Robert Reich, 12/03/12

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

Democrats, here are eight principles to guide you in the coming showdown over the fiscal cliff.

Alice E. Vincent, 12/03/12

Editorial assistant for the Huffington Post UK blogs team

Fertility rights are hugely important. But what's happening in (nee) Middleton's middle shouldn't be up for public discussion. It's fantastic that another royal is on the way but it would be even better if the press could stop the speculation on how it's gestating for the next half year.

Liz Kozak, 12/02/12

Writer, Mom

Here are seven things I will surely not be doing during the most wonderful time of the year. Won't you not join me?

Dean Baker, 12/03/12

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

At a time when tens of millions of people are still unemployed, underemployed or out of the labor force altogether as a result of the fallout created by the collapse of the housing bubble, in Washington it is serious to argue that our biggest problem is that custodians at the VA hospitals are getting paid too much.

Gloria Horsley, 12/03/12

International Grief Expert

I revisit my seventeen-year-old son's death, and ponder what people said or did that seemed helpful and not so helpful.

Caitlyn Becker, 12/03/12

Associate Producer, HuffPost Live

I thought the clouds would part and the angels would descend with a Vera Wang gown. Reality? Not so much. No one ever tells you how to handle the purgatory between knowing you found The One and Saying I Do.

Thomas M. Menino, 12/03/12

Mayor of Boston

In Washington, "winning the 24-hour news cycle" is victory. You know what victory is for patients down the hall from me? Walking.

Nathan Gardels, 12/03/12

Editor, NPQ, Global Services of Los Angeles Times Syndicate/Tribune Media

Symbolically, the Oslo ceremonies are an historical turning point for Europe. By recognizing the European Union's peacemaking past, the Nobel Prize challenges Europe to escape once and for all the destructive pull of narrow national interests and passions.

Christina Patterson, 12/03/12

Writer and columnist, 'The Independent'

Daniel Radcliffe is, in fact, not just very nice, and very polite, and very hard-working, and very bright. He is also, I can finally tell him, and do, over a glass of wine for me, and a glass of water for him, at the drinks after the screening, a very good actor indeed.

Tavis Smiley, 12/03/12

PBS talk show host, PRI radio host

Now is the time to encourage the president to put poor people first. He can do that by delivering a major policy speech on eradicating poverty in America, and then convene this conference and push poverty to the top of his second term agenda.

Terry Gaspard, MSW, LICSW, 12/03/12

Licensed Clinical Social Worker and College Instructor

The breakup of a family may signify the loss of childhood for girls. These same girls may grow into womanhood and become particularly vulnerable to fears and anxieties about the future -- just as they are forming their own romantic relationships.

Mohamed A. El-Erian, 12/02/12

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

Television networks devoted much of their Sunday news shows to the fiscal cliff, reflecting the urgency and importance of the topic. So did you end up wasting precious weekend hours watching shows that just covered familiar old ground? No.

Dr. Logan Levkoff, 11/29/12

Sexologist and AASECT-certified sexuality educator

Pleasure (whether or not that leads to orgasm) is important. And you deserve it.

Robert J. Elisberg, 12/03/12

Screenwriter and columnist

Mitt Romney was not the problem for Republicans this year. In fact, he was the best candidate that Republicans had, by far. Seriously. Consider who was running for president in the Republican Party this year.

Darrin Hurwitz, 12/03/12

Assistant General Counsel, Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

By publicly raising the issue of the money gap, NOM's Brian Brown may have inadvertently touched on a new and significant development in the fight for LGBT equality: a steadily decreasing appetite among the right wing, especially among small donors, to support anti-LGBT initiatives.

Nate Leonard, 12/03/12

Center, University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Football

We finished 8-4 in just our second year of existence. This program is for real and we are here to stay. However, 8-4 won't be good enough next year and we are taking that mentality into the offseason. It's time, once again, to prepare 353 days for 12 Saturdays on the gridiron.

Gary Hart, 12/02/12

President, Hart International, Ltd.

If the filibuster rule continues to be abused in the Senate, little will be accomplished in the second Obama term. But proposed reform of the rule is not as simple as it looks from the outside.

Robert Kuttner, 12/02/12

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

It was Winston Churchill who said that you can always count on Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else. Obama, belatedly, is doing the right thing.

Richard (RJ) Eskow, 12/02/12

Writer; host, 'The Breakdown'; Senior Fellow, Campaign for America's Future

If Republicans refuse to negotiate from the White House proposal, they'll be refusing to negotiate with the electorate. They shouldn't feel insulted by that offer. The real insult -- the only that really must sting -- is the one voters just gave them at the polls

Craig Kanalley, 12/03/12

Senior Editor, Big News & Live Events, The Huffington Post

Even though the messages it contained were not always positive, it was a pleasure to read "Post-Industrial Journalism," an essay outlining the current state of the journalism industry (or lack thereof) and where we go from here.

Don Tapscott, 12/03/12

Advisor to government and business leaders; Author, 'Macrowikinomics'

The university is in danger of losing its monopoly, and for good reason. There is a rapidly widening gap between the model offered by big universities and the natural way that young people who have grown up immersed in digital technologies best learn.

Alex Moaba, 12/02/12

News & Video Editor, HuffPost TV

The Boardwalk Empire Season 3 finale built on that momentum with another stellar episode that gave Boardwalk fans the bloodbath they've been waiting for and brilliantly tied up nearly every loose end the show raised this season.

John Lundberg, 12/03/12

Writer, Poetry teacher

So when are poems used appropriately in movies? They tend to work in two cases: when the grandeur of a scene is already elevated, or when a scene brings the grandeur of a poem down to its level. I've collected a few of my favorite examples.

John Densmore, 12/03/12

Founding member of The Doors

The milagro (magic) of El Sistima -- Venezuela's program of taking impoverished kids and teaching them classical music -- can be summed up in one sentence uttered by its founder: "If you put a musical instrument in the hand of a kid, he or she will not pick up a gun."

Blake Page, 12/03/12

Cadet, United States Military Academy at West Point

I am five months from graduation. Choosing to resign at this point also carries significant risk. What could possibly compel me to pass over this incredible opportunity in exchange for such harsh penalties?

David Fenton, 12/03/12

CEO, Fenton, Inc.

I'm the one who asked you about global warming at the Council on Foreign Relations last week. I accused you of being in denial. I'm afraid your answer proved it.

Scott Cowen, 12/03/12

President, Tulane University

These cuts would be counterproductive to the short and long-term interests of our country, thwarting our safety and security, our innovation and growth -- the very goals the U.S. must achieve to remain strong and competitive.

Sen. John Kerry, 12/03/12

U.S. Senator from Massachusetts

Watching cable television you might not know it, but the Senate is on the eve of a major decision that -- regardless of outcome -- will ripple around the globe. It's time for action in the Senate on the Disabilities Treaty, and it's time for grassroots action to help push us across the finish line.

Jared Bernstein, 12/01/12

Fmr. Obama administration economist; CNBC and MSNBC contributor

The safety net worked. That's right -- the deepest recession since the Great Depression and poverty didn't go up, at least not when you measure it correctly.