When people think of the oil industry, they think of Rockefeller, much like when people think of the software industry, they think of Bill Gates.
Like any business, the oil industry runs on the basic premise of supply and demand. The more supply - the lower the price. The higher the demand - the higher price. In other words, the more people who can buy oil, the higher the price of oil.
Across the country, people are willing to tighten their belts and sacrifice. The president should ask the oil industry to do the same.
The people of the United States don't recognize it, but the oil industry has given the greatest gift to the people of the nation, and that gift is the low cost of energy. Bottom line is this enables the country to be very competitive manufacturing-wise and in the world economy.
It costs governments money to keep fuel prices low. Oil-rich Yemen, for instance, devotes 9 percent of its GDP to making sure its people don't riot when oil prices rise.
I was always respectful of people who were deeply religious because I always felt that if they gave themselves to it, then it had to be important to them. But if you can go through life without it, that's OK, too. It's whatever suits you.
I don't tell people, 'You're okay the way that you are.' That's not the right story. The right story is, 'You're way less than you could be.'
Typically, a book is published and gets one season in the sun. Eventually, you write another book, and maybe your old books get a bump, but my books seem to keep being discovered and recommended to new people of all ages.
People sometimes think that I bring home all these old books because I'm addicted, that I'm no better than a hoarder with a houseful of crumbling newspapers.
Lots of people think they're charitable if they give away their old clothes and things they don't want.
A lot of people that I've met who don't like country music just haven't been introduced to the old country.
People are always talking about the old days. They say that the old movies were better, that the old actors were so great. But I don't think so. All I can say about the old days is that they have passed.
I remember being in jail, like, 'Man, I'm not old enough.' And then I thought, 'I just turned 18.' I had just turned old enough to be in big people jail.
I was in government for 13 years and in that time only once met the head of the German security services, and that was because he was an old friend. Otherwise, I carefully avoided having anything to do with these people. They are unavoidable but not really necessary.
Many people consider me an old friend.
You need more than a year to grow on somebody, and it's very intimate being invited into people's homes every day. Once that trust is built, then you're like that old friend. That's the sweet spot.
You don't have to have anything in common with people you've known since you were five. With old friends, you've got your whole life in common.
I don't want to be the cranky old guy, but a lot of critics are too forgiving of mediocre artists. When you see these 'American Idol' people on the cover of 'Rolling Stone' being written about as serious artists, there's something wrong with that. You can erase them from the history of rock n' roll, and you wouldn't notice.
It sounds strange to say it, but you can be in a war zone and have a lot of fun. Even though war is essentially pain on all sides, human beings have the capacity to enjoy themselves. The soldiers are mostly young people, full of enthusiasm and energy, and that's an exciting thing for an old guy like me.
I once knew a house rather like The Land of Smiles - an old house occupied by a varied collection of young people, mainly students. However none of these people were true models for the characters in the book, though their way of life may have been.
