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"We're supposed to love life, right? And protect mothers and ban abortion because abortion is about ending babies lives, right? But then we see cuts to WIC, [Women, Infants & Children benefits], we know women are being chained to beds to give birth," Paris Hatcher of SPARK Reproductive Justice points out. The entire idea pushed by conservatives that we are concerned with a "culture of life" is proved false by the way our society treats mothers--certain mothers, anyway. Today, while the House debated H.R. 3, the "redefining rape" bill that would eliminate funding for abortion, we spoke with Paris via Skype from Georgia, and she noted the outrage that women around the country feel over the double standard in Congress and the states--we don't want women to have abortions, but we don't want to support their motherhood, either. One of the deadliest tornadoes in US history, over a mile and a half wide, touched down in Tuscaloosa, Alabama last week, with devastation extending across seven states. More than 350 fatalities have been reported, 80 people are still missing in Tuscaloosa alone, and over a thousand people remain hospitalized with critical injuries. The Alabama state Emergency Management Agency is calling the aftermath in Tuscaloosa “Katrina, without three days warning...” While the networks are wall-to-wall Bin Laden, with or without budgets or even homes - survivors are getting the story out.. To compile this piece GRITtv's Rebecca MacDonald relied on eyewitnesses -- many of them students of University of Alabama assistant professor Dr. Rachel Raimist. Student Trey Moe's graduation was to be this week. "We need to understand that we are one people all of whom have myriad origins. We've come together here in this place," says bestselling author Walter Mosley. He joins us to talk about his newest book, 12 Steps Toward Political Revelation. For a growing number of American who feel left out--or even targeted--by the current political climate, the possibility of influencing change and of having a voice is becoming an increasingly problematic task. 12 Steps Toward Political Revelation stresses the importance of everything from finding a strong political identity, and recognizing the systems that work against us and not for us. Walter joins us to explain how important each of our paths towards political enlightenment is for our nation and our world. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"The American people should see that corporations have abandoned them long ago," says scientist, environmentalist, and food justice activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, named one of the seven most influential women in the world by Forbes magazine. "The people will have to rebuild democracy as a living democracy." Dr. Shiva has been fighting corporate takeover in every area in her native India, combating a nuclear plant one week and patented, genetically modified seeds another. She joins Laura in studio to advise American activists how they can fight the merging of corporations and government here at home and around the world. A 9-year-old child faces down Sheriff Joe Arpaio in this week's featured documentary, Two Americans. Katherine Figueroa is a US citizen born to immigrant parents, and when Arpaio targets them for deportation, she becomes the center of a fight against the sheriff's plans. In Arizona, the immigration battle has its ground zero, and this documentary follows the people at the center of it all. Singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow died this week at the age of 58. Her powerful voice will certainly be missed, and we bring you this performance of her classic hit "Poetry Man" to remember her too-often forgotten work. Distributed by Tubemogul.

John Boehner took charge of the House of Representatives with a bang--a really big bang, from a really big gavel. Also a few tears, of course, and a dramatic reading of the Constitution--though Nancy Giles notes that the Republicans might be surprised as to what they find in there, as they tend to treat it more like a game of Mad Libs. Meanwhile, the contest for who's going to lead the Republican National Committee seems to come down to who has bigger guns, and people are discussing excising the N-word -- yes, that one -- from Mark Twain's classic, Huckleberry Finn. Nancy, a contributor to CBS's Sunday Morning, joins us to discuss all this and more. A multibillion-dollar bailout and Wall Street's swift, subsequent reinstatement of gargantuan bonuses have inspired a narrative of parasitic bankers and other elites rigging the game for their own benefit. And this, in turn, has led to wider?and not unreasonable?fears that we are living in not merely a plutonomy, but a plutocracy, in which the rich display outsize political influence, narrowly self-interested motives, and a casual indifference to anyone outside their own rarefied economic bubble. So wrote Chrystia Freeland in a cover story in the new issue of The Atlantic. She joins us in the studio to discuss her piece, the new elite, and a few insights into the mindset of the ultra-ultra-rich. "Occasionally you see pictures and they're standing in some long line or applying for jobs, but they're not thought of," said GRITtv guest Edrie Irvine recently, speaking of unemployed people like her. She's right, and she's not the only one, Laura notes, missing from the discussion.

In the wake of the Republican election victories Tuesday night, Christian conservatives like Ralph Reed have been quick to declare victory for the "Teavangelicals," evangelical Christian politicians who embraced the Tea Party movement and claim to speak for it. Jeff Sharlet, author of C Street, notes that Jim DeMint and others are actually Washington insiders, not representatives of an insurgent new movement.Sharlet joins Laura via Skype to discuss the influence of the religious right on the current Republican party and trends within it, as well as its long-term influence on American politics.Elections come down to Get Out The Vote efforts--everyone knows that, right? Election 2010 was more a referendum on whose base was more energized than a massive shift in ideology. ; Registering, mobilizing, and educating voters are vital parts of the effort, just as much as television advertising--and those efforts need to keep up even when there isn't an election looming.We talk to two organizers about the ongoing struggle for progressive election victories: Gihan Perera of Florida New Majority and the Miami Workers' Center and Claire Tran of the Right to the City Alliance. They look at results, demographics, and discuss why Latino voters in Florida voted for anti-immigrant candidate Rick Scott.Finally, Nancy Goldstein, runner-up for the Washington Post's Next Great Pundit contest, gives us her thoughts on Obama, extrajudicial killings, and what we've lost regardless of election results.