August 13 – Is Netanyahu About to Bomb Iran?; Paul Ryan’s Appeal to Blue Collar Voters; “Letters to a Young Activist”

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Part 1	We begin and go to Israel where there are intensifying reports in the press that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Barak are determined to bomb Iran soon, in the fall, before the American election. The former spokesman for Shimon Peres, Gideon Levy joins us. He has an article in Ha’aretz “The Hour of the Warmongers” and we discuss the growing alarm in Israel that their leaders are bent on war with Iran.
Part 2	Then we go to Madison, Wisconsin and examine the local reaction to Paul Ryan’s ascendance as Vice President on the Republican ticket. Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive magazine joins us to discuss the political skills of his neighbor in nearby Janesville, who regularly gets reelected in a blue collar district, appealing to working Americans, even though his policies and priorities benefit the super-rich, undermine the middle class and punish the poor.
Part 3	Then finally we speak with sociologist Todd Gitlin about his latest book “Letters to a Young Activist” which teaches protestors and dissenters how it was done in the 60’s and how it can be done more effectively today. As America lurches further and further to the right, we discuss idealism, identity politics and the legacy of activism in the 60’s and whether similar protest movements can be revived today.