The Fallon Forum

Dear Friends,

Shortly before last fall’s election, I had a remarkably vivid dream involving a passing conversation with President Obama. As he stepped off the campaign bus, I pleaded with him to make climate change his top priority. He responded, “We need to talk. I’ll get back with you. I promise.”

I woke certain that the conversation would resume in the near future (I’ve had dreams do that before). Yet as weeks turned into months with the President failing to “get back with” me, I chalked it up as another empty campaign promise. Eventually, I forgot about the dream entirely.

Until this weekend. In an even more vivid dream, the President and I met over “coffee” at a small, crowded café (perhaps Ritual Café). In a fascinating, highly productive conversation, we never once talked about climate change. Instead of me telling the President what he needed to do, the conversation turned to what he and I both agreed I should be doing – on a very personal, foundational level.

As the President stood up to leave and adjusted his red-white-and-blue stocking cap, he again promised the conversation would continue – but this time put the ball back in my court.

It takes about 10 minutes to share the entire dream experience, and I’ll do that with you on Tuesday‘s Fallon Forum at 12:00 noon (click here). If you’d like to call-in with your reaction to the two things President Obama challenged me to do, the number is (855) 244-0077. The program will be rebroadcast Wednesday on KHOI (Ames) at 5:00 pm and KPVL (Postville) at 7:00 pm. And we’ll have a podcast of the show up later on Tuesday as well.

Monday, we discuss the proposal to spend $80 million for an expanded Polk County Courthouse. Also, Al Brody of Colorado Springs joins us to talk about bicycling and the upcoming Iowa Bicycle Festival in Jefferson. Also, should Iowans be celebrating that officials working secretly “hooked” Facebook, or should they be angry that taxpayers are now on the hook to the tune of $35 million for a project that creates only a handful of jobs?

Tuesday, in addition to sharing my Obama dream, we’ll talk about the Iowa governor’s race shaping up on the Democratic side even as Governor Branstad remains cryptic on his plans on the Republican side. Also, veterinarian Kim Houlding joins us to talk about the recent lawsuit benefiting Monsanto over an Indiana farmer.

Wednesday, we discuss allegations of sexual harassment on the part of one Iowa Senate Republican staffer. Is it a coincidence that she was fired the same day that she presented documentation of harassment, or is something else going on here?

Thursday, Ron Yarnell joins me to discuss the Obama administration’s problems surrounding the Justice Department’s poking around AP phone records, and the IRS’ rousting of the Tea Party. Ron and I also dig into foreign policy a bit. Also, Suman Hoque, Dan Kelley, and Nakisha Phillips join me as well.

Friday, Ben Stone with the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Dr. Charles Goldman debate money in politics and campaign finance reform. Charles and I consider Ben a fellow traveler on nearly every issue; but we disagree on this one. I’ll try to stay out of the conversation, act as moderator, so we don’t end up double-teaming poor ole Ben. But wait! What’s Heather Ryan doing in the studio with us? Where’d she come from? This could get interesting, kind of a civil, talk-show version of tag-team wrestling.

The Fallon Forum by the numbers:
- Online audience: 1,450 per program (up 60% from a year ago)
- Website traffic: 42,000 total visits in April (up from 12,399 a year ago)
- Weekly e-mail list: 5,900
- Facebook universe: 5,000 on personal page, 4,975 on professional page
- KHOI 89.1 Ames, once a week, Wednesday at 5:00 pm (no data yet)
- KPVL 89.1 Postville, once a week, Tuesday at 7:00 pm (no data yet)

Monday-Friday, join the conversation live from 12:00-1:00 pm on the Fallon Forum website. Call-in at 244-0077 or toll free (855) 244-0077 and add your voice to the dialogue. Video and audio-only podcasts are available after the program. Also, a rebroadcast of Tuesday’s Fallon Forum can be heard on KHOI 89.1 (Ames) Wednesdays at 5:00, and KPVL 89.1 (Postville) Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. Thanks!

Ed

Dear Friends,

As the field of potential GOP Senate candidates with electoral experience shrinks, I’m thinking, “Why not me?” After all, I was elected secretary of a Republican Caucus last year. That’s more electoral success than Bob Vander Plaats, David Young and Matt Whitaker (three of the most frequently mentioned Republican prospects) have combined!

Even the other two Republican prospects, Matt Schultz and Joni Ernst, are serving only their first terms in office. Heck, I served seven. I’ve got a voting record with true conservative street cred, and I’ll stack that cred against any of these light weights any day of the week.

Whether it’s preventing the abuse of eminent domain, ending government meddling in the free market, or keeping Big Brother out of your private life, I’m the kind of small-government candidate Republican primary voters are hungry for. When it comes to voting against wasteful spending, as a state lawmaker I pushed the “no” button so many times I nearly wore out the darn thing.

The only problem is, if I do win the Republican primary, I’d probably vote for my Democratic opponent, Bruce Braley. I kind of like him, you know. Besides, I’m kind of tied up right now organizing the Great March for Climate Action.

