2011年3月31日 星期四

Jokes Page

There was a guy who was struggling to decide what to wear to a fancy dress party....then he had a bright idea.

When the host answered the door, he found a guy with no shirt and no socks on.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" asked the host.

"A premature ejaculation" said the man. "I just came in my pants."


Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad!
Why is it called Alcoholics Anonymous when the first thing you do is stand up and say,

"My name is Bob, and i'm an alcoholic."


One day, a Bolton fan was walking along the beach and came across an odd-looking bottle. Not being one to ignore tradition, he rubbed it and, much to his surprise, a Genie actually appeared. "For releasing me from the bottle, I will grant you three wishes," said the Genie.

The man was ecstatic. "But there's a catch," the Genie continued. "What catch?" asked the man, eyeing the Genie suspiciously. The Genie replied, "For each of your wishes, every Blackburn supporter in the world will receive double what you asked for." "Hey, I can live with that! No problem!" replied the elated man.

"What is your first wish?" asked the Genie. "Well, I've always wanted a Ferrari!" Poof ! A Ferrari appeared in front of the man. "Now, every Blackburn fan in the world has been given two Ferrari's," said the Genie. "What is your next wish?" "I could really use a million dollars..." replied the man, and Poof! One million dollars appeared at his feet.

"Now, every Blackburn fan in the world is two million dollars richer," the Genie reminded the man. "Well, that's okay, as long as I've got my million," replied the Bolton fan. "And what is your final wish?" asked the Genie. The man thought long and hard, and finally said, "Well, you know, I've always wanted to donate a kidney..."


Husband comes home from work with a duck under his arm and declares,

"This is the pig i've been shagging". Wife says, "Thats a duck".

He says, "I was talking to the duck."


David Beckham's in the England dressing room after a recent international match and Gary Neville says to him.

"Isn't it Victoria's birthday next week David?"

"Yes! says David,"

"What have you bought her then?" says Neville.

"Well I have managed to get two seven foot doormen," says Dave.

"Why two seven foot doormen?" asks Neville.

"Well I overheard Micheal Owen talking to Woody (Jonathan Woodgate) in the Real Madrid dressing room a few weeks ago, and Michael said to Woody",

"Dave's wife Victoria is a lovely girl and has a great figure, but all she's short of is a big pair of Bouncers"


A Man City and Man United fan collide in a huge accident on the motorway. Both cars are a wreck, but both men are unhurt.

"This must be a sign from God that we are meant to be friends" says the City fan "I agree" replies the United fan

The City fan then returns to the wreckage of his car, and finds a bottle of whiskey he had been saving.

"Look" he says to the united fan, "this must be another sign from God, we should drink this whiskey to celebrate our friendship and survival"

He hands the bottle over to the United fan who takes a large gulp from the bottle before passing it back to the City fan, who then puts the top back on & returns the bottle to his car.

"Aren't you having any?" asks the United fan. "No" replied the City fan, "I think I?ll wait til the Police get here."


One day at the Man United training ground, and an hour before they are due to finish, Sir Angry Ferguson says "Lads, I?m gonna have to leave an hour early. Just carry on training and I?ll see you tomorrow." So they carry on and leave at the normal time.

The next day, Sir Alex says, "sorry again lads, but I?m gonna have to leave an hour early again. A spot of private business to attend to." When he's gone, Roy Keane says, "forget this, if he's going then I am too," and he takes off.

The next day, the same happens. "Sorry lads, gonna have to leave early again." So Keane says, "Come on lads, lets all go home, he'll not know". So they all went home.

When Phil Neville got back to his house, he saw the gaffer's car on the drive. So he quietly opened the door, sneaked upstairs and peeped through the bedroom door, only to be shocked by the sight of Ferguson making love to his wife.

Rather stunned, Neville left the house and goes for a walk. When he noticed the car had gone, he went back into the house.

The following day at training, Sir Alex says, "Gotta go again lads, sorry. Some private stuff to attend to." Once again, Keane says, "Come on lads, lets all go home again."

To which Neville replies, "forget that, I almost got caught yesterday!"


Q: If you see a Liverpool Fan on a bike, why should you never swerve to hit him?

A: It might be your bike...


Q: What have Blackburn Rovers and a three pin plug got in common?

A: Their both absolutely useless in Europe.


Little Jimmy was having tea with his auntie. 'Now what do you do on Saturday afternoons?' she asked.

'I go to the football match,' replied the child.
'And what do you do on Sunday afternoons?'
'I go to Sunday School.'
'And which do you like best?'
'There's not much to choose between them, really,' said the boy. 'At Sunday School they tell me to stand up for Jesus' sake and at the football match they tell me to sit down for God's sake!'


Blackburn Rovers are apparently under investigation by the Inland Revenue for tax evasion;

They've been claiming for Silver Polish for the past 20 years.

Brian Kidd was spotted in a Supermarket yesterday. On noticing an old woman struggling with five bags of shopping, Kidd asked her "Can you manage dear?"

The old woman replied "Get lost!, you got yourself into this mess, don't ask me to sort it out!


Gazza : Wahey Boss! ken that jiggisaw puzzle I wiz doing? Yeel never guess - I've finished it and only took me 6 months!

Walter Smith : Well, what's so good about 6 months???

Gazza : Like it says Gaffer - on the box it said '3 to 6 years'


A Blackburn supporter goes to his doctor to find out what's wrong with him.

"Your problem is you're fat, "says the doctor.
"I'd like a second opinion" responds the man.
"OK, you're ugly too" replies the doctor.


Q: What's the difference between a Liverpool fan and a broken clock?

A: Even a broken clock is right twice a day!


A nurse at Birmingham General Infirmary told an industrial tribunal how she tried to stop a fight between a patient and a doctor which resulted in the doctor being sacked from the hospital.

The fight broke out in August of last year when Dr Cage told a cancer victim he had some good news and some bad news.

"The bad news is you're going to die"

"And the good news ?" asked the downcast patient

"We beat the scum 2-1!"


A white van driver used to keep himself amused by scaring witless every Glasgow Rangers fan he saw sauntering down High common road in his blue and white uniform. He would swerve as if to hit them, and at the last minute, swerve back onto the road.

One day as he was driving along the road, he saw a priest hitch-hiking. He thought he would do his good deed for the day and offer the priest a lift.

"Where are you off tae, Father?" he asked.

"I'm going to give Mass at St Michaels's church - it's aboot 2 miles down the road,".

"Nae worries," said the driver, "Hop in and I'll gee ya a lift."

The happy priest climbed into the van and they set off down the road. Suddenly the driver caught site of a Hun on the pavement, and instinctively swerved as if to hit him, but just in time, remembering the priest in his van, swerved back to the road again, narrowly missing the idiot. Although he was certain that he didn't hit him, however, he still heard a loud "Thud". Not understanding where the noise came from, he glanced in his mirrors, and, seeing nothing, said to the priest, "Oh sorry Father, I nearly hit that Rangers Fan walking down the road there."

