There is nothing more American than brutal violence. The country was built on it, revels in it and shows every evidence of clinging to it with the crazed, destructive strength of an obsessive lover.

There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of power, arrogance and incompetence.

Schools are no longer legally segregated, but because of residential patterns, housing discrimination, economic disparities and long-held custom, they most emphatically are in reality.

The soldiers in Iraq are fighting, suffering and dying . . . anonymously and pointlessly, while the rest of us are free to buckle ourselves into the family vehicle and head off to the malls and shop.

I get a headache when I hear supporters of this endless warfare complaining about the federal budget deficits. They're like arsonists complaining about the smell of smoke in the neighborhood.

I think the Republican Party is... accurately defined as a party that looks out for the interests of the very wealthy.

It's in a can. It's good forever.

Energy is equal to desire and purpose.

The keystone of successful business is cooperation. Friction retards progress.

Particularly from a German perspective, from a European perspective, I can only say again, Russia is our neighbor.

Save for the wild force of Nature, nothing moves in this world that is not Greek in its origin.

I'm the Beast. You're the Beauty," he said. "It's all a story, isn't it?

When the heart speaks, however simple the words, its language is always acceptable to those who have hearts.

When we trust ourselves, ascents become descents, difficulties turn into easinesses, rocks transform into sands and swords into melting candles!

I got in trouble with the stern-faced Russians who didn't want me to create a guy who is mortal.

You just do the best you can with what you've got... and sometimes magic strikes.