Howard Fineman, 12/4/11

Editorial Director, AOL Huffington Post Media Group

If only the congressional super committee held its secret deliberations in a booth at the Tune Inn, we would have a deal well before the third pitcher of Natty Boh was served.

Matt Damon and Gary White, 12/1/11

Even today, as solutions are known and available, lack of access to safe water and sanitation continues to claim more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.

Arianna Huffington, 12/2/11

Everyone in Washington now wants to be caught trying to do something about the jobs crisis. But what the country needs are leaders who will do more than just be caught trying. This isn't just about helping those in need; this is about helping keep our society strong.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, 12/1/11

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

American policymakers, together with their European counterparts, are realizing something that Japan has been experiencing for a while: It is very difficult to manage well an economy hobbled by structural impediments and balance sheet excesses.

Marlo Thomas, 12/1/11

Award-winning actress; Author; Activist

In case you need reminding from when you were a kid -- kids keep secrets from their parents. But there is one secret, for sure, that has to be brought out into the open... because it's killing them.

Dan McDermott, 12/5/11

Virginia newspaper publisher

Aside from the fact that he was classy, smart and a great writer, what really made Andy special to me was that he was one of the last of the people who were part of the beginning of television.

Bill Moyers, 12/2/11

Managing editor, Moyers & Company

Our politicians are little more than money launderers in the trafficking of power and policy -- fewer than six degrees of separation from the spirit and tactics of Tony Soprano.

Cristina Page, 12/4/11

Author, 'How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America'

Justin Bieber serves as an allegory for the way we treat American teens: leading them to temptation, unprotected and unprepared, and expecting more of them than we do of ourselves.

Van Jones, 12/4/11

President, RebuildtheDream.com; Author of NY Times bestseller, 'The Green-Collar Economy'

Today, tens of thousands of people all over the country will leave the big banks and move their money to community banks and credit unions, where people remember things like customer service and loyalty.

Tory Burch, 12/1/11

CEO/CCO, Tory Burch

"I love you Tory Burch, you closeted bling-loving Indian woman, you." This is how I first met comedian, television producer and writer Mindy Kaling.

David Frum, 12/2/11

Editor, FrumForum.com

To put it mildly, poverty alleviation has not been a Republican theme in the current cycle. To some degree, this is an understandable reaction to the disappointments of the Bush presidency. But what is understandable is not necessarily right.

Dylan Ratigan, 12/4/11

Host, MSNBC's 'The Dylan Ratigan Show'; Author, soon to be released 'Greedy Bastards'

If belief in the integrity of the Supreme Court frays, the Court's power will fray as well. This is in no one's interest. We need a system of justice, but a system of justice that serves all of us.

Dr. Andrew Weil, 12/4/11

Founder and director, The Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine

The dramatic rise in depression diagnoses over the last two decades is a great challenge to modern medicine. The reasons for the increase are complex, but one important theory deserves special consideration.

Erica Heller, 12/4/11

Author, 'Yossarian Slept Here, When Joseph Heller Was Dad, the Apthorp Was Home, and Life Was a Catch-22'

My father was not Hannibal Lecter crossed with Mussolini, as a few have apparently thought I've depicted him in my book. His teasing sometimes hit the wrong note, but I think half the time he said things simply because they were too clever to suppress.

Conrad Black, 12/3/11

Historian; Publisher; Author

After the persecution I have endured in the United States, I am now persona non grata there, and it is, as a place to live, patria non grata to me also. It has been six months since we left Palm Beach and I have not missed it for a moment.

Bernard-Henri Lévy, 12/3/11

French philosopher; Writer

There is sharia, and then there is sharia. And before going on and on about regression and glaciation, we would do well to know what we're talking about.

Taylor Trudon, 12/3/11

Assistant blog editor, The Huffington Post

We can hate on Kim for getting paid millions just for breathing or for her glossy, perfect hair, but we can't hate on her for wanting the same things as us.

Noel Gallagher, 12/4/11

Singer/Songwriter; Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Right at the end though a blonde lady got up on stage, gave me a kiss, handed me an envelope and gave me the internationally recognised look that means, "You must read this". Nice envelope. Gold. With 'NOEL. X' written on the front. So far, so good.

Ted Danson and Andrew Sharpless, 12/2/11

Instead of subsidizing oil companies that pollute our oceans and warm our planet, we ought to be investing in a clean energy future.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, 12/1/11

U.S. Senator from New York

As more and more LGBT couples are getting married and starting families, we have a great opportunity to place children without a family into happy homes, either by adoption or foster care.

Marcus Samuelsson, 12/1/11

Chef; Author

Melinda Gates, 12/2/11

Co-chair, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The fact that almost 8 million children still die each year highlights the tremendous amount of work that lies ahead. How will we continue to bring this number down?

Billy Graham, 12/1/11

Evangelist

In a sense all of us are nearing home, but we need to learn what it means to grow older, and with God's help, to grow older with grace and find the guidance to finish well.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, 12/2/11

Independent U.S. Senator from Vermont

One thing is abundantly clear: Americans deserve a Federal Reserve that works for them, not just the CEOs on Wall Street.