We've had the trivialization of our politics going on ever since we had electronic media.

What passes for investigative journalism is finding somebody with their pants down - literally or otherwise.

The issue I highlight in the book is welfare reform.

I teach at USC, and it's obvious to anyone who teaches college students that they don't cover much modern history and certainly not the modern presidency.

Much of what candidates have to do is raise money and appeal to constituencies or interest groups that can provide that money.

Alternative media is no longer really alternative, and we're no longer that dependant upon newspapers, like the Los Angeles Times, for our information.

It had run as a column - I had worked at the paper since 1976, but the column had been running for 13 years, and I think it was a strong column, criticizing the war when the paper was supporting it.

When Howard Dean started saying some honest things, they hung him.

If the war on terror is endless, you could forget about democracy.

Today anyone on the Internet can find out more about what you read, think, and earn than the secret police of Stalin or Hitler could have learned.

The paper nominated me 12 or 13 times for the Pulitzer Prize.

I know God cares, He knows my every need.

Women are extraordinary creatures!

I didn't have any ambition to produce big mainstream popcorn movies.

There is no graceful way to carry hatred.

The universe is an inexhaustible celebration of ultimate mystery!

If they'd wanted a nice parrot, they wouldn't have asked for me.

She might be a great person, but life's so much bigger than just loving someone.

Reading is the basic springboard for learning. And books provide the liftoff. They are the great equalizer, opening up new worlds to everyone.

To ask for a map is to say, "Tell me a story."

Intention is for achievers. Hope is for the hopeless.