Dear Friends, LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM: (00:44) Is the US on the path to dictatorship? (20:50) Try what in a small town? (38:59) Things are heating up (53:06) New Continue Reading →
If Wes Anderson’s recent film, Asteroid City, didn’t trigger public concern about nuclear war, perhaps two films that premier this week will.
Uranium Derby is Brittany Prater’s first film, released under the auspices of Cornfield Productions. The film discusses the role played by Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, in the development of the atomic bomb in the 1940s. The film takes a hard look at the disturbing legacy of radioactive waste left behind in several location throughout Ames in 1951-1952, including a dumping ground that was later developed into the Hunziker Youth Sports Complex.
Continue Reading →
The Iowa Legislature meets in special session today to consider a bill to severely restrict abortion. Nothing prevents them from also addressing other concerns, for example, eminent domain to build CO2 pipelines.
Talk about unfinished business! Earlier this year, a bipartisan majority in the Iowa House voted to toughen eminent domain law. Yet when the bill (HF565) landed in the Senate, Governor Reynolds and Senate Republican leadership killed it. (I discuss this in detail starting at the 6-minute mark of this week’s program.)
Given that nearly 80 percent of Iowans oppose using eminent domain to build CO2 pipelines, the Legislature should use this special session to address the problem. Continue Reading →
I took a break from hosting the Fallon Forum this week. Charles and Kathy filled in, with a deep dive into the recent US Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action. Charles also interviewed “Patricia Longbottom,” an over-the-top parental rights advocate. (Spoiler alert: this segment is a parody.) Charles and Kathy also discuss the 14 foods you’ll need to get you through the apocalypse. (I wish I could tell you this was also a parody.)
In other news, it’s been a tragic Independence Day holiday for too many American families, with celebrations marred by gun violence. Between Friday and Wednesday, 20 people were killed and 126 injured at 22 mass shootings.
Twenty-two mass shootings in six days! Wrap your mind around that. Sorry, thoughts and prayers are not a rational response.
I could say a whole lot more about gun violence, but want to reflect on another critical aspect of American life that comes to mind during this holiday. Here’s an excerpt from my book, Marcher, Walker, Pilgrim. As always, I welcome your feedback: Continue Reading →
Not many of us could afford to drop $250,000 on a boat ride to the bottom of the sea to gawk at the wreck of the Titanic. But last week, five rich guys did just that and, sadly, perished when their submersible imploded. Taxpayers shelled out over $6.5 million (according to one source) in an unsuccessful rescue mission. I have no problem with the rescue mission, but the estates of these dudes — three millionaires, two billionaires — oughta pick up the tab.
What I have a whole lot of trouble with is what happened, by comparison, off the coast of Greece last week. Over a hundred migrants are dead and hundreds more missing after a fishing boat transporting them capsized. According to a story in The Guardian, there is “rising evidence that European authorities knew the boat was in trouble but did not intervene.”
This quote from Abdul Karim, a Pakistani shopkeeper who lost a cousin and uncle on the boat, sums it up: “It’s sad that a submarine carrying five rich people was given much more consideration, coverage and importance than the migrants on the Greek boat.”
Already this year, over 2,000 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean. Continue Reading →
The Iowa Supreme Court’s split decision means that abortions in Iowa will remain legal up to twenty weeks. If the ruling had gone the other way, abortion would be illegal after six weeks — before many women even know they’re pregnant!
Undaunted, Governor Reynolds said after the ruling, “We are reviewing our options in preparation for continuing the fight.”
Charles and I discuss what those options might be …
I’ll leave you with an important caveat. The extent to which Republicans have gone to undermine the freedom of pregnant women has already landed the GOP a whole lot of political baggage. They’ll certainly keep pushing for even more draconian measures, in Iowa and across the country. Some of those measures may pass, and many people, especially mothers, will be hurt.
But the powerful can only go so far in negating personal freedom before the mass of people rise up and say, “Enough!” We’re already seeing that happen, and the groundswell for a restoration of sanity on abortion policy will only continue to build. Continue Reading →
Peter Lumsdaine with Physicians for Social Responsibility recently visited Ukraine. His first-hand perspective from that trip is well worth listening to. One thing I learned from our conversation is that there is a Ukrainian peace movement.
Regarding “woke,” the claim to wokeness is a form of virtue signaling, i.e., “I understand what’s going on, you don’t, so I’ll use my superior status to bludgeon you. Oh, and while we’re at it, you’re canceled.”
That’s pretty counterproductive. And it ignores the reality that some of us have been aware of (and working to fix) such problems for decades. Furthermore, visionary women and men of past generations were “woke” to injustice and fought against it in a far more hostile environment.
Of course, the Right’s intentional misrepresentation of “woke” is even more problematic — and also used as a bludgeon. Just listen to Ron DeSantis talk for five minutes about any subject, and if he doesn’t mention “woke,” it’ll be a rare occurrence.
My two-part solution? Part One: Push back against the radical-right by cutting to the chase. … Continue Reading →
Dear Friends, LISTEN TO THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM (and click here to share my blog) (01:44) An interview with Marianne Williamson (26:22) A new call to abolish nuclear weapons, with Kathleen McQuillen Continue Reading →
This week — our Memorial Day edition — we discuss Steve’s soon-to-be-released book, One More War to Fight: Union Veterans’ Battle for Equality through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Lost Cause.
In an era where misinformation and outright lies too often pass as facts, Steve’s book “looks at the contentious post-Civil War era from the perspective of that special breed, Union soldiers, who lived by the bayonet and survived to carry on the fight for equality in the decades to come.”
Edna Greene Medford (professor of History Emerita at Howard University) writes, “Goldman offers a compelling argument in this comprehensively researched volume that addresses ways in which certain groups of northern white Union veterans supported a ‘just’ Reconstruction that aimed to protect and extend the rights of African Americans. Of particular interest is Goldman’s discussion of the role of the members of the Veterans Reserve Corps (wounded warriors), whose political activism, especially in veterans’ organizations; Freedmen’s Bureau work; and opposition to Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction plans, countered the prevailing prejudices and racism of post-Civil War America. This is a study that will enlighten both the serious student of history as well as the general reader.” Continue Reading →
Unbeknownst to anyone I know, the US Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday night burned driftwood at Saylorville Lake, just north of Des Moines. The smoke was so thick it infiltrated my dreams. Presumably, it also infiltrated the lungs of Des Moinesians with medical conditions, placing them at risk.
I’ve never seen Des Moines’ AQI hit anywhere near 200, let alone exceed it. Officials categorize 200+ as “very unhealthy” and issue an alert that reads, “The risk of health effects is increased for everyone (emphasis mine).” (Check out the graph.)
For the past week, smoke from fires in western Canada have eroded air quality across the upper Midwest. But it’s likely that something else triggered Wednesday’s alert. While the case isn’t closed, the best conclusion is that the spike was caused by the Corps’ burn piles coupled with an unusual hot-cold air inversion that kept the smoke in the Des Moines River valley. Continue Reading →