Before I could become a military officer or a Member of Congress, I was required to do one thing: Take an oath to the Constitution.

Military members understand that the focus is on completing the mission. We don't care if you are tall or short; have dark skin or pale skin or freckles; or are gay, straight, or transgender.

A comprehensive Syria strategy, ideally one that's more than 280 characters, remains a key requirement to protect U.S. interests in the Middle East.

The U.S. cannot implement a cogent strategy on the world stage if no one is sure whether to take the President seriously.

My humor is channeling everything through my brain. For example, when I talk about something, it's how Richard Lewis feels about it. I'm a storyteller. I do a lot of free association.

When humor works, it works because it's clarifying what people already feel. It has to come from someplace real.

I did work at a mall in college - I think retail/customer service is just one of the most hideous jobs in the world. So I always try to be extra nice when I go into a store. But malls are part of our culture, if you watched any teen comedy in the '80s. it's clear that malls are where we live!

I've always loved cuneiform; I've always loved the way it looks. I love that it's the world's oldest script. And the creative potential of bad translation or misunderstanding or something has always been at the core of the idea of 'Dirty Projectors.' So the cuneiform is pretty playful - basically, just a joke.