Iowans heard the lies over and over again during the DAPL fight. Once again, Big Oil can’t seem to tell the truth. The polar vortex had barely wrapped up its historic disruption of Texas’ power grid when fossil fuel’s spin room revealed the culprit: Windmills! Continue Reading →
Weslie is the kind of guy you want on your side in a fight against a big, bullying corporation. He and I have found other areas of agreement, though choice of presidential candidates wasn’t one of them. Surprisingly, unlike many Trump supporters I talk with, Weslie was less enthusiastic about voting for Trump in 2020. Continue Reading →
Like many voters, Janet believed the 2016 Democratic primary was rigged to assure Hillary Clinton’s victory. She was deeply disappointed that Sanders eventually endorsed Clinton. “I voted for Trump because, between him and Clinton, I felt he was the better of the two candidates — that and I think that both Clintons are extremely corrupt,” she says. Continue Reading →
Regarding climate change, Steve says it’s definitely a concern. He’d like to see us invest in research to develop better batteries for electric cars. “Let’s start working on cars that get 100 miles per gallon. We’d burn less fuel, reduce the need for pipelines, and maybe slow climate change. But we can’t make the cure worse than the problem. Take Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) for instance. That was pushed, and now DEF is showing up in the water supply, and it’s toxic.”
Steve’s also concerned about coal-fired power plants: “Worldwide, I don’t think we’re the biggest problem. China is putting up hundreds of new coal plants. If we turn the US 100% green, we’re still not going to get the results we’re after. We’ve got to get the rest of the world on board.” 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 →
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 →
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 →
If Joe Biden wins next week — and really, even if he doesn’t — the smart money says his running mate, Kamala Harris, has the inside track on being the Democratic Party’s next nominee, and quite possibly the next next president. While Harris wasn’t my first, second, or even third choice in the Iowa Caucuses, I’m cautiously comfortable considering her as president. Continue Reading →
The good Goldmans and I dig into the history of fascism and discuss whether concerns about America going full-out fascist are overblown, election-year, scare-the-voter hype. The short answer is no, such concerns are not overblown. The risk is real, and the parallels to 1930s Germany are too striking to ignore. The bottom line is this: Vote as if your life and our democracy depend on it! Continue Reading →
My column last week created some confusion, sorry. The title was Don’t Vote by Mail!, and if that’s as far as you got, you might have thought I was telling people either to vote at the polls or not at all. Never! Going forward, I’ll try to be more diligent in my selection of titles, remembering that’s are as far as some readers get. Beyond that, thanks to conversations with election officials last week, I’m now more confident that when Iowans cast their votes by mail or at the county auditor’s office, they will be counted. Continue Reading →