Robert J. Shapiro, 10/05/12

Co-founder and chairman, Sonecon Inc.; Former Undersecretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs; International Monetary Fund advisor

Now, we also can say with confidence that cities make a very costly mistake when they ignore the large, potential gains for their residents, home owners and taxpayers and budgets from making additional efforts to reduce violent crime.

Daniel Gross, 10/04/12

President, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Last night, no question about guns was asked during the debate and a huge opportunity was missed to move forward this vitally important national conversation. But we, and the families, know that the conversation has only just begun.

Wray Herbert, 10/03/12

Author, 'On Second Thought: Outsmarting Your Mind's Hard-Wired Habits'

Over the years -- long before and after 1950s America -- experts have targeted everything from genes to poverty to poor parenting and worse teachers as the source of teenage misbehavior. Now comes a fresh idea from psychological science.

Lisa Belkin, 10/03/12

Senior columnist for life/work/family, The Huffington Post

When the crying goes on so long that you will do anything to make it stop. When you are too young to have had this baby, and too alone to handle the responsibility. When the stress of life breaks you so that you literally break someone else.

David Protess, 10/03/12

President, Chicago Innocence Project

On December 12, 2010, an inconspicuous house on S. Lewis would become indelibly etched in Stillwater's crime lore as the place where a black OSU basketball star allegedly raped two young white women.

Michael Marx, 10/03/12

Director, Beyond Oil Campaign, Sierra Club

Only two years after the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, Shell is asking the same judges to accept that corporations are immune from prosecution for human rights violations because they are not people under the law.

Jonathan Kim, 10/03/12

Film Critic for ReThink Reviews and the Uprising Show

Eugene Jarecki's powerful documentary The House I Live In looks at the human consequences of the drug war's failure, which has left the African American community as collateral damage.

Anthony Gregory, 10/03/12

Research Editor, The Independent Institute

It is almost a certainty that thousands of innocent Americans are behind bars, potentially subject to brutal conditions, violence, and very often rape. But this reality poses a major inconvenience for the dominant forms of modern political ideology.

John Dear and John Cusack, 10/02/12

Californians have the chance to make history on November 6th. Perhaps then, they might inspire the rest of the country to throw the death penalty in the dust bin where it belongs.

Patricia Cornwell, 10/02/12

If President Obama is reelected, and I hope he is, maybe he should take a close look at those his administration appoints to serve the public objectively and without conflict or unseemly allegiances. And maybe it's time to hold financial institutions accountable for their greed and questionable practices.

Yaman Salahi, 10/02/12

Arthur Liman Fellow, ACLU of Southern California

Do you know who your Facebook friends are? Now that the Los Angeles Police Commission has approved new guidelines that allow LAPD to vastly expand its online spying operations, you should think twice.

Kristen Houghton, 10/02/12

Author of 'No Woman Diets Alone' and 'And Then I'll Be Happy! Stop Sabotaging Your Happiness'

Fifty years after the horrible incident happened to her, my aunt can still remember the terror and the man. She wanted her niece to write about what happened because, "No man can ever truly know what happens to a woman when she is raped. I need you to tell my story."

Don McNay, 10/02/12

Bestselling author, 'What to Do When You Win the Lottery' and 'Wealth Without Wall Street'

Amanda Clayton was not your typical millionaire. In her short life, she won a million dollar lottery in Michigan, was convicted of collecting state welfare money after she got the million dollars and embroiled in a plethora of drama and legal battles. Now she is dead.

Eleanor Acer, 10/02/12

Director, Refugee Protection Program, Human Rights First

The United States is a nation of immigrants. It's shocking that those who flee to this country seeking protection from persecution, as well as many other immigrants seeking better lives, are often welcomed to this great nation with shackles and prison uniforms.

John W. Whitehead, 10/01/12

Attorney and Author

The only thing which will improve our present condition is the taming of our fear. We must act on courage. Courage to think differently, speak loudly, and challenge directly the systems which we know to be unjust.

Richard Feldman, 09/30/12

President, Independent Firearm Owners Association, Inc.

After all, what value is there in having a right (self-defense) in theory if the state effectively denies you the very means to enforce that right?

Allen Frances, 09/28/12

Professor Emeritus, Duke University

I have an offer for David Brooks. If he promises to stop being an amateur psychologist, I promise to stop being an amateur columnist. What Brooks doesn't know about psychology is a lot. Everything he says about it has a shallow ring, is misinformed, and displays the same bias and ulterior motive.