I think that giving mindless praise is ridiculous. But I understand why parents do it. They want their kids to feel good about themselves. But parents are never going to teach their children true positive self esteem by praising everything they do.

Each season I find myself constantly inspired by 'The Biggest Loser' contestants. Their tenacity and willingness to learn new healthy habits is tremendous and the results speak for themselves. I am honored to be part of such an inspiring program that helps inspire positive change in so many lives.

I hate banks. They do nothing positive for anybody except take care of themselves. They're first in with their fees and first out when there's trouble.

People meet in bars after work all over the world and talk about the great problems of life and death and the world and politics and they don't take themselves seriously. They can do nothing else except chat about these things in bars after work.

It is important to recognize and politics positive thinking is often the slaves' virtue - something that people do to con themselves about the burden and change being placed upon them.

The sheep-people don't think for themselves anymore. You can say anything and it's the gospel truth and they don't have to go research it or anything and they believe everything the news tells them. People don't go and do their own investigations if it's relationships or politics or anything.

I guess you'd call me an independent since I've never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves no matter what the party label.

The politicians were talking themselves red white and blue in the face.

Conservatives define themselves in terms of what they oppose.

Children seem naturally drawn to poetry - it's some combination of the rhyme rhythm and the words themselves.

PC stuff just lowers the general acceptance of good work and replaces it with bogus poetry that celebrates values that in themselves are probably quite worthy.

There is an urgent need for Americans to look deeply into themselves and their actions and musical poetry is perhaps the most effective mirror available. Every newspaper headline is a potential song.

I think that's what poetry does. It allows people to come together and identify with a common thing that is outside of themselves but which they identify with from the interior.

We read Robert Browning's poetry. Here we needed no guidance from the professor: the poems themselves were enough.

Perhaps it is because cats do not live by human patterns do not fit themselves into prescribed behavior that they are so united to creative people.

People who keep dogs are cowards who haven't got the guts to bite people themselves.

I am not only a pacifist but a militant pacifist. I am willing to fight for peace. Nothing will end war unless the people themselves refuse to go to war.

Those who are at war with others are not at peace with themselves.

In every society in human history including the United States those in power seek to imbue themselves with the attributes of religion and patriotism as a way of getting greater support for their policy and insulating themselves from any criticism.

There are those who wrap themselves in flags and blow the tinny trumpet of patriotism as a means of fooling the people.

While not impossible it is especially challenging for teenage parents to develop bonds with their children. A high percent of them were themselves children of teenage parents and have never experienced appropriate parenting.

We can't blame children for occupying themselves with Facebook rather than playing in the mud. Our society doesn't put a priority on connecting with nature. In fact too often we tell them it's dirty and dangerous.

It's incredible how nature sets females up to take care of people and yet it is tricky for them to take care of themselves.

It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to the feeling for the things themselves for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures.