What I want to do is tell stories about normal people in the American suburbs. I don't write the book where it's a conspiracy reaching the prime minister I don't write the book with the big serial killer who lops off heads. My setting is a very placid pool of suburbia family life. And within that I can make pretty big splashes.

You can almost see voters nodding their heads at home: The public's faith in politicians and political institutions has been on a steep and dangerous decline for decades because elected leaders fail to deliver.

From a viable economy to the full funding of Headstart from a clean environment to true equality for women from a strong military to a commitment to racial brotherhood from schools that are honored to streets free of excessive violence.

There are nuclear weapons in China Iran Korea and Pakistan. It wouldn't take much to send a couple of warheads off on this planet somewhere that would cause a lot of environmental damage then if you have got someone who wants to retaliate you have real problems.

The big shift in approach on education that we are taking - which is different from what happened before - is that we trust teachers and we trust heads.

What we're doing now is we're saying that individual schools can spend the money on their own priorities so that head teachers can decide what's truly important because the big shift in approach on education that we're taking - which is different from what happened before - is that we trust teachers and we trust heads.

I don't imagine Heads of Government would ever be able to say I'm not an economist therefore I can't take decisions on matters of the economy I'm not a soldier I can't take decisions on matters of defence I'm not an educationist so I can't take decisions about education.

I think I might actually die of showing off. It'll be on my headstone - 'Cause of Death: Showing Off.'

Constantly risking absurdity and death whenever he performs above the heads of his audience the poet like an acrobat climbs on rhyme to a high wire of his own making.

As men are not able to fight against death misery ignorance they have taken it into their heads in order to be happy not to think of them at all.