Robert Reich, 12/11/12

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

As money concentrates at the top, so does power. That concentrated power generates even more entrenched wealth at the top, and less for the middle class and the poor. The result has been a degree of inequality not witnessed since the days of the robber barons.

Marlo Thomas, 12/11/12

Award-winning actress, author and activist

During the holiday season, huge amounts of planning and effort go into the big holiday dinners that we all love so much. But what do you do in the morning when you've got a house full of friends and family? A special holiday breakfast or brunch can be a great way to celebrate the season.

RZA, 12/11/12

Music producer, film composer, recording artist and actor

As with Inglourious Basterds, in Django Tarantino once again seems to speak directly to the heart and from the minds of the characters he is writing for, and taps into the imaginatively creative and fantastical outcome that makes this a great movie experience.

Lisa Belkin, 12/11/12

Senior Columnist on Life/Work/Family, The Huffington Post

I tried to sound nonchalant. Stammering only raises those (cute) little antennae. But there is nothing quite so stressful as aiming for mellow.

Trey Ellis, 12/11/12

Novelist, Screenwriter, and Associate Professor at Columbia University

I was as worried as I was delighted when I heard Quentin Tarantino's next film would be a slave-narrative-cum-spaghetti-western. Now, for making the funniest, most-energizing, complicated, brilliant and uplifting action-adventure about a slave turned folk hero, Tarantino has more than earned his black card.

Rabbi Daniel Brenner, 12/11/12

Chief of Education and Program, Moving Traditions

Last year before Christmas I got a Facebook message from my church-going high school sweetheart. Her children were very interested in this question. What follows is my letter to them.

Bianca Jagger, 12/11/12

Founder and Chair, Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation

COP18 demonstrated that we can no longer put our faith in politicians to make the tough decisions we need to avert catastrophic climate change. They have ignored the greatest challenge we face in the world today.

Larry Light, 12/11/12

Editor-in-Chief, AdviceIQ.com

Congratulations are in order. The conservative movement that rules the GOP has successfully undermined a vital American institution -- journalism.

Dana Oliver, 12/11/12

Beauty Editor, HuffPost Style

Ready to love myself immensely more, I knew I had to strip down.

Michael Hogan and Christopher Rosen, 12/11/12

If I sound like a person who disrespects the impact of the Globes, that's because I am. The Globes mean nothing ever, especially in 2012, with the Oscar nominations being announced before the HFPA hand out their trophies.

Sec. Arne Duncan, 12/11/12

U.S. Secretary of Education

If education is to fulfill its essential role in America as the great equalizer, big achievement gaps and opportunity gaps must close -- and all students must receive a world-class education that genuinely prepares them for colleges and careers in the 21st century.

Arin Greenwood, 12/11/12

Associate editor, HuffPost DC

One year I asked my parents if we could get a "Hanukkah bush." "Jews don't decorate shrubbery," was my mom's unhappy answer. Maybe it's precious to me because of its relative asceticism, but I still love our religiously minor, flame-filled holiday.

Eric Boehlert, 12/11/12

Senior Fellow, Media Matters for America

The nasty "racket" accusation highlights what's happened as Republicans have handed over more and more of their branding and marketing to media personalities whose ultimate barometers of success differ from those who run political parties.

Con Slobodchikoff, 12/11/12

Author

Although some people prefer to think that language is solely the province of people, we are finding that more and more animal species have language in their own right.

Jared Bernstein, 12/11/12

Fmr. Obama administration economist; CNBC and MSNBC contributor

Reading Politico's piece about how to get the economy growing in earnest again, I was struck by how out of sync the conventional/DC story is compared to what I and other growth analysts think is going on.

Philip Leonetti, 12/11/12

Author and former underboss of the Philadelphia/Atlantic City mob

My uncle told me that in our life, honor and respect meant everything, and that the man he killed was not an honorable man and that's why my uncle had to kill him by stabbing him repeatedly with an icepick. I was 8 years old at the time; this is how I was raised.

Janet Tavakoli, 12/11/12

President, Tavakoli Structured Finance

Facebook's reported user numbers appear to be off by a country mile. Multiple user accounts seem to be chronic. Moreover, besides run-of-the-mill fakes and duplicates, Facebook's identity-theft-enabling business model is, in my opinion, a disgrace for any U.S. public company.

Conrad Black and András Simonyi, 12/11/12

Will America's reputation and influence abroad improve under Barack Obama's second term? Two foreign-policy thinkers debate the question.

Tony Newman, 12/11/12

Director of Media Relations, Drug Policy Alliance

Voters in Colorado and Washington made worldwide news by legalizing marijuana, Presidents around Latin America spoke out passionately against the drug war, and award-winning movies gave voice to those seeking change.

Alex Castellanos, 12/11/12

Republican media consultant

Everyone comes to Washington to change the world. We all want to do something that matters. My friend, here is a rare opportunities to do something that matters in the life of desperate parents, dreaming of a cure for their child.

Matisyahu and Netanel Miles-Yepez, 12/10/12

There is always something -- a little spark of divinity, a little oil to make a ray of light to shine in the darkness -- something we can take hold of and use to re-build our lives. All it takes is a little light, a little hope to get started.

Bruce Lubin, 12/09/12

Author, Who Knew?

In the winter months, the only thing worst than having ice all over your windshield is having to spend a lot for a windshield de-icer. Here's an inexpensive, yet effective, alternative.

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, 12/11/12

Emmy-Nominated Producer/Host, @HuffPostLive

On December 15, a historic referendum is set to be held on a draft consitution that has further polarized the country, pinning supporters of President Morsi, backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, against a galvanized opposition made up of liberals, socialists and other youth groups.

Ben Stein, 12/11/12

Actor; Writer; Honorary Board Member, IFAW

Over the past decade, the public has increasingly transitioned from buying their dogs in person to buying them online. The doggie on their browser looks to be an adorable, tail-wagging, well-cared-for puppy. And it couldn't be further from the truth.

Scott Mendelson, 12/11/12

Film critic at Mendelson's Memos, Valley Scene Magazine

There is going to be a lot of debate over the next few months about just where on the political divide Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty happens to sit.

Madeleine M. Kunin, 12/11/12

First Female Governor of Vermont; Marsh Scholar, University of Vermont

This is a good time of year to go through my closets and decide which suits, sweaters, pants and blouses can be given away to charity so that someone else may wear them. Why, then, do I find it so hard to pull an item of clothing off the hanger?

Divorced Dad, 12/10/12

Doctor living in New York City

I love my ex-wife. Seriously. You wouldn't think that would be such a shocking statement, or even a particularly unusual one -- after all, we were married for over 15 years and share two amazing kids. Yet people just don't seem to understand.

Michelangelo Signorile, 12/10/12

Editor-at-large, HuffPost Gay Voices

It's an understatement to say there's some apprehension among many gays and lesbians about the Supreme Court's decision to take up the Prop 8 case. Is the fear warranted?

Chris Weigant, 12/10/12

Political writer and blogger at ChrisWeigant.com

The "tax the rich" policies so far being discussed (at least the ones that leak out to the public) are laughably timid and tame, when you really examine the big picture.