Wednesday, December 6th

From Barbie's unexpected wisdom to dissent among Kennedys, these are the top quotes of 2023

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press

FILE -Taylor Swift arrives at the world premiere of the concert film "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," Oct. 11, 2023, in Los Angeles. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, Swift is quoted: "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me," in the revised lyrics of the song "Karma," Nov. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - From dissent within the Kennedy family to the unexpected wisdom of Barbie, Yale's 2023 list of notable quotations have something for just about everyone.

This year's list is topped by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s siblings, who condemned his presidential bid.

"Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment," his siblings said in a joint statement in October. "We denounce his candidacy."

Their father was Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. attorney general, New York senator and President John F. Kennedy's brother. Kennedy Jr. is a bestselling author and environmental lawyer who is running as an independent after dropping his effort for the Democratic nomination. He has been one of the leading voices of the anti-vaccine movement, and health experts have joined his relatives in describing his work as misleading and dangerous.

The notable quotations list, compiled each year by Fred Shapiro, an associate director at the Yale Law Library, is a supplement to The New Yale Book of Quotations, which is edited by Shapiro and published by Yale University Press.

Nearly a year before George Santos was expelled from Congress on Dec. 1, he said something so widely criticized and mocked that it came in at No. 2 on this year's list. "I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was 'Jew-ish,'" he said.

That quote appears alongside a memorable line from Barbie, played by Margot Robbie in one of this year's blockbuster movies, according to Shapiro. "Do you guys ever think about dying?" she asked, making No. 5 on the list.

"The items on this list are not necessarily eloquent or admirable quotations, rather they have been picked because they are famous or important or particularly revealing of the spirit of our times," Shapiro said.

FILE - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. General Mark Milley addresses the media during a meeting of NATO defense ministers, at NATO headquarters in Brussels, June 15, 2023. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, Miller is quoted: "We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator ... We take an oath to the Constitution," at a farewell ceremony, Sept. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)

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THE LIST

1. "Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision, or judgment ... We denounce his candidacy." - Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy II and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, joint statement, Oct. 9, 2023.

2. "I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was 'Jew-ish.'" - Former congressman George Santos, New York Post, Dec. 26, 2022.

3. "We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator ... We take an oath to the Constitution." - Army Gen. Mark Milley, remarks at his farewell ceremony as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sept. 29, 2023.

4. "He's clearly losing the war in Iraq." - President Joe Biden on Russian President Vladimir Putin, remarks to reporters about the war in Ukraine, June 28, 2023.

5. "Do you guys ever think about dying?" - Margot Robbie in the movie " Barbie," 2023.

6. "We thought we might start a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world ... I believe we did." - Cillian Murphy playing J. Robert Oppenheimer in the movie "Oppenheimer," 2023.

7. "I probably trust the answers that come out of ChatGPT the least of anybody on Earth." - Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, remarks at a forum in India, June 8, 2023.

8. "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me." - Taylor Swift, revised lyrics of song "Karma," Nov. 11, 2023.

9. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that an American billionaire, in possession of sufficient fortune, must be in want of a Supreme Court justice." - Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri, opinion piece, June 23, 2023.

10. "Deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life." - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissenting opinion on Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, June 29, 2023.

FILE - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman participates in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, Altman is quoted: "I probably trust the answers that come out of ChatGPT the least of anybody on Earth." (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

FILE - Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., faces reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 30, 2023. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, Santos is quoted: "I never claimed to be Jewish. I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was "Jew-ish," in the New York Post, Dec. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Rory Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Joseph P. Kennedy II, and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, left to right, are shown in these file photos. They said in a joint statement, Oct. 9, 2023: "Bobby [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.] might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision, or judgment ... We denounce his candidacy." (AP Photos. File)

FILE -Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson after her formal investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court, in Washington, Sept. 30, 2022. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, she is quoted: "Deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life," in her dissenting opinion in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, June 29, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Cillian Murphy poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere for the film 'Oppenheimer," July 13, 2023 in London. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, Murphy is quoted: "We thought we might start a chain reaction that would destroy the entire world ... I believe we did," during his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in the 2023 motion picture "Oppenheimer." (Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Margot Robbie arrives at a photo call for the movie "Barbie," June 25, 2023, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, Robbie is quoted: "Do you guys ever think about dying?" during her role in the 2023 motion picture "Barbie." (2023)(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - President Joseph Biden speaks at CS Wind, Nov. 29, 2023, in Pueblo, Colo. In Quotes of the Year, a Yale Law School librarian's list of the most notable quotes of 2023, Biden is quoted: "He's [Vladimir Putin] clearly losing the war in Iraq," In remarks to reporters about the war in Ukraine, June 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey, File)