Dear Friends,

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PROGRAM, WHERE WE DISCUSS:

(01:26) The Jesus statue blocking Trump’s border wall — LISTEN
(20:53) Enough with the “moderate Democrat” BS, with Mark Clipsham — LISTEN
(36:48) Reclaiming our democracy, with Sam Daley-Harris — LISTEN
(49:20) Farming in Ireland, with Kathy Byrnes — LISTEN

I hope you’ll listen to this week’s radio show or podcast. The Jesus statue story is fun, inspiring, another example of the misuse of eminent domain, and how a Catholic diocese is standing up to government bullies.

I’d really appreciate your feedback on the conversation Mark and I have on, in my mind, the fallacy of the “moderate Democrat” — especially in light of the recent primary elections in New York and Colorado.

In need of some political empowerment? Here’s a link to Sam Daley-Harris’s book, Reclaiming Our Democracy,

And if you wanna hear about the recent trip Kathy and I took to Ireland to visit my family and catch up on Ireland’s evolving farming practices, check out our final segment.

Bottom line, Irish agriculture has changed drastically since I was a kid. In the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, everyone in our area grew potatoes, cabbage, and other food for the table.

Now, hardly any of our neighbors raise a garden, not even potatoes. Instead, there are industrial-scale potato farms, some between 1,000 and 2,000 acres in size, mostly in the south and east parts of Ireland.

The tiny hamlet where my family is from, and where I used to live, is called Pulmor. That’s Irish for “big hole,” thus named because my peeps used to brew poteen (potato whiskey) in a nearby kettle hole out of sight of British authorities.

Our hamlet consists of seven homes (most abandoned, including ours). There were once around 12 people employed full-time in Pulmor, mostly in farming. I relished the simplicity and deep sense of community. It was a good life.

Now there’s one guy left, my neighbor and friend, Aidan. He farms and has a “day job.”

There are no doubt thousands and thousands of such hamlets across Ireland. I imagine many, perhaps most, are as hollowed out as Pulmor.

Meanwhile, Ireland has gone all in on building data centers — 130 at last count. Across all of Ireland, these centers employ an estimated 3,000 to 7,000 people. That’s around two to three dozen employees per data center — employment equivalent to two or three Pulmor hamlets.

Go ahead. Convince me that replacing farm jobs with data center jobs is a good thing. I doubt I’ll be convinced, but I’ll maintain an open mind, as always.

On a lighter note, while visiting one of my cousins, six cows who’d broken out of a neighbor’s field strolled by. One tried to eat my cousin’s plastic flowers. Check out this short video capturing the moment.

Our haul from one of Des Moines’ three public strawberry patches.

Now let’s talk about strawberries!

Several years ago, Des Moines planted a whole lot of strawberries at three public locations. As word has gotten out, more and more Demoiniacs are picking literally tons of free fruit each spring.

The strawberry patches are so popular that, if Des Moines is serious about increasing local food security, more plantings are needed. Yet there’s been resistance from some City officials, often citing “budget constraints.”

Budget constraints? Really? It takes 10,000 strawberry plants to cover between 0.6 and 1 acre of land. The cost of those plants is $2,500-$3,000.

In a budget of nearly $900 million, don’t tell me Des Moines can’t find a few grand for strawberries.

I spoke at the Des Moines city council meeting this week, making the case to plant more strawberries. Check out my three-minute spiel here.

Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. And if you’re a central Iowa resident, remember to support the local businesses and nonprofits that help underwrite this platform.

And if you’re a Des Moines resident, contact your city council member and tell them you wanna see strawberry fields everywhere!

Ed Fallon

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In addition to our PODCAST, listen to the Fallon Forum on these affiliates:

– KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames, Iowa)
– KICI.LP 105.3 FM (Iowa City, Iowa)
– WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana)
– KPIP-LP, 94.7 FM (Fayette, Missouri)
– KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, New Mexico)
– WGOT-LP 100.1 FM (Gainesville, Florida)
– KRFP 90.3 FM (Moscow, Idaho)
– WGRN 94.1 FM (Columbus, Ohio)
— WJLQ 99.7 FM (Muskegon, Michigan)
– WRWK 93.9 FM (Midlothian, Virginia)