Monday, we talk about Iowa’s US Senate race, and also about the big vote tomorrow in Warren County on the proposed casino. And Peter Fisher with the Iowa Policy Project joins us to discuss who really benefits from the various tax proposals at the Iowa Statehouse.

Tuesday, State Senator Rob Hogg is now also an author. Today, among other topics, we’ll learn about his first book, “America’s Climate Century.”

Wednesday, it’s TBA.

Thursday, Dr. Richard Deming is my guest as we discuss Medicaid, health care reform and the Million Dollar Marathon – a relay run of 160 marathons across America to raise funds for cancer research. Also, I’m happy to have Nakisha Phillips back, discussing her work with a doula and a midwife as she closes in on her due date.

Friday, Dr. Charles Goldman joins us. It’s hard to believe that our bought-and-paid-for Congress might actually be ready to “regulate” the too-big-to-fail banksters. But Charles thinks it’s going to happen, as we discuss the Terminating Bailouts for Taxpayer Fairness Act of 2012, now on the docket in D.C. Heather Ryan joins us for part of the conversation, too.

Fallon Forum by the numbers:
- Online audience: 1,450 per program (up 60% from a year ago)
- Website traffic: 42,000 total visits in April (up from 12,399 a year ago)
- Weekly e-mail list: 5,900
- Facebook universe: 5,000 on personal page, 4,975 on professional page
- KHOI 89.1 Ames, once a week, Wednesday at 7:00 pm (no data yet)
- KPVL 89.1 Postville, once a week, Tuesday at 4:00 pm (no data yet)

Monday-Friday, join the conversation live from 12:00-1:00 pm on the Fallon Forum website. Call-in at 244-0077 or toll free (855) 244-0077 and add your voice to the dialogue. Video and audio-only podcasts are available after the program. Also, the a rebroadcast of Tuesday’s Fallon Forum can be heard on KHOI 89.1 (Ames) Wednesdays at 4:00, and KPVL 89.1 (Postville) Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. Thanks!

Dear Friends,

How did I celebrate Earth Day? Well, I flew in airplanes. Ouch. I don’t fly often (recall that I opted for a five-day Megabus odyssey in December). But when it’s the only reasonable option available to visit one’s daughter, one makes concessions. Besides, I prefer to think of Earth Day as a way of life. As I write this update, my laundry dries on a rack while my car sits idle – only halfway through its third tank of gas this year.

We all do our part as best we can. Or do we?

Admit it. As a nation, the comfort we’ve achieved off the fruits and spoils of American Empire is unprecedented. When it comes to our collective environmental footprint, America is Sasquatch among nations. We expect a lot, demand a lot, take our luxuries for granted, and love being pampered by low-wage workers.

Nowhere is pampering more evident than in the resort and cruise industries. Once an option of privilege for only the wealthiest Americans, resorts and cruises are now common fare for a big chunk of the Empire’s citizenry. As the movement toward more sustainable, balanced living grows, even the resort and cruise industry is jumping on board, at least symbolically.

Take Xanterra Parks and Resorts, for example, whose “Choose to be straw free” campaign is . . . well, underwhelming at best. Yeah, I appreciate that “each year enough disposable straws are distributed to fill 46,400 large school buses,” but can’t we shoot for something a little bigger than straws? Besides, if we decommission 46,400 school buses to provide storage space for spent straws, that reduces our carbon footprint AND takes a bite out of America’s obesity problem by getting the little tykes to walk to school.

Ok, so I abandoned logic there. But like flying, I get to do that once in awhile, right?

Tuesday, I continue my Earth Day rant. But don’t worry, there’s more: Steve Cannon joins us to discuss his cross-country marathon. And Anthony Ingraffea takes on fracking.

Wednesday, we talk politics, with a particular look at Texas’ new US Senator Ted Cruz. The key question on my mind is, even in Texas, how does someone like Cruz get elected? Also, speaking of Texas, we ask why chemical factories go boom . . . and could it happen here in Iowa, again?

Thursday and Friday programs are still a work in progress. If you’d like to receive a one-paragraph description of topics and guests the morning of the program, just let me know at this e-mail address.

And here’s a new feature for you: The Fallon Forum by the numbers.

- Online audience: 1,450 per program (up 60% from a year ago)
- Website traffic: 33,672 total visits in March (up from 12,399 a year ago)
- Weekly e-mail list: 5,916 (down from about 6,200 a year ago)
- Facebook universe: 5,000 on personal page, 4,974 on professional page
- KHOI 89.1 Ames: no data yet
- KPVL 89.1 Decorah: no data yet

Monday-Friday, join the conversation live from 12:00-1:00 pm on the Fallon Forum website. Call-in at 244-0077 or toll free (855) 244-0077 and add your voice to the dialogue. Video and audio-only podcasts are available after the program. Also, the a rebroadcast of Tuesday’s Fallon Forum can be heard on KHOI 89.1 (Ames) Wednesdays at 4:00, and KPVL 89.1 (Decorah) Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. Thanks!

Dear Friends,

The US State Department will conduct one and only one hearing on its draft supplemental environmental impact statement on the proposed Keystone Pipeline. You would think that a project with this huge an impact would warrant more than one chance for public input. But this is it: the lone hearing before the Obama Administration makes a final decision on what some describe as a “game-changer” for the climate.

