If you really want to be a good archaeologist, you have to understand ancient DNA; you have to understand chemical analysis to figure out the composition of ancient pots. You have to be able to study human remains. You need to be able to do computer processing and, in some cases, computer programming.
Don't get me wrong: I'm a sucker for weddings. I'll get misty-eyed watching the union of two perfect strangers. But in some cases - and I need to stress some cases - I feel like we're getting blindsided by the spectacle of it all.
Japan's very interesting. Some people think it copies things. I don't think that anymore. I think what they do is reinvent things. They will get something that's already been invented and study it until they thoroughly understand it. In some cases, they understand it better than the original inventor.
The issue is not whether there are horrible cases where the penalty seems "right". The real question is whether we will ever design a capital system that reaches only the "right" cases, without dragging in the wrong cases, cases of innocence or cases where death is not proportionate punishment. Slowly, even reluctantly, I have realized the answer to that question is no- we will never get it right.
Politics in a democracy is transactional: Politicians seek votes by promising to do things for voters, who seek promises in exchange for their votes.
To make sure that votes are never canceled out by illegal votes, we instituted a photo ID requirement. And don't you think it's fair to apply at least the same standard required to get a library card or to board an airpane?
This is the extreme left's problem in both television and in politics. Whether it be lousy ratings on TV or getting votes, if you don't listen to and understand Americans, you'll pay the price at the ballot box.
If I contest elections in a federation, I will not get even four votes. It's all politics and money.
Every election, roughly half the population votes Democrat and the other half votes Republican. Now, I understand why the Republicans get one percent of the vote - the richest one percent.That other percent, someone will have to explain to me.
People that are that good at motivating and inspiring are rare. In many cases, you wish it was parents, and in many cases it is, but in a lot of cases it happens outside the family as well - or, in some cases, only.
A lot of men in politics suddenly woke up to the issue of women in politics when they realised: hey, there are votes in this!
Usually I just let my songs do the talking. As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics, and in some cases even other causes. I wonder about their motives. And I have to admit when celebrities get involved in political campaigns I tend to get a little bit sarcastic about it.
Young people can understand, and must understand, that we had success, we had failures, but we never gave up. We never gave in. We never became bitter. We didn't hate. We continued to press on. And that's what we're saying: There are some ups, there are some downs, and when you're not down, you must have the capacity and the ability to get up and keep going.
If you double count some votes, that makes other votes disenfranchised.
We spend, you know, 48 hours on bogus stories, and the American people suffer. So I do think it is a problem. And I think that the media needs to, in some cases, not every case, but, in some cases, really needs to get its act together.
The realities are, there are - you can be entertaining and you can be fun, and you can say things that actually appeal to people. You still have to figure out a way to get to 270 electoral votes. Get votes in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.