Reading, Religion and Reelection By Diana Beard-williams, Diana Beard-Williams is a public relations professional and freelance writer who specializes in ethics and human relations issues
Public Grief: Seeking Peace in the Media Ether By Neal Gabler, Neal Gabler is the author of "An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood" and"Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Cult of Celebrity" (Knopf)
A Turn for the Worse By Yossi Melman, Yossi Melman, a reporter at the Daily Ha'aretz specializes in intelligence and terror affairs. He is author of "The Master Terrorist: The True Story Behind Abu Nidal" (Avon)
A Turn for the Worse By Gaddis Smith, Gaddis Smith, a professor of U.S. foreign relations at Yale University, is writing a book on Yale and the external world in the 20th century
L.A. School District Faces Payback for Bold Gamble By William Fulton, William Fulton is editor of California Planning and Development Report, a monthly newsletter. His new book, "The Reluctant Metropolis: The Politics of Urban Growth in Los Angeles," will be published by Solano Press Books
Big Political Donors Are Indeed Different By Robert L. Borosage, Robert L. Borosage is a founder of the Campaign for America's Future. A longer report on the survey research appears in this week's issue of the Nation
Newt Gingrich Lying? We're Shocked, Totally Shocked! By Suzanne Garment, Suzanne Garment, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. She is the author of "Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics" (Times)
Hanan Mikhail-Ashrawi By Marjorie Miller, Marjorie Miller is Jerusalem bureau chief for The Times
Settler Judaism Undermines Israel's Future By Michael Lerner, Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun magazine and author of "Jewish Renewal: A Path to Healing and Transformation." He is rabbi of Beyt Tikkun in San Francisco
A Stalemate That Proves L.A. Needs a New City Charter By Xandra Kayden, Xandra Kayden, a political scientist at UCLA's School of Public Policy and Social Research, is writing a book on the political structure of Los Angeles. She is a member of the charter-reform commission appointed by the City Council
Can Public Schools Keep Up With Skill Requirements? By Frank Levy and Richard J. Murnane, Richard J. Murnane, a economics professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Frank Levy, a professor of urban economics at MIT, are authors of "Teaching the New Basic Skills" (Free Press)
His life is a movie By Celest Fremon, Celeste Fremon's last piece for the magazine was on writer Greg Sarris and the Coast Miwok Indians. Fremon is the author of "Father Greg & the Homeboy," about Father Greg Boyle
The Schoolteacher And Goliath By Brenda Bell, Brenda Bell is a Texan who lives on Bainbridge Islad, Wash. Her last story for the magazine was about a Latino advertising firm in San Antonio