Convicted felon George Ryan has once again been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, joining Rush Limbaugh and an unknown number of other nominees. The category of "qualified nominators" is stunningly broad, rendering a nomination essentially meaningless. The Nobel committee will release the full nomination list in 2057.
There is no IgNobel prize for peace. That honor is only for research. No matter. Ryan's ignoble massacre of justice would not come close to meeting the humor requirement anyway.
Because of Ryan's malfeasance in office, children lost their lives. Perhaps, in his mind, saving a bunch of criminals from richly deserved sentences salves his conscience. It's too bad no reporter ever asked him if he would trade the dead kids for those murderers.
Hearing Ryan talk is like hearing Kofi Annan talk. One is left with the feeling that both should have simply left public life in silent disgrace (Ryan for his corruption and Kofi Annan for his acts of omission in Rwanda). Instead, we get lectures from these moral pygmies.
It is surprisingly easy to get nominated for the Prize. If you got the Nobel website, you will find other former nominees including Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and Kaiser Wilhelm.