Top quotes of 2009

The annual Yale Book of Quotations list has come out and it is a revealing look at America in 2009. The top 10 quotes of the year, as selected by Yale, cover health care, advertising, waterboarding, a heroic action, a blast of nonsense, and a shock to the nation among it's topics.

The top quote as selected by Yale associate librarian Fred Shapiro is not one I would have selected. It may be one of the least known quote among the list. But at Yale it tops the list because

"That struck me as embodying the friction and polarization on the role of government." - Fed Shapiro

The number 1 quote is:

"Keep your government hands off my Medicare." Speaker at health care reform town hall meeting in Simpsonville, S.C., commenting on the government-created Medicare program, quoted by The Washington Post on July 28

I can understand the thought behind the quote, and I agree with it. But it still does not ring number 1 to me.

I would likely select the nuber 4 choice as the top of the list:

"You lie!" Wilson's shouted retort to Obama's address before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9

Not only because it is a first to my knowledge, and an affront to the Office of the Presidency, but because it turns out it was true. Still it was an act that should never have occured, the apology that followed seemed sincere enough.

Number 3 on the list is one that is so popular it reminds me of a catchphrase that defined the 80's (Where's the beef?):

"There's an app for that." Apple's advertising slogan for the iPhone

A quote from early on in the year was perhaps the bravest and most heroic of quote all year:

"We're going to be in the Hudson." Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, responding to air traffic controllers asking on which runway he preferred to land US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15 before he landed in the Hudson River.

And of course no one can forget the gaffe of President Obama that revealed an insensitivity and distrust of authority that honestly seems to abide in all people of color in this nation - normally with reason:

"The Cambridge police acted stupidly." Obama, commenting on a white police officer's arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home in Cambridge, Mass., at a news conference July 22

The rest of the quotes really don't seem that big to me. They are either too obscure to have been widely known (Jesse Ventura's quote), or just so damn stupid it isn't worth repeating (Kanye West).

If I had to pick a couple more top quotes I might go with

"I believe Michael was murdered, I felt that from the start. Not just one person was involved, rather it was a conspiracy of people." - Latoya Jackson on the death of her brother Michael, Jul 13, 2009. She turned out to be at least partially right.

"The officer leaned (in), was straddling over him and pointed his gun directly into the backside and shot (Grant)." - Attorney John Burris describing the Jan 1, 2009 murder of Oscar Grant by then-BART officer Johannes Meserhle. The trial of the case has been delayed 1 year.

"What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?" - House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), July 27 2009. Perhaps the clearest explaination why Government and the economy is screwed up.

Those are some of my top quotes of 2009. What would you pick as the top quote to define the year?

Reply to John T. Simpson of Big Hollywood

This post is a response to John T Simpson, who cited my post on reparations on his blog. Please review his blog post at Big Hollywood to see what I am addressing.

John T. Simpson,

First I would like to thank you John for citing my blog and one of numerous posts I have made on the subject of reparations. This is a subject that I take very seriously and feel needs to be address for the health and future of the nation.

I will assume that you have read all or most of my blog posts on reparations and thus are familiar with my position. For visitors that are not familiar with the subject or my position I suggest they check here and here. Also searching at either of my blogs for Slavery will bring up other pertinent information.

So before I further discuss your position I will first summarize a few facts. First of which is the fact that millions of Africans did not emigrate to America as you suggest in your post. They were forcibly taken, with an estimate of at least 1 - 3 million dying during the transit from Africa to America.

Another point of fact is that these human beings were shipped in conditions that cargo was not treated to. I'm talking about inanimate objects as well as livestock received better care. The levels of inhumanity are unheard of. Which is important as we are speaking about a punitive judgement, which takes into account facts beyond just hours worked. Once these African slaves were on land they entered a life of 24/7 365 subservience, while regarded about the same as furniture or tools.

The average slave that was born into slavery and lived to be 40 would have worked some 233,600 hours by that time. That is without proper medical care, time off, proper living conditions and questionable food among other issues. If the average slave were to have been only paid .05 an hour, and there were some 4 million slaves from 1619 to 1865, they deserved to receive some $934 billion dollars NOT adjusting for inflation or real 2009 dollars according to my quick math right now.

This is the weakest estimate of what is due. And were it not for these Africans, America would not exist. The foundations of the nation LITERALLY was built upon the backs of these people. Which says nothing of the wars that they fought in. Another fact often overlooked, African Americans have fought in every battle America has fought. Also, there are well over 1000 inventions that African Americans created that allow modern America to exist. That includes stoplights and gas masks used by firefighters, as just 2 examples.

So when people argue reparations they are in fact arguing about America. How it was made, sustained, and improved since BEFORE its inception. We are arguing about the place in history, respect, and inheritance due. Reparations is not merely dollars and cents.

Also, let us remember that America has already set a precedence for reparations, TWICE. To American Indians and to Japanese Americans. In both cases these reparations took place long after the actual damage was done. So far, the American Government - my Government - has never apologized for slavery. In fact the best the nation has been able to do since 1619 is a feeble voice vote in the House of Representatives saying that they were remorseful. The House was not even willing to have their names recorded as being against Slavery.

