More News Americans Don't Care About

The Washington Post reports that an American has taken home another Nobel Prize:

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- American Edmund S. Phelps won the 2006 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday for furthering the understanding of the trade-offs between inflation and its effects on unemployment.

The 73-year-old Columbia University professor's work showed how low inflation today leads to expectations of low inflation in the future, thereby influencing future policy decision making by corporate and government leaders.

Phelps is the sixth American to win a Nobel this year, meaning that every prize except for the literature and peace awards, which are yet to be announced, have gone to Americans.

I know that it's cynical of me to see these great honors bestowed on Americans and turn around and use that to illustrate the depths of America's problems, but it's getting to the point that problems and failures are all I see.

How many Americans would know that the Nobel Prizes are being awarded, let alone that America has a sweep going? How many Americans would condemn the awards as backslapping by ivory tower 'lib'rul elites' and egg-head types. Probably the same ones that think electing a President because you'd rather have a beer with him than the other guy is a good idea.

Doesn't America see that the path that we're going down is one that leads to less Nobel prizes? Isn't it clear that we're headed away from learning and research and truly free academic pursuits? We're letting other nations take the lead on stem cells, some of the most promising research in science. Hell, we aren't even teaching our children one of the bedrock principals of biology!

Congratulations, Dr. Phelps. I hope that our grandchildren live in a nation in which your achievements are appreciated.

Edmund Phelps Nobel Prize Economics