The poorest residents of the gulf coast were most affected by the devastating hurricanes, and the poorest Americans have shouldered a disproportionate share of the burden in Iraq.

Regrettably, it has become clear that torture of detainees in United States custody is not limited to Abu Ghraib or even Iraq. Since Abu Ghraib, there have been increasing reports of torture.

Black History Month must be more than just a month of remembrance; it should be a tribute to our history and reminder of the work that lies in the months and years ahead.

Real lobbying reform must end the practice of corporate lobbyists writing our laws.

As we celebrate Black History Month we should be grateful for the achievements they made and inspired by their legacies to continue their work.

It is never too late to regain our credibility around the world.

We need a tougher enforcement program and, most importantly, we need to fix the badly broken ethics system.

The worst excesses of the Congress of the 1980s pale in comparison with what is going on in Washington today.

Over the past few years special interests have had a larger and larger say over who gets what in America, and the voices of average citizens are being shut out.

What's interesting is there are $12 billion of breaks in the energy bill that passed, yet we see that the sixth major oil companies in America last year made $1.1 trillion.

Parts of the Voting Rights Act are due to expire next year if Congress doesn't extend them, including the section that guarantees that voting rights will be protected by the federal government.

I can't change yesterday, but I can sure mess up today.

Books are meat and medicineand flame and flight and flowersteel, stitch, cloud and clout, and drumbeats on the air.

Counting calories is not the answer, because eating is not the problem.

My younger brother will remember that he received a transistor radio for Christmas. I took it apart and it never worked again.

My parents and my grandmother inspire me every day and, every day, in my work and personal life.

To speak impartially, the best men that I know are not serene, a world in themselves. For the most part, they dwell in forms, andflatter and study effect only more finely than the rest.

You take every opportunity given you in this world, even if you have too many opportunities. One day, the opportunities stop, you know.

I set little goals and as I hit those little goals I know they're moving me forward.

Evil is done in hopes that evil surrenders, but the deeds of the devil are burned too deep in the embers, and world of hunger in vengeance will always remember.

Some men make gain a fountain, whence proceeds A stream of liberal and heroic deeds; The swell of pity, not to be confined Within the scanty limits of the mind.