Ari Melber, 01/ 3/12

Correspondent, The Nation; Attorney

The Republican presidential race actually begins Tuesday night. It is worth remembering that this is the first time we will hear from the voters.

Marty Kaplan, 01/ 3/12

Director, Norman Lear Center and Professor at the USC Annenberg School

For seven days I didn't have salt, meat or CNN. My mornings began without Morning Joe or Morning Edition; I saw sunrise on a mountain hike, not with a clicker in my hand. There's nothing like a little media fast to remind you how little it costs to be a bit out of it.

Keli Goff, 01/ 2/12

Author, commentator and contributing editor, TheLoop21.com

I'm at a loss to see any real difference between the manner in which Sharia law penalizes women who are raped and the efforts of Perry and his Personhood cohorts to penalize American rape survivors with a nonconsensual pregnancy.

Jodyne L. Speyer, 01/ 3/12

Author, "Dump 'Em: How to Break Up With Anyone From Your Best Friend to Your Hairdresser"

I loved the woman who ended my parents' marriage. She was not a bitch or a whore

Gary W. Small, M.D., 01/ 3/12

Dr. Gary Small is a professor of psychiatry and director of the UCLA Longevity Center

My wife's 103-year-old grandmother lived in a third floor walk-up apartment in New York City. The exercise she got on those stairs and errands may not only have protected her heart so she could live past 100, it may also have protected her brain.

George Hobica, 01/ 3/12

Syndicated travel journalist and founder of Airfarewatchdog.com

Have a question about air travel or airfares? We answer as many as we can, including these about cheap destinations and what to do when your bag goes missing.

Larry Magid, 01/ 3/12

Technology journalist

Let's be honest. Many children -- especially post-pubescent boys -- are interested in what we commonly call "porn." You might not like the idea that some kids are looking at these images, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a pretty common occurrence.

Chris Weigant, 01/ 2/12

Political Writer and Blogger at ChrisWeigant.com

This year we'll only be offering up picks for the Republican side all year, until we get to the general election. So, let's wipe the slate clean, dust off the crystal ball, and dive right into the 2012 election cycle!

Gregory Beyer, 01/ 3/12

Writer/Reporter, The Huffington Post

As the Republican primaries begin, a foundering Newt Gingrich has announced he will publish eight never-before-released books, adding to his already impressive body of policy treatises, polemics and alternative history novels. The new books are summarized here by the author.

Douglas Anthony Cooper, 01/ 2/12

Novelist, Amnesia

Tom Cruise has become sane, and this is a sign from the gods. The year 2012 -- which those who channel Mayans for a living tell us will be trulyincomprehensible and unpleasant -- will be nothing of the sort: It's going to make sense. And it's going to be a blast.

Robert Reich, 01/ 2/12

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

For his running mate, Mitt Romney will choose Marco Rubio. Romney will need a right-winger to calm and woo the Republican right. Tea Partiers are attracted to Rubio -- an evangelical Christian committed to reducing taxes and shrinking government.

Menachem Rosensaft, 01/ 3/12

Professor of law and son of Holocaust survivors

We have reached the point when politicians and media commentators eager for a sound bite on the evening news think nothing of exploiting the Holocaust and Nazi terminology, and apparently the crasser the better.

Robert J. Davis, Ph.D., 01/ 3/12

Award-winning health journalist; Author, 'Coffee Is Good for You'

After overindulging during the holidays, many of us have resolved to eat a healthier diet in the new year. But doing so means choosing the right foods, and too often misleading food labels prompt us to purchase items that we think are good for us but really aren't.

Margaret Weinberg, 01/ 3/12

17-year-old high school senior in Vermont

If being spiritual can make people healthier and bring them together, then it wouldn't matter if God was in our genes or up in the sky, it would be the act of believing itself that was important.

Rhoda P. Curtis, 01/ 2/12

Author, 'Rhoda: Her First Ninety Years' and 'After Ninety: What'

When we make a New Year's Resolution to make a change in our behavior, we are doing something quite significant, and quite worthy of celebration. I intend to celebrate any and all resolutions my friends and I shall make with festive glasses of champagne!

David Wild, 01/ 2/12

TV Writer; Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone; Co-Author, 'Diary of a Player"'

I feel pretty bad about myself today because if Rick Santorum can have a surge, anybody can get one -- right? Yet even after watching all 456 Republican debates in 2011, I've still got nothing to show for it according to the latest polls.

Arianna Huffington and Rob Johnson, 12/29/09

Check out this powerful video and see why you should make it your New Year's resolution to move your money out of a "too big to fail bank" and into a community bank.

Matthew Dowd, 01/ 2/12

Political strategist

While the No. 1 seed -- Romney -- is a good bet, he is no sure thing. He needs to see if he can take a beating under the boards, and if he can win in a higher-scoring shootout. Ya gotta love this game

Jeffrey Hayzlett, 01/ 2/12

Author, 'Running the Gauntlet'

For 2012, here are my predictions of what will change in the marketing world. You can either choose to adapt, or die.

Robert Kuttner, 01/ 1/12

Co-founder and co-editor, 'The American Prospect'

The Republicans handed Obama a tactical victory when they agreed to extend the payroll tax cut on Obama's terms. But maybe it's Democrats who've set themselves a trap. What if the president's partisan victory is actually hollow?

Dean Baker, 01/ 2/12

Co-Director of CEPR; Author, 'The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive'

If we want to create jobs, a more competitive dollar provides an excellent alternative to the Keystone Pipeline. It can create many more jobs and it won't threaten the environment.

Evelyn Leopold, 01/ 1/12

Journalist reporting from the United Nations

The statistics for maternal mortality have improved by 34 percent. That means a woman is no longer dying every minute, but one woman is still dying every minute and a half.

Howard Fineman, 01/ 2/12

Editorial Director, AOL Huffington Post Media Group

To Democrats, George W. Bush is the Voldemort of American politics, an evil force. But even to Republicans, he is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, someone you dare not talk about as you try to win the votes of conservative Iowans.

Doug Bandow, 01/ 2/12

Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute

As long as Kim Jong Il's policies remain in force, the North's future remains dismal. The U.S. should watch for glimmers of reform while backing away, allowing South Korea to deal with whatever emerges in Pyongyang.