Free speech is life itself.

Bin Laden was born filthy rich and died in a rich man's house, which he had painstakingly built to the highest specifications.

Vulnerability of artists is definitely what makes organizations like PEN necessary because, as I tried to argue, the actual work that writers and artists do has an ornery way of surviving. Particularly in this age of the internet, it is very easy for forbidden work to be found online somewhere if you know where to look. Artists themselves, however, are in increasing danger, and not just artists. The great concern is that year after year, rising numbers of journalists are being killed in pursuit of their work.

I've always prided myself on my discipline as a writer. I do it like a job. I get up in the morning and go to my desk.

The world is full of things that upset people. But most of us deal with it and move on and don't try and burn the planet down.

I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.

Out-of-step intellectuals like Noam Chomsky and the deceased Edward Said have often been dismissed as crazy extremists, 'anti-American,' and in Mr. Said's case even, absurdly, as apologists for Palestinian 'terrorism.'