Dear Friends,
Before I launch into the wide range of concerns discussed on this week’s program, if you’re part of our central Iowa audience, we’d love to have you join us for Birds & Bees Urban Farm‘s annual Harvest Party (see flier for details).
Now to this week’s program:
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THE COOLED AND THE COOKED. Jeff Goodell writes about the two camps Americans split into during hotter and hotter summers.
The cooled spend most of their days in air-conditioning, while the cooked either don’t have the luxury of AC or work as delivery drivers, farm workers, roofers, and road crews, to name a few of the toughest hot-weather jobs.
Some of these jobs come with scant legal protection. Migrant workers, for example, even those here legally, are afforded little protection in high heat. In fact, farmworkers are up to 35 times more likely to die from heat-related causes than workers in other industries.
To quote Goodell: “It is symptomatic of the larger injustice of the climate crisis, which is that the people who have done the least to cause it are the ones who will suffer the most from its impacts.”
ZUCK AIN’T A GREAT NEIGHBOR. Speaking of those contributing most to climate chaos, billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has purchased a cluster of 11 homes in Palo Alto, California. His neighbors refer to the place as a “compound,” and find the construction noise almost unbearable. Some neighbors say they feel they’re under an occupation.
To help deal with the noise, Zuck “gifted” his neighbors with sound-suppressing headphones — and threw in some sparkling wine and Krispy Kreme donuts. For real. What a guy.
The compound includes a 7,000-square-foot basement — basically a giant man-cave doomsday bunker. When the “stuff” hits the fan, dang it, don’t worry about Zuck. He and his peeps will be safely bunkered down.
But wait! Because the uber rich can’t take a chance with just one doomsday bunker, Zuckerberg’s assembling another in Hawaii. According to an extensive examination of public records by WIRED, he’s building an “an opulent techno-Xanadu, complete with underground shelter and what appears to be a blast-resistant door.”
Author Douglass Rushkoff says, “If anybody has enough money to insulate himself from the damage created for society, it would be Zuck. That’s sort of what it is. He’s destroyed the government and society, and now he can go to Hawaii and build a fort.”
SCHOLARS WARN FASCISM HERE, BUT STILL TIME TO FIGHT IT. A recent article in Time discussed a letter signed by over 400 scholars warning of the risk of full-blown fascism.
They wrote, “We must convince people of conscience that masked agents abducting civilians without due process, the neutering of legislatures, the dismissal of international human rights law, and the erosion of judicial independence cannot be accepted. History teaches us that tyrants typically consolidate their power by mocking intellectuals. Then, they escalate through violence.”
I study history and current events intensely. While I’m not convinced we’ve arrived at fascism in America, we’re absolutely heading in that direction. Saving our democracy is the compelling challenge of our time. Only then can we effectively address the existential threats we face from climate change, nuclear war, and Artificial Intelligence.
The article’s subtitle oughta be a mantra we repeat daily: “We must not sleepwalk towards the collapse of democracy.”
“PATRIOT” SHREDS ANTI-TRUMP SIGNS. On a bridge over a Des Moines highway, protestors recently brandished large placards reading “Trump = Hitler.”
One passerby, Brad Nall, didn’t much like that message. He stopped his pick-up truck on the bridge, jumped out, tore down the placards, and taunted, “What are you gonna do? What you gonna do? Who’s gonna stop me, huh? Who’s gonna stop me?”
One protestor called it terrifying. Indeed, watching the video of Nall’s unleashed fury, it’s almost surprising the violence was limited to him just pushing one protestor, coupled with a hearty exchange of expletives from both sides.
Protestors sued Nall for assault. Good.
Nall started a GoFundMe page called “SUPPORT FOR PATRIOT STANDING UP FOR TRUMP.” Whatever.
Then, through a detective assigned to the case, Nall requested a meeting with protestors, wanting to apologize. Also good.
Protestors declined. That’s unfortunate. While I doubt there’s any chance of convincing Nall that Trump equals Hitler, a face-to-face meeting might achieve some level of understanding, or at least civil acceptance of differences.
We’re never going to defeat fascism, or win over the hearts and minds of people who voted for Trump, without dialogue and a sincere commitment to finding common ground. More than ever, we need nonviolent role models like Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi.
