Jamie Lee Curtis, 10/11/11

Actress, children's book author

I would not have thought that the gentle pleasures of being a wife and the mother -- playing a word game with friends and creating a beautiful home -- would be today's pastime for many, many women.

Alan Schroeder, 10/11/11

Professor in the School of Journalism at Northeastern University

Rick Perry needed a big night and he didn't have one. Cain needed to push his message beyond the 9-9-9 plan but he couldn't do it. Romney needed to maintain the status quo -- that he managed, and then some.

Adam Winkler, 10/12/11

Professor of Law, UCLA

The Republicans in Congress have set their sights on Holder in what is likely to turn out to be the first major scandal of the Obama administration.

Alma and Colin Powell, 10/12/11

Chairman and Founding Chair, America's Promise Alliance

The volume of conversation about education has increased over the last few years, but what's often lost are the very real stories of the young people whose lives are impacted and the people and programs that are beating the odds.

Joy Behar, 10/12/11

Host, HLN’s 'The Joy Behar Show'

In defending Hank Williams' right to speak his mind, I must also defend ESPN's right to part company with him. ESPN is a business and businesses have the right to fire employees.

Scarlett Johansson, 10/12/11

Actress

Here in Katiko, people are receiving approximately $25 USD a month in aid, which they spend on school fees, household items and food.

Judy Shepard, 10/12/11

Co-Founder, Matthew Shepard Foundation

October cannot go by anymore, and never will again, without us wondering what might have been if hatred of gay, and lesbian, and bisexual, and transgendered people, and all those whom others simply think might be, had been rooted out long ago.

Rep. Mike Honda, 10/12/11

U.S. Representative for California's 15th District

We might not be able to match the incentives offered by our trading partners dollar-for-dollar, but we can make the choice competitive enough that we can leverage the inherent advantages that our country still offers.

Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, 10/12/11

Senior Religion Editor for the Huffington Post

Occupy Wall Street has turned the spotlight in the general vicinity of Wall Street, but unfortunately it has yet to force Wall Street to articulate its own reason for existence.

Brenda Peterson, 10/12/11

Author, 'I Want to Be Left Behind'

Every morning when I awoke with a lower back ache, I still denied the truth: This mattress, like my relationship, no longer supported me. So why stay in a bed that sagged under my spine like sorrow?

Dr. Josef Olmert, 10/12/11

Adjunct Professor, American University’s School of International Service

Egypt's involvement in the Gilad Shalit deal shows that even in the new, post-Mubarak era, the rulers of Egypt do not abandon their moderate role in Middle East politics.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, 10/12/11

Rabbi and writer

The impermanence of property is the universal lesson behind the Jewish observance of Sukkot, which begins tonight. We largely move out of our homes into temporary homes and shelter called 'sukkas.' The message: never rely on money or property but on G-d alone for permanence.

Linda Bergthold, 10/12/11

Health policy consultant

Most of us breathe a sigh of relief when we reach Medicare age because we think we will have coverage until we die. And we will. But we may not get all the options we want.

Kristie Ko, 10/12/11

17-year-old student and writer

In preparation for high school, I visualized the cliques, wondered about my popularity, and, ultimately, braced myself for the cruelty that is known in popular culture as The High School Experience.

Robert Creamer, 10/12/11

Political organizer, strategist and author

None of them have to do with physical violence -- they have to do with politics. They're not really worried about ending up like Marie Antoinette. But they are very worried that their electoral heads may roll.

Manuel Villacorta, 10/12/11

Registered Dietitian, Speaker, and Founder of Eating Free

The problem with trendy foods is that they confuse people about what's healthy and what's not -- sometimes they confuse us so badly that we make very irrational choices.

Amb. Marc Ginsberg, 10/11/11

Former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco

Whether Tuesday's salacious indictment leads to Iranian officials and Hezbollah as the federal indictment alleges remains to be seen. Given Iran's well-known and well-feared record of penetration in Latin America, there is plenty of smoke to hide the real fire.

Maurice Chammah, 10/12/11

Fulbright Fellow in Cairo, Writer

What happened on Sunday in Egypt? Over the coming days, international media will clean up its coverage and separate fact from fiction, while the viewers feel like they're getting the real story.

Rep. John Conyers, 10/12/11

Dean, Congressional Black Caucus

The proposed Korea FTA is a bad deal for our country and America's workers. It's time to put the American worker first and stop these trade deals.

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, 10/12/11

Founder of Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society; Founder of SV2; Author of "Giving 2.0."

When incomes and bonuses decrease, revenues falter, and businesses stumble, it's more important than ever to give -- not necessarily more, but in a way that matters more. When incomes are down and wallets are stretched, the effectiveness of our giving is what really counts.

Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi, 10/12/11

If the assassination allegations are true, this deplorable act should be strongly condemned. To that end, the Beltway is already buzzing with calls for a "robust response" that will "send a strong message to Iran." But how?

Robert Reich, 10/11/11

Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; Author, 'Aftershock'

Demagogues through history have known that big lies, repeated often enough, start being believed unless they're rebutted. These seven economic whoppers are just plain wrong. Here's why.

Arjun Bahaji, 10/12/11

17-year-old senior at Chelmsford High School in Massachusetts

Occupy Wall St. could lay the necessary foundation for the next surge of student activism. And this time, we teenagers have mass communication at our disposal and a great deal of tension compounded by decades of silence.

Rev. Dr. Mark Achtemeier, 10/11/11

Minister, The Word and Sacrament

When I was ordained in 1984 I believed that gay and lesbian people could become "normal" through repentance and prayer. But in the last decade, I began to discover that God had other plans.