Major league baseball has asked its players to stop tossing baseballs into the stands during games because they say fans fight over them and they get hurt. In fact the Florida Marlins said that's why they never hit any home runs. It's a safety issue.

If I were asked to name the chief benefit of the house I should say: the house shelters day-dreaming the house protects the dreamer the house allows one to dream in peace.

And in terms of their crown jewel legislative achievement: who knew that when asked 'will government impose a new federal mandate requiring middle class Americans to buy health insurance whether they can afford it or not?' The answer would be 'Yes we can!'

If you asked somebody 'what do you wish for in life?' they wouldn't say 'happiness.' I would have answered 'excitement knowledge ' God knows - I mean many many different things but certainly not 'happiness'. It seemed like a foreign concept to wish for something that specific and that singular.

As the economy faces such difficulties more tough questions need to be asked about what the Tories would do if elected. Their ideology of free markets and small government needs challenging. That has to be part of our job.

Gandhi has asked that the British Government should walk out of India and leave the Indian people to settle differences among themselves even if it means chaos and confusion.

I am often asked if when I was secretary I had problems with foreign men. That is not who I had problems with because I arrived in a very large plane that said United States of America. I had more problems with the men in our own government.

When I woke up this morning my girlfriend asked me 'Did you sleep good?' I said 'No I made a few mistakes.'

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man what will happen to him?'

My neighbour asked if he could use my lawnmower and I told him of course he could so long as he didn't take it out of my garden.

I've been asked to do a retrospective since I was about 28 and I always thought that was a bit odd. It's great to look forward as an artist because in the future the possibilities are infinite you look back and it's all fixed so it's a scary thing.

Up against the corporate government voters find themselves asked to choose between look-alike candidates from two parties vying to see who takes the marching orders from their campaign paymasters and their future employers. The money of vested interest nullifies genuine voter choice and trust.

By no means do I want to be a piece of meat for the rest of my career. It's funny when you get asked to do a talk show and then they follow it up with requesting you take your shirt off.

I was asked to act when I couldn't act. I was asked to sing 'Funny Face' when I couldn't sing and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn't dance - and do all kinds of things I wasn't prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it.

The sacrifices of friendship were beautiful in her eyes as long as she was not asked to make them.

I noticed that no matter where I went in the country there was this group of questions that got asked. I would track them and keep them in categories. Like body image school family friendship you name it the emotional life of a teenage girl.

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realised that the Lord doesn't work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me.