All comparisons between America's current place in the world and anything legitimately called an empire

in the past reveal ignorance and confusion about any reasonable meaning of the concept empire, especially the comparison with the Roman Empire.
Donald Kagan

My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent you to Washington.
Barack Obama

On their own merits modest men are dumb.
George Colman

Many things difficult to design prove easy to performance.
Samuel Johnson

The head of Fermilab was reading Astonishing Stories when he was ten.
Frederik Pohl

By the time you're 30 years old, you can be on a nowhere street, if you're not careful.
Gerry Cooney

If you can't be in awe of Mother Nature, there's something wrong with you.
Alex Trebek

Gemeoss

When I was 17, I worked in a mentoring program in Harlem designed to improve

the community. That's when I first gained an appreciation of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African-Americans rose to prominence in American culture. For the first time, they were taken seriously as artists, musicians, writers, athletes, and as political thinkers. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I only make movies that are interesting to me. Brian Grazer I wouldn't say I was organised at all. I just have to prioritise. Is it more important for them to be organised, or to have their dinner, do you know what I mean? Jo Brand The courage in journalism is sticking up for the unpopular, not the popular. Geraldo Rivera A happy life must be to a great extent a quiet life, for it is only in an atmosphere of quiet that true joy dare live. Bertrand Russell I think Mick Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realized that to many people he is not a sex symbol, but a mother image. David Bowie I enjoy my job as long as I can create a character, otherwise it's boring. Jav...

All I've been a part of has been thanks to the Disney company: the job,

experience, travel, opportunities have come thanks to Disney. Working for Disney was not part of my original plan, but it was part of God's, and it shows that God is still moving. Jodi Benson It almost goes without saying that when you are a startup, one of the first things you do is you start setting aside money to defend yourself from patent lawsuits, because any successful company, even moderately successful, is going to get hit by a patent lawsuit from someone who's just trying to look for a payout. Charles Duhigg People always ask me about 'Girls' with this kind of hesitation. What do I think of it? I love it. It's awesome. I get a lot of Where do you come down on this? I come down on the side of 'Yay, Lena Dunham. Congratulations. I'm jealous.' She's doing something so fantastic. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly is for me. Callie Khouri I've never really understood the term 'Post-Impressionism' as more tha...

Given Pounds and five years, and an ordinary man can in the ordinary course, without

any undue haste or putting any pressure upon his taste, surround himself with books, all in his own language, and thence forward have at least one place in the world. Augustine Birrell Everyone should know that most cancer research is largely a fraud, and that the major cancer research organizations are derelict in their duties to the people who support them. Linus Pauling A Bush Administration will, I believe, enjoy a better relationship with the new Congress, although President-elect Bush will be faced with real challenges in getting along with the Congress. Richard V. Allen I once thought that I was the only man that persevered to be the friend of the white man, but since they have come and cleaned out our lodges, horses, and everything else, it is hard for to believe the white man any more. Black Kettle When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful lot of clicking shut! Kenneth Koch I thin...

As a Midlander and a big walker, I'd always loved ridge and furrow

fields, the plough-marked land as it was when it was enclosed. It is the landscape giving you a story of lives that ended with the arrival of sheep. Jim Crace I think it's really rare to see women on television who are brilliant, selfish, vain, fallible - and I feel like I have all those capacities in myself, so it's good to see people in the media representing all of those things. Kerry Bishe I never went after fame. It fell into my lap. Caitlyn Jenner My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director. Daniel Radcliffe I have this idea of trying to catalog all the genes on the planet. Craig Venter The wind from the Kingdom of Heaven has blown all over the world, and shall blow for centuries yet. George William Russell I always said if I played a drag queen, I'd want to create a template with the realness they talk about in 'Paris Is Burning.' Billy P...

