We've had a lot of talk this week about the Left: where is it? Why does the media ignore it? What can we do to rebuild it? And whose fault is any of this? The mainstream media might ignore voices from the Left, but here on GRITtv those are just the voices that matter--and today, for a special feature, we welcome two you may have heard of: Tariq Ali and Alexander Cockburn.

The economic situation hasn't been good for anyone, but funding for the arts always takes a hit first in tough times. The $50 million for the arts in the stimulus bill was a site of contention, with Republicans complaining loudly about going into debt for art's sake. And when funding is crunched, our guests note, the fear of controversy grows--art that doesn't fit the "moral values" of those holding the purse strings is first on the chopping block.

"Where are we, where is the passion, where is the organizing when millions of people are in deep pain and fear over the economic collapse?" asks Robert Greenwald, founder and president of Brave New Films. While his videos have been viewed 50 million times now by progressive activists, Greenwald wants to see more organizing, more outreach, more movement-building from the left.

"Where are we, where is the passion, where is the organizing when millions of people are in deep pain and fear over the economic collapse?" asks Robert Greenwald, founder and president of Brave New Films. While his videos have been viewed 50 million times now by progressive activists, Greenwald wants to see more organizing, more outreach, more movement-building from the left.

The other day on the show, Melissa Harris-Lacewell suggested media "need to be covering the left as much as we cover, with anxiety, the right.” Anxiety reached a fever pitch Tuesday night with the Tea Party primary victory for Christine O'Donnell, anti-masturbation crusader, in Delaware's Senate race. The New York Times breathlessly headlines “G.O.P. Insurgents Win in Del. and N.Y.” and goes on for several paragraphs without even mentioning Democratic primaries, let alone noting that there were some insurgent victories there as well.

“Do we want to live in a place where the U.S. government can torture and kill people at will? Or do we not?” asks Vince Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. A new Amnesty International report says that thousands of detainees in Iraq, many recently transferred from U.S. custody, are still at risk of torture, and back in the U.S. the Obama administration continues to use "national security" as justification for everything from dismissing lawsuits to searching laptops.

Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin was the sole vote against the PATRIOT Act--that you probably know. But he's also been willing to stand up against his own party, voting against Tim Geithner's confirmation and more recently, against the financial reform bill that passed, saying it would do more harm than good.

"Your real friends are the ones who respect you enough to tell you when you're not thinking straight," says Jay Smooth, videoblogger, DJ and commentator. In his latest blog, a collaboration with GIANT magazine, Jay defines the term "got-no-sensitive" for us and traces its history back to Joseph McCarthy.

“Do we want to live in a place where the U.S. government can torture and kill people at will? Or do we not?” asks Vince Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights. A new Amnesty International report says that thousands of detainees in Iraq, many recently transferred from U.S. custody, are still at risk of torture, and back in the U.S. the Obama administration continues to use "national security" as justification for everything from dismissing lawsuits to searching laptops.

“Corporate interests are buying the elections? Oh no", Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, told the New York Times this week. “It’s much worse than that. We don’t know who’s buying the election.”