alan grayson

The Federal Reserve will pump $600 billion more into the US economy and keep interest rates at historical low levels. We speak to former Wall Street economist and University of Missouri professor Michael Hudson. The unprecedented ouster of three Supreme Court justices in Iowa who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage is raising fresh concerns over the politicization of judicial elections and the influence of special interest groups on the courts. We speak to attorney Adam Skaggs of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law and Carolyn Jenison of One Iowa, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy organization. Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, who lost his seat in Florida’s 8th District, says that the losses suffered by incumbent Democrats are an outcome of the party’s "strategy of appeasement." We talk to Rep. Grayson about the 2010 elections. We get an update on the fallout from the FBI raids in late September that targeted antiwar activists in Minneapolis and Chicago from former president of the National Lawyers Guild Bruce Nestor. Democracy Now!, a daily independent newshour.

"Ann Coulter hasn't beheaded anybody, I'm glad that's the new marker for extremism," says Markos Moulitsas of criticism of his new book, American Taliban. To the argument that comparing the American Right to the Taliban is unfair and hyperbolic, Markos notes that you don't have to go too far back in U.S. history to find lynchings and other forms of violence used in service of repressive ideas. Markos joins Laura in studio to talk about the book, the Democrats' disdain for their progressive base, the problems with the filibuster, and much more. What's all this talk about being in a "race" when it comes to education? Does the "Race to the Top" framing change anything? And what's all of this racing really doing for our kids? This week's featured documentary, Race to Nowhere, takes a look at just what's going on with our schools, and whether putting a lot of pressure on kids to ace constant tests and load themselves with work is actually producing happy, well-educated people. "If Democrats are in trouble, we don't have to presume they are in trouble because they did too much." So says John Nichols, who sat down with Laura in Wisconsin, at Fighting Bob Fest, and discussed progressive congresspeople who have been stalwarts in Washington since their election on a wave of anti-Bush feeling--and who face tough races.

May Day is observed in most countries outside of the U.S. as International Worker's Day or Labor Day. The word "mayday" is also a distress signal, a call for help and a call to action. Shepard Fairey, a longtime underground and street artist who came to be a household name with his "Hope" poster of Barack Obama, evoked both of these meanings at once with his "May Day" exhibition at Deitch Projects in New York City. Fairey's prints take on an array of political issues and celebrate icons from rock'n'roll, sports, and politics; from Woody Guthrie to Joe Strummer, Muhammad Ali to Aung San Suu Kyi. His friend and frequent collaborator, writer and filmmaker Antonino D'Ambrosio, wrote an essay to accompany the exhibition. In addition to the gallery show, Shepard hasn't forgotten his street art roots, painting a mural on the street at Lafayette and Bowery, and several less formal pieces of his have been spotted throughout the city recently. The exhibit is open through May 29th at the Deitch gallery. We sat down there recently with Shepard and Antonino to talk about art, rock'n'roll, populism, politics, and the common threads that run through all of their work. Plutarco El'as Calles was both a military general and later one of the most controversial presidents of Mexico. He is known for his status as a revolutionary hero, but also for bringing these (sometimes brutal) military tactics into his political career. Our Got Doc this week is "El General," a film created by Calles's granddaughter, Natalia Almada. She uses documentary film as a medium to reconcile her family's memories with her country's collective memory by telling the story through her grandmother's revelries. Finally, bipartisan agreement and a strike of progress in government regulation of the financial industry: In a unanimous vote of 96-0, the Senate passed an amendment to open the Federal Resere to a one-time audit of its lending between Decemeber 2007 to the present. Led by Ron Paul and Alan Grayson in the House and Bernie Sanders in the Senate and pushed by our friends at FireDogLake, the bill now heads to conference. Mary Bottari of BankstersUSA.org and the Center for Media and Democracy weighs in on a hard-fought victory for Main Street over Wall Street.

Health care reform isn't dead yet, and a coalition of progressive groups, including Bold Progressives and Democracy for America, are increasing the pressure in Washington for Democrats to pass reform -- by any means necessary.