I think I was lucky to come of age in a place and time - the American South in the 1960s and '70s - when the machine hadn't completely taken over life. The natural world was still the world and machines - TV telephone cars - were still more or less ancillary and computers were unheard of in everyday life.
I am a huge supporter for cash for caulkers - which allows people to make improvement for energy efficient in their homes. We should do the same for Americans purchasing appliances and computers and for that matter new air-conditioner and heating units.
China has legally purchased high performance computers advanced machine tools and semiconductor-manufacturing equipment from several American companies.
The eventual place the American army should take on the western front was to a large extent influenced by the vital question of communication and supply.
On the other hand the American public possesses a great resilience and strength and good risk communication strategies can tap into and even amplify those assets.
As everyone in Louisiana knows there was often no communication or coordination between the state and federal government in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The Bush-Cheney administration had betrayed some basic American values. So there was hunger for change.
Obama has no power to change American policy because there are people who specialize in drawing these policies which have been and still are hostile towards Islam.
I was advised by an American agent when I was about 19 to change my surname.
One-third of Americans have already been forced to change their lifestyle because their disposable income is gone. A guy can't go to the corner bar after a rough day at work to have a beer that's gone to oil!
I don't think anything changes until ideas change. The usual American viewpoint is to believe that something is wrong with the person.
Few expected very much of Franklin Roosevelt on Inauguration Day in 1933. Like Barack Obama seventy-six years later he was succeeding a failed Republican president and Americans had voted for change. What that change might be Roosevelt never clearly said probably because he himself didn't know.
We the people. Manifest Destiny. Conceived in liberty. Fear itself. Ask not. Morning in America. United we stand. Yes we can. In times of great change and tumult presidents seek to inspire beleaguered Americans by reminding them of their national identity.
Obama won the presidency on the strength of his message and the skills of the messenger. Now the talk of hope and change feels out of tune when so many Americans are out of work over-mortgaged and worried that life will be even tougher for their children.
Under Barack Obama the only 'Change' is that 'Hope' has been hard to find. Now millions of Americans are insecure about their future. But instead of inspiring us by reminding us of what makes us special he divides us against each other. He tells Americans they're worse off because others are better off. That people got rich by making others poor.
I told you I'm not going to criticize my successor. I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind.
Americans have so far put up with inequality because they felt they could change their status. They didn't mind others being rich as long as they had a path to move up as well. The American Dream is all about social mobility in a sense - the idea that anyone can make it.