"No need to apologise Sonny," replied Father, "I got the ba$tard with the door!"


Alex Ferguson and Joe Royle are having and end of season radio interview and the interviewer asks Joe, 'What are your aims for the next 5 years?'. 'Well I think we should try to consolidate for a year or two, and them aim towards building a push for the premiership', Replies Joe.

The interviewer then turns to Alex, 'What about you at United?'. 'Well I want to win the double 5 years on the bounce, win Europe 5 years on the bounce and basically never lose a game for 5 years', replies Alex. 'Aren't you being a bit over the top?' Asks the interviewer, and Alex replies 'Yeah well he started it.'


What's the difference between potentially and realistically?

"When a young boy went up to his father and asked him, "Dad, what is the
difference between potentially and realistically?

"The father thought for a moment, then answered, "Go ask your mother if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars." "Then ask your sister if she would sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars, and then, ask your brother if he'd sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars. Come back and tell me what you learn from that."

So the boy went to his mother and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad
Pitt for a million dollars?" The mother replied, "Of course I would! We
could really use that money to fix up the house and send you kids to a
great University!" The boy then went to his sister and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt for a million dollars?" The girl replied, "Oh my God! I
LOVE Brad Pitt I would sleep with him in a heartbeat, are you nuts?!?!?! "
The boy then went to his brother and asked, "Would you sleep with Brad Pitt
for a million dollars?" "Of course," the brother replied. "Do you know how
much a million bucks would buy?"

The boy pondered the answers for a few days, then went back to his dad. His father asked him, "Did you find out the difference between potentially and realistically?"

The boy replied, "Yes... Potentially, you and I are sitting on Three Million
Dollars..............but Realistically,......... we're living with two Sluts
and a gay.


Mick was in court for a double murder and the judge said, "You are charged with beating your wife to death with a spanner."

A voice at the back of the courtroom yelled out, "You b*stard!" The judge continued, "You are also charged with beating your Mother-in-Law to death with a spanner." Again, the voice at the back of the courtroom yelled out, "You ****ing b*stard"!!!

The judge stopped, looked at the man in the back of the courtroom, and said, "Paddy, I can understand your anger and frustration at this crime, but I will not have any more of these outbursts from you or I shall charge you with contempt! Now what is the problem?"

"Paddy, at the back of the court stood up and responded, "For fifteen years I lived next door to that b*stard. And every time I asked to borrow a ***ing spanner, he said he didn't have one! "


Paddy Irishman died in a fire and was burnt pretty badly so the morgue needed someone to identify the body.

His two best friends, Paddy Englishman & Paddy Scotsman, were sent for. Paddy Scotsman went in and the mortician pulled back the sheet. Paddy Scotsman said " Yep, he's burnt pretty bad. Roll him over." So the mortician rolled him over. He looked and said "Nope, it ain't Paddy" .

The mortician thought that was rather strange and then he brought Paddy Englishman in to identify the body. Paddy Englishman took a look at him and said, "Yup, he's burnt real bad, roll him over." The mortician rolled him over and Paddy Englishman looked down and said, "No, it ain't Paddy".

The mortician asked "How can you tell?" Paddy Englishman said, "Well, Paddy had two *rseholes." "What............., he had two *rseholes??? said the mortician.

"Yup, everyone knew he had two *rseholes. Every time we went into town, folks would say, "Here comes Paddy with them two arseholes...."


A man walks into a bar and asks for a beer. After drinking it, he looks in his shirt pocket and asks for another beer.

After drinking that one, he looks in his shirt pocket again and asks for another beer. This happens about another seven times before the bartender asks him, "Why do you keep looking in your pocket?"

The man replies, "I have a picture of my wife in there. When she looks good enough, I'll go home."


Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing.

He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the president exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the president sits, head in hands.

Finally, president looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"


A man walks into the Bank Of Ireland and shouts to the Woman at the counter:

"I want to open a f*cking Current account".

The Astonished woman replies "I beg your pardon sir. I must have misunderstood you; what did you say?"

"Listen up, you f*ck. I said I want to open a f*cking current account now!!".

"I'm very sorry sir, but that kind of language is not tolerated in this bank".

The cashier leaves the counter and goes over to the bank manager to inform him of her situation. The manager agrees that the teller does not have to listen to that foul language.

They both return to the window and the manager asks the man,

"Sir, what seems to be the problem here?"

"There is no f*cking problem" the man says. "I just won 10 Million Euro in the f*cking lotto and I just want to open a f*cking current account, you b*stard, is that okay?"

"I see," says the manager, "and is this fat b*tch giving you a hard time?


Two?Scousers are riding along the M62 from Manchester to Liverpool on a motorbike. They break down and start hitching a lift. A friendly trucker stops to see if he can help and the scousers ask him for a lift.

He tells them he has no room in the wagon as he is carrying 20,000 bowling balls but will take a look at the bike for them. He tries everything he knows but is unable to repair it. Time is getting on now and he's late for his delivery so he tells the scousers he has to leave.

"R hey lad" they say "gissa lift". The trucker once again explains that he has no room as he is carrying 20,000 bowling balls. The scousers put it to the driver that if they can manage to fit in the back will he take them and he agrees.

They manage to squeeze themselves and their motorbike into the back of the wagon so the driver shuts the doors and gets off on his way.

By this time he is really late and so puts his foot down. Sure enough PC Plod of Greater Manchester Police pulls him up for speeding.

The good officer asks the driver what he is carrying to which he replies 'Scouse Eggs'

The policeman obviously doesn't believe this so wants to take a look. He opens the back door and panicking quickly shuts it and locks it.

He runs to his car and gets onto his radio and calls for immediate backup from as many officers as possible. The dispatcher asks what emergency he has that requires so many officers.

"I've got a wagon with 20,000 Scouse eggs in it - 2 have already hatched and the f****** have managed to nick a motorbike already".


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2011年3月30日 星期三

Bachmann jokes of spending, Norwegian mafia; Boehner unafraid

Quote of the Day: “This sounds like a light-hearted exchange, and I don’t think the Speaker is concerned that he’ll winding up ‘sleeping with the lutefisk’ at the hands of the Norwegian mafia.” -- Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).

From NBC’s Luke Russert and Catherine Chomiak
In an interview today on a Des Moines, Iowa, radio station, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) awkwardly laughed when conservative Iowa radio host Jan Mickelson of 1040 WHO Radio made a mafia joke and asked what should be done to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) if the House GOP does not strike funds used for the implementation of President Obama’s health-care reform legislation from an upcoming government funding bill. Mickelson seemed to joke about physical retribution.

