Quotes from John Kennedy

American taxpayers have been generous to Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Taxpayers have long memories, especially when it comes to how their hard-earned money is spent.

As a country, we can't teach kids how to read and write when we got 18 years to do it. And that's - that's a disgrace.

Everybody who makes any kind of policy needs to substitute teach. But you've got to be a real teacher. You can't just go to a couple of classes with the regular teacher there. It is an incredibly hard job.

Teachers are expected to be teachers, psychiatrists, nurses, sociologists, psychologists, surrogate moms or dads, as the case may be.

Most of us believe, or should believe, that every child can learn, given the opportunity, but try substitute teaching just once and you will see firsthand the socioeconomic issues that distract our kids from taking advantage of that opportunity.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I'm concerned about the recklessness of public policy that endangers people's lives, especially in minority communities, where crime often is such a scourge.

When you meet with someone and you try to assess whether they're telling you the truth or not, there's several things you can do. You judge demeanor and credibility. You look at corroboration.

Jurisdictions across the U.S. are snapping up algorithms as tools to help judges make bail and bond decisions. They're being sold as race- and gender-neutral assessments that allow judges to use science in determining whether someone will behave if released from jail pending trial.

If people lose faith in their government, the result is the same whether or not the loss of confidence is justified.

Part of the problem is there are people in Washington, D.C. in positions of power to whom the border is just a nuisance, and I think some of them believe that illegal immigration is a moral good. It is not. It undermines legal immigration.

I like policy. It's why I decided to enter government. The other thing I like about government - you have good days, you have bad days, but you never have a boring day, and that's important to me.

My mind doesn't work, my memories don't work like a computer file where I can just retrieve them and, boy, there it is. My mind is selective in terms of memories. When I try to think back to college or high school, there are gaps. I try to fill them in. But I can't tell you it's always the truth.

Our rights are not absolute. Our rights can be curtailed in the interest of public safety.

There is a group of people that I think in good faith honestly believe that further curtailing our Second Amendment rights will enhance public safety. But there's another group that just hates the Second Amendment.

Some of my colleagues argue that by further curtailing our Second Amendment rights, they can enhance public safety. Fine, the burden of proof is on them.

What I think we need to do is pass a bill that says number one, you own your data. Number two, you can license it to Facebook but the licensing has to be knowing, it has to be willful.

Just because you've seen 'My Cousin Vinny' doesn't qualify you to be a federal judge.

People see things differently and remember things differently. It's why if somebody robs a liquor store and there are four witnesses they'll often disagree.

If you believe that tax policy has nothing to do with the economy, then you're pretty much like a rock, only dumber.

I think we need more idiot control.

I think the FBI is the premier law enforcement agency in all of human history.

I think the American people, with some justification, think that most politicians live in la-la land.

I read a lot. I enjoy reading a lot.