I'm in road-coma at the moment. But it's OK. I think you subliminally become a

junkie of being on the road. As much as you think you're burnt out, the minute you get off you go stir crazy and you just wanna go right back. Shannon Hoon Why should 20-year-olds only be considered sexy? I think we get better with age. Jenny McCarthy Accordingly, when the supply of gold runs short, the security behind the notes is diminished, the loaning of notes is restricted or suspended, and the panic follows. John Buchanan Robinson There is nothing worse than being ashamed of parsimony or poverty. Livy Faces are the ledgers of our experience. Richard Avedon At 26 I felt myself a victim rather than a victor in the realm of pictures. Gloria Swanson I do yoga, I do Bikram and I run, and I eat really healthy. Lady Gaga God, if there is a God, take my soul, if I have a soul. Ernest Renan So basically, I graduated high school a semester early. Jessica Szohr The problem with losing your anonymity is that you can never go back. Marla Maples

Over the years, I've tried to express myself through my feet, which have made

everything simpler for me ever since I was a child. Francesco Totti I don't think I consciously say, 'What would Olivia Pope do?' but there's a new thread of belief in my own capacity that I think comes from her. She makes it happen. She figures it out. She fixes it. Kerry Washington Every Christian who strives for holiness of life experiences dryness of soul. It is to most people a heart-rending experience. It is a paradox, for the soul becomes confused when it realizes the harder it strives the further away Jesus seems to be. Mother Angelica Having people that really reflect the spectrum of American experiences is important to have on the Supreme Court. Cory Booker The people at Netflix are extremely intelligent about the way they monitor activity on their platform. Jason Bateman I don't see a sea change by 2020, but I see migration in the direction of modernization and more flexibility in the generating system going forward. Lynn Good The world has changed. It...

The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not 'insurgents' or 'terrorists' or

'The Enemy.' They are the revolution, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow - and they will win. Michael Moore I thought about how we need to make children feel that there are times in their lives when they need to be alone and quiet and to be able to accept their aloneness. bell hooks It isn't until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are - not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within - that you can begin to take control. Oprah Winfrey To me, sex is sex and I don't think it is or should be a problem. Maybe my presenting it that way will unscrew up a few heads out there, including my own. Jaime Hernandez The heart is a small thing, but desireth great matters. It is not sufficient for a kite's dinner, yet the whole world is not sufficient for it. Francis Quarles Love, like a chicken salad or restaurant hash, must be taken with blind faith or it loses its flavor. Helen Rowland A nation without dregs and malc...

I had more pressure when I competed in Moscow. I had no pressure in Montreal

because I only went to do my routines and hoping I didn't mess it up when I was on the bar. When I came back, 10,000 people were at the airport and I thought, 'Why?' because, in my mind, I hadn't done anything different from what I used to do in my gym. Nadia Comaneci When we came out from the Elysee palace, there was a gigantic limousine waiting for us and four police on motorcycles. It is probably one of the few times I have experienced my fame. I thought it was so fantastic that I laughed to the point of shouting. Ingmar Bergman I hope that dog lovers around the world will support the Cruelty Free International global campaign to end the use of dogs in outdated and cruel experiments. Eric McCormack Self-control is needed in the age of technology. Folks have to apply their sense in reacting to different things. I don't appreciate perverse and venom-spewing mindset. Chiranjeevi Being on 'The Office' prepared me for drama. Comedy got me ready, bu...

You know that neither numbers nor strength give the victory, but that side which, with the

assistance of the gods, attacks with the greatest resolution is generally irresistible. Xenophon When you're arguing with a fool, you're the fool for even going back and forth. Justine Skye So much success from set pieces comes from practice. Maybe fans see a well-worked free-kick and think it looks good, but to get that, there has been hours of work that nobody has seen on the training ground. Diego Godin At medical centers such as the Cleveland Clinic and Kaiser Permanente, teams of doctors and nurses provide coordinated care while working for salary instead of getting paid for every procedure. Matthew Heineman I remember, years ago, if I had had an opportunity to leave the Lakers, I would have left for one reason: because I did not like an owner that was not telling me the truth. And it would have made no difference what they would have offered me; I would have left. Jerry West I hope that we continue with exploration. Margaret H. Hamilton Much of the hostility toward Puti...

Just under the surface I shall be, all together at first, then separate and drift,

through all the earth and perhaps in the end through a cliff into the sea, something of me. A ton of worms in an acre, that is a wonderful thought, a ton of worms, I believe it. Samuel Beckett Men of age object too much, consult too long, adventure too little, repent too soon, and seldom drive business home to the full period, but content themselves with a mediocrity of success. Dale Carnegie The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and assistance to foreign hands should be curtailed, lest Rome fall. Taylor Caldwell During the Samuel Johnson days they had big men enjoying small talk; today we have small men enjoying big talk. Fred Allen But I also like to be in control, like anyone else. I try to achieve a balance. Trevor Dunn I've always believed that it's important to show a new look periodically. Predictability can lead to failure. T. Boone Pickens Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in...