corporations

Thousands of people descended on Wall Street Saturday, participating in an demonstration called "Occupy Wall Street." Protesters have been camped out in New York City's financial district without a permit. Demonstration organizers say they were inspired by the anti-austerity protests in Spain and Greece. Isham Christie, who has been camping out alongside the group since the onset of the protest, talks about the demonstrations from the ground.

This weekend, the New York branch of the nationwide budget-cut protest group US Uncut tried a new tactic-- it held teach-ins in not one, but two Bank of America locations, explaining economic issues to a crowd of interested listeners (and bank customers) until they were chased out by security. Thanks to US Uncut for producing the video!

"It's a targeting of workers' abilities to come together against big companies," says Columbia University professor Dorian Warren of the Walmart v. Duke case. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments from both sides on whether a class-action lawsuit that pits female employees since 1998 against the corporate giant Wal-Mart will be permitted. Plaintiffs say that the level of gender discrimination is so entrenched that is has become part of the corporate culture. A class-action lawsuit would ensure that workers have the resources and voice to take on an opponent as formidable as the world's largest retail chain. If the decision to block a class-action suit is made, workers will be left with individual lawsuits and few other options. And, more GOP maneuvering in Wisconsin: the state GOP, with Koch backing, have issued a FOIA request for the email address of several UW Madison professors. They would like to prove that state email addresses were used for illegal lobbying after professor William Cronon published a blog outlining the role of the conservative think-tank American Legislative Exchange Council in drafting legislation around the country. "We know that two-thirds of corporations in the U.S. pay no taxes at all. General Electric was not only paying no taxes but taking a three billion dollar tax benefit," notes Josh Holland, editor & senior writer at AlterNet and author of The Fifteen Biggest Lies about the Economy. And while corporations are finagling their way out of paying taxes, working people still have no money to spend to keep the economy moving--and thus the recession goes on. Josh joins Laura in studio to talk about taxes and other lies politicians tell about the economy. Sleeping in the statehouse, takin' it to the streets--this generation of students is getting a great education, at least outside of the classroom. Last week a group of San Francisco students and educators turned out to protest Governor Jerry Brown's cuts. These may be some of the youngest movement leaders we've seen to date. This video courtesy of Openline Media and voiced by our friend, Davey D. Finally, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's latest anti-immigrant plan? Arming his volunteer posse and sending them up in planes to hunt for immigrants and drug smugglers. Laura asks if it's time for a no-fly zone over Arizona. Distributed by Tubemogul.

"It seems that when you flip the switch too late you actually promote the revolutions in your country. What would've happened if Egypt hadn't flipped the switch? If people are home blogging their discontent they're a lot more controllable, a lot less dangerous," says Doug Rushkoff, author of Program or Be Programmed, of the role of the Internet in the recent revolutions. Doug joins us via Skype to discuss corporate control over our communications, the fight for Net Neutrality, the AT&T and T-Mobile merger, the attempts to defund NPR, and more.