Richard (RJ) Eskow, 1/27/12

Consultant, Writer and Senior Fellow, Campaign for America's Future

The GOP presidential candidates continue to play their parts in an implausible story of a world that could never exist, acting out nonexistent conflicts while delivering dialog that insults the intelligence. That's not because they're stupid. It's because they think you are.

Steven Weber, 1/27/12

Actor, wise-ass

The stream of regularly refuted garbage churned up in the AEI think tanks and Fox newsrooms for confusion's sake is spewed everyday into our culture and subsequently, Twitter. How difficult is it to keep your head straight when you're paranoid and threatened? Oh, very.

Evan Shapiro, 1/27/12

President, IFC

Each year, there are a few great films that get Park City buzz, only to disappear into a sea of megaplexes and blockbusters. I submit that many of these would have fared better on TV

Seth Shostak, 1/27/12

Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

In a movie it's important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be "read" by humans. But come on! Are two eyes, four appendages and an upright posture really essential?

Mark B. Salomon, 1/27/12

New York University law student

The courage to act, even when the world remains silent, is a powerful lesson. Sugihara was not alone; others acted to save lives, often at great personal risk or suffering the ultimate penalty of death.

Margaret Weinberg, 1/25/12

17-year-old high school senior in Vermont

Throughout my childhood social studies classes, I was told that we study history so we can learn from our mistakes and successes. To not pursue space exploration is to spit in the face of this lesson.

Francine Shapiro, Ph.D., 1/27/12

Director, EMDR Institute; Senior Research Fellow, Mental Research Institute; Founder, EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs

Now, a new generation comes home from wars that have gone on for a decade, often with no clear sense of victory. For those who have managed to return physically unscathed, how many carry memories of pain that also leave them feeling alienated and unable to communicate?

Daisy Khan, 1/27/12

Executive Director, American Society for Muslim Advancement

Commissioner Kelly's own actions have proven that he is deeply committed to reaching out to Muslims, and I know that the NYPD is capable of turning the tide from animosity and suspicion to respect and cooperation.

Dan Glickman, 1/27/12

Executive Director Congressional Programs, Aspen Institute; Senior Fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center.

Super PACs only serve to enrich broadcasters and worse, relentlessly assault Americans with negativity and the ugly side of politics.

Marshall Fine, 1/27/12

Author and film critic, hollywoodandfine.com

The Grey is gruesome at times, but it's also involving emotionally, as the puny mortals reveal themselves to each other in the face of something as insurmountable as the frigid Alaskan outback.

Allen Frances, 1/27/12

Professor Emeritus, Duke University

Grief is the normal and absolutely unavoidable price we must pay for having the capacity to love -- it is most certainly not a disease.

Jonathan Miller, 1/27/12

TheRecoveringPolitician.com

Accordingly, my support for gay marriage and legalized marijuana is not reliant on an "anything goes" worldview, but rather that these policies would fundamentally strengthen society and better address its public moral needs. The same holds true for my philosophy toward gambling.

David Alexander Bullock, 1/27/12

President, NAACP - Highland Park; President, Rainbow PUSH Detroit Chapter

In a crisis, people look for a hero. We have been trained to believe that our deliverance can only be found in the one man or woman. The trouble with this way of thinking is that it is unrealistic.

Ward Carroll, 1/27/12

Editor, Military.com

Army Sgt. First Class Leroy Petry was just over a month into his sixth war deployment when he got the nod to be part of a daylight raid to capture a "high value" Taliban leader.

Kenneth Slawenski, 1/27/12

Author

The author, who was famous for demanding control over every detail of his work while living, is still in control. Two years on, we are no closer to cementing Salinger's legacy than we were on the day that he died.

Jason Linkins, 1/26/12

Editor, Eat the Press

As Friedman bops from one global aerie to the next, absorbing the latest sweet whispers from the mesmeric elites he encounters, there's never a reason to end the pep rally. Everything just looks amazing once you're ahead of the curve.

Robert Leahy, Ph.D., 1/27/12

Director, American Institute for Cognitive Therapy in New York City

If you are like me you have found yourself putting off things to do that you know would be good to get done. We procrastinate on exercise, getting the taxes done, cleaning the house, making that phone call and getting our work done.

Jared Gutstadt, 1/27/12

CEO, Jingle Punks Music

From a marketing standpoint, a good theme song is a home run. Branding wrapped in a memorable, stick-in-your-head melody? That's a priceless commodity in a TV landscape littered with noise and copycat ideas.

Napoleon Perdis, 1/27/12

Makeup artist

I've been living the desert dream lately, channeling my alter ego of a 'desert rat' in Palm Springs where I am lucky enough to have a home.

Laura Prudom, 1/27/12

Associate Television Editor, The Huffington Post

Ramiro was born without ears, prompting doctors to predict that he would never be able to hear or speak. Thankfully, he's able to do both, as well as sing ... Compared to some of the duds we've been subjected to this week, he could be a Grammy winner.

Motohisa Furukawa, 1/27/12

Japanese Economic Minister

Equilibrium between the economy, society and the environment must be viewed as complementary rather than a trade-off. This is not a zero-sum game.

Wendy Kopp and Muhammad Yunus, 1/27/12

Peter Davis, 1/26/12

Academy Award-winning filmmaker, author and journalist

This month something happened to me that had never happened before. Absolutely unprecedented. It may be accurate to say that what happened to me is infinitely preferable to the alternative. I turned seventy-five.

Evelyn Leopold, 1/26/12

Journalist reporting from the United Nations

A lengthy solitary confinement can cause serious mental and physical damage and be considered torture, according to Juan Mendez, the United Nations rapporteur into torture.