In government, the forces of risk-aversion and constant conflict serve to stultify and narrow the range of ideas up for debate.

America is a place where the freedom to be who you are shouldn't be a barrier to your ability to get a job and provide for your family.

Securing for gays and lesbians the basic right to have their relationships and families recognized as part of a community makes all of our communities stronger.

Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider that their own policies, which put the entire burden on central bankers to print money and drive up stock, bond and other asset prices, are actually exacerbating income and wealth disparity.

Filibusters have proliferated because under current rules just one or two determined senators can stop the Senate from functioning. Today, the mere threat of a filibuster is enough to stop a vote; senators are rarely asked to pull all-nighters like Jimmy Stewart in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.'

Religion and politics hit nerves. There's a lot of anger about a lot of things. It's not easily resolved. I guess that's what wars are about. Wars are about prejudice and fear. Hit first before you get hit. Believe me, I know.

To make films, you have to have something to say. To have something to say, you have to be a student of life. And to be a student of life, you have to be feeding yourself with what life, politics, society, and your family fuels you with.

Democracy is constructed like an edifice, freedom by freedom, right by right, until it reaches its snapping point.