"Throughout this country's history there have of course been systematic efforts to create an official underclass."

"Talk of citizenship today is often thin and tinny. The word has a faintly old-fashioned feel to it when used in everyday conversation. When evoked in national politics, it's usually accompanied by the shrill whine of a descending culture-war mortar."

"Have you ever watched someone become American? Last week, at a national citizenship conference I organize, thirty immigrants from 17 countries swore an oath and became citizens of the United States. It was a stirring experience for the hundreds of people in the room."

"Sometimes when I listen to fellow progressives, I wonder if the only lesson we took away from the '04 elections is that politics is a word game."

"Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent."

"I think that my preaching style and many of my ideas and ideals about faith are based in both Pentecostal and Baptist background."

"I had very little confidence in myself as an actress."

"Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings."