I'm from a lower middle class background all my family were immigrants.

Children in a family are like flowers in a bouquet: there's always one determined to face in an opposite direction from the way the arranger desires.

God did not intend the human family to be wafted to heaven on flowery beds of ease.

There are more people living in Lower Manhattan now than before the terrorist attacks. That's faith for you. There's such a strong spirit here.

In America now let us - Christian Jew Muslim agnostic atheist wiccan whatever - fight nativism with the same strength and conviction that we fight terrorism. My faith calls on its followers to love one's enemies. A tall order that - perhaps the tallest of all.

In religious and in secular affairs the more fervent beliefs attract followers. If you are a moderate in any respect - if you're a moderate on abortion if you're a moderate on gun control or if you're a moderate in your religious faith - it doesn't evolve into a crusade where you're either right or wrong good or bad with us or against us.

We judged that a sudden disorderly failure of Bear would have brought with it unpredictable but severe consequences for the functioning of the broader financial system and the broader economy with lower equity prices further downward pressure on home values and less access to credit for companies and households.

My experience with both my parents is that grief has a lot of down sad things but I was also really emotionally raw in the first year after each of them passed. Flowers smelled more intensely my relationships were hotter and I was more willing to risk. I was going for it a lot more. I was 'unsober' and I wasn't playing by my rules.

I think most artists will experience a lot of negative people on Twitter but thank God I've got so many followers that I'm not able to see them that much. I'll see some from time to time but for the most part I always focus on something good.

While teaching I also worked undercover in the lower courts by saying I was a young law teacher wanting experience in criminal law. The judges were happy to assist me but what I learned was how corrupt the lower courts were. Judges were accepting money right in the courtroom.