Marlo Thomas, 2/17/12

Award-winning actress, author, and activist

As far as I'm concerned, the only thing Tiger Moms and Eagle Dads will do is ensure a boon for psychiatrists 20 years from now, as they try to help a whole generation of young adults reconcile childhoods in which they were pushed too hard and too far.

Rev. Susan Russell, 2/17/12

Episcopal priest and activist from Pasadena, Calif.

By vetoing the marriage equality bill passed by the state legislature, the Governor of New Jersey chose to stand for bigotry rather than equality. New Jersey deserves better. America deserves better. And Governor Christie should know better.

Robert Reich, 2/17/12

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

Suddenly, manufacturing is back -- at least on the election trail. But don't be fooled. The real issue isn't how to get manufacturing back. It's how to get good jobs and good wages back. They aren't at all the same thing.

Josh Silver, 2/17/12

CEO, United Republic

If our current campaign finance system isn't corrupt, what is? A handful of billionaires can decide who the next president will be. If our Supreme Court doesn't find that corrupt, then they are using a very different dictionary than the rest of America.

James Zogby, 2/18/12

President, Arab American Institute; author, 'Arab Voices'

Anthony Shadid was a man for others, for Arabs and Americans. He was our bridge to a world we impact so profoundly, but whose reality we do not know. And now he is gone.

Mark Hyman, MD, 2/18/12

Practicing physician

My personal hope is that together we can create a national conversation about a real, practical solution for the prevention, treatment, and reversal of our obesity, diabetes and chronic disease epidemic. Getting off wheat may just be an important step.

Diana Butler Bass, 2/18/12

Author, "Christianity After Religion: The End of Church and the Birth of a New Spiritual Awakening"

Large numbers of Americans are hankering for experiential faith whereby they can connect with God, the divine, or wonder as well as with their neighbors and that lead to a more profound sense of meaning in the world.

Joe Peyronnin, 2/17/12

NYU Journalism Professor

Perhaps former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum should take a couple aspirin and get some rest. It appears the pressure of being the front-runner in the Republican presidential sweepstakes is getting to him.

Gary Arnold, 2/17/12

President, Little People of America

I expected her to address her fears as an opportunity to bridge the gap between her own misunderstanding of dwarfism and the reality. Rather than erase any distance, O'Donnell reinforced the gap.

Jeffrey Sachs, 2/17/12

Director, Earth Institute at Columbia University; author, 'The Price of Civilization'

One of the unshakable myths of the punditariat is that the federal government is going bankrupt because of entitlements spending, especially spending on Medicare and Medicaid. This is a stampede of unreason, contradicted by the facts.

Cat Cora, 2/17/12

Chef

Every year, more than 2.5 million children globally die due to hunger and malnutrition. The exciting news is that this crisis is solvable. I saw that firsthand last week on a trip to Ethiopia.

Sami Moubayed, 2/17/12

Editor-in-Chief, Forward Magazine

Tony Shadid will live on -- through his articles, and through the young men and women who are standing up for freedom, a cause that he so passionately believed in.

Meredith Bodgas, 2/17/12

Blogger, MeritalBliss.com

It's well-known that what happens at the bachelor party stays at the bachelor party, but these other secrets grooms keep may not be as obvious.

Katie Goodman, 2/17/12

Award-winning comic, actress, author, creative coach, and social activist

Is this what my adult life has come to? Is Facebook really in a position to take away my car keys and TV privileges? This is like the best Firm Parenting Class for teens ever. Facebook does not get tired or annoyed and cave in, and there's no way for me to contest it. What's an anti-authority political satirist to do?

Marian Wright Edelman, 2/17/12

President, Children's Defense Fund

At one time, the Nations owned a home. But like so many other American families, their standard of living has declined over the past decade even though they are a two-parent working family.

Marge Baker, 2/17/12

Executive Vice President for Policy and Program, People For the American Way

The right is staging an all-out assault on women's rights while they have control of the majority of state legislatures, the House and a determined minority in the Senate. The GOP's presidential candidates are promising to join it if they get elected. We can't let them succeed.

Will Durst, 2/17/12

Political comic, former radio talk show host, syndicated columnist, author, motivational speaker

Don't mean to overreact and risk boosting everybody's blood pressure, but this might be a halfway decent time to seek out a nice safe steel bunker to hunker down in, because it's awards season and heavy metal statuettes are being tossed around like dimes at a county fair.

Robert Naiman, 2/17/12

Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy

Sponsors of the Lieberman resolution deny that it is an "authorization for military force," and in a legal, technical sense, they are absolutely correct: it is not a legal authorization for military force. But it is an attempt to enact a political authorization for military force.

Cheryl Saban Ph.D., 2/17/12

Author and advocate for women and children

When love comes into your life, and you feel it in your bones, nurture it and cultivate it, because it is something we all long for, and we want it at every age.

Kyle Rabin, 2/17/12

Program Director, GRACE Communications Foundation

What originated as an industry term (fraccing or fracking) has been co-opted by opponents to hydraulic fracturing much to the industry's chagrin. Industry would love to turn back time and bury that word in a place no one will find it. But the genie is out of the bottle.

Chris Weigant, 2/17/12

Political writer and blogger at ChrisWeigant.com

The line between certain types of comedy and the political/media world should be brighter than ever. This is a lesson Dana Milbank of the Washington Post apparently has yet to learn.

Emily McConnell, 2/17/12

Senior, Penn State

Tomorrow, the energies of Penn State University will be devoted to one thing. This is the real Penn State; this is who, "We Are."

David Wild, 2/17/12

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

As Whitney Houston's family and loved ones gather to remember and to mourn her this weekend, here are the songs that I will listen to as I remember a woman who brought so much love and solace to millions around the world with a voice that will likely outlive us all.

Jon Chattman, 2/17/12

Published Author, thecheappop.com/asidesmusic.com founder, Blogger

Gary Carter was among the best catchers in Major League Baseball history, but, for me, he'll always be the man that took the time to respond to my Bar Mitzvah invitation.