Since I'm a professional communicator, I think I instinctively cling to doing what I do best, even in times of crisis and turmoil.

A Democrat who had been JFK's Secretary of the Navy, Connally believed that as many as 20 million Democrats would cross over to vote for Nixon because George McGovern wasn't qualified to lead the nation, particularly because of his proposals for military cutbacks.

Let me get this straight: I can't defend the military because I didn't serve. So does that mean I can't support police officers or firefighters because I've never been one? How about teachers? Can I support them since I've never taught a class before?

The George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin affair is one of the most important and clarifying moments in American history.

Children whose parents return to study do much better at school. Offenders who persist with studies are much less likely to reoffend. The national mental health strategy recognises the important role adult learning can play for people recovering from mental illness.

Last year, I twice voted against the Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations bill because it did not adequately fund education in general, and Native American programs specifically.

When I was 13, I won a scholarship to boarding school. My parents let me choose whether to go, and I decided I wanted to. Afterwards, I went to Cambridge to study law - in a way, I was carrying the academic hopes of my family, as Mum and Dad left school at 14.

I can still remember. I was ill, and I was seven, and my father didn't want me to just read children's books. He came with Conan Doyle. I tried, and I liked it. I think the first I read was 'The Sign of the Four'; 'Study in Scarlet' was the next one. Then I guess I stayed home a few extra days from school to read.