Chris Mooney, 2/8/12

Author, 'The Republican War on Science' and 'The Republican Brain'

From global warming denial to claims about "death panels" to baseless fears about inflation, it often seems there are so many factually wrong claims on the political right that those who make them live in a different reality. Maybe they actually do.

Jared Bernstein, 2/8/12

Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Mitt Romney's got real economists on his team. If he wants to make the case that things would be better if we followed his plan, which is explicitly anti-stimulus on jobs and would liquidate the housing market, let's see the economic model for how it would work.

Dr. Michael J. Breus, 2/8/12

Clinical Psychologist; Board Certified Sleep Specialist

There's still a great deal of information about the effects of sleep on the brain that we don't yet understand, so any research that sheds light on this subject is exciting and potentially important.

Thomas B. Edsall, 2/8/12

Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor, Columbia School of Journalism

The contest for power between Democrats and Republicans pits two antithetical value systems against each other; two conflicting concepts of freedom, liberty, fairness, right, and wrong; two mutually exclusive notions of the state, the individual, and the collective good.

Robert Reich, 2/8/12

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

So now a relative handful of super-rich Democrats want to fight a relative handful of super-rich Republicans. And we call this a democracy.

Cara Santa Maria, 2/6/12

Science correspondent, Huffington Post; editor, Talk Nerdy to Me

Women make up just about half of the American workforce, but we hold less than a quarter of the STEM jobs. Why is that?

Lincoln Mitchell, 2/7/12

Harriman Institute, Columbia University

Clint Eastwood's appearance and words during the Super Bowl had little to do with Obama. For observers with a long political memory, it was hard not to think of another president when seeing that commercial.

Robert Creamer, 2/8/12

Political Organizer, Strategist, Author; Partner Democracy Partners

Let's be clear, the controversy over the Obama administration's rules that require all employers who provide health insurance to provide birth control without a co-pay to its women employees, has nothing to do with religious freedom.

Dr. Marty Klein, 2/8/12

While magazines, blogs, and talk shows are full of advice about how to make your lover explode with pleasure, lots of people aren't having sex as much as they wish they were. Here's why.

Al Checchi, 2/7/12

Author, 'The Change Maker'; chairman, Join Together America; former chairman, Northwest Airlines; former candidate for Governor of California

There is a significant difference between recognizing a woman's "right" to choose and making it the "obligation" of others to pay for or facilitate that choice.

Arianna Huffington, 2/7/12

The recent reversal by the Susan G. Komen foundation of its decision to no longer fund grants to Planned Parenthood is a case study in how radically social media have changed the way institutions relate to those they purport to serve.

Scott Mendelson, 2/7/12

Film Critic at Mendelson's Memos, Valley Scene Magazine

Perhaps the reason that Denzel Washington has maintained his star power for 20 years is that he still goes out of his way to make 'the kind of movies they just don't make anymore'.

David Katz, M.D., 2/8/12

Director, Yale Prevention Research Center

Even if we were to isolate sugar as public health enemy number one, its regulation would draw us into challenging subtleties.

Emma Goldberg, 2/8/12

17-year-old senior at the Abraham Joshua Heschel School in New York

How can the candidates claim to endorse American leadership, yet reject responsibility for those deprived of freedom and security abroad?

Jeffrey Augustine Songco, 2/7/12

Artist

Did you catch the Toyota Camry Super Bowl commercial? Within 13 seconds, Toyota defies the expected heteronormative relationships that make up this coveted commercial landscape.

Abigail E. Disney, 2/7/12

Founder and President, Daphne Foundation

When I use the word "suffering" I know what I am talking about. Last Friday, I watched my mother take her last labored breath after years of anguish, humiliation, physical pain and mental misery.

Marshall Fine, 2/8/12

Author and film critic, hollywoodandfine.com

Together, Washington and Reynolds make a watchable team -- and make the occasionally exciting Safe House more watchable than it deserves to be.

David Cameron, 2/6/12

Prime Minister of Great Britain

Over the past 18 months we've put a massive amount of effort and investment into strengthening apprenticeships in this country - and it shows. Last year more than 450,000 people started an apprenticeship, roughly the same number as those who started in higher education.

Eric Boehlert, 2/7/12

Senior Fellow, Media Matters for America

When conservatives win grassroots battles of public opinion, it's democracy. When liberals win, it's totalitarianism and "disgusting." For a name-calling mob of bullies, the GOP ought to learn how to take a punch from the truth.

Sofi Papamarko, 2/7/12

Writer

Valentine's Day is like the New Year's Eve of couple-dom; high-pressure, high expectations, absurdly expensive and generally kind of a letdown. But it doesn't have to be like that! Here are a few ideas that will make Valentine's Day work for you.

Adam Winkler, 2/7/12

Professor of Law, UCLA

Never before has a federal court of appeals declared that gay marriage is protected by the U.S. Constitution. Today's decision has the potential to benefit not only thousands of gay Californians but could establish the foundation for extension of marriage equality to all Americans.

Timothy P. Shriver, 2/7/12

Chairman of Special Olympics

Our leaders must recognize the corrosive effects of poverty, but also realize there are tens of millions of Republican and Democratic citizens alike who stand ready to tackle this issue. And citizens need small amounts to make a big difference.

Timothy Karr, 2/7/12

Campaign Director, Free Press and SavetheInternet.com

Obama succumbed late Monday to the dark logic of the Super PACs. What's happening in 2012 is a transfer of money and power unlike any other in the history of U.S. politics.

Gabe Lyons, 2/7/12

Founder of Q: Ideas For the Common Good

Eleven years ago this week, Rebekah and I celebrated the birth of our first-born. Despite his Down syndrome diagnosis, we were overjoyed to welcome this new life into our family.