Mary Mapes, 9/21/11

Veteran TV reporter, on the team that broke the Abu Ghraib scandal

Our system, too often, is as fundamentally unfair as we are -- as cruel as any one person can be, as riddled with hypocrisy, confusion and mistakes. Tonight, as prayers are delivered and hopes are dashed, we should resolve to finally do something about our addiction to execution.

Bob Cesca, 9/21/11

Producer, Editor of BobCesca.com

Rick Perry's new video is a fantastic example of the Republican capacity to obfuscate the truth and win supporters in spite of flagrantly lying to them. They're able to get away with whopper lies so massive, they're almost hilariously off the rails.

Alisha L. Gordon, M.Ed., 9/21/11

Founder of "Finding the Pieces", Speaker, and Teacher

As a native of Georgia, Decatur to be specific, I mourn for us. We've taken some steps back in our progression; there's a silent, suffocating fear that is hovering over our state.

Dr. Peggy Drexler, 9/21/11

Author, 'Our Fathers Ourselves. Daughters, Fathers, And The Changing American Family'

Note to Michele Bachmann. Here's a suggestion from someone you will never invite to lunch. What if you used your presence to speak for women who so far have been invisible and irrelevant to the message planners? These are real issues out there. What have you got to lose?

Jeffrey Sachs, 9/21/11

Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia U. Author of "The Price of Civilization"

Obama may be leaning against the right-wing juggernaut, but he is not changing its direction, only slightly blunting its force. He has already given in where it counts by agreeing with the Republicans in August to slash the core of the discretionary civilian budget.

Evelyn Leopold, 9/21/11

Veteran reporter at the United Nations

The question is whether the onus would be put on the U.S. to cast a veto and why the Palestinians would want to put Washington on the spot when there is nothing to gain and much to lose.

David Katz, M.D., 9/20/11

Director, Yale Prevention Research Center

The ethical case against eating animals generally originates with our place in the animal kingdom. We are, of course, animals.

Mark Cuban, 9/21/11

Owner, Dallas Mavericks; Chairman, HDNet

Our Congress has progressively lost the moral hazard of doing what is right for the country rather than doing what is right for the party and politician.

Richard Attias, 9/21/11

Founder, The New York Forum

Despite many difficulties, there is plenty of evidence of brilliance and innovation in the field of education.

Alon Ben-Meir, 9/21/11

Senior Fellow, NYU's Center for Global Affairs

In the past, I have opposed the Palestinian move to unilaterally seek UN recognition of their state, but at this late hour the only way to avoid what will be an unprecedented period of uncertainty is for the United States and the European Union to lead the way.

Chris Weigant, 9/21/11

Political Writer and Blogger at ChrisWeigant.com

Previous to her announcement, three polls put her 9-to-19 points behind Brown. Now, the one statewide poll out since her announcement shows her popularity spiking dramatically.

John Wellington Ennis, 9/21/11

Filmmaker, "PAY 2 PLAY"

Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Grameen Bank, which started out by offering small loans to Bangladesh's poor women to help encourage self-enterprise and foster community development.

David Crosby, 9/21/11

Singer-songwriter and social justice activist

Lets go through it again, shall we? We'll keep it simple, and not even wander into the economics of it. Human beings make mistakes. Therefore, having humans run devices that can kill literally millions of people is a mistake. A bad idea.

Randy Turner, 9/21/11

English teacher in Joplin, Missouri

If Secretary of Education Arne Duncan steps into my 8th grade classroom when he visits tornado-stricken Joplin, he will have an opportunity to see a man-made disaster that he made possible.

Russell Simmons, 9/21/11

Founder of GlobalGrind.com

A man, a black American man, Troy Davis, is about to be killed in Georgia tonight even though there is reasonable doubt about his guilt.

Jennifer Gauvain, 9/21/11

Author, How Not To Marry The Wrong Guy

We can rationalize anything. But when we talk ourselves into dating the wrong guy or girl -- that's where the potential for lifelong heartache begins.

Michael Shank, 9/21/11

Conflict Analyst

That the economics of peace have had such a hard time prevailing in policy conversations is, in part, because the dominant language, lobbies, and learning environments are all geared toward the mechanics of war.

Trina Read, 9/21/11

Relationship and sexual health expert

At least once a year media grabs the next "is the sexual morality of our young women in peril?" headline and runs with it. Unfortunately, this results in yet another young generation of women who suffer the burden of carrying a ton of shame about their sexuality for the rest of their lives.

Marianne Schnall, 9/21/11

Writer/Interviewer

I want these young women to have the confidence that whatever they have been doing will prepare them in a very unique way for the challenges ahead. There's no one like them.

Tavis Smiley, 9/21/11

PBS talk show host, PRI radio host

Charles Gasparino, 9/21/11

Fox Business Network contributor; Author, 'Bought and Paid For'

Wall Street's foul mood is all about money: Three years after the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman, and the taxpayer-financed bailouts of Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, it isn't allowed to return to old ways of making money.

Scott Mendelson, 9/21/11

Film Critic

Moneyball is undoubtedly a success. It's a darn good movie about an interesting subject that honors its subject matter without inflating its importance. It's not a grand-slam home-run hitter, but it does reliably get on base.

Will Marshall, 9/20/11

President and Founder, Progressive Policy Institute

Why are Palestinians devoting their diplomatic energies to scoring purely symbolic points at Turtle Bay?

Marcia Sirota, 9/21/11

Psychiatrist

Maybe some people like to feel superior by laughing at the characters on these shows, but by choosing to waste their time on such drivel, they inadvertently demonstrate their own lack of discernment.