Month: October 2022

Marriage equality and how I became the two of spades

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Much of my political work has involved fighting for constituency groups ignored, maligned, or discriminated against by those in power. One of the most memorable instances was in 1996, when I spoke out before the Iowa House against a proposed ban on same-sex marriage. That speech landed me an invitation by US Rep. Barney Frank to testify before a congressional committee.

Amusingly, my advocacy also landed me in a deck of cards published by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. That is seriously an honor I’ll always cherish.

Those two speeches opened a host of opportunities for me, including three pages of quotes in Evan Wolfson’s book, Why Marriage Matters. 

The question of whether or not marriage equality is threatened is my topic during the first segment of this week’s program. Short answer: No, it’s not. The fight for equality has shifted to our trans brothers and sisters, and to defending women against legislative assaults on their autonomy. Depending upon the outcome of the November 8 election, those two fights may take several turns for the worse.

Continue Reading →

Marijuana: Legalize it!

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During my 38 years as a politician and activist, I’ve frequently been out of step with mainstream opinion on controversial issues. One of those is cannabis. After meeting Carl Olsen in 1992 during my first legislative campaign, I agreed to help push legislation to legalize marijuana.

Carl’s my guest on the first segment of this week’s program — and a veritable encyclopedia of weed wisdom. Carl has spent his adult life pushing to decriminalize marijuana. He understands the ins and outs of federal and state drug policy better than anyone I know.

With Carl’s guidance, in 1993 I was one of ten House members — nine Democrats and one Republican — who introduced HF 404. That bill would have authorized the lawful possession of marijuana for therapeutic purposes. Not surprisingly, in the Republican-controlled Iowa House, it went nowhere. Continue Reading →

Charles: Why I’m a vegan. Ed: Why I’m not.

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Are you tired of being hit up for money by politicians? Me too. Sure, a handful of candidates are worth supporting. But 3 or 4 times a week? That’s beyond asking for support. That’s groveling.

Once a year, you’ll get an appeal from me asking you to donate to the Fallon Forum. Our team works hard to analyze and expose important stories the Mainstream Media miss, and we hold politicians across the spectrum accountable.

So, I hope you’ll take a couple minutes to donate $25, $50, $100, or more if possible, either online or by check. We can’t do this without you and our small business and non-profit sponsors. Continue Reading →

Crossing the Divide

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In 2017, Bold Iowa organized the Climate Justice Unity March. Thirty marchers walked 90 miles from Little Creek Camp in eastern Iowa to Des Moines, representing a mix of Native and non-Native allies united in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). 

Unfortunately, on the first day of the march, we were met with severe opposition from local residents, who had been fed lies by a pro-pipeline group associated with DAPL. (Click here to watch the hateful  video the group circulated.) Cars buzzed us along the highway. We were repeatedly flipped off. When we arrived at our campsite in Deep River, we were greeted by a confederate flag. During the night, we heard what we thought were gun shots. Continue Reading →