Author Archives: Ed Fallon

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 →

Lies swirl in the wake of Hurricane Helene

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I’m appalled when partisans use a disaster like Hurricane Helene for political gain. Perhaps not surprisingly, the worst lies are coming from Donald Trump.

Here’s a CBS clip of Trump claiming FEMA is diverting disaster relief money to help illegal immigrants. Two lies in one sentence: (1) non citizens can’t vote, and (2) no money was “stolen” from FEMA.

FEMA is run under the Dept of Homeland Security, which operates a bunch of programs, including “Shelter and Services,” which provides support to non-citizens awaiting their day in court. A hundred years ago, my Irish grandparents would have appreciated such a program.

Here’s Trump lying again, in a Facebook clip where he claims Biden isn’t helping Georgia recover from hurricane damage. That lie is followed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, matter-of-factly stating the exact opposite.
Continue Reading →

Blame Gov. Reynolds for the pipeline most Iowans oppose

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Though she’d like you to believe otherwise, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds is the primary political force behind Summit’s Carbon Pipeline. Here are five smoking guns that leave no doubt about her essential culpability in this assault on rural Iowa and beyond:

1. KIM REYNOLDS’ SILENCE. Nearly 80% of Iowans oppose using eminent domain to build CO2 pipelines. The only time politicians don’t talk about an issue when public opinion is lopsided is when they’re on the wrong side. I attempted multiple online searches for variations on “Gov Kim Reynolds’ statements on Summit pipeline.” Nothing. She’s done a total dodge on the issue.

Let’s change that. See below for action item #1. Continue Reading →

Is it fair of AOC to call the Green Party “predatory”?

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Attacks by Democratic partisans against Green Party candidates — and Republican partisans against Libertarian Party candidates — is standard fodder during any presidential election.

But the tradition took an interesting twist recently when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) eviscerated Green Party presidential candidate, Jill Stein. The attack took many off guard, given that AOC is arguably the Democratic member of Congress most closely aligned with the Green’s platform.

In a recent TikTok video, AOC said of Stein, “If all you do is show up once every four years, you are not serious. To me, it does not read as authentic. It reads as predatory.” Continue Reading →

US/NATO missiles bombing Russia could lead to nuclear war

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I usually look forward to writing this blog. Not so much when the topic is nuclear war.

Ok, so now that I’ve lost half my audience (I get it: who wants to discuss nuclear war?), let me ask the remaining half to indulge the urgency of this message.

Not my message, so much, but the message of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, and others. The work of this prestigious organization includes the Doomsday Clock in response to the threat of nuclear war and other existential dangers.

Earlier this year, the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board wrote that, “in large part because of Russian threats to use nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine” they were moving the Clock to 90 seconds to midnight, “the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been.”

If we were 90 seconds from global catastrophe before President Biden said he might allow Ukraine to launch long-range missiles deep inside Russia, the Clock certainly has advanced further in the wrong direction.
Continue Reading →

The prominent Iowa Republican trying to shut down a popular music venue

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So, what’s this about a prominent Iowa Republican trying to shut down Wooly’s, the popular East Village live-music venue? The building next to Wooly’s is owned by Chuck Larson — a former state lawmaker, former chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, and former US ambassador to Latvia. Pretty influential, well-connected guy.

Larson’s real estate houses several tenants, including the LS2 Group — one of the state’s most prominent lobbying firms, founded by Larson.

Wooly’s and LS2 have been neighbors since 2012 without any conflicts. Two years ago, Larson rented space to Kuvare, a Chicago-based investment firm worth $19 billion. According to The Business Record, Kuvare plans to continue bringing in staff over the next 3 years. I imagine that rental agreement has to be pretty lucrative for Larson. Continue Reading →

Why I feel I’ve lived in three centuries

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What’s this about me feeling like I’ve lived in three centuries? I’d like to tell you that I’m older than I look, but that would put me at a minimum of 125 years old, and no one’s buying that.

I was blessed (and occasionally cursed) with a matriarchal Irish grandmother, who arrived in New York in the 1920s. She made sure our family on both sides of the pond remained well connected. In 1966 at age eight, I made my first of a couple dozen trips to Ireland. All told, I’ve spent about two years of my life there.

We still own the land and house where my grandmother was raised. It’s around 25 acres, much of it now planted in oak trees.

Rural Ireland in the 1960s and 70s was more like rural America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. During my earliest trips to stay with my uncles in rural Roscommon County, there was no electricity, no running water, no bathroom, no cars. Continue Reading →