Osama bin Laden is gone. The war in Iraq is over. Afghanistan is coming to a close.

Whether you agree or disagree with privatization, two things are obvious. First, taxpayers need to be asking more and better questions before handing over control of critical public assets like a highway, an airport, or a parking meter concession. And second, Uncle Sam is being played for a sucker.

When we engage in the critical decisions about our nation's future budgets, I want progressive voices at the table to argue that we must protect the most vulnerable in our society and demand fairness in budget cuts.

I have always been critical and skeptical of fast-tracking. It is a take-it-or-leave-it approach to trade agreements which really deals members of Congress and their concerns out of the picture.

Fishing gives me peace, tranquillity. And also, as a forward player, it helps me with my eyes.

Throughout my career, there has always been an element of surprise. Sometimes there are moments of disappointment; sometimes there are moments of surprising success.

I think that success is having fun.

Don't settle; don't compromise. Freeze your eggs, get your sociology doctorate, worry more about war and pestilence and the incredible inequality of geographical birth than finding your soulmate.