That is what I want: I want a better Saudi Arabia. I don't see myself as an opposition. I'm not calling for the overthrow of the regime, because I know it's not possible and is too risky, and there is no one to overthrow the regime. I'm just calling for reform of the regime.

The condition that the Taliban part with al Qaeda is not just a condition, it is an objective. We must convince them that al Qaeda ideology and dogma will not help them.

I began to feel whatever narrow space I had in Saudi Arabia was getting narrower. I thought it would be better to get out and be safe.

In the 1970s, the only places on the Arabian Peninsula where women were working outside the home or school were Kuwait and Bahrain.

And how the government communicates about homeland security is central to how the public responds.

If the government is going to mandate levels and punish schools for failing, they should send that money to the school system.

Insurance companies, government agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry all push for mental health care that is brief, intermittent, and focused on quick fixes, despite the fact that many people struggle with emotional difficulties that can only be addressed over time using special psychodynamic skills.

I think the government, if you measure it in terms of the dollars out the door, about 83 percent of the government stays open in a government shutdown. Social Security checks go out; military still exists. The FBI still chases bad guys. I think the consequences have been blown out of proportion.