Category Archives: Weekly Updates

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 →

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 →