One of the great changes wrought by the increased public awareness of Alzheimers - and thank you, Nancy Reagan, you wonderful tough old dame, you - is that people in the early stages of the disease are now speaking out while they still have the capacity to do so.

We, The People is more than a statement of purpose. It is an acknowledgement of an obligation to each other.

The perfect lover is one who turns into a pizza at 4:00 A.M.

There is a lot in American politics (and in American life) that is angry, greedy, reckless and violent.

I think, over the last couple of years, the written word has made a comeback on the Internet. For example, I'm seeing more long-form narrative experiments there. The overall noise level, however, continues to increase. Do we really need TV screens to watch when we pump gas? Really?

Optimism....is neither weak nor naive. It can be tough and pure and earned just as clearly as any brooding existential despair.

It's better to be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell your mother.