The Exchange:

MICKELSON: You have the votes to pull the plug on the funding?

BACHMANN: We are working, we're trying to work with Republicans to get them on board with us.

MICKELSON: Why would you have to work with Republicans?!

BACHMANN: Well, because what it would mean is a showdown with President Obama. We would have to go toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball.

MICKELSON: Isn't that what we sorta sent you guys there.

BACHMANN: Of course, and Congressman King (Rep. Steve King R-IA) and I say now is the time to have the fight. We have the fight with President Obama.

MICKELSON: Is your Leadership this biggest impediment over this? Is Boehner a problem?

BACHMANN: We need to get the Republicans on board. We are talking to leadership.

MICKELSON: Is that a yes? (laughs)

BACHMANN: We are talking to leadership and we're telling leadership...

MICKLESON: I'm not really trying to get you in trouble, but...

BACHMANN: (laughs) Thank you Jan. I do appreciate your sensitivity to that. The most important thing right now is that we try to save the country by getting rid of this funding.

MICKELSON: So, what do you want to do to Boehner? We know people who know people.

BACHMANN: (laughs) What I want to do is to is to be able to get them to start fighting President Obama and defunding Obamacare.

MICKELSON: A little known fact, that Norwegians have a mafia.

BACHMANN: Ooooh, and we are tough, tough people.

MICKELSON: Not really fast moving uhh

BOTH: (laugh)

Boehner spokesman Michael Steel saw the remarks as jocular saying to NBC News: “This sounds like a light-hearted exchange, and I don’t think the Speaker is concerned that he’ll winding up ‘sleeping with the lutefisk’ at the hands of the Norwegian mafia.”

There has been friction between the House GOP Leadership and Rep. Bachmann since the November mid-terms. Prior to the massive Republican victory, Bachmann was unwilling to commit to voting for Boehner as Speaker of the House due to questions about his conservatism. Bachmann also attempted to run for the Chairmanship of the House GOP Conference against Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), who was supported by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).

Last week, Bachmann expressed displeasure with House GOP leaders for not committing to cutting all government funds used to implement the nation’s health-care reform law, saying to National Journal, “I think there's going to be a fake appeasement with the Planned Parenthood thing and a fake appeasement with the 'Obamacare' thing."

House conservatives have been adamant that all funding needed for the new law be stripped of any spending bills that keep the government running. If the House GOP leadership were to do such a thing, it would be a non-starter in the Democratically controlled Senate and, thus, bolster the possibility of a government shutdown -- something that could reflect poorly politically on the GOP in 2012.

But leadership on both sides emphasize they are not interested in a shutdown.


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Kirstie Alley jokes about turning 60

Friday, March 25 2011, 19:00 GMT

c Rex Features / Startraks Photo

Kirstie Alley has joked about turning 60 at the beginning of this year.

The actress was congratulated on her birthday, which she celebrated on January 12, during an appearance on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday.


"I turned 42!" she quipped. "No, I'm totally lying. I turned 60."


Leno then asked if that age had bothered her, to which she laughed: "Honest to God, everything after 30 is old to me so I didn't even care. Whatever!"


However, she then admitted that it was a "sort of scary" prospect, saying: "I like to tell people that now I'm living the second half of my life... I guess I am if I live to be 120. It's scary."


Leno then suggested that she could no longer get pregnant, to which she joked: "No, that's why I'm really promiscuous now. I'm all over the place!"


Alley was on the show to promote her role on Dancing with the Stars, which airs Mondays and Tuesdays on ABC.


Watch more of Kirstie's interview with Jay below...


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2011年3月29日 星期二

The Big Game Hunter

The Big Game Hunter

The big game hunter walked in the bar and bragged to everyone about his hunting skills. The man was undoubtedly a good shot and no one could dispute that. But then he said that they could blindfold him and he would recognize any animal’s skin from its feel, and if he could locate the bullet hole he would even tell them what caliber the bullet was that killed the animal. The hunter said that he was willing to prove it if they would put up the drinks, and so the bet was on.

They blindfolded him carefully and took him to his first animal skin. After feeling it for a few moments, he announced “Bear.” Then he felt the bullet hole and declared, “Shot with a .308 rifle.” He was right.

They brought him another skin, one that someone had in their car trunk. He took a bit longer this time and then said, “Elk, Shot with a 7mm Mag rifle. He was right again.

Through the night, he proved his skills again and again, every time against a round of drinks. Finally he staggered home, drunk out of his mind, and went to sleep. The next morning he got up and saw in the mirror that he had one hell of a shiner.

He said to his wife, “I know I was drunk last night, but not drunk enough to get in a fight and not remember it. Where did I get this black eye?”

His wife angrily replied, “I gave it to you. You got into bed and put your hand down my panties. Then you fiddled around a bit and loudly announced, “Skunk, killed with an axe.”



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2011年3月28日 星期一

Rough Day

Rough Day

A guy is sitting at the bar for half an hour staring at his drink when a big trouble-making truck driver walks in and sits next to him, grabs his drink, and gulps it down in one swig. The poor guy starts crying.

“Come on man, I was just giving you a hard time,” says the truck driver, “I’ll buy you another drink. I just can’t stand to see a man crying.”

“This is the worst day of my life,” says the guy between sobs. “I can’t do anything right. I overslept. I was late to an important meeting, so my boss fired me. When I went to the parking lot, I found my truck was stolen and I have no insurance. I grabbed a cab home but, after the cab left, I discovered my wallet was still in the cab.

At home I found my wife in bed with the mailman. So I came to this bar trying to work up the courage to put an end to my miserable life, and then you show up and drink the fucking poison!”



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Seeing Things

Seeing Things

Paddy, the famous Irishman, is driving home after downing a few at the local pub. He turns a corner and much to his horror he sees a tree in the middle of the road.

He swerves to avoid it, and almost too late realizes that there is yet another tree directly in his path. He swerves again and discovers that his drive home has turned into a slalom course, causing him to veer from side to side to avoid all the trees.

Moments later he hears the sound of a police siren and brings his car to a stop.

The officer approaches Paddy’s car and asks him what on earth he was doing.

Paddy tells his story of the trees in the road when the officer stops him mid sentence and says,

“Fer crissakes, Paddy, that’s yer air freshener!”



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2011年3月27日 星期日

Watch: Comic Canned for Tsunami Joke

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Dems call for Kansas GOP'ers resignation over 'joke'

State Rep. Virgil Peck of Kansas apologized on Thursday for a comment he made earlier in the week. State Rep. Virgil Peck of Kansas apologized on Thursday for a comment he made earlier in the week.NEW: Kansas House speaker Mike O'Neal refuses comment on call for Peck's resignationKansas' Virgil Peck said illegal immigrants should be shot like feral hogsKansas Democrats say the lawmaker has no place in the legislaturePeck says he was joking and has made verbal and written apologies

Topeka, Kansas -- Democratic lawmakers in Kansas are calling for the resignation of state Rep. Virgil Peck over a controversial remark he made earlier in the week, suggesting that unauthorized immigrants should be shot. Peck has said it was a joke.

