know if his solidarity movement was overusing the church," said Dodd. He said the pope's answer was no, he...