Public downfalls are more painful and humiliating than private ones.

A study, by its very nature, is an abstraction.

Every day, it seems, a new extreme weather catastrophe happens somewhere in America, and the media's all over it, profiling the ordinary folks wiped out by forest fires, droughts, floods, massive sinkholes, tornadoes.

Go ahead, weathercasters and reporters: Tell Americans precisely what we don't want to hear: namely, that our self-indulgent, carbon-heavy, gluttonous and disposable lifestyle is precisely what is churning up the angry response from the skies and seas.

McDonald's says it's phasing out pig gestation crates. When I heard that news, I almost started crying.

A breeding sow spends most of her life in a tiny cage. It's usually about seven feet long and two feet wide. She cannot turn around. She cannot scratch herself. She must urinate and defecate where she stands. Simply put, I believe she is tortured, day in and day out.

I would much rather devour a piece of well-seasoned squash than a slice of an animal's rotting carcass.

The fact is: America's obsession with meat and dairy has pretty much destroyed our sense of taste. The average burger and milkshake meal is so overloaded with fat, salt and sugar that it has numbed our taste buds to virtually anything else.

The myriad of serious health risks resulting from poor diet include high cholesterol, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and even sleep apnea.

Meat production is one of the leading causes of climate change because of the destruction of the rainforest for grazing lands, the massive amounts of methane produced by farm animals and the huge amounts of water, grain and other resources required to feed animals.

The killer whale Tilikum has helped SeaWorld sell millions of dollars worth of tickets.

Using animals for entertainment is big business, plain and simple.

The raccoons, foxes, beavers, chinchillas, minks, rabbits, and yes, sometimes even dogs and cats that are killed for fur are not very different from your beloved dog or cat. They all have eyes, ears and hearts. They all experience pain when they are physically maimed. They shake with fear when they experience terror.

Unfortunately, fur is still flying off the racks. It's a billion dollar industry.

The natural world is not indestructible.

Every decision we make - when we choose a vehicle, when we pump gas into that vehicle, when we order food - is not just a personal lifestyle choice. It's an environmental and moral choice.

Today, it seems almost everyone knows a friend or relative who is gay.

If parents don't instruct their kids on the narrow boundaries of respectful behavior toward the opposite sex, their kids won't learn it anywhere else.

I am what I want. What I seek to consume, possess, and achieve is a mirror that reflects my lusts and cravings, values and priorities, and moral boundaries or lack thereof.

Unfortunately, addicts don't respond to reason or rationality.

There's no guilt in eating fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains.

I think I would love to have dinner with Gandhi; Jesus Christ; Mother Theresa; Ingrid Newkirk, the president of PETA; and Madonna.

What does homophobia look like when it's stripped bare of fancy costumes like family values and tradition? It looks like that group of strange, angry people who protest at the funerals of U.S. soldiers who've died fighting for our country.

What's it like to figure out you're gay and then begin the process of coming out? Well, for most of my life, I felt doomed. I could imagine no path that would allow me to realize my authentic self. I felt the need to lie, even to myself, insisting: I am straight.

After coming out as gay, I soon felt a lot more comfortable in my life, moment to moment.

When you're in the closet, you feel like the sky will fall down if anyone finds out. A lot of the fear is self-generated.

In complete darkness we are all the same, it is only our knowledge and wisdom that separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you.

Dreams can become a reality when we possess a vision that is characterized by the willingness to work hard, a desire for excellence, and a belief in our right and our responsiblity to be equal members of society.

Competition is great. And as long as it's friendly and not a malicious thing, then I think it's cool.

A lot of people who start work at a very young age never grow up because they never got that opportunity to be a child, so they hold on to that and still do a lot of childish, silly things.

You don't have to hold onto the pain to hold onto the memory.

I am the baby in the family, and I always will be. I am actually very happy to have that position. But I still get teased. I don't mind that.

It is my belief that we all have the need to feel special. It is this need that can bring out the best in us, yet the worst in us.

I've always been a tomboy. I've always liked to wear red, black, and white, and mostly pants.

I'm happy with the people that I have around me. And they've been friends of mine since I was young, for a very long time.

I believe in a higher power. I believe in inspiration.

When I was younger, I thought you had to be in control of your own life. That takes a lot of discipline, hard work and focus. You just can't let it all fall by the wayside. Later on, I learned that God is really in control of everything. But you still have to put your best foot forward and be the best you can possibly be.

People can have rhinoceros skin, but there's a point when something's going to hurt you.

I'm fine the way I am. There's nothing wrong with me.

I would hope my legacy would be bringing smiles to faces. Happiness with my music.

Some of my battles with weight have been very public. But most of them have been internal. Even at my thinnest, when my body was being praised, I wasn't happy with what I saw in the mirror or how I felt about myself.

I feel everyone is put here for a reason. Everyone has a calling. I always thought my real calling was to help other people.

Every body type is different - that's what makes you unique. What makes you special is you, and you are different from the next person.

When we were growing up, all of us kids were vegetarians. No one had asked me to stop eating meat - I just noticed everyone else around me had stopped, so I followed the crew.

In complete darkness, it is only knowledge and wisdom that separates us.

I'd adopt. And I think that if I'm really supposed to have kids, it will happen, if that's God's plan for me.

It's really about being pleased with yourself.

I kinda see everyone as competition.

People do see me as sweet and innocent. Not to say that I am not those things. But I have other sides to me.

My parents are very competitive, so we are very competitive as kids. But it's a good kind of competition; it's not a jealousy. You always want to do your best, and if it can't be you, you want it to be your brother or your sister, you know what I mean?