Black people must address itself to the causes of poverty. That's oppression in this country.

I believe there is a moral sense and a global ethic that commands attention from people of every religion and every faith, and people of no faith. But I think what's new is that we now have the capacity to communicate instantaneously across frontiers right across the world.

To me, it's all about opening all the doors and getting people to be not only prolific, but creative and having control of their music.

It is not possible, given any degree of optimism and generosity in regard to people in general, to set a time limit on creative reflection or a limitation on the number of people involved in the creation.

What is a good performance? It lies in the hands and head of a performer... the shortest way between two people is not a straight line.

Well, I heard of Sunny Ade, and looks as if his music is gonna be big on a global level, because I was in London the other day and some people asked me to review the album.

I remember growing up thinking that astronauts and their job was the coolest thing you could possibly do... But I absolutely couldn't identify with the people who were astronauts. I thought they were movie stars.

States get to improve transportation infrastructure; that creates economic development, puts people back to work and, most important, enhances safety and improves local communities.

Today right here in America we have 50 million people without health insurance.

If we are wondering why only 19 percent of the American people feel that the Congress is in tune with their priorities, the cuts in Amtrak is one blatant reason why.

I think everybody knows that on November 7th more people voted for Al Gore than George Bush, a fact that has been documented time and time again.

I represent central Florida, which depends on tourists for its economic survival. We need people to be able to get to the State and enjoy it.

Without the funding Amtrak needs to keep operating, we will soon see people that rely on Amtrak to get them to work each day, waiting for a train that isn't coming.

Having the right people around you all the time is important. I do take the acting seriously. But this is all fun. I look at it like smoke and mirrors. I still think it's a dream, but I ain't pinching myself yet.

With the song 'This Christmas' I wanted to do something that was kind of different. I mean, Donny Hathaway is an amazing artist. So I wanted to bring my flavor to the song so when people over the age of 45 or 50 hear it they'll be like 'OK, he did his thing with that record.' It's like I can appeal to everybody and not just a younger demographic.