Danielle Nierenberg

Co-founder, Food Tank: The Food Think Tank

Each of these 11 chefs is a pioneer in the sustainability movement. Let their food philosophies serve as an inspiration for your own Independence Day festivities!

Cesar Millan

Founder of the Cesar Millan Foundation

When the fireworks are going off this year, pay attention to how your dogs react, and which of these techniques help the most. Make notes, then plan ahead for next year. July 5th is the best day to start the process of preparing your dog for next year's festivities.

Elias Holtz

Freelance television producer; queer organizer with #BradleyPride NYC Coalition and the Freedom Socialist Party

The reaction from the crowd was incredible. They cheered and whistled when faux-Bradley was freed to salute them and dance to his liberation. Then, when the soldiers rearrested Bradley and put him back in his cell, they booed. They were pissed. They wanted Bradley to be free.

Ann Brenoff

Senior Writer, The Huffington Post

We had left California and wound up in the state of Relaxation, a place that we hadn't visited in a very long time, like maybe never.

George Heymont

San Francisco-based arts critic

Like many young men who were starting to embrace their homosexuality, I derived intense pleasure from one of the pictures near the back of the book in which an aging Belle Poitrine (Jeri Archer) looks up at the packed crotch of some faceless stud clad in a Speedo.

Susan Cain

Author, New York Times Bestseller 'QUIET: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking'

When people think you're trying to influence them, they put their guard up. But when they feel you're trying to help them, or to muse your way to the right answer, or to be honest about your own imperfections, they open up to you. They hear what you have to say.

Larissa Zimberoff

Freelance writer

Why are these men on dating sites if they aren't prepared to date someone longer than a few weeks? Why do men break things off when they're "not sure" or before they've even seen me in the daylight?

Chris Michael

Ad man, comedian & cartoonist

"The marcher turnout was so great this year, we couldn't fit everyone in," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Jeez, we had four car companies, eight banks, a new energy drink, six skin-care companies, two television networks, and eighteen people running for public office. It was incredible!"

Kerry Trueman

Environmental advocate/writer

The beach bonfire is a much-loved tradition on Southern California's dunes. But a preliminary study released this spring from has fingered hundreds of fire pits along the coastlines of Orange County and Los Angeles as a significant source of air pollution.

John Matsusaka

Executive director, Initiative and Referendum Institute

Supporters of democracy and the idea of lawmaking by the people -- wherever they stand on the issue of same-sex marriage -- should be troubled by the Supreme Court's decision Wednesday on California's Proposition 8.

Mike Spradley

Writer, 'Rage Monthly'

Immigration is very complicated, so I contacted Bryan K. Randolph, an attorney practicing in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area who is preparing to face an influx of cases of binational same-sex couples seeking recognition of their relationships for the purpose of immigration.

William Bradley

Political Analyst, NewWestNotes.com

Where do we draw the line on surveillance? Or will we draw no line at all, using 9/11 as the rationale for an era of ubiquitous surveillance of all, demonstrable friend and potential foe alike?

Ted Johnson

Columnist, 'Variety'

When I got married, less than two weeks before the November 2008 election, more than a few straight male friends said, in a tone of irreverence, "What's wrong with gay marriage? If you want to be as miserable as the rest of us, fine." Nearly five years in, I've succumbed to the same schtick.

Louis Virtel

West Coast Entertainment Editor, TheBacklot.com

Get out your rings, gay dudes, because in this edition of Weeklings!, I pick out my ideal celebrity husband. Is it Neil Patrick Harris? Is it Alexander the Great? What about Liberace's new cheekbones? Join me on a matrimonial journey.

Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Dick Durbin

As Members of the United States Senate who are committed to the economic advancement of women around the globe, we are profoundly troubled by recent proposals that would fundamentally alter the future of Bangladesh's Nobel Prize-winning Grameen Bank.

Lisa Mirza Grotts

Author, Etiquette Expert

Japan was closed to the West for many years before the middle of the nineteenth century, and it remains a uniquely individual culture. Travelers for both business and pleasure should learn a few points of protocol before visiting Japan, as this will add greatly to the success of a trip.

Ken White

President, Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA

With the words "10 years old" on her kennel paperwork, Kensey hasn't had many suitors. Most visitors just keep walking.