OFF WITH THEIR HEADS
Voter Revolts In Europe Spook American Politicians

Bob Cesca, 05/16/12

Host of The Bob & Chez Show, Media Producer

Yes, there's a double-standard. And until there's full equality and the long slow process of racial healing is completed, the double-standard has to remain.

Valerie Jarrett, 05/16/12

Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement

A bill being considered in the House today seeks to roll back existing protection that keep women safe from the threat of violence. That is just plain wrong. Keeping women safe isn't about which political party you support -- it's about protecting basic human rights.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, 05/15/12

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

Uncertainty, even of the unusual variety, does not -- and should not -- translate into investor paralysis.

Dr. Peggy Drexler, 05/15/12

Author, 'Our Fathers, Ourselves. Daughters, Fathers, and the Changing American Family'

To a generation of current and future voters, Barack Obama has deftly offered a choice: a respectful and inclusive voice of the future; versus a schoolyard tormenter aligned with the intolerant voices of the past. Not bad for a community organizer.

James Franco, 05/16/12

Actor and author

Commencement speeches are the worst kind of speech, because you need to be enthusiastic and inspiring in your own voice. There is nothing cheesier than that.

Robert Reich, 05/16/12

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

Obama does have a choice. He can assail Romney's character but he can also take on the system that allows private-equity managers, as well as Wall Street's biggest banks, to continue to make huge profits at the expense of average Americans.

June Carbone and Naomi Cahn, 05/16/12

The idea of marriage held by those who are financially secure no longer fits large numbers of working-class couples who conceive children together. That's because the foundation for their relationships has been destroyed by the very people who accuse Obama of a war on marriage.

Lisa Belkin, 05/15/12

Senior Columnist on Life/Work/Family, Huffington Post

Can we look at a woman nursing and think "lunch"? We have learned to stop blushing at the sight of a pregnant woman. It's more than time to give nursing mothers the same break. 

Edward Zwick, 05/15/12

Film and television writer-director; serves on the advisory board of Global Witness

The battle the Kuy and Chut Wutty are fighting against the march of logging, plantations and mining companies into the forest of Cambodia holds an uncanny resemblance to the plot of Avatar. Except this is real-life. And the bullets are real.

Rick Reynolds, 05/14/12

LCSW and Founder of AffairRecovery.com

Do you know the signs of a social media affair?

David Beckmann, 05/14/12

President, Bread for the World

It's time for members of Congress to say they're going to do their part and support legislation that creates a circle of protection around programs that are vital to hungry and poor people.

Trey Ellis, 05/16/12

Novelist, Screenwriter, and Associate Professor at Columbia University

Either Romney doesn't understand the words coming out of his mouth, he's just pretending not to understand the words coming out of his mouth, or he's the worse businessman ever.

Mohammad Barry, 05/16/12

20-year-old activist from South Africa

Wearing an ''HIV positive'' T-shirt, I stood before the world -- specifically, in front of the nations hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic -- and asked politicians to remove the shroud of silence.

Frances Beinecke, 05/16/12

President, Natural Resources Defense Council

Today, NRDC announces the winners of the 2012 Growing Green Awards. These awards celebrate the farmers, business owners, and bold thinkers who are transforming America's food system.

Tom Hayden, 05/16/12

Former State Senator and leader of sixties peace, justice and environmental movement

Three years later, bin Laden is dead, the drones inflame Pakistan opinion and complicate a peace settlement, and 33,000 American troops are scheduled to pull out by the end of 2012 with "steady withdrawals" to continue after.

Suzanne Merkelson, 05/16/12

Web Editor, United Republic

The food and beverage industry has been relentless in Washington lately, more than doubling their spending in Washington during the past three years, completely outpacing public interest groups looking out for children's health.

Robert Walker, 05/16/12

President, Population Institute

John Beddington, the U.K.'s chief science adviser, three years ago gave a speech in which he warned that population growth, climate change, and the world's rising demand for food, energy, and water constituted a "perfect storm" that could destabilize the world by 2030, or sooner.

Sandy Thompson, 05/16/12

Global planning director, Young & Rubicam

When it comes to this generation they are not going to wait. They are not going to settle. They are not going to do 'the right thing'. They are going to do what works for them. Their journey is ongoing, and with it comes their stories.

Alex Layman, 05/16/12

Traveler, food lover, and avid sports fan

The IOC has done well to adapt to modern trends, adopting sports like snowboarding and BMX for the winter and summer games, respectively. With that said, here are five sports that should make their way into the Olympics sooner rather than later.

Ari Melber, 05/16/12

Correspondent, The Nation; Attorney

Conservatives are declaring that Obama's move has "backfired," while many Democrats keep straining to find a genuine conversion. This kind of debate misses the larger point.

Rob Lovelace, 05/16/12

Senior Fellow, Trade Union Sustainable Development Unit

The real test of any successful G8 summit is not a communiqué peppered with promises, but whether its commitments are kept. Many of us think the G8's leaders should be doing more at Camp David, but the least they can do is to finish what they have started.

Crystal Bell, 05/16/12

Associate Editor, HuffPost Entertainment

Glee has never been perfect. In fact, this season, it's been far from it. But just when you count them out, the New Directions have a way of winning you over again. Ladies and gentlemen, I think I'm a gleek again.

Iara Lee, 05/15/12

Activist and filmmaker

The fall of Bashar al-Assad is inevitable. But in order to ensure this outcome, the Syrian people must do so without resorting to the same violence that characterizes their opponent. The use of violence will represent a failure of the revolution and a victory for Bashar al-Assad.

Alan Grayson, 05/16/12

Former U.S. Congressman from Florida's 8th District

Why is this recession different from all other recessions? There is a simple answer: the austerity fetish. The bizarre notion that cutting is healing.