Author Archives: Ed Fallon

Sorry about those drones. Our bad.

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As I write this column, the mystery of the New Jersey drones remains unsolved. To end the suspense, I’ve decided to come clean. The drones are probes sent out by a mothership sent to bring Charles and me back to our home planet. (See undoctored photo for proof of our true identity. Photo credit, Kathy Byrnes. Not an alien.)

Because Charles and I live in Iowa, a.k.a. fly-over country (definitely the best place to be whether you’re evading aliens, rising seas, wildfires, costly housing, or insufferable coastal elites), our alien-homies never thought to look beyond “greater New York” to track us down. Silly aliens.

So, in the interest of ending this plague of drones ruining Christmas for New Jerseyans, Charles and I are turning ourselves in. Come get us, you bug-eyed bastards.

Charles and l will soon board the mothership for the long flight back to our home planet, where we expect to be tried for defamation for much of what we’ve said on this program over the past 15 years. Hey, it’ll probably turn out better for us than being sued for defamation by Donald Trump. Continue Reading →

Frédéric Chopin plants a garden

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Sporadically over the past few years, I’ve managed to memorize and record all 21 Chopin Nocturnes. Because I can’t help myself, I took some liberty with the recordings, working in improvisations, B-roll, and an occasional song or classical guitar piece.

Serious classical music aficionados might be appalled. I’m ok with that. The recordings aren’t for the concert-hall crowd. They’re for family, friends, and fellow travelers in the struggle for peace, justice, and a sustainable future.

“What do Chopin Nocturnes have to do with peace, justice, and a sustainable future?” you ask.

I’ll let Emma Goldman respond: “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”

With that in mind, Kathy and I are hosting a series of house parties to raise funds for Birds & Bees Urban Farm and the Fallon Forum. I’ll perform material from my soon-to-be-released “Chopin Plus” album. Kathy and I will talk about our work to (1) relocalize food production, (2) reclaim the public airwaves for civil dialogue, and (3) address the existential crises humanity faces. There’ll be plenty of time for discussion, of course.
Continue Reading →

NATO shares blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine

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I remember November 9, 1989, quite clearly. That was the day crowds of Germans, emboldened by the sweet scent of freedom, began to dismantle the Berlin Wall. It was an exhilarating moment filled with hope and promise. An end to the Cold War and the nuclear arms race seemed within reach.

At that time, I worked as the director of Des Moines Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. I happily considered the possibility of near-term unemployment.

What happened next was tragic. The promise of world peace was squandered, largely through the actions of US leaders, both Democrat and Republican. Since the late-1990s, tensions between Russia and “the West” have worsened. They’ve now come to a head in Ukraine, and the risk of nuclear war has never been greater. Continue Reading →

Last week, who said “We are being fed addictive garbage”?

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Which wild-eyed, granola-crunching, left-wing fanatic recently said: “Obesity rates are absolutely out of control. And it is not the fault of people. We are being fed addictive garbage by massive corporations and eating genetically modified junk. We’re being fed garbage en masse. Systematically. Industrially. We’re almost like the geese they force feed the cornmeal into to make foie gras when their liver explodes.”

Whoever you guessed said that, I doubt it was Buck Sexton. He’s one of the two talking heads who replaced Rush Limbaugh three years ago. Continue Reading →

Biden’s insane decision to allow US missiles to strike Russia

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President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to attack Russia with US-made long-range missiles is insane. Yes, INSANE!

Vladimir Putin’s response? “This will mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are fighting against Russia.” To drive that point home, Russia just updated its nuclear doctrine and lowered the bar for responding to a conventional attack with nuclear weapons.

We are witnessing intense, rapid escalation that could easily lead to the use of nuclear weapons.

I’ve been around awhile. I remember the tension of the Cold War years. I remember having nuclear nightmares as a teen. I remember being literally sick in my gut for months over what felt like the inevitable march toward nuclear conflict.

What’s happening now feels worse. If we care about our children, our grandchildren, future generations, and all life on Earth, we should feel compelled to act against this madness. Continue Reading →

How the Iowa Democratic Party can regain relevance

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Face it: the Iowa Democratic Party is irrelevant. Beyond losing national influence due to the demise of the Iowa Caucuses, Iowa Democrats have almost zero power to affect public policy at the state level.

In case you disagree, here’s a quick reminder:

— All six of Iowa’s members of Congress are Republican.

— Only one Democrat holds statewide office, Auditor Rob Sand, who barely won re-election in 2022 against a little-known, poorly-funded opponent.

— Democrats in the Iowa House dropped from 47 seats six years ago to 33 today. In the Iowa Senate, Democrats hold a mere 15 seats, down from 19 seats six years ago.

— Democrats account for 29.2% of registered voters, down from 34.5% in 2008 when Democrats held the state government trifecta.

Anybody want to argue that this isn’t the very definition of irrelevance? I’m up for that argument. If the Democratic Party doesn’t undergo a radical transformation, permanent minority-party status is practically guaranteed.

But there is a path back to relevance, one that could lead to parity with Republicans by the end of the decade, and perhaps even majority party status in the years to come. Continue Reading →

Now what? Five things you can work on immediately.

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After Tuesday’s election, a whole lot of Americans are fretting, even afraid. Understandably. What will Trump do to immigrants? Women? Journalists? Activists? College professors?

Trump’s revenge-tour list could be quite long.

I like what Bill McKibben wrote this week: “Can things get worse? I think they can, and I think we will find out, here and around the world. But I don’t think it will last either, because the promises on which this new MAGA order are built are mostly nonsense.”

That’s the mix of honesty and optimism we need. In the coming weeks and months, my talk-show guests and I will have a lot to say about the risks that lie ahead — and what we can do to address them.

The question I’d like to address today is, regardless of where a Trump presidency might take us, what can we do right now to protect ourselves and strengthen our communities?

Here are five positive things I challenge each of us to do to build resilience as we move forward toward an uncertain future. Continue Reading →

Is Trump a fascist?

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Because it needs to be said and FCC regulations limit what I can say on my radio show:

VOTE FOR KAMALA HARRIS!

Even if, like me, you’re not particularly excited about her.

Even if, like me, you’re dismayed at the Democratic Party’s transformation into a corporate-funded defender of the status quo.

Even if, like me, you support major reforms to improve the fairness of our elections and help third parties gain viability.

Vote for Harris to stop Donald Trump from destroying our democracy and ushering in fascism.

And no, it’s not 100% certain that Trump will turn America fascist. Perhaps the remaining pillars of democracy will continue to stand strong.

But that’s a risk none of us should be willing to take. Continue Reading →

My presidential prediction(s), with an apology to democracy

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My guest, Dijana Mihajlović, lived the first half of her life in Serbia, before moving to Des Moines as a high school student. Her experience as a child watching the rise and fall of a dictator, Slobodan Milošević, gives her a unique perspective on the current threat of authoritarianism in the US. Besides her work as a mother and architect, Di calls herself “a fierce defender of democracy and true freedoms.”

Nobody likes my election predictions. Heck, I don’t like my election predictions. But tis better to be honest than to give false hope. On today’s program at 38:44, I explore three scenarios for how the presidential election might unfold.

First though, I need to say this: More than ever, this election is about turnout. Really big turnout. Especially in swing states. That’s Kamala Harris’ only possible path to victory. So, before I lay out the three scenarios, here’s my ask:

Contact five people you know in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Ask each to contact three other marginal voters and ask them to support Harris. Continue Reading →