Officially 19 Years Old Quotes

Why? You didn’t kill him. So tell me about you. Where are you from? What’s with the accent? You look like a black guy, no offense.” “I am a black guy. No offense,” he retorted but seemed a little thrown off in the way his eyes narrowed on her in a dissecting manner. Gaby was aware she had been sharp with her words to his condolences. She wondered if she offended him, or surprised him. A man like Power was probably used to women creaming at his slightest display of affection. “My father and his family are Belizean. I was born and raised in Belize. I lived there until I was 19-years-old. My mother is…was… a black American. My father, Belizean, yes. Still, I’m a black man.” “So Belizeans aren’t considered Hispanic?” Gaby questioned with a crinkled brow. “Belizeans, like most Central and South American inhabitants, are descendants of African slaves that were just dropped off along the way. But we were the only British colony in the region, the only Central American country where English is still the official language, although most Belizeans are trilingual, Elizabeth The Second’s the queen, the whole nine. But we’re of black ancestry even with Hispanic heritage. I see darker tones in my country than yours. Nicaraguans, Puerto Ricans, Brazilians, Costa Ricans, Columbians… most of them have more black blood than the black people in the U.S. That’s why it kills me when people ask shit like that. I mean…” He stopped short. “… not you,” he offered up but Gaby only pressed her lips together feeling slightly embarrassed knowing she was in fact, amongst the ignorant.

The only substantial dispute between North and South, Lincoln asserted, was slavery. “One section of our country believes slavery is right, and ought to be extended, while the other believes slavery is wrong, and ought not to be extended.” The Fugitive Slave Law and the suppression of the foreign slave trade now struck an imperfect balance, which might only be made worse after separation of the two sections. Physically speaking, said Lincoln, “we cannot separate. We cannot remove our respective sections from each other, nor build an impassable wall between them. . . . Suppose you go to war, you cannot fight always; and when, after much loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical old questions . . . are again upon you.”18 All the authority of the president, he continued, comes from the people, “and they have conferred none upon him to fix terms for the separation of the States.” The people themselves can do this if they choose, but the executive, as such, has nothing to do with it. His duty is to administer the present government and “to transmit it, unimpaired by him, to his successor.” Since the power ultimately rests with the people, if they wish they can turn elected officials out of office “at very short intervals.” No administration, and certainly not his, said Lincoln, “by any extreme wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government, in the short space of four years.” And just as the power to elect and dismiss presidents came from the people, so too did the power to decide the direction of the country. “In your hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You have no conflict, without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to ‘preserve, protect, and defend’ it.”19 Lincoln

The board would have to end the meeting early, so Kenny’s speaking time would be cut to three minutes and there would be no time for the survivors to speak. Kenny knew he couldn’t explain his findings in three minutes, so when he stepped forward, he abandoned his script. I had intended to talk about the investigation today. The problem is that my remarks will be a little different than originally intended. You see, certain members of this board and the superintendent have tried by every means possible to subvert our message. For weeks, we have had additional speakers scheduled. Just an hour ago, I received word that all of our seven additional speakers would be cut and my time would be cut in half. A board and superintendent who insist on their commitment to transparency have decided to deny a voice to survivors and families of the victims who intended to speak tonight. This is no surprise after the fiasco I was involved in yesterday, though. It was requested that I meet with the superintendent and families of victims to discuss my report. When I arrived, I was denied the right to have an attorney present, I was refused the opportunity to record the meeting, and I was told that this was because the superintendent wouldn’t have any representation of his own. The meeting was stacked with ten district officials in addition to the superintendent. We spoke for a total of two hours. You can call me a skeptic, but I have a hard time believing that a superintendent and ten district officials who represent two hundred thirty-four schools, fifteen thousand teachers, and two hundred seventy thousand students had the time to meet with a nineteen-year-old for two hours if they didn’t believe that I was holding onto something crucial.… Something doesn’t smell quite right in Broward, and this school district is the epicenter. Luckily, our report will be going live on The Hill and other national media outlets at around 6 p.m. today, and it will make clear the failures of the school system, and in particular the superintendent, in protecting our schools. Thank you.19 The audience erupted in applause.

What’s worse for you young people is that the unemployment rate isn’t even what you should really be worried about. What you should really be concerned about is the UNDERemployment rate as it speaks to precisely why you went to college. The underemployment rate is the percent of people who are not working at their full potential. So, if you went to college for accounting, but end up working as a bartender you are considered “underemployed.” The statistics vary, but the best official estimate (called U6) shows an underemployment rate considerably higher than the simple unemployment rate. Even worse than that, underemployment is typically higher in the 19-29 year old range, which means it’s even more likely you will not realize the full benefit of your degree.

Calvin Morett, a 19 year old Saratoga Springs, NY, high school student was cited for disorderly conduct. His  conduct?  He showed up at his high school graduation dressed as a 6 foot penis.  Officials report that Morett went to court where he stood erect, manned up and pleaded guilty to the charge. For his punishment he was ordered to write a letter of apology to his school.