Dear Friends,
Jean Hackel, author of Theresa et al.
CHECK OUT THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM. 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.
Granddaughter Auri assisting with a monarch caterpillar rescue.
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 I 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.
After a couple hours of garden-bed prep, we planted nearly a dozen vegetable crops and a butterfly garden. The next day, we were shocked to see monarch caterpillars covering the milkweed plants! It was an encouraging sign for a pollinator species whose populations have declined 85% in the past two decades.
Grandson Benny on his John Deere tractor.
Monarchs might be the pickiest diners on the planet. They eat only milkweed. The caterpillars we found were so numerous and ravenous they’d devoured the entire crop in just two days. Auri and I relocated a few, hoping they’d survive.
For his part, Benny has always loved everything to do with farming, machinery, and construction. His Dad recently got him a little John Deere tractor, complete with Iowa plates. He uses it a lot, with remarkable skill, and helped unload the topsoil for the garden beds.
Laying gratitude aside, since Kathy and I weren’t far from Mar-a-Lago, we thought we might pop by for the launch of Trump’s next campaign for president. We opted out, but here’s a pic Kathy snagged of what may well mark the start of the Republican presidential primary: a plane just hours before Trump’s announcement trailing a banner that reads “You Lost Again Donald – #DeSantis2024.”
Plane flying off the Florida coast hours before Trump’s presidential campaign announcement. The banner reads “You Lost Again Donald – #DeSantis2024.”
Ouch. Ron S hitting Don T where it hurts. So much for “so much winning.”
While there likely won’t be a Democratic caucus in Iowa next year, for Iowa Republicans, the showdown is on. I won’t be surprised if others besides Trump and DeSantis jump in. Mike Pence? Nikki Haley? Tulsi Gabbard? (Ha, kidding … kind of.) We’ll talk more about that in the near future.
Thanks again for reading my weekly blogs and listening to our podcast and radio show. We put a lot of work into both. The program is now in its thirteenth year and has aired continuously every week since September, 2009. Kathy and I and our small-but-mighty team truly appreciate your interest and support. If you’d like to pitch in $25 or $50 to help keep it all going, please visit this link or mail a check to:
The Fallon Forum
735 19th Street
Des Moines, IA 50314
Thanks! — Ed Fallon
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(02:11) What can be done to rein in global tensions?, with Joseph Gerson, Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security
(18:55) Scrooge smackdown: Ebenezer vs Trump, with Richard Maynard, Iowa Stage Theater Company
(37:42) Abortion and America’s bitter divide, with Jean Hackel, author of Theresa et al.
(54:49) Who’s ready for lab-raised meat?, with Kathy Byrnes, Birds & Bees Urban Farm.
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Ed Fallon