"We must call upon Rep. Peck to resign his seat in the House of Representatives and allow someone who will respect the proper role of a state representative to take his place," House Minority Leader Rep. Paul Davis said Friday.

Kansas House Speaker Mike O'Neal refused to comment on the call for Peck's resignation. O'Neal told reporters he "considers it a private matter" and would not comment further.

Peck gave a brief apology in an on-camera statement to CNN on Thursday, saying, "I'm Virgil Peck, and on Monday, I made an inappropriate comment. For that, I'm sorry, and I apologize to anyone that I offended with my inappropriate comment. I'll be more careful with my words in the future."

He had issued a similar two-sentence written statement earlier that day.

Peck made headlines on Monday when, during an appropriations committee meeting, he made a reference to an agricultural program that controls the state's feral hog population by shooting them from helicopters.

"Looks like to me, if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a (solution) to our illegal immigration problem," Peck said.

The comments sparked the ire of residents and officials from Kansas to Washington, but Peck has been largely tight-lipped about his remarks.

He did not take any questions after his verbal statement Thursday afternoon, though he was flanked by the three Hispanic Republican representatives serving in the state legislature.

State Rep. Reynaldo Mesa said the trio of legislators did not condone Peck's comments but each has decided to stand by Peck. "He's offered his apology. We believe he is very sincere," Mesa said.

Still, Davis said Virgil's remark was "morally reprehensible" and that, despite the lawmaker's apology, it's "clear that Representative Peck has no comprehension of his conduct."

U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he was dismayed by Peck's comments about immigrants, saying earlier in the week that they were "dehumanizing and inappropriate and have no place in our national discourse."

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, also was critical of Peck's words, though his office has indicated that he considers the matter closed.

The Kansas Republican House leadership also has said the remark was inappropriate but made no mention of whether the lawmaker should face any punishment or sanction.

"We have visited and counseled with Representative Peck about the matter and have accepted his sincere apology for the inappropriate remark, which, although made in jest, was not thereby made any less offensive," the statement said. "His acknowledgment of his error, his apology to the public and his House colleagues and his pledge to be more vigilant and respectful in his discourse (are) appreciated and accepted."

CNN has requested interviews with Peck and Brownback. Those calls have not been returned.


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It Wasn’t Me

It Wasn’t Me

Two buddies, John and Bill, are getting very drunk at a bar when suddenly John throws up all over himself.

“Oh, no. Now Julie will kill me!”

Bill says, “Don’t worry, pal. Just tuck a twenty in your shirt pocket, tell Sheila that someone threw up on you and gave you twenty dollars for the dry cleaning bill.”

So they stay for another couple of hours and get even drunker. Eventually John rolls into home and Julie starts to give him a hard time.

“You reek of alcohol and you’ve puked all over yourself! My God, you’re disgusting!”

Speaking very carefully so as not to slur, John says, “Nowainaminit, I can e’splain everytin! Ish snot wha chew tink. I only had a cuppla drrrinks. But thiss other guy got ssick on me. He had one too many and he juss couldin hold hizz liquor. He said he was ver rry sorry an’ gave me twenny bucks for da cleanin’ bill!”

Julie looks in the breast pocket and says, “But this is forty bucks.”

“Oh, yeah…I almos’ fergot, he shhhit in my pants, too!



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Three years after Obama's race speech, he can joke about another man's skin color

Three years after Obama's race speech, he can joke about another man's skin color | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times body {background-color:#ffffff !important;}ul#root li.navLink a {padding-top:17px; padding-right:4px; padding-bottom:16px; padding-left: 5px;} Subscribe/Manage Account Place An Ad LAT Store Jobs Cars Real Estate Rentals More Classifieds Custom Publishing latimes.com Nation HOME LOCAL L.A. Now Politics Crime Education O.C. Westside Neighborhoods Environment Obituaries Findlocal U.S. Politics Now Top of the Ticket Science & Environment Obituaries Religion WORLD Afghanistan & Pakistan Africa Asia Europe Iran Iraq Latin America Mexico Under Siege Middle East Business Money & Co. Technology Personal Finance Small Business Company Town Jobs Real Estate Autos SPORTS Lakers Clippers Dodgers Angels USC UCLA Kings Ducks Soccer High Schools Bleacher Report ENTERTAINMENT Movies Television Music Celebrity Arts & Culture Company Town Calendar The Envelope Findlocal Health Booster Shots Fitness & Nutrition Medicine Behavior Healthcare Reform Hospitals Living Home Food Image Books Findlocal Brand X Magazine Your Scene Cars Travel California Hawaii Mexico Las Vegas Europe Travel & Deal Blog Destinations Opinion Editorials Op-Ed Letters Opinion L.A. Shop Go: Travel Eat: Food Wear: Apparel Live: Everyday Needs Play: Electronics Save: Offers Find More Mobile Site Subscribe / Manage Account Print Ads Place an Ad LAT Store Jobs Cars Real Estate Rentals More Classifieds Weekly Ad#inTheNews {min-height:20px;} Advanced Search Advanced Search X include all of these words: include any of these words: include this exact phrase: exclude: Select a date range this week past 30 days past 3 months past year Create a custom date range From: To: Top of the TicketPolitical commentary from Andrew Malcolm? Previous Post |Top of the Ticket Home| Next Post ?

Three years after Obama's race speech, he can joke about another man's skin color Comments (8) March 18, 2011?|? 2:24am

Republican house speaker john Boehner and democrat president Obama, file

"My understanding is the Speaker of the House, John Boehner -- is he here? He couldn't show up, huh? OK. I mean, we've heard a few jokes about John, and I've made a few jokes over the years about John’s unusual coloring.
"I used to think that it was a tan, but after seeing how often he tears up, I've come to realize that's not a tan -- that's rust. Think about it." -- President Barack Obama, March 12, 2011.

After reading President Obama's comment about the color of Republican House Speaker John Boehner's skin at a banquet last weekend, we wondered if anyone would have commented had the House Speaker made such a joke. Then, we looked up Sen. Barack Obama's famous speech on race during the rugged 2008 party primary season against Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Turns out, Obama gave that speech exactly three years ago this morning. So we thought we'd publish it for old time's sake.?

The speech came at a precarious political time for Obama. Somehow someone trying to embarrass him dug up videotapes of Obama's family pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, giving sermons often laced with racist rants, anti-Semitic remarks, cursing America and suggesting the federal government spread HIV-AIDs to kill blacks.

Obama, who had claimed to be a faithful worshiper at Wright's Trinity United Church in Chicago for some 20 years, said he had no recollection of ever hearing such comments. As usual, Obama's opponents didn't dump all the videos at once but released them over time to cause more extended political bleeding, forcing repeated denials.

Word came that Chicago celebrity and fellow parishoner Oprah Winfrey had quit Wright's church with her own concerns, but not the Obamas. Over succeeding weeks it became....

...clear Obama would have to make a clear statement about the reverend and race. He chose to do that in Philadelphia with a ringing endorsement of Wright, an explanation of that generation's racial trials and wounds and an at times eloquent description of the ongoing American racial predicament to turn his story as "an unconventional candidate" into an American success story.

He admits hearing anger in Wright's sermons but not to the extent of the videotapes. Still, Obama knew Wright would become a problem; a year earlier at the chilly Springfield announcement of Obama's candidacy, Wright was to give the invocation -- until the last moment when his appearance was canceled.

After describing Wright's service as a Marine, Obama stated, "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community."

About six weeks later as Wright continued his inflammatory remarks with a speech and Q and A at the National Press Club, Obama did just that, disown his family pastor. Here is the full text of what Obama said that morning in Philadelphia.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Rev Jeremiah Wright and a famous parishoner Barack Obama 2007

Address on race by Sen. Barack Obama, March 18, 2008, as provided by barackobama.com

"We the people, in order to form a more perfect union."

Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787.

The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations.

Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time.

And yet words on a parchment would not be enough to deliver slaves from bondage, or provide men and women of every color and creed their full rights and obligations as citizens of the United States. What would be needed were Americans in successive generations who were willing to do their part - through protests and struggle, on the streets and in the courts, through a civil war and civil disobedience and always at great risk - to narrow that gap between the promise of our ideals and the reality of their time.

This was one of the tasks we set forth at the beginning of this campaign - to continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous America. I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together - unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction - towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.

This belief comes from my unyielding faith in the decency and generosity of the American people. But it also comes from my own American story.

I am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Patton's Army during World War II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I've gone to some of the best schools in America and lived in one of the world's poorest nations.

I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slaveowners - an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

It's a story that hasn't made me the most conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of its parts - that out of many, we are truly one.

Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens, we won commanding victories in states with some of the whitest populations in the country. In South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies, we built a powerful coalition of African Americans and white Americans.

This is not to say that race has not been an issue in the campaign. At various stages in the campaign, some commentators have deemed me either "too black" or "not black enough." We saw racial tensions bubble to the surface during the week before the South Carolina primary. The press has scoured every exit poll for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well.

And yet, it has only been in the last couple of weeks that the discussion of race in this campaign has taken a particularly divisive turn.

On one end of the spectrum, we've heard the implication that my candidacy is somehow an exercise in affirmative action; that it's based solely on the desire of wide-eyed liberals to purchase racial reconciliation on the cheap. On the other end, we've heard my former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greaObama presides over a 2010 White house gathering, filetness and the goodness of our nation; that rightly offend white and black alike.

? I have already condemned, in unequivocal terms, the statements of Reverend Wright that have caused such controversy. For some, nagging questions remain. Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course.

Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely -- just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But the remarks that have caused this recent firestorm weren't simply controversial. They weren't simply a religious leader's effort to speak out against perceived injustice. Instead, they expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country -- a view that sees white racism as endemic, and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.

As such, Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity; racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems - two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all.

Given my background, my politics, and my professed values and ideals, there will no doubt be those for whom my statements of condemnation are not enough. Why associate myself with Reverend Wright in the first place, they may ask? Why not join another church? And I confess that if all that I knew of Reverend Wright were the snippets of those sermons that have run in an endless loop on the television and You Tube, or if Trinity United Church of Christ conformed to the caricatures being peddled by some commentators, there is no doubt that I would react in much the same way

But the truth is, that isn't all that I know of the man. The man I met more than twenty years ago is a man who helped introduce me to my Christian faith, a man who spoke to me about our obligations to love one another; to care for the sick and lift up the poor.

He is a man who served his country as a U.S. Marine; who has studied and lectured at some of the finest universities and seminaries in the country, and who for over thirty years led a church that serves the community by doing God's work here on Earth - by housing the homeless, ministering to the needy, providing day care services and scholarships and prison ministries, and reaching out to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

In my first book, "Dreams From My Father," I described the experience of my first service at Trinity:

"People began to shout, to rise from their seats and clap and cry out, a forceful wind carrying the reverend's voice up into the rafters....And in that single note -- hope! -- I heard something else; at the foot of that cross, inside the thousands of churches across the city, I imagined the stories of ordinary black people merging with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's den, Ezekiel's field of dry bones.

Those stories - of survival, and freedom, and hope -- became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears; until this black church, on this bright day, seemed once more a vessel carrying the story of a people into future generations and into a larger world. Our trials and triumphs became at once unique and universal, black and more than black; in chronicling our journey, the stories and songs gave us a means to reclaim memories that we didn't need to feel shame about...memories that all people might study and cherish - and with which we could start to rebuild."

That has been my experience at Trinity. Like other predominantly black churches across the country, Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety -- the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-banger. Like other black churches, Trinity's services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humor. They are full of dancing, clapping, screaming and shouting that may seem jarring to the untrained ear. The church contains in full the kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love and yes, the bitterness and bias that make up the black experience in America.

And this helps explain, perhaps, my relationship with Reverend Wright. As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me. He strengthened my faith, officiated my wedding, and baptized my children. Not once in my conversations with him have I heard him talk about any ethnic group in derogatory terms, or treat whites with whom he interacted with anything but courtesy and respect. He contains within him the contradictions -- the good and the bad -- of the community that he has served diligently for so Obama giving his philadelphia Race Speech 3-18-08many years.

I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community.

I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother -- a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.

Some will see this as an attempt to justify or excuse comments that are simply inexcusable. I can assure you it is not. I suppose the politically safe thing would be to move on from this episode and just hope that it fades into the woodwork. We can dismiss Reverend Wright as a crank or a demagogue, just as some have dismissed Geraldine Ferraro, in the aftermath of her recent statements, as harboring some deep-seated racial bias.

But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now. We would be making the same mistake that Reverend Wright made in his offending sermons about America -- to simplify and stereotype and amplify the negative to the point that it distorts reality.

The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we've never really worked through -- a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.

Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, "The past isn't dead and buried. In fact, it isn't even past." We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the African-American community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow.

Segregated schools were, and are, inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them, fifty years after Brown v. Board of Education, and the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students.

Legalized discrimination -- where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments -- meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations. That history helps explain the wealth and income gap between black and white, and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today's urban and rural communities.

A lack of economic opportunity among black men, and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family, contributed to the erosion of black families - a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban black neighborhoods - parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement - all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.

This is the reality in which Reverend Wright and other African-Americans of his generation grew up. They came of age in the late fifties and early sixties, a time when segregation was still the law of the land and opportunity was systematically constricted. What's remarkable is not how many failed in the face of discrimination, but rather how many men and women overcame the odds; how many were able to make a way out of no way for those like me who would come after them.

But for all those who scratched and clawed their way to get a piece of the American Dream, there were many who didn't make it -- those who were ultimately defeated, in one way or another, by discrimination. That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations -- those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, withouJeremiah Wright speaks at the national press club 4-28-08t hope or prospects for the future.

Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways.

For the men and women of Reverend Wright's generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years. That anger may not get expressed in public, in front of white co-workers or white friends.

But it does find voice in the barbershop or around the kitchen table. At times, that anger is exploited by politicians, to gin up votes along racial lines, or to make up for a politician's own failings.

And occasionally it finds voice in the church on Sunday morning, in the pulpit and in the pews. The fact that so many people are surprised to hear that anger in some of Reverend Wright's sermons simply reminds us of the old truism that the most segregated hour in American life occurs on Sunday morning.

That anger is not always productive; indeed, all too often it distracts attention from solving real problems; it keeps us from squarely facing our own complicity in our condition, and prevents the African-American community from forging the alliances it needs to bring about real change. But the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.

In fact, a similar anger exists within segments of the white community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience -- as far as they're concerned, no one's handed them anything, they've built it from scratch. They've worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor.

They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense. So when they are told to bus their children to a school across town; when they hear that an African American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time.

Like the anger within the black community, these resentments aren't always expressed in polite company. But they have helped shape the political landscape for at least a generation. Anger over welfare and affirmative action helped forge the Reagan Coalition. Politicians routinely exploited fears of crime for their own electoral ends. Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism.

Just as black anger often proved counterproductive, so have these white resentments distracted attention from the real culprits of the middle class squeeze -- a corporate culture rife with inside dealing, questionable accounting practices, and short-term greed; a Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests; economic policies that favor the few over the many. And yet, to wish away the resentments of white Americans, to label them as misguided or even racist, without recognizing they are grounded in legitimate concerns - this too widens the racial divide, and blocks the path to understanding.

This is where we are right now. It's a racial stalemate we've been stuck in for years. Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single election cycle, or with a single candidacy - particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own.

But I have asserted a firm conviction -- a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people - that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.

For the African-American community, that path means embracing the burdens of our past without becoming victims of our past. It means continuing to insist on a full measure of justice in every aspect of American life. But it also means binding our particular grievances -- for better health care, and better schools, and better jobs - to the larger aspirations of all Americans -- the white woman struggling to break the glass ceiling, the white man whose been laid off, the immigrant trying to feed his family. And it means taking full responsibility for own lives - by demanding more from our fathers, and spending more time with our children, and reading to them, and teaching them that while they may face challenges and discrimination in their own lives, they must never succumb to despair or cynicism; they must always believe that they can write their own destiny.

Ironically, this quintessentially American -- and yes, conservative -- notion of self-help found frequent expression in Reverend Wright's sermons. But what my former pastor too often failed to understand is that embarking on a program of self-help also requires a belief that society can change.

The profound mistake of Reverend Wright's sermons is not that he spoke about racism in our society. It's that he spoke as if our society was static; as if no progress has been made; as if this country -- a country that has made it possible for one of his own members to run for the highest office in the land and build a coalition of white and black; Latino and Asian, rich and poor, young and old -- is still irrevocably bound to a tragic past. But what we know -- what we have seen -- is that America can change. That is true genius of this nation. What we have already achieved gObama Race Speech Screengrab 3-18-08ives us hope - the audacity to hope - for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

? In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination -- and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past -- are real and must be addressed.

Not just with words, but with deeds -- by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle -- as we did in the OJ trial -- or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.

I would not be running for President if I didn't believe with all my heart that this is what the vast majority of Americans want for this country. This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected. And today, whenever I find myself feeling doubtful or cynical about this possibility, what gives me the most hope is the next generation - the young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election.

There is one story in particularly that I'd like to leave you with today -- a story I told when I had the great honor of speaking on Dr. King's birthday at his home church, Ebenezer Baptist, in Atlanta.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organized for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She had been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and one day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that's when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

Now Ashley might have made a different choice. Perhaps somebody told her along the way that the source of her mother's problems were blacks who were on welfare and too lazy to work, or Hispanics who were coming into the country illegally. But she didn't. She sought out allies in her fight against injustice.

Anyway, Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they're supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who's been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he's there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, "I am here because of Ashley."

"I'm here because of Ashley." By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we start. It is where our union grows stronger. And as so many generations have come to realize over the course of the two-hundred and twenty one years since a band of patriots signed that document in Philadelphia, that is where the perfection begins.??? ####

Photos: Associated Press, file; Associated Press (Obama and Wright); Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA (2010 White House gathering); Associated Press (Obama's Philadelphia race speech, March 18, 2008); Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images (Wright speaks at the National Press Club, April 28, 2008); CNN screengrab of Obama's speech.

Twitter: @LATimestotFacebook: latimestotMore in: Aides, Andrew Malcolm, Deficit, Democratic Politics, Economy, Hillary Clinton, John Boehner, Media, Money, Obama's speech, Ohio, Political History, President Obama, Religion, Transcript
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Obama is a racist and a bully.

Posted by:winston |March 18, 2011 at 05:48 AM

I used to believe that obmama was an empty vessel, a cipher, a suit without a body inside. I believed that he was programed by forces much larger than he is. I believed that he was middle of the road intelligent, that is, intelligent enough to make himself sound more intelligent than he actually is. Now, after finding out that he has no academic record (I have published more than has he), no work record (productive, that is),and no core of principles that form his morality and conduct, I no longer only believe these things, I am now FIRMLY CONVINCED of them.

Posted by:Jobe |March 18, 2011 at 06:56 AM

Put a cork in it Andrew Malcolm. Boehner's fake tan is hilarious and has nothing to do with race. It's about vanity.

Posted by:IonaTrailer |March 18, 2011 at 07:47 AM

The joke wasn't about Boehner's race. It was about his weird fake suntan. It was not offensive, because the United States does not have a history of enslaving and denying human rights to people with bad fake suntans.

No wonder nobody reads this idiotic newspaper.

Posted by:Patrick O'Neill |March 18, 2011 at 08:03 AM

This is really one of the dumbest critiques of Obama I have seen and that is saying something. Orange spray tan skin is not the same as race, and to equate the two shows how much further we still have to go. The things that people read into President Obama's person say much more about them than they do about him.

Posted by:chris |March 18, 2011 at 11:02 AM

It is time to stop defensive measures, and use the left's Alinsky tactics against them, in short, Palinize Uhbama without mercy. Uhbama is a much larger target rich environment than Sarah Palin ever was. As Donald Trump the birther said, "there is just something very strange about the man."

We know more about the big bang theory than we do about Chauncy "Being There" Uhbama

Posted by:Cotton Picker |March 18, 2011 at 11:11 AM

Geez, Patrick, joking about skin color is either acceptable or not. This is about hypocrisy, something The One excels in.

And if you think that the only slaves in the New World were melanin-enriched from Africa, then you are as ignorant as you are tone deaf.

Posted by:darleen click |March 18, 2011 at 01:26 PM

I think it is important for people, including this author, to understand the difference between jokes about individuals and jokes about institutional issues. Skin color is not an institutionalized basis of oppression for white Americans. So it is not a parallel for insensitivity in this case.

Perhaps it would be easier to understand in this context: squeezing an overweight man's "man-boobs" in jest at the gym is not the societally equivalent outrage as squeezing a woman's breasts in the same locale. Because the writer, and perhaps some readers, don't necessarily instantly understand why not, it is because women not having control over their bodies, at the personal and institutional level, is an historic issue in the world for women. Therefore, a woman would be greatly offended, and you would be charged, perhaps, with molestation or assault, if you grabbed her in such a way. You could not then go to court and say, "But I always grab my heavy friend Jim's boobs, and HE knows I'm only playing!" Because the judge, as well as the jury, as well as the gallery, and perhaps passers-by just glancing into the courtroom, would think you were the dimmest bulb in the lamp. Surely, they would think and/or say, you understand the contextual difference here?

I say the same now.

At least, when I read writing such as this, I am less frustrated by the state of race (and gender, and gay, and class) relations in our country. If people can't see the distinction between the implications of having Black skin and the implications of having a tan, I have to cut them some slack for saying (and writing) ridiculous things - and I offer the readers who don't know the difference either, the same sad shake of my head.

Posted by:A mind is a terrible thing to ignore |March 19, 2011 at 07:57 AM


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About the ColumnistAndrew Malcolm

Recent PostsIn Rio, Obama marks Iran's Nowruz observance with denunciation of that regime's repression?|?March 20, 2011, 3:00 pm??In Brazil, Obama orders attack in Libya: 'Actions have consequences'?|?March 19, 2011, 3:18 pm??Sunday shows: Steven Chu and that's about it?|?March 19, 2011, 12:00 pm??Ticket pic of the week: 'I found something over here'?|?March 19, 2011, 7:14 am??Weekly remarks: GOP says president AWOL on budget; Obama wants more South America trade?|?March 19, 2011, 3:00 am??

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Soft-spoken East Haven man ?loved a joke, being with friends?


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Mike gets chorus of booze

Mayor Bloomberg booed at St. Patrick's Day Parade - NYPOST.com weather icon41 ° Today's PaperLoginRegisterClassifiedsdropdown Cars & VehiclesReal EstateFor RentJobsPetsBuy/Sell/TradeTickets & EventsServicesLegal Notices Archives Subscribe

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Last Updated: 10:14 AM, March 18, 2011

Posted: 2:00 AM, March 18, 2011

Comments: 1 TweetMore Print

Irish ayes turned to nays yesterday for Mayor Bloomberg at the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Sporadic boos and catcalls greeted the mayor as he marched up Fifth Avenue, a pointed reminder that a joke he told last month about "inebriated people" hanging out the windows of the American Irish Historical Society was taken by some as an insult.

"Bloomberg -- You're a Drunk," proclaimed a sign held aloft by Dennis Dunn, who painted his face in the colors of the Irish flag and wore a coat festooned with Irish buttons.

"He did it as a joke, but the Irish community doesn't take it as a joke," fumed Dunn.

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Bloomberg spent four hours at the march and then headed to the American Irish Historical Society, scene of his controversial quip.

TweetMore Print NYPOST Comments (1) Report Call Me Crazy

03/18/2011 7:46 AM

"Bloomberg -- You're a Drunk," proclaimed a sign held aloft by Dennis Dunn..." exhibiting the wit Irish people are renowned for...NOT!

Dunn must've been adopted, he's no son of the auld sod.

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Joke gone wrong lands man in hospital

A Ghent man was seriously injured after falling out of a truck and being run over by that vehicle during an apparent practical joke that went wrong Wednesday afternoon.

Benjamin Keyser, the passenger in a Ford F350 pick-up truck headed south on Route 66 in Chatham, stood up in the vehicle and began exiting through the truck’s moon roof, according to the New York State Police, the investigating agency.

“He immediately lost his balance, slid down the windshield and front hood … and the truck ran him over,” said State Police Capt. Scott Brown.

The accident occurred just north of Crellin Park in Chatham just before 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The other three occupants of the truck put Keyser, 23, back in the truck and drove him to the Chatham Rescue Squad headquarters where he received emergency medical care before a New York State Police helicopter transported him to Albany Medical Center.

He remains there in serious condition as of press time. Keyser broke a femur and suffered facial and bodily injuries, according to authorities.

Brown said Keyser was “very, very lucky” that he didn’t suffer worse injuries.

“It appears that alcohol played a part in this accident,” he said. “The victim had consumed alcohol just before this happened.”

The driver, Kevin Manilenko of Delmar, was not drinking, said the captain.

No tickets have been issued in the incident.

Trooper Tim Jackson, of the State Police in Kinderhook, investigated the accident. The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office and the Chatham Police assisted with both the accident and investigation, said Brown.


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Baptizing a Drunk

Baptizing a Drunk

A man is stumbling through the woods totally drunk when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the river. He proceeds to walk into the water and subsequently bumps into the preacher.

The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, whereupon he asks the drunk, “Are you ready to find Jesus?”

The drunk answers, “Yes, I am.”

So the preacher grabs him and dunks him in the water. He pulls him up and asks the drunk, “Brother, have you found Jesus?”

The drunk replies, “No, I haven’t found Jesus.”

The preacher shocked at the answer; dunks him into the water again for a little longer this time.

He again pulls him out of the water and asks again,”Have you found Jesus, my brother?”

The drunk again answers, “No, I haven’t found Jesus.”

By this time the preacher is at his wits end and dunks the drunk in the water again. This time holds him down for about 30 seconds and when he begins kicking his arms and legs he pulls him up.

The preacher again asks the drunk, “For the love of God, have you found Jesus?”

The drunk wipes his eyes, catches his breath and yells to the preacher, “Are you sure this is where he fell in?”



