"People are sick and tired of the way things have been for the past 30 years," says Philip Rizk, a blogger and filmmaker based in Cairo. In 2009, Philip was detained by state security after taking part in a protest in support of Gaza, and so has intimate awareness of the control and terror inflicted by the state on its people--who are only escalating, with a general strike called for today and a "Million March" for Tuesday.

Despite reports on some media outlets of increasing chaos, Philip says he feels very safe in Cairo, and joins us via phone to tell us the latest from where he is.

"Who do you think you are, telling Egyptians what they should be doing?" Phyllis Bennis would like to ask Hillary Clinton. The Obama administration has made some good steps in its policy toward the ongoing uprising in Egypt, she notes, mentioning a willingness to rethink military aid and calling the Egyptian people's demands legitimate. But Phyllis calls for the US to go further in its support and actually stop funding the military and police in Egypt--currently the second largest recipient of US foreign aid, after Israel.

Phyllis joins us from Washington, D.C. via Skype to discuss the relationship between the US and Egypt, and what's going on now.

The Koch brothers have operated largely beneath the radar of most Americans for years, convening twice-yearly meetings for the past 8 years of some of the richest and most powerful conservatives in the country. Their meetings have even been attended by Supreme Court Justices Scalia and Thomas; part of the five-vote majority on the Supreme Court that handed down the Citizens United ruling, and their Americans for Prosperity buses appear at Tea Party events around the country.

But this week, they had a little surprise--their gathering wasn't a secret any more, as around a thousand protesters showed up outside their Rancho Mirage, CA getaway. Ed Pilkington of the Guardian was there, and he joins us to give us the story.

Finally, as we discuss democracy in Egypt and the US, one blogger reminds us that inequality might be bad in Egypt--but it's worse at home. Laura has some thoughts.