An almost hysterical antagonism toward the gold standard is one issue which unites statists of all persuasions. They seem to sense... that gold and economic freedom are inseparable.

While Democrats fussed with the details of health care reforms conservatives spent months telling the nation that the real issue is freedom that what's on the line is American liberty itself.

I am conservative with a small 'c.' It's possible to be conservative in fiscal policy and tolerant on moral issues or questions of freedom of expression.

Personal identity seems like it's just such an American archetype from Holly Golightly re-inventing herself in 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' to Jay Gatsby in 'The Great Gatsby.' It seems like the sort of archetypal American issue. If you're given the freedom to be anything or be anyone what do you do with it?

We're going to do everything possible to make sure that food safety is always paramount and that we work with the industry as aggressively as we can to make sure that we're paying attention to the food-safety issues.

Learning about issues such as sustainability and locavorism are things that you need to have as part of you as a chef because it will make you cook more delicious food.

We simply can no longer afford to deny the full potential of one half of the population. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women. Whether the issue is food security economic recovery health or peace and security the participation of women is needed now more than ever.

I used to work a lot on food issues and every time somebody predicted that production would be inadequate they got egg on their face a year or two later.

There's the issue of hunger and there's an issue of if you're going to cut out food programs. We should be focusing on healthy food. Right now fruits and vegetables are very expensive. So what can we do on the policy side to bring the cost of fruits and vegetables down?

As a chef I had started working with groups like Share Our Strength and various local food banks in New York raising money for hunger-related issues. And not only me but the entire restaurant industry has been very focused on this issue.