Charles Ferguson

Director, Wall Street documentary 'Inside Job'; Author, 'Predator Nation'

I'm cancelling my documentary about Hillary Clinton. It's a victory for the Clintons, and for the money machines that both political parties have now become. But I don't think that it's a victory for the media, or for the American people.

Maureen Ryan

TV critic, The Huffington Post

I wasn't expecting another "Ozymandias," but the slightly mechanical "Felina" wasn't quite what I was expecting.

Michelle Obama

First Lady of The United States

There's nothing more important than knowing that our families are healthy and happy. And after spending so much time with military families and hearing your stories of service and sacrifice for our country, I know that that's your priority as well.

Robert Reich

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

Giving in to bullies just encourages them to escalate their demands.The president gave in at the end of 2011 when Republican bullies threatened to go over the fiscal cliff and take the rest of the nation with them.

Wendell Potter

Author, consultant; columnist at Center for Public Integrity and healthinsurance.org

I've often said that the Affordable Care Act is the end of the beginning of reform. Starting tomorrow, October 1, 2014, that law will signify the beginning of the end of the health insurance industry as we know it.

Mohamed A. El-Erian

CEO and co-CIO, PIMCO

It is not often that a daily newspaper is able, in just one edition, to capture so many previously-unlikely domestic developments. Yet Sunday's Washington Post comes very close.

Marty Kaplan

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

The Kochs' sabotage is shrewder than defunding Obamacare because it goes to the whole basis for the Affordable Care Act's plan to cover the uninsured: the creation of a risk pool that includes the young and healthy as well as the not young and not immortal.

Joy Martin-Malone

Mother, writer, designer and reconstruction extraordinaire

Imagine my horror when my toddlers took to Disney princesses. The feminist inside me wept -- until, eavesdropping on their usual princess gab, I overheard the following statement: "My favorite princess is Ariel, and yours is Cinderella, and Mommy's favorite princess is Sharon Needles."

Jay Michaelson

Author, 'Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment'

You may not know the name of S.N. Goenka, who died Saturday at the age of 90. But if you've counted your breaths to relax in a hospital, or if you've ever tried to eat, walk, or speak "mindfully," you've felt his influence.

Rev. Al Sharpton

President, National Action Network

We've observed misinformation and fear mongering against the president's Affordable Care Act, also referred to as 'Obamacare'. But guess what, it's going into effect tomorrow.

Jared Bernstein

Fmr. Obama administration economist; CNBC and MSNBC contributor

The House actually pinged two bills back to the Senate: one that conditions funding the government on defunding the health care law, and the other that exempts military pay from the shutdown. I suspect the Senate will unanimously approve the latter. The former will lead to the shutdown.

Rep. Diana DeGette

Chief Deputy Whip

The compounding drug bill that passed Saturday in the midst of this morass can act as a model for how we can hammer out a difficult compromise on an important issue. It proved that even in the fall of 2013, compromise in Congress is indeed possible.

Jeff Faux

Founder and now Distinguished Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute

The point is not that the British, or Canadian or any other system is necessarily the exactly right model for the U.S. But we will never get anywhere near the right model unless the ideological fog that clouds our political discourse on health care is lifted.

Leo W. Gerard

International President, United Steelworkers

Before taking office, each member of Congress swears a simple, straightforward oath. It leaves little room for misinterpretation. They vow to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and to "faithfully discharge the duties of the office." High among those duties is paying the government's bills.

Norman Solomon

Author, 'War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death'

To the people in control of the Executive Branch, violating our civil liberties is an essential government service. So -- to ensure total fulfillment of Big Brother's vast responsibilities -- the National Security Agency is insulated from any fiscal disruption.

Marian Wright Edelman

President, Children's Defense Fund

Jaime, Katie, and La'Mont are three young servant leaders whose stories we are celebrating as part of our 40th anniversary celebration. They are a reminder that we must never ever give up on any child.

Jeff Danziger

Political cartoonist syndicated by the NYTimes worldwide

Lena Oh

Writer

I've witnessed too many ironies in my life and have gone through painful experiences. Despite learning from these mistakes, I wish I could tell my young self what I know now. And if some genius happens to create a time machine in my lifetime, these are the things that I'd say.

Bill Moyers

Managing Editor, Moyers & Company

What the richest parents want for their children is what the poorest parents want for theirs. Measure their aspiration, however, against the fact that more than 21 million Americans are still in need of full time work, many of them running out of jobless benefits.

Dilip Hiro

Author, 'Apocalyptic Realm: Jihadists in South Asia'

Ever fewer countries, allies, or enemies, are paying attention, much less kowtowing, to the once-formidable power of the world's last superpower. The list of defiant figures -- from Egyptian generals to Saudi princes, Iraqi Shiite leaders to Israeli politicians -- is lengthening.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

U.S. Senator from New York

We know the American workforce is changing at a rapid pace as families rely more and more on women's income to get by. But, as the face of the American workplace has changed, the federal rules that govern it have not kept up.

Sen. Ed Markey

Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts

Like any budget, the carbon budget is finite. At our current pace, we have about 15 years left before we'd have to stop burning fossil fuels altogether to avoid dangerous consequences.

Brian Greene

Founder and president, Blue Greene Enterprises

Why do we care to pay so much attention to players on the field, but so little when they are forced to leave their stage? No one can explain or justify the action Paul took, but it does beg the question, "what more can be done?"

Michelangelo Signorile

Editor-at-large, HuffPost Gay Voices

In Italy what Barilla said is, sadly, too often perfectly acceptable. He was speaking on an Italian radio program. He was likely not very conscious of how the rights and conditions of LGBT people, and the role of women, have changed dramatically in the rest of the industrialized West.

Robin Wilkey

Editor, The Huffington Post San Francisco

A reporter once wrote that sports train us for the heartbreaks of real life without imposing any actual consequences. That's the beauty of the game: there's always next year. But there is no next year for Jonathan Denver. And this is what's robbing sports of everything good.

James Zogby

President, Arab American Institute; author, 'Arab Voices'

A few writers saw Obama's speech at the General Assembly as an effort to craft an "Obama Doctrine." In fact, it was anything but a new "doctrine." Instead of framing hard fast answers, the President asked tough questions.

Candy Schulman

Writer

It's impossible to explain the evolution of a long-term marriage to an 18-year-old. I once vowed to never turn into the marriage of my parents. And I remember the shock when my mother told me, 'Your father and I still make love.' She was in her seventies.

Tim Chen

CEO, NerdWallet

If you are like most people, you're probably confused about Obamacare, and might have put off doing your research. Here are some basic tips you should keep in mind come October 1st.

Ralph Nader

Consumer advocate, lawyer and author

Whether it is the debate about intervention in the civil war in Syria or the signing of an arms trade treaty, the role of the UN on the world stage is far too often reduced to that of the intermediary between world powers -- or it is ridiculed or maligned by grand-standing American politicians.