As IF Times

Quotes Of The Year 2013

As in every year, certain stories dominate the headlines for brief moments and for every story, there are usually memorable quotes.  Some are sage, some are inane and some are inadvertently funny.  Here is my recollection of some of the better quotes of the year, in no particular order, except for the one at the end which HAS to be the quote of the year.

“The world is running out of time”…Al Gore 1995, 1996, 1997,1998, 1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013.

“Lean in”…Sheryl Sandberg

“The Pope buys a 1984 Renault…now that’s a man who believes in the power of prayer”…Car Talk

““You quarterbacks, you get all the good-looking women. What a beautiful woman …
If you’re a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it
around the backyard with pop.”…Brent Musburger

““I don’t want to live in a world where everything that  I say, everything I do,  everyone I talk to, every expression of creativity or love or friendship, is  recorded.” …Edward Snowden

“You don’t need an AR-15, it’s harder to aim, it’s harder to use…Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun!”…Joe Biden

“I’m a flawed character”…Lance Armstrong

“I’m basically the healthiest fat guy you’ve ever seen” …Chris Christie

“At this point, what difference does it make?’…Hilary Clinton

“If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it”… Barack Obama

And my vote for the quote of the year which will not likely be topped,

“I have more than enough to eat at home”…Toronto mayor Rob Ford

link [VIDEO] Oprah Winfrey tells BBC many Americans hate Obama because he’s BLACK » The Right Scoop –.

Let’s investigate Oprah’s claim.  If there was that much hatred towards Obama because he’s black, how did he get elected not once, but twice?  Casting aside conspiracy theories of vote rigging on the last election,  the United States is still statistically a white nation though that is changing rapidly.  Even though as a bloc, Blacks voted overwhelmingly in the neighborhood of 90% for Obama, the president could not have won without the support of the larger community.  Of course the possibility exists that the general population voted for the white half of Obama.  In that case, I suppose it could be racism.

It’s a pretty tired and suspect argument to use racism as the rationale for someone’s unpopularity.  In fact, to do so is in itself racist.  It’s like an automatic get out of jail free card for any shortcomings in personal character.  If the United States were a racist nation, how is it possible that some of the most culturally influential and successful people in entertainment and music (even those of truly dubious talent) and sports as well as the top rungs of the political system including the President and Attorney General are of  black heritage?

The most recent ‘shocking’ headlines involving race centered around the locker room activities of the Miami Dolphins.  Apparently, Jonathan Martin, a  player whom is half black, was ‘harassed’ by the white player, Richie Incognito.  When it was revealed that the harassment included racial slurs, it became national news as the plain folk were apparently aghast at the rawness of the exchanges between the two players.  Mr. Martin could withstand the physical punishment of gangs of 300 pound men beating him up on the football field, but name calling was too much to bear, especially racially tinged name calling.  Well I guess that dispels the old ‘sticks and stones’ theory.

There seems to be a common theme here.  If you are black, your character is unassailable.  As the old M.C. Hammer lyrics state, “you can’t touch that”.  If you are not completely black, like Obama, like Jonathan Martin, you are fair game for ridicule and scorn, because you are essentially half white.  It wasn’t too long ago that the previous White House incumbent, George W. Bush was the target of merciless and vile attacks on his character, his appearance, his intelligence and even his laugh.

Oprah “Whine-frey” has it wrong.  People likely disparage the President because he’s half white, not because he’s black.  The lying, incompetence and lack of any real talent outside of reading must be from his white side.  No real black person would have to endure the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune as the old verse goes.  They would never dare to disparage a black person.