You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: No War With Iran. Still. Again.

So here we are. Another foreign policy episode where neocons have pushed us to the seeming brink of an unnecessary and very likely deadly and expensive war -- it's not like there's any other kind of war. The once-proud, flagship paper The Washington Post is predictably churning out Sunday edition opinion pieces on why we should be at war with Iran yesterday, if possible.

Paul Waldman at The American Prospect succinctly summed up how this segment and the episode it's a part of came to be:

"Forty-seven senators, nearly all of the upper house's Republicans, sent a letter to the Iranian government intended to persuade it against signing a deal currently being negotiated with the United States and five other countries."

Imagine the freak out that would happen if 47 democrats sent such a letter to circumvent a republican president. Former Rep. Barney Frank said in an interview last week that the GOP just wants war with Iran. Plain and simple.

Here's the thing, though: it's not just progressives and hippie peace lovers who think this is a bad idea. Daniel Larison -- senior editor for an outlet called "The American Conservative" -- wrote this under the title "The Appalling Case for an Unnecessary War with Iran":

"War is definitely not the “only” option with Iran, and it is by far the most costly and pointless of the available options."

I couldn't agree more.

One loud voice on the Foreign Relations Committee is pushing back and demanding some semblance of sanity. Senator Chris Murphy -- Democrat from Connecticut -- has a petition up at MoveOn.org titled "The U.S. Senate should continue to give diplomacy with Iran a chance." He's hardly overreaching, requesting that his colleagues not leap to bomb dropping, but instead give the lengthy process of negotiating a chance before doing what cannot be undone.

Both Senator Murphy's petition and the one from DailyKos and Roots Action titled simply "No War With Iran" also ask Congress to refrain from additional sanctions. Through RootsAction.org/take-action, you can send your representatives this simple message: "It is reckless and dangerous to call for new sanctions that will risk us going into war. As a constituent, I urge you to please reject any new sanctions."

As always you can also write, call, and tweet at your congressional representatives through ContactingTheCongress.org.

Until taking military action becomes becomes political suicide, these moments will continue to arise and we must continue to speak out and push back through every avenue available.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN & Share the MoveOn.org petition The U.S. Senate should continue to give diplomacy with Iran a chance" from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)

SIGN & Share the RootsAction and DailyKos petition: "No War With Iran"

Sources/further reading:

"The Worst Case for War With Iran You’ll Read in a Major Newspaper" by Ali Gharib at The Nation

"The Neocons Strike Back" by Paul Waldman at The American Prospect

"Barney Frank Says Netanyahu And The GOP Want War With Iran" on HuffPost LIve

"The Appalling Case for an Unnecessary War with Iran" by Daniel Larison at The American Conservative

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #907 "Propaganda and warmongering (Netanyahu and the GOP letter to Iran)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich