Joke of the Day (2007-12-20)

There's been a joke that's been making the rounds as of late. It's a new twist on an old one, but the point is still there ...

One day, a teacher in the Mid-West is asking her class random questions about various Americans and the things they said. She begins: "Who said, 'I regret that I have but one life to give for my country.?'"

Silence from the students in the class, a mixture of whites, blacks and Native Americans. Finally, one student in the back, a Hispanic, raises her hand and says, "Nathan Hale, 1776 ... just before he was executed by the British for treason, I believe. No, um ... espionage; the British treated spies as what we, or at least President Dubya, now call 'enemy combatants.""

"Correct," replies the teacher. "Now, who said, 'Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens?'"

Again, dead silence from the class. Then the lone Hispanic student raises her hand and says, "John Marshall Harlan, 1896; in his dissenting opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson, which legalized racial segregation in the United States."

"Right!" said the teacher, smiling. "Okay, now tell me who said, 'I am not a crook?'"

Dead silence, for thirty seconds. Finally, the Hispanic student raises her hand and says, "Richard Nixon, 1973. It was at a press conference at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida; and he was responding to a question not about his involvement in Watergate but allegations he evaded income taxes.'"

"Absolutely correct!!" said the teacher, with a huge grin on her face. "Now, class, see little Jessica over there? She knows her American history, and even the minutiae around specific events that give quotations their context. But the rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves. After all, she's an immigrant from Mexico and the rest of you were born here."

A student in the middle of the class muttered, "Aw, fuck the Mexicans."

The teacher was livid, and screamed, "All right! Who said that?"

In unison, every single student replied, "LOU DOBBS, 2006!!!!"

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