This leads me to another point that is important. The argument that White Americans neither created or benefited from slavery. Which is only a half-truth.

Every American alive today benefits from the work of the slaves. Whether it is the buildings we work in, the roads we travel upon, the food we eat, or the goods we use. Every item in America can be traced back to the foundations and actions of the slaves. Because without their work, most every city would be without many of its oldest buildings. Without their work the agricultural nation that America was would never have existed and thus could never have survived. The roads would never have been separated from trees, fields never plowed, and on and on.

In addition, it is a fact that after slavery ended, segregation and Jim Crow laws took hold. These are de facto acts of slavery. African Americans were routinely denied schooling, proper pay, the Right to vote, the ability to move freely, and just about every other Right you can name up until at least 1965. Which says nothing of the persecution under the law, for real and imagined violations of law.

I say 1965 because the mere fact that the Civil Rights Movement needed to exist meant that every law and enforcement of those laws were biased prior to that time, at least. Thus Americans alive today did in fact benefit from the active persecution and prejudice against African Americans. Many either actively or passively allowed this to happen, making them culpable too. Which says nothing of the lessons of inequality and prejudice that were passed on to their children. Meaning that at least a residual effect of this instructional prejudice and bias was passed on to Americans that today are as young as 35, perhaps even those being born now.

And what is the effect of these generational actions? Well sub-standard education means that African Americans were denied the opportunity to get jobs. Restricted areas of living means that happiness and quality of life were affected. And the persecution in the law meant that the very Rights we all hold dear were denied. How much are those things worth today? How many billions are we spending on the military, education, and healthcare alone? How many of these things were the reason we created this nation in the first place?

Let me clarify something else. Rep. Conyers did not just start to try to pass a Reparations bill after President Obama was elected. He has been entering this legislation EVERY year for over 2 decades now. It has been ignored by Every President and Every Congress since he first brought it up.

Also, during the election cycle none of the Presidential candidates, except Kucinich, would even discuss Reparations. That's in either Party. Because this subject is considered taboo, and more dangerous politically than Social Security. No elected official who wants to remain elected discusses this on national television.

Beyond that lets take another look at the list you presented. It is a list of massive wealth there is no question. Indeed only in America are such changes in economic and political status possible. But what happens once you take out all the people in your list that are entertainers? It goes almost to zero.

Why is that? Because over the CENTURIES, entertainment has been considered a low profession. It was rarely ever considered a profession to bring sustained wealth. In fact up until the last half century it was a profession of relative minor success. But even with this look at how long it took for African Americans to be given roles that were not complete caricatures. Even in recent years we have writers that balk at African Americans portraying their characters (Shawshank Redemption).

Beyond that we also see the result of CENTURIES of denial and repression. Right now I believe that only 3 Forbes 100 companies are lead by an African American. Right now I believe that less than 3% of all the companies in the nation have African American senior management. Right now there is less than 7% of all characters on television in any recurring or major role, in movies, and the people behind the cameras that are all people of color, COMBINED.

So am I happy that a literal handful of entertainers have done well. Of course. But how many people of color have been denied opportunities because they were never given a chance to learn. How many people have lived lives of strife because they were given sub-standard educations. How many never had the chance to provide more for their families because they could only advance to the ceiling and not thru it.

Am I glad that President Obama got elected? Sure, it's a proud statement. But let's not confuse the facts with emotion. A huge number of people (of all races) voted for President Obama solely because he was Black. And no, Dr. King would not have been glad that President Obama was elected - not on the basis of his political beliefs. Neither would Malcolm X or most any political leader of the 50's and 60's. Because their reported political views at the time were more closely aligned with Republicans today than Democrats.

Yet again, the success of 1 or 2 people does not negate or supplant the difficulties of millions. Nor does it evaporate hundreds of years of persecution, reprimand, violence, and pain.

Will reparations heal all these wounds instantly? No. Will it end all the cycles of mistrust, bias, and inequality? No.

But there can be no remedy, no resolution, until we first admit our wrongs and take penitence for them. That is the basis of our legal system. And right now we are denying justice by not even addressing reparations.

And to address your thought that this will bankrupt America, that is a misconception. There are many proposals out there that provide reparations and BENEFIT America. I have even proposed a means by which jobs are CREATED, and the wealth returned to the nation in the form of GDP increases and technology advances.

If done properly reparations BENEFITS all Americans. But the subject has to be addressed to be possible.

Now I am sure some will feel this is long. But in fact this is a very short summary on why reparations are needed, and in fact are a fact of law. I have written on this subject for years, and I have a passion. It is not some new fad, or some wild idea. There are many who have addressed this, going as far back as the 1880's. I think that 120+ years is more than enough time to finally address this.

John, I could go on. But instead I suggest you review my various writting on the subject and then provide me whatever questions or thoughts you have on the subject. While I am passionate I am open to discussion. And only through reasoned passionate debate can we get to an answer that has eluded the nation for centuries.