The great thing about our system of democracy is when they call you for jury duty, you have to come... It's an honor and a privilege. I was called and I've got to be here.

Let me be clear - no one is above the law. Not a politician, not a priest, not a criminal, not a police officer. We are all accountable for our actions.

I got to grow up with a mother who taught me to believe in me.

If you wave a flag, make it an American Flag.

I'm not looking for a battle with anybody, neither the council nor our labor partners.

We in Los Angeles, who have ourselves been helped to stand up - to recover and rebuild after a disaster - want to help the families and communities of the Gulf Coast,.

Actually, as president of the Conference of Mayors, we passed the Simpson-Bowles plan as a template, as a template, as a frame work for moving forward and the president has done the same.

You can't just trot out a brown face or a Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate.

You all know I love L.A., but tonight I really love L.A.

I'm not one of the people who have to be in public office.

We're not a homogeneous party, anymore than the Republicans are. But we are a party that I think has a plan to take us forward.

What is most of our boasted so-called knowledge but a conceit that we know something, which robs us of the advantage of our actual ignorance?

Find 100 reasons to laugh. You are bound to feel better, you will cope with problems more effectively and people will enjoy being around you. Besides unhappiness, what do you have to lose?

Some think that they are incredible but are actually un-credible. Do you work, master your craft...

Man has the right . . . to play as he will . . . to think what he will: to speak what he will: to write what he will: to draw, paint, carve, etch, mould, build as he will: to dress as he will.

Remember when you're young and you think your dad is Superman? And then you grow up and realized he's just a drunk who wears a cape.

Time, O my friend, is money! Time wasted can never conduce to money well managed.

Writing eases my suffering . . . writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.

The closer you can live to being a vegetarian the better.

When we die our entire legacy is simply the added together strengths of all the connections we make with others. This is the ghost of ourselves we leave behind. This is showing up.

I'm more interested in...I'm more of a descendent. I'm more critical. It comes from a different place and nowadays the young people know how to make just light entertainment.