I admit to a feeling of petty glee at the mass strokes that would afflict right-wingers at Al Gore winning the Nobel but as someone who fervently believes global warming and a host of other environmental crises to be the biggest threat facing humanity at the moment, I really do feel there's a case to be made there. I am as interested in humanitarian causes as anyone I know but if the planet becomes too degraded to sustain human civilization as we know it, everything else becomes a hypothetical concern. To put it bluntly, if no one can find drinking water then wars over water itself will become the norm or we will all be dead from thirst. Just for the record, I think, (barring the worst case scenario where Earth's atmosphere changes to that of Venus,) the planet itself will survive and in millenia to come will recover-many species might be lost forever, but many more will evolve over time and new ecosystems and life will prevail, (if nothing like what we can now concieve of,) it's just humans who are committing mass suicide of a sort.

Kevin:

Funniest thing I've read in months. Go AL!

Jake

Did you read MoDo's bitchy rant about how Al is still a self-righteous know-it-all who she wouldn't want to have a drink with?

When the revolution comes...

I do not care who wins the Nobel Peace Prize. As I understand it, the thing has to be awarded on a regular schedule, meaning some recipients are bound to be more worthy than others.

I do notice the trend that associates all manner of good things -- right up to the cause of world peace -- with sticking a thumb in the eye of the domestic political opposition. "But, Mommy, they started it" is the usual response, which can be elicited from conservative Republicans as easily as from liberal Democrats. The trend is not something brand new, but it hasn't been as dominant in American politics as it is now in quite some time.

Uh, the conservatives had a pretty negative reaction when Carter took it. Not convinced that much changed as a result.

Gore's movie is a triumph. He probably deserves a Nobel Prize. He surely deserves one more than Jimmy Carter and Yasir Arafat.

I must say, that is the best reason i have ever heard for rooting for someone to win the Nobel prize. Go big Al!

I said the same thing last night: http://40yrs.blogspot.com/2007/10/al-gore-nomined-for-nobel-republican.html

Only I said, " Al Gore Nomined for Nobel, Republican Heads Explode

Yes, Al Gore has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

If he wins, he's going to make the wingnut freak out over Jimmy carter look like a bloody pick nick.

heh"

Yes, great discomfiture on the Right! Even better: Hillary-Obama wins in 2008, white woman and black man in the White House!
(Technically, VP has separate residence, but you get the idea...)

With respect the Modo column I was initially taken aback by what seemed to be a rant aimed at Al Gore. On further reading, it was clearly meant to be the voice of Clarence Thomas bitching out Anita Hill.

Few have been more deserving than Carter, Ex-lib, tho' Arafat was a lapse as was Kissinger (and whoever from N.V.).

"If Gore does win, I expect it to cause a massive collective seizure among the conservative crackpot brigade, and that would do more to advance the cause of world peace than anything else I can think of."

I just don't think A leads to B, and I can also think of a lot of things that are more likely to lead to world peace - like the election of (nearly) any Democrat to the White House in 2008.

So glad to see your tendencies for decency and open-mindedness no longer obscure the realities of the insane world we live in.

Damn straight Al should win.

It's hard to take the Nobel Peace prize seriously when you consider the fact that Kissinger won it. Apparently, the committee was impressed by the fact the Kissinger ended the Vietnam war with only two million extra civilian deaths (those occurring after 1968).

**

Oh great! We're all set for another look into the right-wing abyss, where the Nobel committee becomes yet one more partisan special interest group making a political move to show how much they hate the US.

Me, I can't wait to hear right-wingers pointing out how Nobel invented dynamite, and then set up an award for peace. Why, he's the ultimate flip-flopper! No wonder his group would pick someone like Gore!

Why would a collective seizure by the right do anything to advance peace?

After many years of voting Democrat, I simply could not swallow the idea of voting for this phony.
Posted by: mhr

First of all troll-boy, no one around here believes for a second that you've ever voted for a Democrat, unless your mother's basement is in a house in Alabama and you were referring to voting prior to 1972. Second, Al Gore's not running for anything. He's already proven he could win the presidency of this once great nation. Now, I'm pretty sure that not even Gore wants to try to clean up the mess that Shrub and company has made of America.

Al Gore wins the Nobel Peace Prize, and then Hillary appoints Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz, and Larry Tribe to the Supreme Court after Alito, Scalia, and Thomas die (painlessly, one hopes) of apoplexy. Dream big!

