Slavery was something people in the country thought they needed. America was more an agricultural country, and somebody had to work the farms. They tried the Indians, but they knew the country and ran. Indentured slaves were white and could blend in. Do you think black people stood out, that they looked different?

I thought in this country, the best social program was a job. Yet minimum wage jobs aren't paying enough to keep families out of poverty.

The whole of this country feels for the people of the Gulf Coast of America who have been afflicted by what is a terrible, terrible natural tragedy,

All I'm seeing lately is Mexican flags. This is America. People need to stand up for their country.

Some people were calling me un-American and all that. I know that I'm unified with our country. I feel and I know that my actions are as American as anyone else's. I'm trying to preserve the people's right to have some kind of oversight and some say in the cycle of violence that could occur if we go into war without an end in sight.

I can only say that there is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery