The reality is that we have missed a lot of opportunities in Iraq because of a failed policy.

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.

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.

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.

All goals are not created equal

Who do you want to surround yourself with? People who can pull you up to their level of greatness? Or people who will happily pull you down to theirs?

I became my own only when I gave myself to Another.

I liked the more sophisticated urban style of blues like Ray Charles and B. B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Lou Rawls; people like that with more of a tendency toward jazz.

Life is short. Eat dessert first.

If you help manufacture an enemy that's really evil, you can point to the fact that it's really evil, and say, "Hey, it's really evil."

I like to make collages - paper collages.

When I was young, people were almost identified solely by the kind of music they liked. People fell into categories of who liked what.

I can safely say that no one who has ever won an Oscar didn't want to win an Oscar.