The Omaha World-Herald had this to say about Keystone: “The controversial project proposes piping 830,000 barrels of diluted bitumen per day from Canada’s tar sands region to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. The 1,700-mile pipeline has been delayed and rerouted because of concerns a leak would contaminate groundwater in Nebraska’s environmentally fragile Sand Hills.”

And on the bigger, planetary scale, James Hansen reminds us that the tar sands “contain twice the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by global oil use in our entire history. If we were to fully exploit this new oil source, and continue to burn our conventional oil, gas and coal supplies, concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere eventually would reach levels higher than in the Pliocene era, more than 2.5 million years ago, when sea level was at least 50 feet higher than it is now.”

Wow. With a public hearing on something this big just one state away, Iowans ought to be flocking in droves to Grand Island on April 18. It’s at the Heartland Events Center, 700 East Stolley Park Road in two sessions – the first from 12:00-3:00 pm, the second from 4:00-8:00 pm. Stay tuned for more details on carpools and buses from Iowa.

Monday, we talk about Medicaid vs Branstad, juvenile offenders vs Branstad, and Trans Canada vs Planet Earth.

Tuesday, we talk about cats vs birds and Monsanto vs family farmers. We also talk with Steve Shivvers and Ann Christenson about Transition Des Moines and how their work at the local level ties in with the Keystone Pipeline.

Wednesday, Bill Dewey joins us to discuss the increasing acidity of the oceans. Bill makes his living off the ocean – kind of an aquatic farmer – and his business, Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton, Washington, is on the front lines of those affected by climate change. (Here’s a good primer on Bill’s story.) We also talk about the proposed Warren County casino, and its impact not just on local businesses but also on the Warren County landscape.

Thursday‘s program is still in the formative stage, but we’ll entertain our usual visit from State Rep. Dan Kelley, providing us our weekly inside look at the Iowa Statehouse. And Nakisha Phillips charts her journey through pregnancy with a doula and a midwife.

Friday is also a work in progress, and Heather Ryan will be joining us.

So, Monday-Friday, join the conversation online from 12:00-1:00 pm on the Fallon Forum website. Call-in at 244-0077 or toll free (855) 244-0077 and add your voice to the dialogue. If you miss a show, video and audio-only podcasts are available later in the day.

And the Fallon Forum is now available on two radio stations: KHOI 89.1 (Story County) on Wednesday at 4:00, and KPVL 89.1 (northeast Iowa) Wednesday at 7:00 pm. Thanks!

Dear Friends,

Tired of Big Government? Me too, I was happy to see the Des Moines Register editorial squad talk about Iowa’s ridiculous licensing laws. Having served on the House State Government Committee for many years, I developed my own take on why Iowa is one of the most over-licensed states in the nation.

I’ll save that for Monday’s conversation at 12:00 – during which I might actually get a haircut from an unlicensed barber.

Here’s something that should really raise your dander: Big Oil’s massive spending spree to spread propaganda convincing Americans that climate change is a hoax. This powerful Frontline episode on this subject is well-worth viewing. It’s called, “Climate of Doubt.”

Monday, while getting my ears lowered you’ll get your eyebrows raised as we discuss the insanity of Iowa’s licensing laws. Is public safety and professionalism really behind, for example, the requirement that licensed barbers receive 2,100 hours of training before they’re considered qualified to cut hair? Or is it an industry turf war benefiting a handful of people?

Also Monday, Bradshaw joins me to talk about the showdown brewing over the federal budget. Even as some Republican Party leaders attempt to carve a more bipartisan course on some issues, Rep. Paul Ryan sticks by his draconian budget proposal – the one that landed him so much criticism last year.

Tuesday, we talk about how “We the People” might actually win one in the Iowa Senate, where Branstad’s appointment to the Iowa Board of Regents of Craig Lang and Robert Cramer appears to have run into major Democratic opposition.

Wednesday, Nathaniel Baer with the Iowa Environmental Council talks renewal energy, and Dr. John Rachow with Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility talks nuclear power.

Thursday, State Rep. Dan Kelley provides us our weekly inside look at the Iowa Statehouse. And Nakisha Phillips charts her journey through pregnancy with a doula and a midwife.

Friday, New York Times best-selling author Neal Barnard, M.D,  joins us to discuss his book, “Power Foods for the Brain.” At a time when the incidence (and cost) of Alzheimer’s disease is soaring, Dr. Barnard’s work is timely and important. Also, Dr. Charles Goldman and I throw our own little tea party, attempting to read the tea leaves of President Obama’s remarks last week here and in Israel. Those tea leaves suggest that the risk of a shooting war with Iran over their suspected nuclear weapon aspirations seems to be increasing. But is the Iranian nuclear threat truly the existential threat it is purported to be?

And Heather Ryan joins us Friday as well.

So, Monday-Friday, join the conversation online from 12:00-1:00 pm on the Fallon Forum website. Call-in at 244-0077 or toll free (855) 244-0077 and add your voice to the dialogue. If you miss a show, video and audio-only podcasts are available later in the day. Thanks!