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OBAMA AWARDS MEDALS OF FREEDOM
I've always had a special fondness for reports of Presidential medal-awarding ceremonies. They are by nature a cattle-call of extremely diverse occupations and personalities, creating a mix of beings as bizarre as the barroom scene in Star Wars. Where else would a Supreme Court Justice, Bob Dylan, a smallpox researcher and a women's basketball coach all rub shoulders?
-Editor
From civil rights to government service, from the author of Beloved to the composer of The Times They Are A-Changin', President Obama honored 13 individuals on Tuesday who have made singular contributions to national life. "What sets these men and women apart is the incredible impact they have had on so many people," Obama said in awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a White House ceremony. "Not in short, blinding bursts, but steadily over the course of a lifetime." Singer-songwriter Bob Dylan -- who wore sunglasses while receiving his medal -- is still recording albums, five decades after Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are A-Changin' became anthems of the civil rights movement. Obama said Dylan's songs and his voice -- "with its weight, its unique gravelly power" -- redefined music and inspired generations of artists. Other pioneers honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom included Madeleine Albright, the first female secretary of State. Albright won Obama's praise for her "courage and toughness" in pursuing peace in the Balkans and Middle East. Other recipients: John Paul Stevens, the third-longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court, who wore his trademark bow tie at the ceremony; William Foege, a physician who led the charge to eradicate smallpox during the 1970s; and John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth and who later served as a U.S. senator; Obama pointed out that Glenn went back into space at age 77.
To read the complete article, see:
Obama: Medal of Freedom winners have 'incredible impact'
(http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/05/
The Wall Street Journal has a transcript of the ceremony and collection of images on its Washington Wire blog. There was lots of (Laughter).
-Editor
Musician Bob Dylan stands with fellow Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Paul Stevens and former University of Tennessee basketball coach Pat Summitt in the East Room of the White House in Washington To read the complete article, see: Text, Photos: Obama's Medal of Freedom Presentations (blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/05/29/text-photos-obamas-medal-of-freedom-presentations/)
Not everyone was laughing afterward. The ceremony was the site of what some saw as a Presidential gaffe. As Obama was honoring Polish WWII resistance fighter Jan Karski he referred to a Nazi concentration camp in Poland as a "Polish death camp".
-Editor
To read the complete article, see:
US President Obama risks feud with Poland over Polish war hero medal honour gaffe
(www.ejpress.org/article/58560)
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