Since my last posting elicited many helpful comments, let me repeat it this week in hope of getting even more input:
I’m starting to think about my annual list, run by the Associated Press, of the top 10 most notable quotations of the year. By “notable” I mean “important” or “famous” or “particularly revealing of the spirit of our times” rather than necessarily being eloquent or admirable. Last year’s winners were a tie between Tony Hayward‘s “I’d like my life back” and Christine O’Donnell‘s “I’m not a witch.”
I would welcome suggestions of notable quotations from 2011, particularly ones from politics or popular culture or entertainment or sports or business or technology.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
“OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.”
- Steve Jobs’ final words
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Yup. Uttered while looking at his wife and children around him at the end.
“I shouldn’t have showered with those kids” – Sandusky
“Corporations are people too.” – Romney (pretty much sums up everything that’s wrong with the country economically)
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“Shovel-ready was not as … uh .. shovel-ready as we expected.” Pretty much sums up everything that’s wrong with the country politically.
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I need that one explained to me- corporations aren’t people? Are they all operated by robots or something?
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Corporations are, indeed, MADE UP OF people. However, those people’s individual rights are already protected. Recent political decisions (such as Citizens United) have endowed corporations with some of the same rights as individuals. So, for example, the CEO of a corporation can make political contributions from home, as a private individual (and those contributions have limits), then the same CEO can go to work and make UNLIMITED contributions to political advertising as a “corporation.”
I think that’s what was meant. The problem is that although individuals are part of corporations, they are not liable as individuals for the wrongdoing of said corporations. If a forklift kills me because a corporation knowingly hired a drunk, no one person will be liable for that action even though likely one person made the decision. Corporations remove the weight of responsibility from individuals, thus increasing their willingness to take risks.
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If individual rights aren’t protected in the context of that individual’s affiliation with another organization, then rights get pretty hollow.
“Corporation” is a term that’s designated in tax law. While the lay understanding of the word may seem intuitive, the legal definition is all that matters.
If it’s OK to censor the speech of corporations, this always boils down to censoring the speech of an individual, or group of individuals. How is that OK? You can complain about the government, and you can fund election campaigns — but not if you’re wearing a Walmart button. What about a charity? Should they be permitted free speech? What about a labor union?
People don’t want corporations to have free speech because corporations have very big, very powerful microphones to speak in public, derived from the cash and resources they can swing around. Well get used to it — people’s ability to be heard has never been equal, and never will be. Abridging individual rights by removing the rights of individuals to take individual action within the context of a larger organization (a corporation) is still abridging individual rights.
“I am the 99%.” –various
Hot debate. What do you think?
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“My neighbor’s dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than President Obama.” – Gary Johnson during a GOP debate.
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Mr. Shapiro, this one is meant for your ‘normal’ section (tracing back a quote):
In Daniel C. Dennett’s book Breaking the Spell (2006) each chapter is started off with a quote and one of the most intriguing is the following which he attributed to “Anonymous”, and therefore I’d like you to find out who said it.
“Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers
that may never he questioned.” —Anonymous
Part I, Chapter 1, Sub 4
BTW, I didn’t give you this link: http://www.4shared.com/get/qWCPeA2F/DanielCDennett-BreakingTheSpel.html
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Common fault with OCR software is that a b in italics is mistaken for a h, the “he” in the second sentence of the quote should of course be a “be”.
I’m with “oops”. It kind of sums up the entire Republican nominating process as it’s unfolded thus far.
“Everyone needs some skin in the game” – Obama (as only 52% of working America funds the operations of the federal government)