OT, Paul Krugman cracks me up with a Talking Heads reference:

"Now, as they survey the wreckage of their cause, conservatives may ask themselves: 'Well, how did we get here?' They may tell themselves: 'This is not my beautiful Right.' They may ask themselves: 'My God, what have we done?'

"But their movement is the same as it ever was. And Mr. Bush is movement conservatism’s true, loyal heir."

He forgot to quote them over the past six years, along their way to destroying the United States: "How do I work this?"

JeffII: First of all troll-boy, no one around here believes for a second that you've ever voted for a Democrat, unless your mother's basement is in a house in Alabama and you were referring to voting prior to 1972.

Snerk!

After many years of voting Democrat, I simply could not swallow the idea of voting for this phony.

So mhr, what exctly can you swollow? Sen. Craig wants to know.

Why would Al Gore get the Nobel Peace Prize? I understand that he's been involved in movie-making and promoting his theories about climate change, and along the way he's made about $100 million, but what does any of that have to do with world peace? Anyone?

DBL, a degrading global environment will lead to massive global instability. You think we got problems now....

I have to admit, when I read "Al's Nobel Prize" here my first thought was that Kevin was referring to his frequent commenter troll "Al", and not to the Vice-President.

OT, Paul Krugman cracks me up with a Talking Heads reference:

"Now, as they survey the wreckage of their cause, conservatives may ask themselves: 'Well, how did we get here?' They may tell themselves: 'This is not my beautiful Right.' They may ask themselves: 'My God, what have we done?' Posted by: shortstop

Dog bless Paul Krugman!

"We're livin' on nuts and berries . . ."

...the Nobel committee becomes yet one more partisan special interest group making a political move to show how much they hate the US.

Oh, you noticed that too?

At least last year's recipient actually earned it.

You think we got problems now....

Well, actually, he doesn't think so. In the parallel reality inside DBL's head, it's all too beautiful. Victory (of every variety, in every venue) is at hand.

Don't be a sourpuss, harrybroszy.

If Gore win a Nobel, Bush will demand a recount and appeal to the Supreme Court.

Suppose Krugman wins the Economics prize? It's possible...

perhaps it's appropriate at this time to recall tom lehrer's comment when he heard that henry kissinger had just won the nobel peace prize:

awarding this prize to henry kissinger has made
political satire obsolete.

question: how would you compare al gore's mental capacity to that of henry kissinger's?:

i don't know, pygmy to giant, maybe-----and that's
giving al gore a hell of a lot of benefit of the doubt.

Alan Dershowitz, and Larry Tribe to the Supreme Court . . . Dream big! Posted by: anandine

Why in dog's name would you want Dershowitz on the Supreme Court? He's about two steps above an ambulance chaser, and his "liberal" positions are nearly as scary as Scalia's conservative positions.

Hell, why stop there? Why not get Bruce Cutler and Gerry Spence?

"...If Gore does win, I expect it to cause a massive collective seizure among the conservative crackpot brigade..."
----
Yep. There will also be a significant increase in sightings of blue hats in black helicopters.

'Publicans
I’m mad...and that’s a fact
I found out...'publicans don’t help
'Publicans think...they’re pretty smart
Shit on the ground...see in the dark.

They wander around like a crazy dog
Make a mistake in the parking lot
Always bumping into things
Always let you down down down down.

They’re never there when you need them
They never come when you call them
They’re never there when you need them
The never come when you call them down down down down.

I know the 'publicans...are laughing at us
They don’t even know...what a joke is
I won’t follow...'publican’s advice
I don’t care...if they’re laughing at us.

They’re never there when you need them
They never come when you call them
They’re never there when you need them
The never come when you call them down down down down.

They say they don’t need money
They’re living on nuts and berries
They say 'publicans don’t worry
You know 'publicans are hairy?
They think they know what’s best
They’re making a fool of us
They ought to be more careful
They’re setting a bad example
They have untroubled lives
They think everything’s nice
They like to laugh at people
They’re setting a bad example
(go ahead) laugh at me.

'Publicans

"...the Nobel committee becomes yet one more partisan special interest group making a political move to show how much they hate the US."

Oh, you noticed that too?

I noticed that the chump who would make such a statement would be a - now how did I put it? - "... another look into the right-wing abyss ..."

Did you notice that too?

I mean, it's already taking ignorance to an appalling level to talk about the "anti-US agenda" of a group that's given awards to the US nearly as much as all other nations combined. But to not even understand the earlier part of the same sentence? Wow, just wow....

