MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom WAMU 88.5 at American University in Washington, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," connecting your neighborhood with the world. Later in the broadcast, it's Food Wednesday, everything you always wanted to know about coffee and all of the information you already have about coffee that you want to share. But first, it's Your Turn. Call us now at 800-433-8850 to discuss anything on your mind, events in the news, recent additions of this broadcast or anything else.

MR. KOJO NNAMDI800-433-8850, specifically, what is your thinking about the protests unfolding on Wall Street, protests which are expected to come here to Washington on Thursday? What do you think? Is this the beginning of a new movement on the left that's the equivalent or comparable to the movement of the Tea Party on the right? And if so, how effective do you think it's likely to be, 800-433-8850?

MR. KOJO NNAMDIIt is Your Turn. You can also ask a question or make a comment, which is what Your Turn is all about at our website, kojoshow.org. You can do it by tweet @kojoshow or send e-mail to kojo@wamu.org. The protests have increasingly been making the news, not only because of the protests themselves, but because of how the New York police department has either handled or mishandled the protests and that's ending up in court, a conversation that we will be having tomorrow on this broadcast.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIBut today, it's Your Turn to make that conversation by calling 800-433-8850. What is your view of the so-called Wall Street protests? And an interesting aspect of the Amanda Knox case, you know, of course, she, the American, accused of murder in Italy who landed home in Seattle, just yesterday. The New York Times reporting today that her family, the Knox family, hired a public relations company specializing in crisis management.

MR. KOJO NNAMDISoon after Amanda Knox was arrested in the year 2007, during her junior year abroad. And that company has been cranking up the image of Amanda Knox to counter all of the images that were being reported in tabloid media in Europe about her. And there have been complaints in Italy that it is felt that all of that kind of positive publicity about her may have had an impact on the trial and may have painted a distorted portrait of the Italian criminal justice system because it is comparable in some respects, people feel, to the U.S. criminal justice system.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIBut was made to seem, in the U.S. media, and presumably, as a result of efforts made by public relations firms, to be some kind of court that was not in accordance with the normal rules of criminal justice. What do you think, 800-433-8850, about the Wall Street protests, the Amanda Knox case or anything else on your mind?

MR. KOJO NNAMDIIt is Your Turn. How about the Middle East? Care to comment on what seems to be on the one hand, both parties saying that they are willing to go back to the negotiating table, but both parties seeming to do everything to indicate that they are not serious about returning to the negotiating table.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIIt is Your Turn, 800-433-8850. In the Amanda Knox case, the New York Times reported one point. A Seattle judge was admonished for using court stationary to write to Italian officials on behalf of Amanda Knox. And a senator, Maria Cantwell, a Washington democrat, championed her case, reaching out to both American and Italian officials.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIWhat do you think, that there was maybe too much interference or that it was entirely appropriate? 800-433-8850. Here is Jim in Chevy Chase, Md. Jim, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

JIMHi, Kojo. I just don't know why you say that this is a liberal movement. We want to know...

NNAMDII didn't use the word, liberal. Didn't use the word liberal. I did use the word left.

JIMOkay. Well, we're Tea Party and we don't like what's going on on Wall Street either. They're taking jobs and money away from us. And we want to go march with them, too. So I don’t -- and I'm not alone. We're not alone. This is a whole lot of Tea Party people who are mad as hell and we want to go and march against what Wall Street -- and what Wall Street's paying to people, too.

JIMLike, Eric Cantor's getting so much money from Wall Street. And why is he getting money from them? He can't get money from people who don't have jobs. Like -- but why is he not getting us jobs?

NNAMDIWell, Jim, I must admit that this is the first I have heard of a supporter of the Tea Party who is in agreement with the Wall Street protests and you might be representative of a large number of people. It is also one of the first times that I have heard somebody who publicly describes themselves as a Tea Party supporter being critical of Eric Cantor. It is generally considered that Eric Cantor, Virginia representative, is one of the favorites among Tea Party supporters. What say you?

JIMHe's not getting me a job.

NNAMDIAnd so you think that Tea Partiers should be joining the demonstrations in New York and the demonstrations coming to Washington?

JIMWell, it's up to everybody. I mean, this is an independent movement. We're independent people. And, yes, we definitely, you know, move the way we want to as individuals. But, I mean, I can't see any other way. I mean, the people in Congress are just not helping with jobs. And, you know, I don't want to vote for some creepy, you know, liberal. But what I want to do is, I want to get people to help us. This is a country where people help each other. You know, maybe we have to be independent like crazy.

NNAMDIWhat do you think about President Obama's jobs bill that he keeps telling the Congress to pass?

JIMWell, I can't really see much wrong with it. I mean, yeah, okay, so we have to get the rich guys to pay some more. I mean, rich guys know they deserve to pay more. They even say they do. But, you know, I mean, sure, I'm going to lose my house if I don’t get more income. And anybody that's independent in this country knows, for a long time, that we deserve to have our own houses.

NNAMDIOkay, Jim.

JIMAnd we...

NNAMDIThank you very much for your call. You, too, can weigh in. It's Your Turn 800-433-8850. Also, if you'd like to talk about New Jersey governor Chris Christie deciding not to run for President in 2012 while keeping his options open for 2016. 800-433-8850, here is Stream in Aspen Hill, Md. Hi, Stream.

STREAMHi, Kojo. So -- well, I think that it's a good thing that Christie is not running because the risk of him having a heart attack seems obvious. So he should (unintelligible) ...

NNAMDIWhy will he -- why would the risk of him having heart attack while running for President be any different from the risk of him having anything while being governor of New Jersey?

STREAMWell, it -- you know, the people in New Jersey have taken their chances, but it seems unnecessary to express the rest of the country through the same...

NNAMDIWell, we will be having a discussion this coming Monday with Howard Ross. It is my understanding, at least that's the way we're planning so far, to talk about the fact that Chris Christie is overweight and whether or not that should factor into people's judgment about a candidate's fitness for office. But you wanted to talk about something else also.

STREAMYes, I wanted to talk about the prevalence of polls in the newspaper, how every day there is a different poll saying that Congress is being disapproved by so many people and such and such, like the jobs spiel is approved or disapproved and so forth. I think that all this polling is mudding the waters because it's -- it gives, you know, public opinion is changing by degrees, but the polling shows this very tiny differences and it's not saying anything. It's just filling up space.

STREAMAnd it makes people think that there is some country -- something going on. But there's nothing going on. (unintelligible) ...

NNAMDIWell, Stream, you do make a good point. There is space in newspapers that has to be filled up every day and there is time on the airwaves that have to be filled up every day and polls, indeed, do take up a significant part of that space in time. But you think that this kind of daily taking of the pulse, so to speak, of the American people on one issue or another is a waste of time?

STREAMI think so. I think so.

NNAMDIWhy?

STREAMWell, I think that it occupies a small segment of journalists and poll takers while important news and facts, what is actually going on under the surface, is being ignored.

NNAMDIAnd, of course, you know that a lot of newspapers and mainstream media television, et cetera have had to cut their budgets significantly especially when it comes to covering foreign affairs. You seem to be suggesting that daily polls might be taking too much of that space up now.

STREAMYes, I do. I do.

NNAMDIOkay. Stream, thank you very much for your call. We move onto Mike who is on 495. Mike, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

MIKEHi, how you (word?) ?

NNAMDII'm well.

MIKEHow you doing? Good. I'm just calling to say -- to give a shout out to those protestors on Wall Street, the young people out there that seem to have some political savvy and understand that we have two political parties that represent corporate interests and no political parties that represent them or other middle class Americans. That they're full aware that the financial -- that Wall Street writes the financial laws and rules and regulations in this country to the point where you can only save tax deferred if you give your money to Wall Street.

