Communication & Rhetoric

She slept with wolves without fear, for the wolves knew a lion was among them.

When out of all the poets who received the Pulitzer -- the prize awarded to those who made the biggest contributions to the human spirit -- 38 percent of them were bipolar, how can we simply label it a human disorder? Think how much more they could contribute to the human spirit if they knew it could be used as a gift to humanity, instead of something to hide from humanity?

We always have a concern when we see the rhetoric rising against any particular group in America, that it might inspire others to violent action — and that violent action is what we would have to deal with.

Once you’ve accepted your flaws, no one can use them against you.

From a school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris, we have seen violence and terror perpetrated by those who profess to stand up for…their faith - profess to stand up for Islam - but, in fact, are betraying it.

People ask me, ‘when do you think there will be enough women on the court?’ And my answer is: when there are nine.

Today is Texas Muslim Capital Day in Austin…I did leave an Israeli flag on the reception desk in my office with instructions to staff to ask representatives from the Muslim community to renounce Islamic terrorist groups and publicly announce allegiance to America and our laws. We will see how long they stay in my office.

[President] Obama, Keystone XL is on the 1-yard line, will you 'pass' or will we score?

We tell our students...if you get lucky, you better be ready.

We were raised to live simply, not to waste. It was a lesson my mother taught me every rainy morning. You see, growing up, I had only one good pair of shoes. So on rainy school days, my mom would slip plastic bread bags over them to keep them dry. But I was never embarrassed. Because the school bus would be filled with rows and rows of young Iowans with bread bags slipped over their feet.

Let me be very clear: the single most offensive name that you can call an American Indian is ‘Redskin.’

This isn’t ISIS; no one’s dying. We’ll get through this.