"The war industries in many countries and the enormous trade in weapons of all kinds generate corruption and fuel conflict throughout the world. The existence of an immensely powerful military-industrial complex constitutes a danger to democracy, both internationally and domestically, because it follows its own logic and operates independently of popular participation."

“Charity erodes the cultural prerequisites for a vigorous democracy.”

Source : Janet Poppendieck (1999). “Sweet Charity?: Emergency Food and the End of Entitlement”, p.255, Penguin

“Drag shows are one of my favorite things in the world. As a straight man I love going to gay bars. People at gay bars just love to dance.”

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have.”

Source : Socrates, Plato, Aristotle (1967). “Wit and Wisdom of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle: Being a Treasury of Thousands of Glorious, Inspiring and Imperishable Thoughts, Views and Observations of the Three Great Greek Philosophers, Classified Under about Four Hundred Subjects for Comparative Study”

“I would never filibuster any President’s judicial nominee, period. I might vote against them, but I will always see they came to a vote.”

“The battle was first waged over the right of the Negro to be classed as a human being with a soul; later, as to whether he had sufficient intellect to master even the rudiments of learning; and today it is being fought out over his social recognition.”

Source : James Weldon Johnson, Sondra K. Wilson (1995). “The Selected Writings of James Weldon Johnson: Social, political, and literary essays”, p.304, Oxford University Press on Demand

“Women living their lives around the world, and the majority of the world is not white.”

Source : "How Jezebel Smashes the Patriarchy, Click by Click". Interview with Tasneem Raja, www.motherjones.com. November/December 2013.

“The cross does not give us a minor shift or two with regard to a few of our ethical and moral and religious values. The cross radically disrupts the very center and citadel of your life from self to Christ. And if the cross has not done that, you're not a Christian!”

“Women's rights is an important and challenging question for us to be asking. It focuses attention on a global issue that in the wake of the 2016 presidential election reached a fever pitch and flooded city streets with pink-hatted protestors. The stakes are enormously high for women, but also for the church.”

Source : "Chris Christie May Be the Smartest Man in Politics" by Ron Fournier, www.theatlantic.com. January 3, 2013.