Author Archives: Ed Fallon

A Christmas story: Why you should clean up after your dog

Posted on by

On Christmas Eve Day, Kathy and I took a beautiful woodland walk. Well, beautiful until I stepped in dog crap, partially concealed under some fallen leaves.

Arriving back at our car in a huff, I spent 15 frustrated minutes trying to dig the product out of my shoes, with minimal success. When I got into the car, Kathy cringed at the smell that accompanied me, and we drove off with windows wide open.

To make a long story short (hear the full version at the 2:26-minute mark), a mile down the road, I realized I’d lost my wallet and phone, presumably on the wall where I’d attempted to clean my shoes. Continue Reading →

A global warming win-win-win

Posted on by

I know some pretty amazing people. Many have been doing cutting edge work all their adult lives. (Sometimes, that work is better described as bleeding edge.) One of them is Nick Johnson. Nick’s a retired law professor. He also served on the Iowa City school board and on the Federal Communications Commission. That’s the short list.

One of the issues Nick’s not afraid to tackle is global population. I’m going to pass the baton and share what Nick wrote earlier this year on the subject. You can hear our conversation about it during the opening segment of this week’s program. Feedback welcome, as always, and I’m happy to pass it along to Nick. Continue Reading →

Kansas pipeline rupture raises concerns about DAPL, CO2 pipelines

Posted on by

Last week, we witnessed another pipeline rupture. An estimated 770,000 gallons of tar-sands oil spilled out of the Keystone Pipeline into a Kansas creek. [Note: This is a different pipeline than the Keystone XL pipeline that President Biden shut down last year.] It’s the largest rupture in that company’s history, and the largest onshore crude oil pipeline spill since 2013.

The Kansas spill did not go unnoticed by Iowans fighting three CO2 pipelines targeting nearly 2,000 miles (yes, miles!) of Iowa farms, forests, and wetlands. Continue Reading →

Why Biden and the DNC killed the Caucuses

Posted on by

Democrats across the US are celebrating the demise of the Iowa Caucuses. That’s unfortunate, because the passing of the Iowa Caucuses is a huge loss to democracy. And President Biden and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) are to blame.

Iowa has never gone well for Biden. In 1988, Biden polled poorly even before dropping out after he got caught plagiarizing Neil Kinnock. In 2008, Biden finished fifth in Iowa. In 2020, fourth. Ouch.

It’s no surprise that Biden would love to never have to campaign in Iowa again. He made that clear at a 2019 forum when he said to me and others in attendance, “All you guys in Iowa are pains in the neck, you know that?”

Continue Reading →

COP27: Success, failure, or mixed bag?

Posted on by

Was COP27 a success, a failure, or a mixed bag? Sad to say, it was mostly a flop.

At the conclusion of COP27, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Our planet is still in the emergency room. We need to drastically reduce emissions now — and this is an issue this COP did not address. The world still needs a giant leap on climate ambition.”

The bottom line is the summit didn’t deliver on what the scientific consensus says is most desperately needed and long overdue: a global commitment to drastically slash greenhouse-gas emissions. Continue Reading →

Grandkids, monarchs, and gratitude

Posted on by

My guests and I discuss COP27 and foreign policy; Ebenezer Scrooge’s relevance in 2022 America (and Richard Maynard’s final performance in A Christmas Carol; Jean Hackel’s novel, Theresa et al., about a woman prevented from having an abortion; and the sheer unappetizingness of lab-raised meat.

Apologies for running late this week. I blame the turkey. And family. Well, mostly family.

But seriously, Kathy and I are so grateful for our families, friends, and neighbors, and to our fellow travelers on this rocky road to justice. Not a day goes by when we aren’t reminded how important all of you are to us. Toady, we say THANK YOU — in italicized bold caps, to drive the point home.

Regarding family, Kathy and just returned from a lovely visit with my son, daughter-in-law, and grandkids in Florida. I was delighted to see the young’uns growing interest in food, plants, and nature. Continue Reading →

The Great “Are We Doomed?” Debate

Posted on by

If I'm ever bothered that my opinions on climate change might offend people, I simply reflect on Guy McPherson's life. He's the renowned prophet-of-doom that many climate activists and scientists love to hate. This week, Guy joins Charles and me to discuss whether humanity is indeed plummeting toward extinction, or merely in for a very bad ride.

Guy: "I have complete confidence that there won't be a human being on the planet in 2030."

Me: "Despite the gravity of our climate dilemma, I have hope." Continue Reading →

Rob Sand bucks trend in Iowa election

Posted on by

Congratulations to Iowa Auditor Rob Sand! After recounts in Warren and Des Moines counties today, Rob was declared the winner. (Congrats also to Rob for bagging a nine-point buck today.)

Rob’s victory is one of the few bright spots for Iowa Democrats this week. Incumbents Cindy Axne, Tom Miller, and Mike Fitzgerald all lost. Challengers to Governor Reynolds and Senator Grassley got their clocks cleaned. Democrats lost seats in both the Iowa House and Senate.

Iowa is now redder than Mississippi and Alabama. In fact, among states with four or more congressional districts, Iowa is tied for first in redness with Utah, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.

Let that sink in: IOWA IS REDDER THAN ALABAMA! Continue Reading →

House Dems retract call for diplomacy in Ukraine

Posted on by

On another light note, five of us witched the heck out of Sherman Hill’s seasonable bash, Halloween on the Hill, this week. If you’re a Des Moiniac and there’s any room in your schedule for fun, be sure to add this October 31 event to your calendar next year.

On to serious stuff, specifically the letter sent to President Biden by thirty House Democrats calling for diplomacy in Ukraine.

The letter was really quite moderate, yet its the authors retracted it almost immediately. I strongly disagree with that decision. Charles, on the other hand, thinks it was the right call. What ensues us is a spirited debate that Charles loses (in my opinion). Give it a listen starting at the four-minute mark and let me know what you think. If a majority of you agree with Charles, I’ll buy him lunch.

For me, what Ryan Grim wrote in The Intercept sums it up: “That the letter was met with fierce opposition is a measure of the space available for debate among congressional Democrats when it comes to support for the war and how it might be stopped before it turns nuclear: roughly zero.”
Continue Reading →

Marriage equality and how I became the two of spades

Posted on by

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 →