In the early 2000s, Kim talked about running for office — as a Democrat. “I grew up in a Democratic family. My grandfather ran a union print shop in Minneapolis and my dad was in the printers union.” Kim voted for Obama in 2008. With waning enthusiasm, she voted for him again in 2012. She went with Trump in 2016 and 2020 — casting a vote not so much FOR Trump but against Biden and the Democratic Party. Continue Reading →
Since the Mojave, Hannah has been blessed with many displays of kindness and hospitality — camping at a retreat center, a Greek Orthodox monastery, an urban farm in Phoenix, and at many private homes. There have been hardships as well, of course. A crippling case of blisters after the first day’s march due to inadequate shoes. Portions of her route blocked by wildfire damage, requiring a thirty-mile reroute. A dog bite that forced Hannah to receive rabies shots — administered on four separate occasions at four separate medical facilities. Continue Reading →
Joshua Barr, Director of the Des Moines Civil & Human Rights Commission, joins us with positive news about Breaking Bread, Building Bridges — an initiative bring people together, one-on-one, to talk through their perceived differences and discover common ground. Pairings include a young man who was very anti-police with a woman police officer. The short video is encouraging and worth watching. Continue Reading →
I reject the rhetoric that most Trump voters are racists, misogynists, and “deplorable” — as Hillary Clinton referred to half of Trump’s supporters in 2016. That’s not helpful.
I know from personal experience that good people, for various reasons, voted for Trump. We need to understand why and work to identify shared challenges. Beyond that, if the Democratic Party has any hope of regaining relevance in rural America, it has to begin with listening, not lecturing. Continue Reading →
A new report paints a disturbing picture of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The coral’s status has declined from “significant concern” to “critical,” as bleaching continues to kill more and more coral. The report fingers climate change as the primary culprit. It’s not just coral: One-third of all natural World Heritage sites are threatened by climate change. Continue Reading →
The Obama administration — including then-Vice President Joe Biden and then-Secretary of State John Kerry — sent the message that new oil pipelines are dragging the US and our planet in the wrong direction. The clear, consistent, and scientific next step for President-elect Biden’s administration is to again cancel both pipelines, once and for all. Given Biden’s strong statements in opposition to DAPL while in Iowa in 2019, cancelation of the pipeline is his only consistent choice. Continue Reading →
I received this disturbing and heart-wrenching message from a worker at an Iowa healthcare facility: “We are fighting a battle that we just can’t win here. No matter what we do, no matter how careful we are, I know without a shadow of a doubt that all our people WILL GET this thing. It has taken on a life of its own. A third of our people have COVID and half of our staff has it. We are drowning!!!!!!!” Continue Reading →
In 2021, a key collaboration between the Fallon Forum and Bold Iowa will be “Fifty-two Conversations With Trump Voters.” Each week, I’ll have an hour-long conversation with someone who voted for Donald Trump. I’ll publish a summary of that conversation in my weekly blog and also interview that voter during my talk show.
This will, no doubt, anger some of you. “Ed, how dare you give any more coverage to those people!”
A key element of our way out of the current divide is through dialogue. I reject the rhetoric that most Trump voters are racists, misogynists, and “deplorable” — as Hillary Clinton so memorably referred to half of Trump’s supporters in 2016. Continue Reading →
Last month, I wrote that for Trump to win, he would have to pull it off in the courts. I thought then that a good old-fashion military coup wouldn’t work because so many high-ranking officials were anti-Trump. Yet with Trump tightening his grip on the various tentacles of national defense, appointing solid Trump loyalists to key positions, a military coup may be his backup plan if the judicial coup fails. Continue Reading →
Dear Friends, In a year of firsts, this week’s Fallon Forum was conducted over Zoom. In a free-flowing conversation for a full hour of election analysis, I’m joined by Kathy Byrnes, Rekha Continue Reading →