We're a violent nation, and we need to confront it. This gun plague has to stop.

Don't assume a door is closed; push on it. Don't assume if it was closed yesterday that it is closed today. Don't ever stop learning and improving your mind. If you do, you're going to be left behind.

In every seed of good there is always a piece of bad.

Never work just for money or for power. They won't save your soul or help you sleep at night.

I've always hated being hemmed in or seeing anybody being hemmed in. Even when I was the smallest child, I couldn't bear being told I couldn't drink at a so-called white drinking fountain.

The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to.

Together we can and must fight for justice for our children and protect them from draconian tax cuts and budget choices that threaten their survival, education and preparation for the future. If they are not ready for tomorrow, neither is America.