A great many things which in times of lesser knowledge we imagined to be superstitious or useless prove today on examination to have been of immense value to mankind.

We have today a fairly thorough knowledge of the early Greco-Roman period because our motivations are the same.

Today knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement.

I rise today to discuss the National Intelligence Reform bill. I commend my colleagues in both Houses for their hard work in coming to an agreement. As with any conference each voice is heard but none can dominate and compromise must be achieved.

If you look back today over the last 25 years it is a fact that we have had a progressive degeneration of our intelligence community in general in particular in the field of human intelligence.

We have been working hard to think about what our combined needs are going to be in the way of intelligence capabilities not today but 15 to 20 years in the future.

It is difficult if not impossible to argue that laws written in the 1970s are adequate for today's intelligence challenges.

The Clinton White House today said they would start to give national security and intelligence briefings to George Bush. I don't know how well this is working out. Today after the first one Bush said 'I've got one question: What color is the red phone?'

President Obama called for a 'we' nation in his Inauguration Address. Art convenes. It is not just inspirational. It is aspirational. It pricks the walls of our compartmentalized minds opens our hearts and makes us brave. And that's what we need most in our country today.

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