MIKEWall Street gets $700 billion in TARP bailouts, but they're not getting any bailouts. And I think it's wonderful to see young people involved in the political process and political protests where -- especially where they protesting directly to their government representatives, quote un-quote, "their government representatives." It's completely futile because, you know, the five largest campaign donators to the both Obama and McCain campaigns in 2008 were Wall Street banks.

MIKEI think these kids are aware of that and they're out there expressing their concerns as it affects the country and also their outrage. And I'd like to give a big shout out to them.

NNAMDIMike, what do you think is the possibility of the emergence of a third party, unaffiliated with Wall Street, being able to make a significant dent in elections?

MIKEWell, I think that's the only hope and I tell everyone that I speak to to never vote again for a democrat or a republican for this very reason. And whatever comes out of the miss-mosh of green and libertarians and conservative and liberal and what other party members there might be, has got to be more favorable to the average citizen in this country than what we have today. And so hopefully these kids will be able to get this message out and talk to lots of people and have some high degree of visibility in getting their message out.

NNAMDIYou know, of course, about the ongoing skepticism, particularly in mainstream media, but I suspect on-going skepticism among the public about the potential for a third party to make a significant -- to have a significant impact. What would you say to that?

MIKEWell, I have an on-going discussion with my office manager who tells me I've wasted my vote every time I vote for a third party candidate. And I just tell her, well, you know, whatever the Republican president or Democratic president when it comes to these types of issues, these financial issues, they always do the same thing and that is whatever's most favorable to large corporate interests, banks and especially investment banks.

MIKEAnd, you know, it's remarkable that people who make millions of dollars are only taxed at 15 percent, while someone who works as a janitor, depending on how much they make and where they live, is taxed at a higher rate than that. That society that we have who's writing those laws I think it's but apparent that Wall Streeters are writing those laws.

NNAMDIOkay.

MIKEAnd the Washingtonians are writing them down as the Wall Streeters are dictating them.

NNAMDIOkay.

MIKEAnd I think in terms of a third party, I think there's -- I think unless -- until enough people realize that you're wasting your vote if you vote for a Democrat and/or a Republican then, you know, until that happens, and it may be a long way down the road, but we'll have no change in the way the financial structure of this country is -- has been established.

NNAMDIOkay, Mike. Thank you very much for your call. Implicit in Mike's call also is the cry among some people for campaign finance reform. More of it that would limit the contributions of corporations which, as you know, the Supreme Court has just expanded. 800-433--8850. What do you think of the Wall Street protest, Chris Christy's decision not to run, the return of Amanda Knox to the United States and the circumstances surrounding that or anything else? Here is Ynez on the eastern shore of Maryland. Ynez, go ahead, please.

YNEZThank you for taking my call. I’m just calling in regards to the protestors in New York. They are definitely speaking for me because I've been thinking what they're fighting for all along. And I just can't behoove people agreeing with the -- those who are rich to not have to pay taxes, yet people like me, well, I have to pay taxes all the time, if not then I'm cited or I may end up in court.

YNEZAnd I just feel like because I am a Christian -- actually I'm a preacher -- but I know that the Bible says that the strong must bear the infirmities of the weak. And I've realized in listening to the Republican representatives, I know they espouse their Christianity. But I just don't see it (unintelligible) --

NNAMDIWell, Ynez, allow me to offer the argument that a number of Republican members of the Congress are making an opposition to a tax on the wealthy that a lot of these people are those who create jobs. They've been called job creators. And that increasing taxes on them will decrease the likelihood that they will in fact be creating jobs for people because then they won't be able to do it because their wealth has been reduced. What would you say to that?

YNEZWhat I have to say to that is that I watched the candidates, those who were striving -- in the last election that we had striving for office and how they could reach into their pocket and pull out a million dollars. So I don't think they would be hurt that much if they had to pay their taxes. As I said a while ago, the strong must bear the infirmities of the weak. And financially they have demonstrated that they can afford to pay more money to pay taxes.