Is the Nobel Prize chatter level higher this year than it has been in previous years? I don't recall ever having heard people going public with whom they nominated. Or perhaps it was just never picked up by the news/blogs media.

It isn't a big deal if Gore wins, unless it catalyzes a presidential campaign.

Should this come to pass, I predict that Jonah Lucianne, the reasonable conservative that he is, will be moved to have Al's baby.

It would also be a wonderful way for the Nobel Committee to put its collective thumb in our collective eye. So I am hoping that we, the US, are absolutely socked in the nose. We deserve it.

... Nobel prizes have become a laughing stock. This guy Gore will fly anywhere in his private jet... mhr at 1:06 PM

I can think of very few things more frightening than Alan Dershowitz on the SCOTUS.

But if you are looking for the neocons to get a foothold on the court after they lose the WH and congress, then that is the way to go.

If he doesn't run I'll never speak his name again. Like Bill C and Ralph N he will be a traitor for refusing to help us battle America's greatest internal enemy, the Republic Party.

"George Ryan, a convicted Republican from Illinois"

Understand that Illinois is trying a new method to speed up their political process - Convict first, elect second - Just run operations from Joliet.

T'would be very good news for Al Gore to win the Nobel Peace Prize - For Shrub, his would have to be, simply, the TNT portion of Nobel's work. More of a "Pieces Prize".

A lot of people seem confused; the Nobel peace prize is awarded for a good work, not for being a good person. Hence war mongers like Theodore Roosevelt, Kissinger, and Yassir Arafat received the prize when they acted for peace, even though their actions subsequently proved transitory and largely ineffective.

The Nobel Committee does often like to make a political statement with the prize. Mohamed El Baradei for opposing the Bush Weapons of Mass Destruction hysteria and Linus Pauling for opposing Edward Teller and atmospheric nuclear testing are two that come to mind. Yes they gave the prize to Kissinger and Le Toc Tho, but they also gave it to Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Kim Dae Jung, Doctors Without Borders, Aung San Suu Kye, Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walesa, Andrei Sakharov, Willey Brandt, George Marshall – you get my drift, a whole bunch a really great people. Al’s name would look great added to the list.

Gore could match George Bernard Shaw, who to date is the only person to win both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar [The Nobel for literature, the Oscar for the screenplay of Pygmalion] - Though unlike Gore, Shaw never won an Emmy.

Just run operations from Joliet

I think you mean Stateville. Joliet prison has been shut down for several years now. It was recently used as the set for some TV show.

Joliet prison is shut down? You mean they closed the "Charm School" in Joliet? Where is Lincoln Park towing going to hire it's drivers? Do Jake and Elwood know about this?

"Al Gore has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize."

Not only that, but the nomination came from the Norwegian Parliament.

Who selects the Nobel peace prize committee? The Norwegian Parliament.

My money is on Gore.

OHHHHHHHHHHH Kevin? Got a problem here. I seen to have a lot of blood & guts on the inside of my monitor screen. I think it came from Egbert & Al - not sure.

Thanks a lot!

I hope he doesn't go into his alpha male routine at the Nobel ceremony and embarrass our nation.

I hope he doesn't go into his alpha male routine at the Nobel ceremony and embarrass our nation.

Yeah, I hear he's going to Stockholm wearing a codpiece....

George Bernard Shaw won a Nobel prize and an Oscar, but it is little remembered that he was nominated for and nearly won a Grammy for his famous lyric,

"Gonna boogie oogie oogie
'Til I just can't boogie no more."

Insane liberal media...crackpot liberal committees awarding awards to people who believe in concepts like "science" and "truth"...must be ever more vigilant...must make speeches about welfare mothers milking the system...must blow out the brains of innocent Iraqis...long hair!!!...long hair!!!...men with long hair!!!...liberalism...liberalism...must speak with Lynne...must add more bars to the windows...bullet-proof glass...must invest in sweatshops run by slave labor....

Dream on wschneid25. Well it takes intelligence to discern it in others!

Kevin seems to get more of the 90 IQs than other sane BLOGS.

"Oh the foe will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
And they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And they'll know that it's for real
The hour when the ship comes in"

This brings a tear to my left eye, knowing that the Norwegian Nobel Institute has finally attained a level of credibility on par with that of the [equally non-political, of course] Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

An Oscar for Michael Moore and and a Nobel Prize for Al Gore. Mmmmmm, delicious AND nutritious. Can I get a side of [equally delicious and nutritious] fries with that?