I had read too many memoirs that were written after the writer or the director was past his or her prime.

From what I've been able to determine, many of our big stars are addicted to tobacco. They want to smoke in movies for the same reason I smoked as I wrote, which is that they think their performance is going to be better.

I was six when we came to this country. When I was 14 or so, I still had a lot of trouble with it.

From a writing point of view, you now have teams of screenwriters working with a director. What's lost in the process is the power of that one heart, brain, gut and soul that makes something an original piece of writing.

Parents today are under a lot of stress, sometimes working two jobs just to make ends meet. They're trying to find day care for their kids and elder care for their own parents. The Federal Government shouldn't add to their worries by not living up to its obligations.

But let us remember, at the same time, government is sacred, and not to be trifled with.

Voters are smart. They know the difference between a Democratic Party that wants their vote and a Democratic Party that believes in making their life better. They'll forgive you for pushing a policy they don't like as long as they believe you're doing it because you genuinely believe it's what's best for the country.

Political elites vote in a more partisan fashion than the mass public; this tendency, too, follows a curve. The more you know, the more likely you are to vote in an ideologically consistent way, not just following your party but following a set of constraints dictated by a political ideology.