We hear the stories every day now: the father who puts on a suit every morning and leaves the house so his daughter doesn't know he lost his job the recent college grad facing up to the painful reality that the only door that's open to her after four years of study and a pile of debt is her parents'. These are the faces of the Obama economy.

Thanks to the greatest invention of recent years the MP3-playing alarm clock I can now choose the song that wakes me up in the morning.

For us political activists and candidates the morning after any election is a mix of emotions - the personal and the immediate the culmination of your own recent campaigning efforts and the fortunes of your party and the success or otherwise of what you stand for and believe in.

I recently took up ice sculpting. Last night I made an ice cube. This morning I made 12 I was prolific.

A rich man told me recently that a liberal is a man who tells other people what to do with their money.

Look I'm very much in favor of tax cuts but not with borrowed money. And the problem that we've gotten into in recent years is spending programs with borrowed money tax cuts with borrowed money and at the end of the day that proves disastrous. And my view is I don't think we can play subtle policy here.

Cancer has been unfortunately in my life. My mom's best friend is kicking ass in her battle with breast cancer. Both of my grandmas had cancer. I recently lost a friend to cancer.

Just recently I was in Target with my mom shopping and out of the blue I see this father and his two daughters and he says 'Can they get a picture with you?' And I'm thinking to myself 'Am I the one millionth customer or something?'

Some of the best times I've spent in Colorado have been in the backcountry with my mom and siblings and more recently with my own kids. That is why I'm concerned to see today's kids spending more time browsing the Internet than exploring nature.

The technology used to detect if vehicles are carrying radioactive material is so sensitive it can tell if a person recently received radiation as part of a medical procedure.

I have been recently diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome an autoimmune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects my energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain.

I think it's best if there's an amendment that goes on the ballot where the people can weigh in. Every time this issue has gone on the ballot the people have voted to retain the traditional definition of marriage as recently as California in 2008.

However we do not lack anti-terrorist laws. I do not believe that the recent London bombs were the result of any deficiencies in our legal system.

Our libraries are valuable centers of education learning and enrichment for people of all ages. In recent years libraries have taken on an increasingly important role. today's libraries are about much more than books.

There is an irresistible demand to strengthen the leadership of the constructive forces of the world at the present momentous time. This is true because of stupendous almost unbelievable changes which have taken place in recent years on every continent.

The 9/11 Commission recently released their report citing important changes which need to be made to improve our nation's homeland security. I voiced my disappointment with the House leadership when this report was left until after the August recess for action.

I talked about the need for American leadership I talked about the importance of the United States to a more peaceful world a world that has been quite turbulent in recent years and needs a strong American anchor.