Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn Awarded Medal of Freedom

3l1za writes ""President Bush on Thursday announced the recipients of this year's Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award." Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn -- for their design of "the software code used to transmit data over the Internet" -- are among those to be honored next Wednesday. "

Comments

MM Ok

[davro]

Quote
"The medal was established by President Truman in 1945 to recognize notable service in the war.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy reintroduced it as an honor for distinguished civilian service in peacetime. "

And this is considered peacetime ?

Jack Nicklaus?

[Evro]

* Muhammad Ali. The three-time heavyweight boxing champion, who lives in Berrien Springs, Mich., successfully defended the title 19 times and was a gold medalist at the 1960 Olympic Games.

* Carol Burnett. The actress and comedian debuted on Broadway in 1959 and starred for more than a decade on "The Carol Burnett Show."

* Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn. They designed the software code used to transmit data over the Internet.

* Robert Conquest. The historian is known for his work on Soviet history, politics, and foreign policy. More than 35 years after its publication, his book, "The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties," remains one of the most influential studies of Soviet history.

* Aretha Franklin. The singer has nearly two dozen No. 1 singles and has won numerous awards. The Detroit native was the first woman to be inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

* Alan Greenspan. He has been chairman of the Federal Reserve for the past 18 years.

* Andy Griffith. The actor first achieved national acclaim in the 1950s for his standup comedy routines. He went on to star in television shows such as "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Matlock" and numerous Broadway productions and films.

* Paul Harvey. The radio personality's broadcasts started airing nationally in 1951.

* Sonny Montgomery. A veterans' supporter during his 30 years as a member of the House of Representatives. The Montgomery GI Bill helped make education affordable for millions of veterans.

* Gen. Richard Myers. He recently retired as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

* Jack Nicklaus. The golfer won 18 major tournaments as a professional and more than 70 PGA Tour events.

* Frank Robinson. The current manager of the Washington Nationals, Robinson won most valuable player awards in both the American and National leagues. He broke the color barrier for managers, becoming the first black manager in Major League Baseball in 1975.

* Paul Rusesabagina. The hotelier's life was the subject of the movie "Hotel Rwanda," which depicted his courage and compassion in sheltering people at the hotel he managed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Jack Nicklaus? How is playing golf now worthy of a "Freedom" medal? Sounds like a pretty worthless medal.

Re:The history of the award, and the need.

[x8]

It looks like you missed copying the last sentence of the paragraph you copied from the executive order, which reads:

"Members of the Board appointed under Section 3(a) of this Order shall serve without compensation."

Or was this sentence intentionally left out because it contradicts your claim that the board is "yet another cronyist bunch given very nice salaries" ?

Re:You're not really at "war".

[CyricZ]

Indeed. The US was almost completely unharmed by WWII. That's why they became the superpower that they are today.

Structurally, Europe, Russia and Asia were devastated. The loss of American life in the WWII is estimated at approximately 0.42 million or so. Meanwhile, you have the Soviets losing 23 million. Germany lost around 7.5 million. For every 1000 people, the US lost about 3, the Soviets 136, and the Germans 107. On the Asian front, Japan lost about 2.6 million people, or approximately 33 for every 1000 of their population.

When compared to what other nations suffered in WWII, the US received a minor pinprick.

Re:And the lies...?

[mi]

I need to know what the greatest lie is and who will be honored for it... from the justification for war and the [non-existent] WMDs

Here are some contestants.

Scooter Libby's lies about that CIA agent

Big deal -- much higher-placed people have been caught lying under oath...

Stupid name for the award...

[Goonie]

Look, if you're going to have awards specifically for people who contributed to Freedom, use the word "Freedom" in the award. But Jack Nicklaus was a professional golfer who went on to career in designing golf courses. He's contributed precisely zero to "freedom" (IIRC, he refused to play in South Africa in the 1970's when the sporting boycotts began to be enforced. That was the right thing to do, but hardly exceptional).

Rename the damn award the "Presidential Medal of Achievement" or "Presidential Medal of Service", and then it won't be so incongruous to give it to golfers.

I do have to wonder about giving the highest civilian award to Nicklaus, whatever it's called. He was a great golfer, sure. But he was very, very well renumerated for that, and won all manner of sporting awards. Did he do something exceptional beyond that to improve the lives of Americans in any way? I don't think so. But, hey, it's your country, and my own is hardly pure as snow on this kind of thing... The easiest way to become Australian of the Year is to captain the Australian cricket team...