Mattea Kramer and Jo Comerford

It's 2023 -- and this is America 10 years after the first across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration went into effect.

Geoffrey R. Stone

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

Striking the right balance between the government's legitimate need for confidentiality, the press's legitimate need to obtain information about government action, and the public's "right to know" what its representatives are up to, is a difficult and delicate task.

Bill Rosendahl

Los Angeles City Council member for the 11th District

I walking more freely and faster without assistance. I can sit longer than five minutes without pain. I'm getting pretty close to feeling like the old Bill Rosendahl.

Jesse Lava

Campaign Director at Brave New Foundation

Policymakers hoping to find meaningful offsets to fund disaster aid will have look at: 1) Where there's a lot of money, 2) where the spending is unjustifiable, and 3) where the politics and public opinion are conducive to allowing cuts, since there are very few areas in which that's true.

Mark R. Kennedy

Professor of political management and director of the Graduate School of Political Management, George Washington University

Lost in the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations' skewering of Apple CEO Tim Cook is the major point: the United States' decision to stand alone in taxing foreign earnings disadvantages American companies and American workers.

Paul Abrams

Last person on Earth not on Facebook

Ending oil industry subsidies to pay for clean-up and restitution from a climate catastrophe feels fitting. It will raise the money to satisfy Coburn, and make a point that cannot be overemphasized.

Jared Bernstein

Fmr. Obama administration economist; CNBC and MSNBC contributor

One common argument is that while Keynesians rightly call for temporary deficit spending to offset private sector contractions, politicians ignore the temporary part.

Rob Brooks

Evolutionary biologist and author

Entitled "The Ancestral Logic of Politics," a paper published last week in Psychological Science explored the link between male upper-body strength and assertion of economic self-interest. The link between what and what? Exactly.

Matt Baume

Writer, online strategist and video producer, American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER)

Marriage equality is on a winning streak, and it may not be over yet: Illinois may soon join Rhode Island, Delaware and Minnesota in passing marriage legislation before the start of summer. But time is running out: The Illinois legislature has just until the end of this month to pass its bill.

Donald Carr

Senior Advisor, Environmental Working Group

The second most heavily subsidized farmer in Congress said Washington should not "steal" from taxpayers to support food assistance like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- better known as food stamps.

Charles Moore

Author, Margaret Thatcher: The Authorized Biography

Mrs Thatcher came to realize that Reagan's strengths and mental abilities were very different from her own, but she never lost her underlying admiration for him.

Marc H. Morial

President and CEO, National Urban League

There is no doubt that the opportunity to re-elect America's first black president contributed to record black turnout last year. But, no matter who is on the ballot in 2014 and 2016, we must continue to exercise our voice. We must continue to exercise our vote.

Kassie Siegel

Director, Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute

If the Obama Administration wants to provide any real protection for our air, water and climate, Secretary Jewell should withdraw these regulations a second time and go back to the drawing board.

Alisa Wellek

Deputy Director, Immigrant Defense Project

The current immigration bill falls short of overhauling our broken immigration system. The heart of the bill is clearly the pathway to citizenship, but what's missing from the conversation is the number of individuals who will actually be barred from this path.

Jennifer D. Stephens

Captain, Ohio Army National Guard

This weekend my Battalion tossed the Army-provided training out the window and instead chose to play the documentary The Invisible War. What played out that Sunday morning was the single most amazing experience I have had in my 10 year military career.

Craig Aaron

President and CEO, Free Press

As a consummate industry insider and elite rainmaker, it's really no surprise that Wheeler is getting this job. More surprising perhaps is that so many people with public interest bona fides seem to think he's such a good choice.

Fred Karger

President, Rights Equal Rights

In 2007 and 2008, its first two years of existence, NOM never bothered to file any tax returns with the IRS. Each subsequent year, NOM has either been late or filed at least two extensions on its tax returns. This is illegal if you are a 501(c)(3) or a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt organization like NOM.