“JESUS GUY” RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR. With Republican Adam Steen jumping into the race, Iowa has another “I’m-more-Jesus-than-you” candidate running for governor.
At his campaign kick-off last week, Steen said, “I am the faith guy. I’m a Jesus guy. I’m a ‘Make America Great Again’ guy. I’m the guy that’s excited to work alongside President Trump to build our country and usher in a golden age of prosperity.”
Really? Where in the gospels does Jesus praise prosperity, wealth, and golden ages? Where in Jesus’ message is there even a hint of the pride, haughtiness, and nationalism central to Trump’s MAGA mantra?
Either Steen is misreading the texts or I wasn’t a very good student of theology. (If I may be pardoned a quick boast, I held a 4.0 GPA during three years at Drake.)
REPUBS WILL WIN REDISTRICTING WAR, BUT COULD STILL LOSE HOUSE ELECTION. Regardless of what California does with its congressional map, Republicans are going to win the battle to further (and perhaps illegally) gerrymander House districts.
Despite that, Democrats have a pathway to regaining control of the US House. That pathway includes reclaiming two, possibly three, congressional districts in Iowa. (History lesson: just a couple election cycles ago, two of Iowa’s four congressional seats were held by Democrats. A third seat flipped from Democrat to Republican by a mere six votes!)
There are other fly-over states where districts could swing the Democrats’ way.
Presuming Trump doesn’t find additional ways to corrupt the 2026 election (and that’s certainly possible), I see a realistic chance for Democrats to gain a House majority and provide an obstacle to Trump furthering the advancement of an authoritarian state.
Of course, Trump could do much damage between now and November, 2026. Back to what I quoted earlier: “We must not sleepwalk towards the collapse of democracy.”
HOUSES FOR WHITE PEOPLE ONLY. In the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Eric Orwoll and Peter Csere are building an exclusive community. How exclusive? You gotta be white and straight.
Surprise, surprise, they’re running into anti-discrimination laws. And they’re not exactly subtle about their bigotry. One resident, Caitlin Smith, said the community has been great for her children because it has given them “people to play with that we could trust.”
Who does Smith trust? “This is how I’ve always wanted to live — returning to the land. The most important thing about this project for me is being able to actually vet my neighbors. You can move to a nice area, and in 10 years, you have no idea who’s going to be living down the street. What makes a person a person is their whole past, who they are now. And the genetics as well.”
Ah, yes. “THE GENETICS.” I’m gonna predict that we read more about this place in the future, and it won’t be favorable.
THE RAPPERS REVIVING THE IRISH LANGUAGE WHILE STANDING WITH PALESTINE. It’s amazing what you can get away with saying when you’re a rap musician (or Donald Trump, for that matter). Apparently, expressing support for Palestine is not one of them, as the Irish rap band, Kneecap, recently discovered.
At a concert last year, Kneecap led the crowd in chants of “Free Palestine.” That chant, displaying a Palestinian flag, and saying that Israel is committing genocide funded by the US, landed Kneecap’s Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh a terrorism charge.
At his hearing this month at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, a huge crowd gathered outside to support Óg Ó hAnnaidh.
The trial is interesting for another reason. Since Óg Ó hAnnaidh’s first language is Irish, he insisted on and received an Irish interpreter. In fact, all three band members are fluent in Irish, and they use it extensively in their music.
For hundreds of years during Britain’s colonial occupation of Ireland, it was illegal to speak Irish. Now the language is on the rise, and the high profile afforded it by Kneecap could further boost its advancement.
Regarding the absurd terrorism charge, we may know in late September how the British judge rules. There can be only one fair and reasonable ruling, but given the times, it’s anyone’s guess as to how it will go.
CONNECTING FARMERS WITH EATERS. Indiana University’s new FARMWISE Indiana program is helping connect small- and mid-sized farms with schools, restaurants, stores, hospitals, and clinics.
Given recent cuts to USDA programs that formerly benefited local food production, it’s encouraging that the university’s Environmental Resilience Institute has launched FARMWISE Indiana.
The program’s founder, Jodee Smith, says, “FARMWISE Indiana is about building relationships that benefit everyone, from farmers and food producers to the communities they nourish. We’re focused on making local food a bigger part of Indiana’s economy and identity.”
Thank you for reading, listening, and taking action.
Ed Fallon
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