The debt-ceiling vote isn't about what will be done in the future it is about the integrity of America's commitment to support the bonds we issue. Elected officials have an obligation to maintain that integrity regardless of whether they voted for the programs that required the borrowing in the first place.
At this early stage in our evolution now through our infancy and into our childhood and then with luck our growing up what our species needs most of all right now is simply a future.
If you want a future of shared prosperity where the middle class is growing and poverty is declining where the American Dream is alive and well and where the United States remains the leading force for peace and prosperity in a highly competitive world you should vote for Barack Obama.
The problem is that borrowing money to pay back more borrowed money that will oblige you in the future to borrow even more money doesn't sound kosher. Because it isn't.
The perennial conviction that those who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded with a more comfortable present and a stronger future for their children faces assault from just about every direction. That great enemy of democratic capitalism economic inequality is real and growing.
What I'm concerned about is endless borrowing which is going to compromise our economy not only today but in the future. Because we know the decisions we make right now really dramatically impact us in the future and the debt is literally getting out of our control.
I'm an off-road racecar driver. And I think every woman in my life has told me that's not a sensible hobby. But when I was growing even more than I wanted to be funny I wanted to be a racecar driver. That's all I thought about. I worked for a race team when I was 15 and I traveled with them.
It's funny growing up there was never anybody around me with any kind of artistic bent.
And there's a visceral fun in watching Team America and making it like taking a puppet and throwing it against the wall. Because it's not CG there's something funny about it.
It's funny that I got to do 'On the Road' because the thing that had the biggest impact on me growing up was reading books. I was very inspired by the book and this spirit of Dean Moriarty and how envious we all are of somebody who can be that carefree.
It was always a fantasy of mine growing up - my favorite program was always 'Little House on the Prairie' - so I always wanted to wear those looks. When I was a child I wouldn't let my mom put me in anything but calico dresses and now... whaddaya know every day I'm in a calico dress basically so it's kind of funny.
When I was growing up my mother was always a friend to my siblings and me (in addition to being all the other things a mom is) and I was always grateful for that because I knew she was someone I could talk to and joke with and argue with and that nothing would ever harm that friendship.
A growing number of young women who have the freedom to decide have decided that career can wait and the delicious early years of their children's lives can't.
I think that we could be more careful about what we're saying to young women in terms of their expectations. It's unrealistic to expect people to always be in designer clothes. Girls growing up deserve more freedom in how they look and how they feel about how they look.
One of the things that bothers me most is the growing belief in the country that security is more important than freedom. It ain't.
Freedom is not won by merely overthrowing a tyrannical ruler or an oppressive regime. That is usually only the prelude to a new tyranny a new oppression.
Especially for me growing up in such a small town in the middle of nowhere the desire to be away was incredible. I wanted to see new lands meet new people from the city and meet people that were in much less fortunate situations than I was so that I could be more appreciative of my present. At least I had food on the table.