With all the mass media concentrated in a few hands, the ancient faith in the competition of ideas in the free market seems like a hollow echo of a much simpler day.

The function of a briefing paper is to prevent the ambassador from saying something dreadfully indiscreet. I sometimes think its true object is to prevent the ambassador from saying anything at all.

Universities should be safe havens where ruthless examination of realities will not be distorted by the aim to please or inhibited by the risk of displeasure.

Maybe you are the "cool" generation. If coolness means a capacity to stay calm and use your head in the service of ends passionately believed in, then it has my admiration.

There is no lasting hope in violence, only temporary relief from hopelessness.

We all live in a televised goldfish bowl.

While the spoken word can travel faster, you can't take it home in your hand. Only the written word can be absorbed wholly at the convenience of the reader.

The presumption of innocence is not just a legal concept. In commonplace terms, it rests on that generosity of spirit which assumes the best, not the worst, of the stranger.

If I take refuge in ambiguity, I assure you that it's quite conscious.

You and I know that there is a correlation between the creative and the screwball. So we must suffer the screwball gladly.

The fullness or emptiness of life will be measured by the extent to which a man feels that he has an impact on the lives of others.

Science fiction is using an exploration of where we might be, to explore where it seems like we are heading, in order to reveal exactly where we are.

Faith is the complete reliance on the power and goodness of Spirit and the firm belief that you are always connected to this goodness. Always affirm your faith and not your doubt.

I think there's a lot to learn from Rockefeller on how to pass legislation.

I'm looking for a balance of reported and essayistic work by up-and-coming women journalists. Often that means combing online-only sources or alt weeklies.

Voluntary self-directed religion was more dangerous to the Church than any number of infidels.

All progress is due to the unreasonable person.

I'm the first one out on the dance floor. In college I had to take jazz, ballet and tap dancing, but, before that, it was just social.

There is a difference, of course, between real sentiment and the trash of shared experience.

If you have a higher reason ... than just to make money... it will bring you longer fulfillment. And it won't feel like work.

I think, ultimately, people are looking for real heartfelt true stories. They want to engage with them, they want to relate (to) them and, ultimately, they want to have hope.