Dear Friends,
Lacewing, Des Moines, Iowa, January 31, 2024
(00:43) Five things Iowa Democrats must do to regain relevance;
(19:14) We need to address the root cause of immigration;
(36:48) Making luxury ice cubes from Greenland’s melting glaciers;
(54:13) Urban fruit trees, Philadelphia leads the way, with Kathy Byrnes
SPRING. Now that the Upper Midwest’s three-week winter is over (compliments of climate change), we get to enjoy phenomenally unseasonable weather. Yet wisdom oughta temper our pleasure.
I glanced at the ten-day forecast for Des Moines. Highs are in the 40s and 50s. The merc dips below freezing one night. If plants bloom early, which seems likely, a heavy freeze could decimate the fruit crop this year.
Me on February 1, 2024, holding a glass of Raccoon River ice cubes, feigning sadness that they’re not high-end designer ice cubes made from melting Greenland glaciers like the ultra-rich get to consume.
QUIZ TIME. What’s the longest-running progressive talk show in Iowa? That’d be the Fallon Forum! In fact, I haven’t missed a single week since we kicked things off in September of 2009.
A hearty thank-you to all who continue to support the program. If you haven’t pitched in recently, please consider a donation to keep the conversations rolling — conversations you won’t find on other programs.
If you donate by February 9, we’ll include you in a drawing to win a $50 Orchestrate Hospitality gift card.
HOW DEMOCRATS CAN WIN. You’ll have to listen to the first segment of this week’s program to get my full take on the matter. In a nutshell, Iowa Democrats need to:
1. Reject meddling by Washington, D.C., insiders
2. Not get sucked into focusing on Republicans’ nutty social-engineering agenda
3. Focus on progressive economic populism, protecting the environment, and freedom
4. Show courage and embrace transparency
5. Fix the media bias
I’ve done a lot of noodling on each of these. After you listen to the first 15 or so minutes of this week’s program, I’d love to hear your perspective.
ISRAEL – PALESTINE. We witnessed a humiliating example of the Democratic Party’s lack of courage and transparency last week when the Iowa House voted on HR 101 — a resolution affirming support for Israel, without any mention of the horrible crimes being committed against Palestinians.
House Democrats could have tried to amend the resolution. They refused. They could have debated it on the floor of the House. Crickets. They could have called for a record so Iowans know how they voted. Nope. Shameful!
Bottom line is, Democratic “leaders” don’t want to take a principled stand on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nor do they want to be held accountable, as was made clear in this January 18 Des Moines Register story: House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, speaking to reporters, wouldn’t say how she voted on the resolution.
Just how bad is it in Gaza? Over 27,000 people have been killed, a majority of them women and children. A recent New York Times story read, Mothers in Gaza are struggling to find clean water and baby formula for their newborns. Families are selling their possessions to buy sacks of flour. Some people are eating animal feed to survive. Bob Kitchen of the International Rescue Committee said, “It is the most intense hunger crisis I have ever seen. Almost everyone is now hungry.”
IMMIGRATION. Speaking of cowardice, it appears that Donald Trump’s Republican Party’s position on immigration is to make lots of noise and then scuttle efforts by Congress to craft a bipartisan response.
Of course, it’s not just Trump and Congressional Republicans. One of the worst offenders when it comes to poisoning the conversation about immigration reform is Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The tension between Abbott and President Biden boiled over to new levels this month. Sadly, it’s only likely to get worse.
MAKING ICE CUBES FROM MELTING GREENLAND GLACIERS. I wish I could tell you I made up that headline, but alas, it’s true. An “entrepreneur” figured he could market glacial ice to high-end establishments in Dubai so the elite could enjoy the finest possible drinking experience on the top floor of a high-rise financed by the very fossil fuels that are melting Greenland.
Reminds me of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
A CLIMATE KUDO TO BIDEN. The President’s track record on climate has been mixed, though in my opinion, we’ve seen more good than bad. The good side of the scale just got a tad gooder with Biden’s decision to halt the export of Liquid Natural Gas. Let’s hope it holds.
KIDS IN COURT FOR CLIMATE. The proliferation of lawsuits over state and federal inaction on the climate crisis continues to pick up steam. Last year saw a groundbreaking ruling in Montana that could force the state to alter its environmental policies. In Hawaii, a judge is set to hear a youth-led case in June. Suits are also in progress or pending in California, Florida, Utah, and Virginia. Go kids!
Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action.
Ed Fallon
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Ed Fallon