gaza

"If people don't have trust and confidence in their elections, it's really hard to have confidence in the democracy writ large," says Wisconsin State Representative Cory Mason, noting the "gross incompetence or malice" involved in the sudden appearance, a day and a half after the polls closed, of 7500 votes for the conservative candidate in his state's Supreme Court race. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Democrats are moving forward with at least two recall elections for Republican state Senators who supported Scott Walker's union-busting, and Cory joins Laura to discuss via Skype from his district--which just happens to be the same district as that of Paul Ryan, the House GOP's leader on budget issues. “People have rights, and when we say we want to end Israel's multitiered system of oppression...we must immediately, in the same sentence, say people have equal rights in every formal way," says Omar Barghouti, author of the new book Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights. And author, activist and professor Sarah Schulman has been involved with the Palestinian queer movement, emphasizing that their struggle is deeply tied to the struggle to end the occupation. Omar and Sarah join Laura in studio for a discussion of the interlocking oppressions being fought by the BDS movement. Poet Remi Kanazi shares some of the instructions given to activists for Palestinian causes. The ink on the compromise that kept the government open—barely--isn't even dry and they're already talking about the next round of cuts in Washington. Laura explains why Obama should give up compromising and go on the offensive--armed with the latest round of information about CEO pay. Distributed by Tubemogul.

As we remember Dr. Martin Luther King and his legacy of nonviolent resistance, we also remember former GRITtv guest, Juliano Mer-Khamis, Arab-Israeli actor, director and teacher who was gunned down in Jenin, the West Bank town where he ran the Freedom Theater of Jenin. In an increasingly violent climate, how do we sustain a message of nonviolence? Sami Al Jundi, a Palestinian from East Jerusalem, discovered the power of non-violent resistance in a very unlikely place, and his story is recounted in the new book The Hour of Sunlight: One Palestinian's Journey from Prisoner to Peacemaker. Jen Marlowe, who is also on the board of directors of Mer-Khamis' Freedom Theater, co-authored the book with him, and they both join Laura to discuss the struggle for peace and justice. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"The key here for the Obama administration is not just to talk the talk but they have to walk the walk," says Vince Warren of the Center for Constitutional rights. It's not just Libya he's talking about -- the US has a ways to go on many humanitarian concerns, from Guantanamo to the Mavi Marmara, the International Criminal Court to neighborhood policing. Vince joins Laura in studio to discuss the historic UN Security Council vote on Libya, the ongoing struggle for habeas corpus rights for detainees, and racist stop-and-frisk policies right here in New York. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"People who want to see the budget cut are people who are advocating throwing people out of work, it's that simple," says Dean Baker of the pressure from conservatives on Obama's budget--pressure, it appears, that Obama is conceding to as he brags that discretionary spending will be the lowest since Eisenhower's administration.So Obama's budget includes cuts to infrastructure, education, and more, and for Republicans, that's still not enough. Dean joins us from D.C. via Skype to talk about what the president should be arguing as the budget fight heats up.They're calling him the Mubarak of the Midwest: Wisconsin governor Scott Walker might have gone too far threatening to call the National Guard on union workers who might fight back against his draconian bill to strip their collective bargaining rights. Walker's union-busting has brought out thousands of protesters, who packed the capitol building and even drew support from the Super Bowl-winning Green Bay Packers. The protests continued today with a "sick-out" from Madison schools, and support just might be eroding for Walker's policies..."It's a reimagining of the middle east, what is possible," says poet Remi Kanazi of the revolution in Egypt, and Laila El-Haddad notes the direct impact that the Mubarak regime had on Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza, which shares a border with Egypt. ; Laila and members of her family--including her small children--had been detained by the Mubarak regime.What does regime change mean for the Palestinian people? And what effect will the wave of civil rights protests and activism across Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Iran and Libya have? Laila and Remi join us to discuss.Finally, Laura has a few thoughts about Obama's budget--and all the things we shouldn't forget.