Richard C. Levin

President of Yale University

We leave together. You leave Yale College after four years; I leave the Yale Presidency after twenty. I find myself thinking about a Grateful Dead song written in 1970, the year I came to Yale as a graduate student. You know the words: "Lately it occurs to me, what a long, strange trip it's been." It's been a long trip, but, for us, more wonderful than strange.

Barbra Streisand

Singer; Actress; Director; Composer; Activist

Sometimes in the face of national tragedy, politics should take a backseat. The hypocrisy of turning Benghazi into a deliberate cover-up scandal is preposterous at a time when the nation faces so many serious problems.

Ricky Gervais

Actor, writer, comedian, director, producer

I'm proudest of the fact that it was just another experiment that got out of hand -- The Ricky Gervais Show Series Three was released on DVD this week. To celebrate this final chapter I thought I'd tell the lovely readers of The Huffington Post the story of how we got here...

Jamie Lee Curtis

Actress and children's book author

Angelina Jolie's revelation today, done with eloquence and dignity and grace, is remarkable both in its message and its import to the world of women. Pro-action.

Tracy Morgan

Actor

Growing up in the hood surrounded by a lot of poverty, music was one of the only things that made people feel good. That's why we need music and arts. We've got to put instruments in young people's hands because that's the kind of thing that really touches the soul.

Marian Wright Edelman

President, Children's Defense Fund

On this 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Children's Crusade it is a time to remember, honor, and follow the example of the children who were frontline soldiers and transforming catalysts in America's greatest moral movement of the 20th century.

David Bromwich

Professor of Literature at Yale

Different as they are, the scandals all point to a single disorder that afflicts the Obama White House and the Holder justice department. The name of the disorder is paternalism, and its leading symptoms are suppression and secrecy.

Salma Hayek Pinault

Actress, Co-founder of Chime for Change

In the information age, there are no innocent bystanders. We all share in everything that happens. But that means we also have the chance, the ability, and the responsibility, to right what is wrong. We can be defined not just by what we know, but by what we do.

Jason Alexander

Actor

Good men and women in the Middle East are struggling for their futures, their dignities, and their security. We have a role to play, no matter how small. I have taken a part, but this cast is large. And the players need you. It is a great story. You really shouldn't miss it.

Kate Flannery

Actress, The Office

Everyone keeps asking what I am going to do now that The Office is ending. I liberated myself on live radio by simply saying, "I'm gonna kill myself."

Landon Donovan

Professional Soccer Player

I recall distinctly the moment we received the news that my father had been diagnosed with skin cancer; it's not the kind of thing you forget easily. The bump on his eyelid that worsened quickly was more than just a bump, it was something that had the potential to change our lives.

Dr. Peggy Drexler

Author, research psychologist and gender scholar

While men seem to welcome the existence of dual income households, and marriages marked by (mostly) shared responsibilities, there's a hitch: The guys still want to be the primary breadwinner. That is, she can bring home the bacon, so long as it's not all of it.

Geoffrey R. Stone

Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago

I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU, a strong proponent of press freedom and a staunch believer in both a robust First Amendment and a vibrant Fourth Amendment. But I also care about rational public discourse, and the furious condemnation of the Department of Justice in this situation is way over the top.

Marlo Thomas

Award-winning actress, author and activist

As an adult, it can be hard to meet new people and start new relationships -- especially after a divorce, after the kids are grown, after being laid off or becoming a widow. But it may not be as hard as you think to make new friends in mid-life and beyond.

John Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State

Our warming planet means the Arctic's ecosystem is experiencing significant, rapid shifts with far-reaching consequences. All of the changes in the Arctic must change the way we approach the region.

Christina Huffington

It's important for younger women to see that success does not prevent mental health issues and that mental health issues do not prohibit success.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

U.S. Senator from New York

The scourge of sexual violence in the military should be intolerable to all Americans and it's time to bring it to an end once and for all. We must commit ourselves not just to a zero tolerance policy, but we need to get to a point of zero occurrence.

Raffi Cavoukian

Troubadour, Author

Imposters, predators and porn sites lurk in the shadows on the Information Superhighway and all too easily lure unsuspecting users. Can we regulate and inspire a digital code of conduct that rewards our highest inclinations and enables connecting for the greatest good?

Bonnie Tyler

Singer, British entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013

So here we are: I'm going to be flying the flag for the United Kingdom at the 58th Eurovision Song Contest this year in Malmo, Sweden. And what's more -- I am completely honoured to do it!

Josh Silver

Director, Represent.Us

We have to create the conditions where politicians representing their constituents is "normal." And even if we do, all politicians will not suddenly become enlightened. It just means we'll have a better chance that the actual needs of society will more frequently be met by the actions of its government.

Sec. Kathleen Sebelius

Secretary of Health and Human Services

Today, for nearly the 40th time since it's been the law of the land, House Republicans staged yet another repeal vote in their latest attempt to turn back the clock on progress and deny Americans health insurance coverage they can count on.

Leo W. Gerard

International President, United Steelworkers

Republicans want to kill the government that accomplished that. They want to go back to Downton Abbey days. The rich stay rich; the poor stay servants.

Diane Lane

Actress

Needless suffering and death can be avoided if women are invested in and valued culturally for more than just their reproductive capacity.

Jim Wallis

Christian leader for social change; Author, 'On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good'

Violence against women is the most prevalent and the most hidden injustice in our world today. It's time for all people of faith to be outraged. It's time for our Christian leaders to stand up and say that women, made in the very image of God, deserve better.

Sen. Barbara Boxer

U.S. Senator from California; Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee

Efforts to manufacture a controversy surrounding this tragedy are not only disingenuous, they are dangerous because they take our eye off the ball and divert attention from where it should be: protecting the American people and those who bravely serve our country overseas.

Danny Rubin

Managing Editor, News To Live By

You're halfway through the most formative decade of your life. You don't need all the answers, but you must keep asking questions. Start with this one: what's something new that I can learn right now?

Maria Cuomo Cole

Leading Advocate for the Homeless, Victims of Domestic Violence and At-Risk Youth

On this Mother's Day, it is hard not to feel inspired and hopeful by the robust and sophisticated grassroots movement building of moms across America who have organized to fight for safer gun law legislation.

Mark E. Robson, M.D.

Attending Physician, Clinic Director, Clinical Genetics Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

I have been involved in research in this area for 17 years, since shortly after BRCA1 and BRCA2 were discovered, and I have no idea what I would do if I were a woman faced with this decision. The diagnosis of a mutation is just words on paper, but the risks they foreshadow are very real.

Rebecca Saxe

Associate Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, MIT

Cooperating in large groups is a signature accomplishment of the human brain: Among similar species, we are remarkably good at working together and negotiating our differences.