James Moore, 01/ 3/12

Author, 'Adios Mofo: Why Rick Perry Will Make America Miss George W. Bush'

Mitt Romney has money and the moderate politics to give the president a tough fight in the fall. But he doesn't give his own party those sweaty palms of excitement. He could have a very miserable 2012.

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.

Rep. Gwen Moore, 01/ 3/12

U.S. Representative for Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District

The only thing "unusual" about the recall movement is Scott Walker's inability to listen to the will of the people of Wisconsin. As soon as he was elected he forgot who he was there to represent.

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.

Evie M. Salomon and Richard A. Salomon, 01/ 3/12

Each day we have the ability to transform lives, to speak out against injustice, to be "upstanders" for positive change. Why do we remain silent?

John Campbell, 01/ 3/12

It was predictable that Michele Bachmann would seize on the new Meryl Streep movie about Margaret Thatcher to try to revive her faltering campaign by pitching herself as America's Iron Lady. But does it fit?

Art Markman, Ph.D., 01/ 3/12

Executive Editor, Cognitive Science; Psychology and Marketing Professor, UT Austin; Director, the Program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations

There is some research suggesting that when children grow up in an environment with extensive physical and verbal punishment they are at risk for behavioral problems as they get older.

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.

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.

Stephanie Vlahakis, 01/ 3/12

President, National Hellenic Museum

Headlines keep telling me how lazy Greeks are today, right? Wrong again. 


Roger Stone, 01/ 3/12

Political consultant

Our goal here is to sort out those who are merely fashionable from those who possess real style, for fashion is fleeting and style endures.

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!

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.

Azeem Ibrahim, 01/ 3/12

Research Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School’s International Security Program

So much blood was lost in the name of freedom, yet here we are several generations later, fearful of Islamic terrorism and blandly accepting the serious erosion of our civil liberties with barely a murmur of dissent.

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.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, 01/ 3/12

Rabbi and writer

If we Jews are enjoined to emulate our patriarch Jacob who wrestled with an angel, then surely we must also respectfully challenge our spiritual leaders and reclaim our human voice.

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.

Keith Ferrazzi, 01/ 3/12

CEO and Author of 'Who's Got Your Back'

A major problem in Guatemala is the economic disincentive for kids to go to school. Either you can pay for tuition and books from money a family doesn't have, or send your child into the fields to make money for food. Carlos was a rare advocate for an alternative solution.