Quoted from GrahamBonnet

Really, for all you men out there- do you remember a simpler time when you had to eat a worm or nightcrawler to prove to your pals what a tough guy you were? Those damn things tasted just like dirt! I think I was 12 the last time I chewed on a worm to show how cool I was! Then when I hunted and shot my first Woodcock I thought " I will be damned if I have to eat this wormy tasting thing!" But I will tell you something, they fly like helicopters and twice as fast up and off of the swamps! Reflecting on that- when I was about 11 years old, picking nightcrawlers on the grass in the dead of night in Central Park with my Dad and friends, and plopping them into a Maxwell House can- that was as much fun as fishing the next day! WHO remembers that? And tell me, did we have it made that something so simple could keep us excited way back then??? Now the poor kids need all kinds of money and electronics to stimulate them! How sad!

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Obama’s work for world peace fits Nobel’s criteria

    Much has been written and discussed in papers and talk shows regarding President Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On Oct. 20, a letter by Mr. Angelino questioned if the Nobel Committee was manipulating our individual freedoms.
    Perhaps those who feel strongly about this matter should examine the words that Alfred Nobel used in his will that established the original five Nobel Prizes. For the Peace Prize, it clearly states, “and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
    Alfred Nobel was reportedly infl uenced by Bertha von Suttner, who was awarded the Peace Prize in 1905, and who worked for arbitration and peace in place of armed force. Nobel selected Norway to administer the Peace Prize, rather than Sweden, because the Norwegian Parliament had become heavily involved in the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s work to resolve conflicts via arbitration and mediation.
    Our president, whether he or she is Democratic or Republican, is possibly the most influential person in the world. Our president’s actions carry more weight than any other person. Because of this position, our president has tremendous sway over the policies other nations pursue.
    President Obama’s push to improve relations between nations, not confrontation, and his efforts to reduce nuclear weapons, are clearly actions that merit consideration under the wording of Alfred Nobel’s will. I’d submit that he has done more than anyone during his brief time to “for fraternity between nations . . .”

    DON COOPER
    Amsterdam