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2011年3月26日 星期六

Immigrant shooting 'joke' backlash

"I apologize to anyone that I offended with my inappropriate comment," Kansas state lawmaker Virgil Peck said."I apologize to anyone that I offended with my inappropriate comment," Kansas state lawmaker Virgil Peck said.NEW: Lawmaker apologizes on camera, flanked by Hispanic colleaguesKansas' Virgil Peck said illegal immigrants should be shot like feral hogsHe says he was joking and issues an apologyHis comments draw a big backlash from both parties

Topeka, Kansas (CNN) -- A Kansas state lawmaker apologized in person Thursday for a controversial remark he made, suggesting that unauthorized immigrants should be shot.

"I'm Virgil Peck, and on Monday, I made an inappropriate comment," the Republican state representative told CNN in an on-camera statement Thursday. "For that, I'm sorry, and I apologize to anyone that I offended with my inappropriate comment. I'll be more careful with my words in the future."

On Monday, Peck made headlines when, during an appropriations committee meeting, he made a reference to an agricultural program that controls the state's feral hog population by shooting them from helicopters.

"Looks like to me, if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a (solution) to our illegal immigration problem," Peck said.

The comments sparked the ire of residents and officials from Kansas to Washington, but Peck has been largely tight-lipped about his remarks.

He initially said he was joking and then released a terse, two-sentence statement saying, "My statements (Monday) were regrettable. Please accept my apology."

When asked for additional comment on the controversy earlier Thursday, Peck gave CNN a printed copy of the statement.

He did not take any questions after his verbal statement to reporters. He was flanked by the three Hispanic Republican representatives serving in the state legislation.

State Rep. Reynaldo Mesa said the trio of legislators does not condone Peck's comments but has decided to stand by Peck.

"He's offered his apology. We believe he is very sincere," Mesa said.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he was dismayed by Peck's comments about immigrants.

"His comments were dehumanizing and inappropriate and have no place in our national discourse," Gonzalez said. "They are also counterproductive to having a responsible debate, have the potential to result in regrettable consequences and could incite prejudices and biases that are harmful to our nation."

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, also was critical of Peck's words.

"I think it's completely inappropriate," Brownback said, according to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

On Thursday, Sherriene Jones-Sontag, a spokeswoman for the governor, said he would have no further comment on the issue and that he considered the matter closed.

The Kansas Republican House leadership also said the remark was inappropriate but made no mention of whether the lawmaker should face any punishment or sanction.

"We have visited and counseled with Representative Peck about the matter and have accepted his sincere apology for the inappropriate remark, which, although made in jest, was not thereby made any less offensive," the statement said. "His acknowledgment of his error, his apology to the public and his House colleagues and his pledge to be more vigilant and respectful in his discourse is appreciated and accepted."

Before this week, Peck was not known for being outspoken on the illegal immigration issue and has not been linked to any nativist groups. But anti-immigrant views are not unheard-of in Kansas.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a small increase in the number of anti-immigrant vigilante groups nationwide occurred from 2009 to 2010. The organization, which tracks hate groups, identified six chapters of anti-immigrant groups in Kansas.

CNN en Espanol's Gustavo Valdes contributed to this report.


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Joke about being high leads to Irwin man's arrest


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The oldest joke in the world?

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By Tony Grew - 18th March 2011

Therese Coffey has had a good day - her private member's bill has moved on to the Lords with government and opposition backing.

It implements the Nairobi International Convention for the Removal of Wrecks (ICRW) into British law.

However, nothing can forgive this joke, which she opened her speech today with.

"I will open with a quick question. What do you find lying on a seabed shivering? The answer is a nervous wreck. Perhaps I am a bit of a nervous wreck because I finally get to speak to the Bill that stands in my name."

Another Coffey fact was referred to by shadow minister Jim Fitzpartick during the short debate on the bill.

"She said in her maiden speech, which I read yesterday, that you, Mr Speaker, had given her training in public speaking some years ago," he told the House.

"Clearly it has paid off, because she did not come across as the nervous wreck that she joked about."

Minister Mike Penning, a former firefighter, also got in on the act.

"I did not get elocution lessons or speaking notes from you many years ago, Mr Speaker," he said.

"Perhaps I would have done as well as my hon. friend the member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) did a few moments ago if I had."

Well done Therese - but better jokes in future please!

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Five Stages of Drunk

Five Stages of Drunk

Stage 1 = SMART: This is when you become an expert on everything known to mankind. You know you know everything and want to pass on your knowledge to anyone who will listen. At this stage you are ALWAYS RIGHT and of course the person you are talking to is ALWAYS WRONG. This makes for an interesting argument when both people are SMART.

Stage 2 = GOOD LOOKING: This is when you realize that you are the most attractive person in the entire bar and that people fancy you. You can go up to a perfect stranger knowing they fancy you and really want to talk to you. Bare in mind that you are still SMART, so you can talk to this person about any subject under the sun.

Stage 3 = RICH: This is when you suddenly become the richest person in the world. You can buy drinks for the entire bar because you have an armored truck full of money parked outside the bar. You can also make large bets at this stage, because of course, you are still SMART, so naturally you win all your bets. It doesn’t matter how much you bet because you are RICH. You will also buy drinks for everyone that you fancy, because now you are the BEST LOOKING person in the world.

Stage 4 = BULLET PROOF: You are now ready to pick fights with anyone and everyone especially those with whom you have been betting or arguing. This is because nothing can hurt you. At this point you can also go up to the partners of the people who you fancy and challenge them to a battle of wits or money. You have no fear of losing this battle because you are SMART, you are RICH and you’re BETTER LOOKING than they are anyway!

Stage 5 = INVISIBLE: This is the final stage of drunkenness. At this point you can do anything because no one can see you. You dance on a table to impress the people who you fancy because the rest of the people in the room cannot see you. You are also invisible to the person who wants to fight you. You can walk through the street singing at the top of your lungs because no one can see or hear you and because you’re still SMART you know all the words.



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Report: Gay high-school student says teacher directed joke at him

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A Palm Coast teen says a teacher's joke about homosexuality made him so uncomfortable that it led to him withdrawing from the school, according to News-Journalonline.com.

Luke Herbert, 15, said other students at the school harassed him about being gay. Wood-shop teacher Floyd Brinkley also made a joke in class that Herbert thought was meant as a slur on him.

Read more at News-Journalonline.com.

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Email E-mail Print Print add to Digg Digg add to Twitter Twitter add to Facebook Facebook add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon ? Comments (84)Add / View comments | Discussion FAQ wheretheidivides at 11:30 PM March 20, 2011

STFU please.? Get a sense of humor.? This will just give you thicker skin for the real world.? You'll need it.?? (BTW: sounds like another black person that is 'sue happy')

therealtruthorlando at 11:09 PM March 19, 2011

That little fayg need to shut up! Hes just looking for attention. Disgusting....fayg!

Rebel32835 at 6:54 PM March 19, 2011

What happened to standing up for your rights? withdrawing from his school and using a joke as the reason sounds like someone is lookin for a payday.

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