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"For the first time what we're seeing is people on the rise and they can no longer be ignored, by their own governments or by the United States," says Phyllis Bennis. And those people are saddened by the U.S.'s action against Osama Bin Laden, but more importantly are demanding that their voices be heard, not the voices of their dictators that the U.S. has relied on for so long. Phyllis checks in with us from Amman, Jordan, and tells us about the reaction of people there to Bin Laden's death. She also gives us the latest from Cairo, Egypt, where she was before traveling to Jordan.

According to retired Colonel Andrew Bacevich, Barack Obama "is a problem solver, he's surrounded himself with problem solvers at a time when maybe we need some creative thinking." This week saw the announcement that General David Petraeus would be taking Leon Panetta's spot as head of the CIA, while Panetta would be moving to replace Robert Gates as Defense Secretary. Bacevich joins Laura in studio to discuss the changes in the administration and the ongoing situation in Libya and Syria, and notes that at a time when the Arab world is undergoing deep changes, it should be a time for modesty in the US and a reconsideration of military power and the use of violence to achieve goals. "Rock is, among other things, a potent means of expressing the active emotions--anger, aggression, lust, the joy of physical exertion--that feed all freedom movements, and it is no accident that women musicians have been denied access to this powerful musical language." So wrote Ellen Willis in June of 1974, when the acclaimed feminist thinker and cultural critic was working as the Rock, Etc. columnist at the New Yorker. A new book of Willis's rock criticism is out now, titled Out Of The Vinyl Deeps and edited by her daughter, Nona Willis Aronowitz, and this weekend a conference at New York University will celebrate her work as a pop culture thinker and writer. Nona joins Laura in studio with Drexel University professor Devon Powers to discuss Willis's influence and ideas. Baratunde Thurston is usually one of our favorite comedians, but even he couldn't bring himself to laugh at the ugly spectacle of a privileged white man like Donald Trump congratulating himself in front of news cameras for getting Barack Obama to produce a "long-form" birth certificate. Baratunde recorded his feelings about that statement, and what it says to millions of African-Americans. Distributed by Tubemogul.

Republicans in Congress, says House Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Keith Ellison, are treating the budget and potential government shutdowns as an "opportunity to inflict generationally-changing policies" in the guise of paying the bills. We're facing a government shutdown not, Ellison notes, because Democrats won't compromise, but because Republicans like Paul Ryan are interested in forcing a fight over ideological issues. Rep. Ellison spoke with Laura from Washington, D.C. to inaugurate a new segment with House Progressive Caucus members on GRITtv. We're heading for a government shutdown, Glenn Beck's leaving FOX, John Boehner is still crying, and Donald Trump is running for president? No, this isn't a joke or a game where you guess which one of these things is true--they all are. And who better to make sense--or fun--of all of this than GRITtv contributor John Fugelsang? John's on the Laughing Liberally "This Ain't No Tea Party" tour with Dean Obeidallah right now, having fun at the expense of all that's ridiculous these days, and John and Dean join Laura in studio for a quick run-down on this week's big news. Finally, Laura has a few thoughts about Glenn Beck's departure, ahead of this weekend's National Conference for Media Reform. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"The mystery of American Raymond A. Davis, currently imprisoned in the custody of local police in Lahore, Pakistan and charged with the Jan. 27 murder of two young men, whom he allegedly shot eight times with pinpoint accuracy through his car windshield, is growing increasingly murky." So wrote Dave Lindorff, who has been following the story of Davis's arrest and the subsequent controversy for CounterPunch. Is Davis a CIA agent? A security contractor? A diplomat? What's the deal with the numbers in his cell phone for some shady characters? Dave joins us via Skype to fill us in on the latest. "The working class and poor people are coming out, the middle and upper classes don't like that, they want to stop the revolution of the poor people. They accept the revolution of the middle class," says Nawal El Saadawi, pioneering Egyptian feminist thinker, author and professor. Meanwhile, she notes that the same old factors are moving to make sure that the revolution in Egypt doesn't rock the boat too much. Dr. Saadawi appeared on This Week with Christiane Amanpour this weekend, but she joins Laura in the GRITtv studio to tell us what she said that ABC wouldn't air. Last week Michael Moore appeared on our show and talked about the economy as he sees it--and Fox News called in billionaire Donald Trump to comment. Fair and balanced -- a billionaire to comment on a critique of this Country's skewed accumulation of wealth? Well, Michael Moore had the last word on Saturday in front of the Wisconsin state capitol. Distributed by Tubemogul.