Nobles and Knaves, the contest

[thedrifter]

Article published Dec 23, 2007
Nobles and Knaves, the contest


December 23, 2007

WASHINGTON TIMES EDITORIAL - As 2007 comes to a close, it is time once again to look back over the year at the many saints and sinners, smart moves and stumbles profiled in our weekly "Nobles and Knaves" column with our annual contest. The winners (or losers) of the titles will be determined by you, the reader. Below is a review of our nominees. To vote, send an e-mail to noble@washingtontimes.com with "Nobles Contest" in the subject line or send a fax to 202-715-0037. Entries must be received by Jan. 1. When voting, please remember that only this year's nominees are eligible, and that votes sent en masse with the intention of unfairly weighting the nominees will not be considered.

For Noble of the Year, select three:

• Cpl. Jason Dunham, the Navy SEAL who used his body to smother an enemy grenade and save the lives of his fellow Marines. Cpl. Dunham did not survive.

• Hal Koster, the former co-owner of Fran O'Brien's Stadium Steakhouse, who lost his restaurant's lease at the Hilton Hotel but continued to host free steak dinners for wounded soldiers recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

• The French court that acquitted editor Philippe Val after he reprinted the infamous "Muhammad cartoons" in the French weekly Charlie-Hebdo.

• North Carolina State's Attorney Roy Cooper, who threw out charges against three Duke University Lacrosse players after the witchhunt and media circus started by now-ousted Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong.

• Liviu Librescu, a Holocaust survivor and Virginia Tech professor, who was killed during the shooting spree while trying to barricade his classroom door, saving the lives of all of his students.

• Samantha Larson, 18, the youngest American to climb Mt. Everest and the youngest person to climb the "Seven Summits," or the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents.

• The 400 sixth-graders from a Dallas middle school whose "fun run" fund-raiser provided enough money for two clean-water-pump systems for rural villages in sub-Saharan Africa.

• Lee Edwards, who worked for 17 years to erect the Victims of Communism Memorial.

• F. Keith Miller, a Virginia high-school lunchroom worker who uses his bonuses to give a scholarship to a graduating senior.

• D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff for throwing out the ludicrous lawsuit filed by Roy Pearson for $54 million over a pair of pants allegedly lost by a dry cleaning company.

• Norman Borlaug, a Congressional Gold Medal recipient, who is credited with saving perhaps a billion lives after making substantial agricultural discoveries that staved off starvation all over the world.

• Rescue workers, for their tireless efforts at such national disasters as the collapsed bridge over the Mississippi River, a Utah coal mine collapse and the San Diego wildfires.

• Chen Guangchen, who was honored this year for his activism on behalf of the women in a Chinese province being forced to undergo late-term abortions and sterilization.

• Capt. Dan Rooney, an Oklahoma Air National Guard pilot and professional golfer, who created a fund-raiser at thousands of golf courses across the country, where an extra dollar would be charged to benefit the families of wounded soldiers.

• Senate Republicans, who voted down Sen. Jim Webb's amendment to the defense authorization bill which would have left the military short-staffed.

• President Bush, for vetoing the State Children's Health Insurance bill, that would have moved scores of children from private to government-subsidized coverage.

• The 14th Dalai Lama, who was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for his lifelong pursuit of peace for Tibet.

• World Vision, the Christian humanitarian organization that donates unsaleable sports clothing to impoverished countries.

• John Kanzius, who may have developed a cure for cancer using his knowledge of radio waves.

• The Washington Redskins, for participating in the Harvest Feast food bank and donating holiday meals to needy families.

• The Washington Wizards, for donating money to the family of a woman who was disfigured in a domestic-abuse attack and helping them get back on their feet.

• Jeanne Assam, the volunteer security guard who took down a gunman on a shooting spree at a Colorado church.

For Knave of the Year, select three:

• Philadelphia Mayor John Street, who claimed that graphic images from Iraq have increased the city's gun violence and homicide rate.

• D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who snubbed first lady Laura Bush by refusing her invitation to sit together at the State of the Union address.

• Washington Post writer William Arkin, who called U.S. soldiers in Iraq mercenaries in an article he wrote for The Post's Web site.

• D.C. hospitals, for forgetting about the remains of more than 100 stillborn babies and fetuses that were found in morgue refrigerators long past the 30-day deadline for proper disposal.

• Iraqi insurgents, who used children as decoys to pass through a Baghdad security checkpoint and then detonated a car bomb, killing the children and three bystanders.

• U.S. District Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz, who gave light sentences to two executives from the Golden State Fence Co., who knowingly hired illegal aliens to build part of a border fence.

• Don Imus, the loud-mouthed radio host who called the Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos."

• The New Sanctuary Movement, a religious-based cooperative aiming to harbor illegal aliens and provide legal counsel in their congregations.

• Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles, whose employees encouraged underage girls inquiring about abortion to lie about their age to avoid having to report cases of statutory rape.

• Angelina Jolie, the star of the movie "A Mighty Heart," based on the life of slain reporter Daniel Pearl, for trying to ban Fox News from the red-carpet premier even though the film is endorsed by the pro-free-press group Reporters Without Borders.

• Pat and Sheena Wheaton, the New Zealand couple who petitioned to name their baby "4real." When they were rejected, they settled on the moniker Superman.

• Michael Vick, former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, who was indicted and subsequently sentenced to prison for his involvement in an illegal dog-fighting venture and animal abuse charges.

• New Haven, Conn., Mayor John DeStefano, who offered sanctuary to the thousands of illegal immigrants in his city by offering ID cards to residents which provide access to city services.

• The Hawk 'n' Dove, a Capitol Hill watering hole that refuses entry to Marines unless they are in uniform or accompanied by a date.

• Keith Olbermann, for saying that Fox News is "worse than al Qaeda" and "as dangerous" as the Ku Klux Klan in an interview with Playboy magazine.

• The Islamic Republic of Iran, for, among other offenses made this year, publishing a booklet accusing Canada of human-rights violations.

• Ted Turner, CNN founder, who once again put his foot in his mouth when he said that North Koreans are skinny, and therefore healthy, ignoring the excessive starvation throughout the country.

• The seven George Washington University (GW) students who made satirical anti-Muslim posters to protest the conservative Young America's Foundation and their Islamo-fascism awareness week, and to portray them as bigots.

• GW President Stephen Knapp, who let the poster offenders mentioned above off with a slap on the wrist after vowing to take action against the perpetrators.

• Sarah Marshak, a Jewish freshman GW student, who drew swastikas on her own door to prompt school officials to work faster in finding the real perpetrator(s) who had tagged several other doors in a spate of racist vandalism.

• The six illegal aliens who were arrested for stealing supplies donated to the victims of the San Diego wildfires.

• Marine Sgt. Timothy Allen DeBusk of Topeka, Kans., for lying about receiving a Purple Heart in order to get a special vanity license plate.

Ellie

[Dave Coup]

Great post Ellie with one comment, at the start of the article Jason Dunham is called a 'Navy Seal' and although there are worse things a person could be called, he was a United Ststes Marine!