Host Barbara Bernstein speaks with activist and author Tom Hayden. Hayden was a founding member of the Students for a Democratic Society in 1961, and author of its visionary call, the Port Huron Statement, described by Howard Zinn as "one of those historic documents which represents an era."
After helping lead street demonstrations against the war at the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention, where he was beaten, gassed and arrested twice, Hayden was indicted in 1969 with seven others on conspiracy and incitement charges.
After five years of trials, appeals, and retrials, he was acquitted of all charges.
Hayden was elected to the California state assembly in 1982, and the state senate ten years later, serving eighteen years in all.
His latest book is Writings For A Democratic Society : The Tom Hayden Reader, the best of Tom Hayden's writings from the turbulent 1960s to the Iraq war.
Barbara's second guest, Elisabeth de la Vega, (The Colbert Report), former federal prosecutor with more than 20 years of experience. During her tenure, she was a member of the Organized Crime Strike Force and Chief of the San Jose Branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. Her current book, United States v. George W. Bush et al. is her personal protest against the atrocities afflicted upon our nation by the current administration. A pretty good list of offenses can be seen in Dennis Kucinich's recent Articles for Impeachment, presented before Congress in early June 2008.
- KBOO