They Said What?: 2007 Memorable Quotes

I thought I might be able to refrain from the "year-end" top 10/ year in review/ best insert noun of the year list phenomena. I promise not to do it next year (Can anyone say top 10 broken promises of 2008?) So, I decided I to revisit some memorable quotes from the year and what they meant to me.

"Don't Tase Me, Bro," college student used it seeking to stop campus police from throwing him out of a speech by Sen. John Kerry. Okay, can anyone say publicity stunt. Further investigation revealed that the student had given the camera to another student himself. Andy Warhol said "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." Well, this kid got way more than that. Hey, maybe Kerry should have gotten himself tased during his last run for president?

While it is no secret that beauty and brains do not go hand-in-hand, a contestant in the Miss Teen America pageant set the women's movement back 50 years. This young lady, who should avoid public speaking as a career objective, was asked why one-fifth of Americans are unable to locate the United States on a map. Her response:

"I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us." So much for President Bush's Education Initiative, this is one child that clearly should have been left behind.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University in New York, and we learned that in addition to human rights, Starbucks and the playboy channel Iran is also devoid of fags and dikes. According to Ahmadinejad: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country." Some took this too mean that the Iranian President was denying homosexuality like it was some made up concept like the holocaust. No, he was just stating that American homosexuals are different than Iranian homosexuals. Duh, if they were the same we would have less gay-bashing. Could you imagine queer terrorist? You know other than the guys and gals over at Act-Up.

Who could forget Shock jock Don Imus' comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team: "That's some nappy-headed hos there." Imus created a national outcry and lost his job at CBS (He would return to the airwaves in December with Citadel Broadcasting). Incidentally, three of the Rutgers women have been offered commercial deals from hair relaxer giant Dark & Lovely.

In a tribute to Ronald Reagan, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' repeated response to questioning at a congressional hearing about the firing of U.S. Attorneys: I don't recall." Unfortunately, unlike with Reagan, there was no Ollie North for Gonzo. The Attorney General would resign shortly thereafter. Gonzo later stated that he really wasn't aware of all the goings on at the Justice Department and in many cases was just repeating the administrations talking points. I figure it shouldn't take him long to get a job as a "newscaster" on Fox.

Although I believe his campaign for the democratic nomination is ridiculous, Sen. Joseph Biden did have one of the best shots a Giuliani. "There's only three things he (Giuliani) mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11." Biden will not win his party's nomination but he gets credit for pointing out that Giuliani's main credential for the presidency is bad timing. I mean would this have worked for David Dinkins?

I have heard it called a lot of things, but when Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig's said : "(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom." to explain why his foot touched an undercover policeman in a men's room; I knew "cruising" had reach a whole new level. Seems Mr. Craig has never heard of the park at the edge of town where wide stances are not only tolerated, but encouraged.

Yes, Senator Biden made my list twice. You have to love his description of Barack Obama: "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." Now, I am not saying we need to be checking Biden's "stance" or anything, but if I were Michelle Obama, I would attend all future debates.

He couldn't get the hostages back in time and a OPEC oil crunch destroyed his economy, and sure he has taken to a bit of intellectual Jew bashing as of late, but Former President Jimmy Carter hit it on the head with this one: "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this

administration has been the worst in history." I am not sure if he was referring to George Bush or Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig.

Happy Holiday and see you next year!