Keith Boykin, 07/16/12

CNBC contributor, MSNBC commentator and former White House aide

After all the Republicans have done to coarsen the political rhetoric, they have little or no credibility to complain about negative campaign attacks now. The Republican attack machine has come back to haunt itself.

Charles Ferguson, 07/16/12

Director of the Wall Street documentary 'Inside Job'; Author of 'Predator Nation'

Over the past two decades, the financial services industry has become a pervasively unethical and highly criminal industry, with massive fraud tolerated or even encouraged by senior management. But how did that happen?

Caryl Rivers, 07/15/12

Professor of Journalism, Boston University

New York Times columnist David Brooks may not realize it, but when he recently bemoaned the state of American boys, he joined a long line of despairing worriers about American manhood. Worrying about boys is an older American pastime than baseball.

Robert Kuttner, 07/15/12

Co-founder and co-editor, 'The American Prospect'

You may have noticed news items that a company called Mortgage Resolution Partners (MRP) is proposing to have strapped localities use the public power of eminent domain to deal with the problem of underwater mortgages.

Al Franken, 07/16/12

U.S. Senator from Minnesota

The DISCLOSE Act doesn't limit how much money individuals or corporations can spend on independent expenditures. All it does is require that this spending be disclosed publicly.

Amber Peach, 07/16/12

Adult film actress

In the age of Obamacare, will porn stars finally have the security of health insurance, or will they get the shaft like they have so many times before?

Dean Baker, 07/16/12

Co-director, CEPR; author, 'The End of Loser Liberalism: Making Markets Progressive'

Ever since the housing bubble collapsed, the Federal government has refused to take major initiatives to help underwater homeowners. As a result, we are likely to see close to one million foreclosures both this year and next, with the numbers only gradually slipping back to normal levels by the end of the decade.

Marty Kaplan, 07/16/12

Director, Norman Lear Center and Professor at the USC Annenberg School

Until I saw sixteen hot North Korean chicks singing "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" to Kim Jong-un, the strangest video that I'd ever seen of a head of state enjoying a performance was Pope Benedict XVI watching four ripped acrobats strip off their shirts and put on a show.

Anna Deavere Smith, 07/16/12

Actress and playwright

Art is thought to be inspirational. I think of it as aspirational. It sings what cannot be said. Priscilla Dewey Houghton understood in her veins that art comes from the people and must always be given back to the people.

Sen. Tom Harkin, 07/16/12

Democratic Senator from Iowa

Today, in my role as chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, I am releasing a report urging Congress, the Administration, the business community, and society at large to make the issue of disability employment a national priority.

Rhiana Maidenberg, 07/16/12

Writer, wife, and mother of toddlers

Like all parents, I have many hopes and dreams for my girls. I want them to have rich, fulfilling lives. However, I also want them to make mistakes and learn from their missteps.

David Wild, 07/16/12

TV Writer; Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone; Co-Author, 'Diary of a Player"'

Here's a playlist of previously released records meant to encourage Mitt Romney to come clean and release his own tax records. I also call upon Mitt Romney to release all of his other records too -- I'm thinking maybe there are a few Carpenters albums and a Mormon Tabernacle Choir box set.

Janet Tavakoli, 07/16/12

President, Tavakoli Structured Finance

Questions swirl around the character and timing of Dimon's disclosures to shareholders. His public estimates of losses have been a fraction of reality, and it raises the issue of whether he has materially misled stockholders.

Chris Weigant, 07/16/12

Political writer and blogger at ChrisWeigant.com

The team of people working diligently to re-elect Barack Obama should really, right about now, be sending a big "thank you" note to none other than Karl Rove -- for providing them the playbook they are now using to maximum effect on Mitt Romney.

Joseph Bobrow, 07/16/12

Founder and president, Coming Home Project

The epidemic of military and veteran suicides requires action on multiple levels. But our strongest ally in this fight is hidden in plain sight -- the most powerful motivator for service members and veterans -- their love for, and the love of, their buddies. We need to mobilize it immediately.

George Lakoff and Elisabeth Wehling, 07/16/12

To establish male control in family life, both conservative Republicans and the Catholic Church propose taking a metaphor literally, that A Fertilized Egg Is A Person. Taking the metaphor literally allows for the claim that preventing abortions constitutes saving lives.

Leo W. Gerard, 07/16/12

International President, United Steelworkers

Casper's airy little fist packed no wallop when it came to impeding high-risk betting on Wall Street, the LIBOR lending rate manipulation or the disappearance of client money at MFGlobal. There's a much better way than Casper to catch a bankster: pay them to turn each other in.

Dr. Josef Olmert, 07/16/12

Adjunct Professor, University of South Carolina

It has been in the making, as consistently predicted in this blog, and now it is finally happening. The Sunni uprising against the Alawite-dominated regime of Bashar Assad is fast approaching the point of decision.

Abby Huntsman, 07/16/12

Political Commentator and Host for HuffPost Live

If one has nothing to hide, why not release a set of comprehensive records (Romney reportedly, after all, provided the McCain campaign with 20 years of returns when being vetted for VP)? The answer is simple -- Mitt Romney must have something to hide.

Lloyd I. Sederer, MD, 07/16/12

Medical director, New York State Office of Mental Health

For those scores of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of individuals world-wide who suffer the consequences of unchecked compulsive behaviors, there is hope; there are alternatives.

Michael Shaw, 07/16/12

Publisher of BagNewsNotes, topping LIFE.com's 2011 Best Photo Blogs

With Obama campaigning like it's October, the photos of Prez in the rain in Virginia on Saturday drew plenty of buzz. For a day, at least, it felt like the return of "yes we can."

Dan Collins, 07/16/12

New York Editor-at-Large, The Huffington Post

A party with fewer than 150,000 members is getting to call the shots on more and more issues. If the three Republicans who voted with Gov. Cuomo on the gay marriage law lose their nominations the Conservatives could make the next few years a nightmare.

Al Gore, 07/15/12

Chairman, Current TV

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has named over 1,000 counties in 26 states as disaster areas -- the largest declaration in history.

David Vine, 07/16/12

Assistant Professor of Anthropology, American University

Unknown to most Americans, Washington's garrisoning of the planet is on the rise, thanks to a new generation of bases called "lily pads." These are small, secretive, inaccessible facilities with limited numbers of troops, spartan amenities, and prepositioned weaponry and supplies.