The Federal prison population has increased more than 7-fold over the past 20 years.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the Civil Rights Act.

The most money we have ever been able to get appropriated for the juvenile justice bills was $55 million a year, about one-tenth of what was necessary.

Another example of the educational inequality is the current debate over publicly financed school vouchers which will provide educational opportunities to a privileged handful, but deprive public schools of desperately needed resources.

While the books I read as a child lacked diversity in the strict sense, they didn't lack values. Reading, I didn't see me externally, but I felt me - my humanity.

If I'm riding my bike I just replay the same scenarios over and over in my head, like I haven't had a new mental adventure since high school. So that's what I like about books on tape, so my mind can't wander anywhere.

There's always a learning curve, where you've got to learn what your subject is all about.

A tax system is important because of what it can pay for, but also for how it works. When we pay taxes, we expect something back from the state; it strengthens the relationship and accountability between us and our governments. It also pays for what private finance shouldn't: our needs for healthcare, education and social security.