NNAMDIOkay, Ynez, thank you very much for your call. We move onto...

YNEZThank you. Can I say...

NNAMDI...we move onto Debbie in Great Falls, Va. Debbie, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

DEBBIEHello, Kojo.

NNAMDIHi, Debbie.

DEBBIEI would like to just kind of amplify to what the last two callers have said. I definitely would like to see this protest coalesce around campaign finance issues. Apparently, the protests in D.C., after they did articulate that, I think that perhaps the citizens' united decision is the worst decision that was ever made by a Supreme Court in this country. And so I certainly would like to see that become part of the issue.

DEBBIEAs far as the job creators argument, I think that's been debunked by Warren Buffett who, you know, absolutely laughed at the idea that paying just a slightly higher tax than these people are paying now would discourage them from creating jobs. It's like, oh well, I'm going to make a little bit less money but I'm still going to make a fortune so I'm just going to stop hiring and doing.

DEBBIEAlso John Stewart really debunked that with O'Riley who admitted that if he had to pay higher taxes he would still -- it would be (word?) and would still be creating jobs. So, you know, this is just ridiculous. During the Clinton Administration when the taxes were higher, we had a much better economy, about ten times more jobs created during his eight years than there were during the Bush Administration.

NNAMDIOkay. Thank you very much for your call. We move...

DEBBIEOh, I have one thing to add to it as far as...

NNAMDIUh-oh.

DEBBIE...Amanda Knox trial is concerned. I think it's less a question of the justice system in Italy being flawed as it is allowing prosecutors who are really, you know, out of step with reality to, you know, promulgate these ridiculous theories that they've come up with that sound sexy and will get media attention. Mignini's already been convicted and is awaiting sentencing on prosecutorial overreach and misconduct. Very similar to what happened to Nifong who was the prosecutor of the Duke rape boys, who many of the people involved with the Duke lacrosse team were friends of my sons who played lacrosse for the University of Maryland. One of the accused was a personal friend (unintelligible) ...

NNAMDII know about that situation but you know that the charges you're making against the Italian justice system are the same charges that are made by Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

DEBBIEWell, as I say, I'm not indicting the entire justice system. I'm really indicting more an out-of-control prosecutor. Although I think that the evidence collection, as far as the DNA was concerned, was obviously terribly flawed and would not stand up in most American courts.

NNAMDIOkay. Thank you for your call, Debbie. And finally, we move on to Ruth in Burke, Va. Ruth, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

RUTHOh, hi -- hi, Kojo. Yeah, I wanted to give my support to this group of 99 percent, is what I do call them. But what I was wondering is that -- I know you're familiar with Grover Norquist and how he -- all the Republicans had signed a form that they would not raise taxes.

NNAMDIAnti-tax split, yes.

RUTHRight. Well, I think that the 99 percent may want to put a form out to the congress and suggest that they -- if they are taking campaign money at this point, which I don't think we're going to be able to stop, that they do show where it's coming from and not have it hidden in these pack groups. And also one of the bills that is going to be coming up is this tax holiday. And I think if the 99 percent maybe takes a look at letting Congress know that we do not want that to go through where these people, I think...

NNAMDIWhat is interesting, Ruth, is that even as these protestors started their protests on Wall Street, people keep seeming to want to pile more on their plate every single day. They have now become the magnet for every single complaint that people have. And that's because, I guess, they haven't come out with a specific agenda. However, I would strongly suggest that if you have other suggestions for their agenda, that you go ahead and make them quickly before your own suggestion doesn't make it onto the agenda.

NNAMDIBut that's about all the time we have. Ruth, thank you so much for your call. We're going to be taking a short break. Thanks to all of you who participated in Your Turn. When we come back, all about coffee. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.