John Cusack, 01/14/13

Makes films

Recently, I sat down with George Washington Law School professor and constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley and my close friend Kevin McCabe to discuss WikiLeaks' impact on transparency, the government's response, and the comparison to the Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.

Peter Farrelly, 01/14/13

Writer/director

What happened to driving in a car and just looking out the window? Your kids are giving up the entire physical world for this narcissistic/sychophantic/addictive need to follow someone or see who's following them.

Matthew Modine, 01/14/13

Actor, Activist, Filmmaker, Humanist

As a nation we cannot be shackled to an archaic Second Amendment which is being shielded by a minority of Americans that demand the right to use weapons that are continually killing citizens across our country.

Laurie David, 01/14/13

Producer, author, NRDC Trustee

Enough is enough. Beyoncé's Pepsi deal was a serious lapse of judgment. And the White House tarnishes its own "brand" by selecting her to sing the national anthem at the inauguration, unwittingly boosting the beverage industry that is helping to drive the obesity epidemic.

Michael B. Keegan, 01/14/13

President, People for the American Way

Bachmann and the Tea Party have proven time and again that they don't take the business of governing seriously. Boehner and his fellow Republican leaders should stop pretending like they do.

Jeff Jarvis, 01/14/13

Author, 'Public Parts' and 'What Would Google Do?'

Reporters and editors used to decide what was to be made public. No longer. More and more, the public decides what will be public... and that's as it should be.

Keli Goff, 01/14/13

Author and political correspondent, TheRoot.com

A google search of "I hate Lena Dunham" now produces more than a million results, which is quite a lot for someone who entered the public conscious less than a year ago. The question is why?

Daniel Ellsberg, 01/13/13

Former American military analyst who sparked a national uproar in 1971.

The mystique of secrecy in the universe of national security, even beyond the formal apparatus of classification and clearances, is a compelling deterrent to whistleblowing and thus to effective resistance to gravely wrongful or dangerous policies.

Michael Hogan, 01/14/13

Executive Arts and Entertainment Editor, The Huffington Post Media Group

By the time Oscar night rolls around, we hope that our model will feature the most reliable picks anywhere -- supplementing the educated guesswork that constitutes most efforts at awards prognostication. (I say supplementing, not supplanting, because we are, after all, avid fans and practitioners of such guesswork.)

Eric Boehlert, 01/14/13

Senior Fellow, Media Matters for America

All the right-wing chatter today about how Obama's following Hitler's lead by allegedly voiding the Second Amendment only adds fuel to an unwanted fire.

Robert P. Stoker, 01/14/13

Associate professor of political science, public policy and public administration, George Washington University

Although Obama has considered the chained CPI, he has also advocated raising the FICA tax cap. His proposal does not go far enough to preserve Social Security. A better alternative is to expand the tax base, not merely by increasing the FICA tax cap but by taxing other income sources.

Maureen Ryan, 01/14/13

TV critic, The Huffington Post

Jodie Foster wittily surveyed her career and broached the topic of her sexual orientation in front of millions of people (even if she never said the words "gay" or "lesbian," her meaning was clear).

Tom Engelhardt, 01/14/13

Editor, TomDispatch.com

While the administration is pledging to try to curb the wholesale spread of ever more powerful weaponry at home, what is it doing about the same issue abroad where it has so much more power to pursue the agenda it prefers?

D.L. Hughley, 01/14/13

Actor and stand-up comedian

This is why it is so difficult to have a national conversation on guns in this country. One side is interested in reasonable solutions. The other side is interested in living in a delusional fantasyland where President Obama is a Marxist, a Nazi, a Kenyan and now, apparently, King George.

Robert Kuttner, 01/13/13

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

On budget issues, Obama has been just dismal. One can only conclude that he is in bed with the wrong people -- those who believe that the road to prosperity is through austerity.

Michelangelo Signorile, 01/14/13

Editor-at-large, HuffPost Gay Voices

Whatever you thought of last night, you'd have to agree that it was another indication of how it's becoming harder and harder for anyone in public life to have any real credibility and still be living in the closet.

Doug Kendall, 01/14/13

Founder and President, Constitutional Accountability Center

The Takings Clause made national news last week with the spectacle of AIG playing Hamlet in debating whether "to sue, or not to sue" the federal government over the terms of the company's bailout -- a rather backhanded way of thanking American taxpayers for keeping the company from bankruptcy in 2008.

Robert Creamer, 01/14/13

Political Organizer, Strategist, Author; Partner Democracy Partners

It is of course true that in politics the perception of power translates into the reality of power. The problem is that once it becomes clear that you're all hat and no cattle, the myth of power rapidly collapses into a pile of dust. That is exactly what is happening to the NRA.

Yoni Freedhoff M.D. , 01/14/13

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa

While I personally find The Biggest Loser to be an emotionally and physically abusive, misinformative, horror show, it's clearly beloved and trusted by many. And while my personal opinions shouldn't concern you, the peer-reviewed medical literature should.

Michael Smerconish, 01/14/13

Radio host

Why was it so difficult to avoid the fiscal cliff? Especially when, in the end, Congress couldn't salvage a grand bargain à la Simpson-Bowles, but instead settled for a quick fix?

Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, 01/14/13

Big Money, as Krugman writes in his book, buys Big Influence. And that's why the financiers of Wall Street never truly experience regime change -- their cash brings both political parties to heel.

Deb Baer, 01/14/13

Entertainment writer and editor

A lot of people will say that it was up to her when and where to come out, and they're absolutely right, but that still doesn't mean she wasn't a coward, and it doesn't change the fact that she could have helped millions of people by coming out years ago.

Michael Brenner, 01/14/13

Senior Fellow, the Center for Transatlantic Relations; Professor of International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh

The intellectual doldrums stultifying American foreign policy create incentive to take the initiative; they at the same time resist any deviation from the inertial course.

Leo W. Gerard, 01/14/13

International President, United Steelworkers

If America can't manufacture No. 2 pencils, how long will it be before it can't manufacture ballistic missiles? Maybe that's the pitchfork manufacturing workers need to prod politicians to deal with middle class job uncertainty.

Jordan Schultz, 01/13/13

The Huffington Post's sports columnist, The Schultz Report

Seattle Seahawks rookie quarterback Russell Wilson pulled off the greatest playoff comeback since 1957 ... and lost.

Bill Frezza, 01/14/13

Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute; Venture Partner, Adams Capital Management

There it was in the recent Fiscal Cliff deal -- more tax breaks for windmills, electric cars, biodiesel, algae (algae?!), and of course 14 different flavors of ethanol. How many failures will it take before progressives wake up to the fact that they are being sold a bill of goods?

Lawrence Lessig, 01/13/13

Author, 'Republic, Lost'; Founder, Rootstrikers

The billions of snippets of sadness and bewilderment spinning across the Net confirm who this amazing boy Aaron Swartz was to all of us. It angers me that he did what he did. But if we're going to learn from this, we can't let slide what brought him here.

Sheila Quirke, 01/12/13

Mary Tyler Mom

Forgetting that you still have much to learn is the fast track to aging.

Ted Danson and Andrew Sharpless, 01/13/13

The Department of the Interior must reassess its decisions that allowed Shell to proceed with its plans to drill in such a harsh but ecologically-sensitive area of the world.