Obviously, all of us have been influenced by those around us.

But there is no obvious reason for holding that some normal adults are entitled to make choices for other normal adults, as paternalists of both left and right believe.

Libertarians typically argue that particular obligations, at least under normal circumstances, must be created by consent; they cannot be unilaterally imposed by others.

Abstraction is a mental process we use when trying to discern what is essential or relevant to a problem; it does not require a belief in abstract entities.

Libertarians recognize the inevitable pluralism of the modern world and for that reason assert that individual liberty is at least part of the common good.

Obviously, all of us have been influenced by those around us.

Obligations may be universal or particular.

It is obvious that different individuals require different things to live good, healthy, and virtuous lives.

The government has become a mechanism for distributing largess, and your census form is your ticket.

Equality of rights means that some people cannot simply impose obligations on others, for the moral agency and rights of those others would then be violated.

Most Europeans have no idea how wild life can be in north America.

What libertarians assert is simply that differences among normal adults do not imply different fundamental rights.

To repeat, communitarians maintain that we are constituted as persons by our particular obligations, and therefore those obligations cannot be a matter of choice.

It is precisely because neither individuals nor small groups can be fully self-sufficient that cooperation is necessary to human survival and flourishing.

The reason the government sells the census as your ticket to getting goodies - rather than as your civic duty - is that distributing goodies is now all the government does.

The first census in 1790 asked just six questions: the name of the head of the household, the number of free white males older than 16, the number of free white males younger than 16, the number of free white females, the number of other free persons, and the number of slaves.

If an individual is born with the obligation to obey, who is born with the right to command?

Guardians are necessary for children and abnormal adults, because they cannot make responsible choices for themselves.

Libertarians argue that no normal adult has the right to impose choices on other normal adults, except in abnormal circumstances, such as when one person finds another unconscious and administers medical assistance or calls an ambulance.

Libertarians recognize the difference between adults and children, as well as differences between normal adults and adults who are insane or mentally hindered or retarded.

Group personification obscures, rather than illuminates, important political questions.

I set out to create chips that used low-energy technology, and that has allowed me to develop devices that can do all their data crunching on site.

One way to appreciate C.S. Lewis is to see how his Christian humility shaped his life and work.

I wish I trusted people more. But when I meet someone, the first thing is, 'What does this person want?' And I put up a defense mechanism. But I've always been that way.

After 9/11, I knew I wanted to write about power and identity and the way Americans on all sides of the political spectrum often mythologize our leaders, which are themes that the superhero genre has always handled really well.

For any actor, being part of a Mani Ratnam film is a great experience. I grew up watching his films.

Tax credits are designed to help people who work hard but who, through no fault of their own, don't earn enough to keep their families out of poverty.

Education has not traditionally been a large concern in presidential elections, presumably because the president does not run schools.

I listen to everything that comes in. I'm not real worried about demo sound quality. I can hear through that sort of thing. If a band can play, then they can play.

It was impossible to reason with a negro-that the only way to keep him in his place was to keep him under fear.

My boyhood saw Greek islands floating over Harvard Square.

If I see something really nasty on Twitter, I will usually delete it or block the person because I don't want to see that every day... Get to know me, and then you can talk about me!

What language are you talking in now? It appears to be bollocks.

'A Storm of Swords' is a massive volume, and it seemed like it would be shortchanging it to try to cram it into ten episodes.

Behind every morsel of bread, fruits, or meat is a large amount of transformed fossil fuels.

If I worried about appearances, I wouldn't be at Cubs games.

It takes a moment to make memories and a lifetime to forget them.

I get up really early, and I go to bed really late. Sometimes I get tired, but it's not important. I have an exciting existence, and there's so much to do.

You know, you want everything you do, obviously, to be a success critically and commercially. But what you find out as you go along is that everything won't.

Nature can always be more complicated than we imagine.

Don't let the shadows of yesterday spoil the sunshine of tomorrow. Live for today.

Thank you, Lord, that You are the Conqueror and that You want to make us more than conquerors.

Most people think that shadows follow, precede or surround beings or objects. The truth is that they also surround words, ideas, desires, deeds, impulses and memories.

It is the ultimate conceit of conservatives: that more than half of American voters don't make up more than half of our country.

If you pay attention to thoughts and feelings while you meditate and try to use them to evaluate how well or how badly you are meditating, you will never reach the ultimate silence. Instead you will just get bogged down in mental concepts.