Warsaw (Poland), February 13, 2005, taken by Mariusz Kubik, http://www.mariuszkubik.pl

I’ll just come out and say it: politics suck. Too bad there is no way around either that fact or the existence of politics. Millions of people were shocked, mad, flabbergasted, confused, etc. by Al Gore’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination AND victory last year. My only solice was assuming that there had been no real contenders last year, because the media sure didn’t talk about anyone but Gore, did they?

There was a true hero of humanity up for the prize, but no one has heard of Irena Sendler.

Back in WWII, Irena got a job as a plumber in the Warsaw Ghetto in an effort to smuggle children and babies out because she knew what their fate was going to be. She had enough room in the bottom of her toolbox to carry out infants and would sneak out small children in a burlap sack.

We all know children and babies don’t stay quiet for very long periods of time, so she kept a dog in the back of her truck to keep the guards away and to drown out any commotion her catch would make.

2,500 kids later, she was caught and had all four limbs broken and was nearly beaten to death, but she still had the names of the children she rescued buried under a tree in her back yard so she could notify their parents when the war was over. Of course, most of the adults had been gassed by that time, and the children were placed in foster care or were adopted, but they alive, nonetheless.

She ran up against Mr. Global Warming, which is still a hotly debated topic over cause, solutions, motivations, effects, and more. What about her life and accomplishments can possibly be debated regarding the prize? Check out her organization’s website at http://irenasendler.org/ for more information on her and what is still going on.

I guess people wanted a middle-aged, angry millionaire to win rather than a righteous, elderly woman.