green for all

"Class war is when you have corporations sitting on $8 billion," says Katrina vanden Heuvel of complaints from the Right, personified by John McCain's opposition to overturning the Bush tax cuts. Until the economy is back to working for everyone, until our infrastructure is no longer crumbling, it's not time to talk about tax breaks for the rich. Instead, Katrina notes, the real class war is happening in the same direction it always has--from the top down. When people like Elizabeth Warren are demonized and deficits are a point of obsession, it's not the rich who have to worry. She joins us in studio for The Nation on GRITtv to discuss. Hurricane Katrina and the BP spill have hit New Orleans with a double whammy, but the one bright side has been the opportunity to create not just new jobs for local residents, but green jobs, jobs that help the city move into a new energy future. This video from Green for All looks at just a few of the residents of the city who've found a new purpose helping weatherize homes and better their neighborhoods. The Obama administration submitted its first report on its own human rights record to the United Nations Human Rights Council, becoming the first U.S. administration to do so--the Bush administration declined to join the council.

Recently at Netroots Nation, Laura sat down with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who's been a leader in the fight against the use of private contractors like Blackwater in war zones (and at home). ; Our friends at the UpTake captured this video for us, as she spoke with Laura about jobs, the economy, military contractors, and the war in Afghanistan--especially the role of women in the conflict there.The struggle for green jobs brings together the struggle for sustainability and a cleaner environment and the fight against poverty--a struggle for justice for all. Green for All unites these struggles into one movement, as CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins explained at Netroots Nation, in a personal discussion of her past and present experiences with poverty and the environment.The current stage of the recession sees state budgets hitting crisis points around the country, and one of the areas targeted for cuts has been state univerisities.

"Community organizer" was Sarah Palin's favorite slur on the campaign trail, but grassroots organizers have been fighting for the rights of marginalized people, often without recognition, for longer than Palin has been around. Marleine Bastien has been an organizer in the Haitian-American community in Miami for 30 years, and is now running for Congress. She joins guest host Esther Armah via Skype to talk about shifting from organizing to campaigning, and what can be accomplished in elected office that can't be accomplished on the streets. "The fastest way to stop a bullet is to give someone a job, and what better job to give them than the one that transforms where they live?" That's the question for Buffalo, New York, as People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) leads the community's struggle for better, greener jobs for everyone--and to improve the food supply and surroundings for the community as well. Less than four months ago, Israeli commandoes boarded the boats in the Freedom Flotilla headed for Gaza and killed nine peace activists. Investigations are underway into just what happened the night of May 31st, but just a few months after the attacks, a new anthology collects eyewitness testimony, analyses, thought pieces, and responses from artists and poets into a "people's record" of what happened that night--and how it just might be a turning point for the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Moustafa Bayoumi is the editor of Midnight on the Mavi Marmara, available now from OR Books, and Huwaida Arraf was on the flotilla that night. They join us to discuss what happened, what role the book can play, and how it was able to come about so quickly.

While BP oil continues to clog the Gulf, people's livelihoods and lives are being destroyed along with fish and birds.Our friends at Green For All bring us this story of one company, one small group of people, being impacted by the disaster. Green for All is initiating a Dirty Energy Hurts campaign to fight back against BP's PR millions, reminding us that drill, baby, drill is not an energy policy.