Diane Benson, an antiwar Democrat running for Congress in Alaska, discusses the stop loss and severe injuries suffered by her son, the invisibility of the tens of thousands of wounded American soldiers from the Iraq war, the unfairness of the stop loss system, the cowardice of all those who “support” the war with stickers on their truck while others fight for them, the belief of young soldiers that they’d be off to fight bin Laden, the VA’s directing of soldiers to other welfare programs for medical care, the true cost of war in human and financial terms, her son’s partial recovery from his injuries, economic worries, the premium she puts on dialog over military action to deal with terrorism problems and the danger to al Qaeda in Iraq if the U.S. withdraws.

MP3 here. (25:49)

Diane Benson is an Alaskan politician, inspirational speaker, video production consultant, published writer and dramatist. She contracts in film/video production, research, and writing. Benson has appeared in Disney’s White Fang, the award winning Box of Daylight, and the International Film Festival award winning Sacajawea from 1989. Benson has one foster daughter and one son. Her son, Latseen Benson, is an army veteran, who was severely wounded in Iraq in November 2005. Benson has a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing, a Bachelor’s degree in Theater, and is working on a Master’s in Public Policy at the New England College.

Historian Howard Zinn, author of the new People’s History of American Empire, discusses the long history of American imperialism from the genocide of the American Indians to the wars against Mexico, Spain, the Good War, and the “war on terrorism,” and the long and proud history of the American antiwar movement too.

MP3 here. (14:47)

Howard Zinn is a highly acclaimed American historian, political scientist, social critic, activist, and playwright. He is best known for his bestseller A People’s History of the United States, is Professor Emeritus in the Political Science Department at Boston University.