Green jobs have been touted over and over as the solution to the crisis in manufacturing in the US, able to solve climate problems and employment issues at the same time. But they won't be any kind of solution at all if they aren't available to those who need them the most.

Matthew Hoh was the first US civilian official to resign in protest over the conduct of the war in Afghanistan. In this video from Brave New Films, Hoh reads his letter of resignation and explains why he decided to make a public statement.

The Huffington Post Investigative Fund isn't talking about a new horror movie here, but a new problem that threatens to destabilize hundreds of small- and medium-sized banks across the country. We haven't heard much about "zombie" banks lately, but the range of "zombie" buildings, built with easy credit at the height of the real estate bubble but now standing empty, presents a new threat that might not be as gory as brain-eating monsters, but could be just as devastating.

During the Great Depression, the labor movement was a major player pushing a progressive agenda and helping to put people back to work. While we've heard plenty of comparisons between the current recession and the Depression, we haven't seen a return of the kind of militancy that came from labor in the 20s and 30s. With all the anger swirling around right now, where's the organizing?

It's not people politics, it's campaign contribution politics that are playing out in the Senate.

Antonino D'Ambrosio joined us in the GRITtv studio to talk about the history of protest music, the myth of Johnny Cash, and why music is one of the best ways to carry a progressive message. Then, in a special performance, he was joined by Anthony Roman and David Milone of the band Radio 4 to perform Cash's song "Apache Tears" live.

Since Obama is convening a jobs summit and soliciting suggestions on how to put people back to work (that don't involve the dirty word "stimulus"), we had Dean Baker and John Nichols put their heads together and talk about ways to create good, meaningful, well-paid jobs and rethink the way Americans look at work.

We loved Mike Rohde's sketchnote of Clay Shirky's appearance on GRIT so much that we asked him if we could post it on the site. You can see more of his sketchnotes on his Flickr page.

Antonino D'Ambrosio joined us this week on GRITtv to talk about the history of protest music, the myth of Johnny Cash, and why music is one of the best ways to carry a progressive message. Then, in a special performance, he was joined by Anthony Roman and David Milone of the band Radio 4 to perform Cash's song "Apache Tears" live. Since it's Friday night, we thought we'd repost the performance here for you.

Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, An American Nightmare collects essays from around the progressive media analyzing the mysterious appeal of Sarah Palin. Richard Kim of the joins us along with contributors Rebecca Traister of Salon, Max Blumenthal, Daily Beast contributor and author of Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party, and Shannyn Moore of Smart Radio in Alaska to talk about the books, the Right, and why Palin just won't go away.