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This week on Uprising:

* An Exclusive Reportback from LA’s Tax Day Tea Party
* Understanding the Congo Conflict
* Black Agenda Report about Afghan Civilian Deaths
* Conversation with Music Legend Buffy Sainte-Marie

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An Exclusive Reportback from LA’s Tax Day Tea Party

On April 15th millions of Americans scrambled to file their taxes before the IRS deadline. It also marked the day that scores of Tea Partiers demonstrated to decry an issue near and dear to them. In demonstrations throughout the country—including multiple events at the nation’s capital—they rallied against what they saw as onerous taxation by the federal government. The protests come in the wake of 25 separate tax cuts passed by the Obama administration that overwhelmingly benefit the 95% of Americans in working and middle class families. A series of polls shed some light on the fuel behind Tea Party fury. A newly-released NYT/CBS poll demonstrates that, “[t]he 18 percent of Americans who identify themselves as Tea Party supporters tend to be Republican, white, male, married and older than 45.” And, while most Tea Party supporters identify themselves as middle class, they are more likely than the general public to make six-figure incomes. The poll also shows surprisingly that despite the fact that Tea Partiers are taking to the streets in protest of taxes, they believe that public schools, Social Security, and Medicare benefits are worth the price they pay to the government. On April 15th in West Los Angeles, a small tea party gathering of 50-100 took place outside the office of Senator Dianne Feinstein. Uprising correspondent Chris Bennett was there and files this exclusive report.

Understanding the Congo Conflict

Eight Red Cross workers were kidnapped last week in the Democratic Republic of Congo by members of the armed Mai Mai Yakutumba militia. The hostages include 7 Congolese and 1 Swiss national. The International Committee of the Red Cross has been one of few foreign aid organizations remaining in the Congo over decades of conflict. Six staff members of the ICRC were also murdered in 2002. Meanwhile a Spanish doctor who was kidnapped while on vacation in the Congo was recently released after two weeks in captivity. Fresh violence has broken out in the Congo in recent months resulting in thousands of people being displaced. The Congolese government is headed by Joseph Kabila who came to power through the much-touted elections in 2006 which were supposed to herald a new era in the war-torn region. Kabila has faced accusations of illegitimately centralizing the government, abusing power, and running violent militias. He has also called for an end to the United Nations mission MONUC by 2011, ahead of the general elections. However, rights groups point out that the country relies on UN troops for the protection of women and internally displaced people. Last Friday over a dozen rebel groups announced a new coalition in opposition to Kabila’s presidency.

GUEST: Louise Arbour is the President and CEO of the International Crisis Group

For more information, visit www.crisisgroup.org.

Black Agenda Report about Afghan Civilian Deaths

Glen Ford is a writer and radio commentator and the Executive Editor of The Black Agenda Report. This week’s commentary is about Afghan Civilian Deaths.

Visit www.blackagendareport.com for more information.

Conversation with Music Legend Buffy Sainte-Marie

Artists are often tagged as prolific but few have earned the distinction as thoroughly as my guest Buffy Sainte-Marie. Sainte-Marie was born on a Cree reservation in Saskatchewan, Canada, and raised in the United States. In the 1960s she became known as a singer and songwriter of protest and love songs, and her songs have been recorded by artists ranging from Janis Joplin, to Neil Diamond. Sainte-Marie was blacklisted from radio play during the Lyndon Johnson administration due to the political nature of her lyrics. Following this she left the music business while raising her son, Dakota, appearing with him on Sesame Street regularly. In 1982 Sainte-Marie won an academy Award for the song, Up Where We Belong in the film, an Officer and a Gentleman. In 1969 Sainte-Marie started a philanthropic non-profit fund, the Nihewan Foundation for American Indian Education, devoted to improving Native American students participation in learning. In 1996 she founded the Cradleboard Teaching Project, with projects reaching Native communities in eleven states, including the Cree, Hawaiian, and Apache communities. She is a sought-after speaker, lecturing at colleges and civic venues on a wide variety of topics including film scoring, electronic music, songwriting, and Native American studies. Sainte-Maire is distinguished as an early pioneer of digital art. Her electronic paintings have appeared in Art Focus, Ms. Magazine, and USA Today. Buffy Sainte-Maries new album, Running For The Drum, includes 11 new songs and an expanded version of America the Beautiful, as well as the DVD documentary, Buffy Sainte-Marie: A Multimedia Life.

GUEST: Buffy Sainte-Marie, singer, songwriter

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day

“Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.”

— Chief Seattle