“The question of whether we want a real 'net is really the question of whether we want a real democracy.” That's what Douglas Rushkoff said on Saturday at the Personal Democracy Forum's conference on WikiLeaks. Real democracy comes with messy things we sometimes don't like—and one of those things is getting a boatload of attention.

"I think deal is totally rotten, I think it's the best rotten deal the Democrats could've gotten," says Richard Kim of The Nation of Obama's tax cut compromise. His colleague Betsy Reed, though, notes that by compromising now, heading into an even more conservative Congress, Democrats are setting themselves up for far worse deals in the future--"Where are we going to draw the line ultimately?"

"It felt like the relationship between state and citizen had totally broken down, like there was no order left," says New Statesman journalist Laurie Penny of the Parliament Square protest last week, as the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition voted to pass legislation that may effectively triple the cost of higher education in the UK. While Parliament voted, student protesters were shoved and batoned by police, and Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles found themselves in the middle of the mess.

"I think deal is totally rotten, I think it's the best rotten deal the Democrats could've gotten," says Richard Kim of The Nation of Obama's tax cut compromise. His colleague Betsy Reed, though, notes that by compromising now, heading into an even more conservative Congress, Democrats are setting themselves up for far worse deals in the future--"Where are we going to draw the line ultimately?"

"There is a war going on in this country, and I am not referring to the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. I am talking about a war being waged by some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in this country against the working families of the United States of America, against the disappearing and shrinking middle class of our country."

The term for street kids in Haiti is "Sanguine," which translates to "Soulless." But this week's Got Doc shows they're anything but. Filmmaker Alexandria Hammond, the woman behind Strange Things: Children of Haiti spent three years filming the inner lives of a couple of these children. Estimates right now suggest there are as many as a million disenfranchised youth living on the streets in Haiti.

Elizabeth Edwards, passionate advocate for healthcare reform, lawyer, and wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, died last week at age 61. Karen Finney was her communications director on the campaign, and has remained close to the family, and she joins us via Skype to share her memories of Elizabeth.

"The Democratic base would be less angry at our leadership if they would really stand up for something," notes Loretta Ross of SisterSong, "Democrats need to stop flinching every time someone says the word 'abortion'." Democrats are on the defensive, and meanwhile anti-choice activists are ramping up their efforts to deny women the right to an abortion, not just in the South, where the "Freedom Rides for Life" that we detailed here at GRITtv in our "Conspiracy Tactics" series began, but across the country.

"In the last two days alone, I've gotten 2000 telephone calls, and 99% said this agreement is a bad agreement; we can and must do better," says Senator Bernie Sanders of President Obama's deal with Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts for all in exchange for a one-year extension of unemployment benefits and other concessions. "You can't do better unless you get out there and fight. Maybe it's time for our Republican friends to start compromising."

Environmental advocates in Cancun were appalled this morning when Thomas Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network was denied entry to the UN Climate Change Conference following his participation in a demonstration of environmental groups on Thursday. Tamar Sharabi from Free Speech TV was there to capture it on video--take a look.