Dear Friends,

Listen to Kathleen McQuillen and Kathy Byrnes, who join me on THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM:

(00:58) Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice;
(19:53) Trump and the threat of nuclear war;
(36:50) Remembering the fearless Sinéad O’Connor;
(52:06) Federal cuts spell problems for local-food distributors.

Before I surprise some (most? all?) of you and tell you what Trump said that I agree with:

CHOPIN AND LOCAL FOODS. I’ve released two more sets of Chopin Nocturnes. SET 3 is dedicated to the marchers of the Great March for Climate Action. SET 4 is dedicated to our cat, Mika. She was a great cat. Even a friend who hates cats liked her.

Wanna hear the music live? Attend a concert of mostly Chopin followed by a discussion of the importance of localizing food production. It’s Thursday, April 3, 7:00-9:00 pm at 735 19th Street, Des Moines. RSVP HERE.

IMMIGRANT RIGHTS GROUP RECOGNIZED. This year, the prestigious Bishop Maurice Dingman Award goes to Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice. This is the first time in 27 years the award has gone to a recipient focused on immigration. The ceremony is Saturday, March 29, at 6:00 p.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 2926 Beaver Ave in Des Moines. Tickets at catholicpeaceministry@gmail.com.

THE FEARLESS SINEAD O’CONNOR. The one thing most people remember about O’Connor is that she tore up a photo of the Pope in 1992 to protest the Catholic Church’s silence on child abuse by the clergy. She was ahead of her time. Ten years later, allegations of extensive abuse gained enough momentum to compel the Church to admit it had hushed up the heinous actions of known abusers, and even kept them in positions of power where they could continue to abuse.

The roots of O’Connor’s criticism of the Church stem from the abuse she suffered as a child, chronicled in her 2021 memoir, Rememberings. She describes one punishment she and other girls received from nuns: “if you were bad, they sent you upstairs to sleep in the old folks’ home. You’re in there in the pitch black, you can smell the shit and the puke and everything, and these old women are moaning in their sleep  … I have never—and probably will never—experience such panic and terror and agony over anything.”

O’Connor’s activism was extensive. She shaved her head as a statement against traditional views of femininity. She once performed in jeans, black frock, priest’s collar, with a big cross around her neck. To protest racism, she refused to perform in the US if the national anthem was played.

Agree or disagree with her on issues or tactics, we could all use a dose of O’Connor’s boldness in these difficult times.

CUTS THAT HURT FARMERS AND KIDS. Kathy discusses how a sudden cut in federal funding has left food distribution centers on the hook for millions of dollars. Elon Musk’s chain saw abruptly ended two key programs, even declining to pay for food already delivered to schools, food banks, and child care centers.

I AGREE WITH TRUMP! In an interview on Fox News earlier this week, Trump said the country’s “greatest” threat was nuclear weapons that are “big monsters.” He went on to lament the amount of money the US has spent on its nuclear weapons program.

That’s good, right? But is it just rhetoric, as it was when President Obama flip-flopped on nuclear weapons?

Yes, sorry to have to remind you, but Obama’s record on nuclear weapons was a classic case of political hypocrisy. On April 5, 2009, in Prague he said: “Today, I state clearly and with conviction America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.”

Ah, hope and change. Well, that didn’t go so well. As the Federation of Atomic Scientists pointed out, at the end of Obama’s second term, “the Obama administration has reduced the U.S. stockpile less than any other post-Cold War administration.”

I share this historical reflection not to dwell on one of the broken promises of the Obama years but as a sobering reminder that many politicians often say one thing and do another. Who knew.

So, while I love what Trump said this week (and previously) about the nuclear threat, his chaotic foreign policy has several European and Asian countries pondering whether they should acquire their own nuclear weapons.

As Debak Das writes in An Unreliable America Means More Countries Want the Bomb, “While on the surface it might seem as though a warmer relationship between two of the world’s largest nuclear powers could reduce the risk of nuclear war, the opposite is true. We are on the precipice of a global turn toward nuclear instability, in which many countries will be newly incentivized to build their own arsenals, increasing the risk of nuclear use, terrorist subversion, and accidental launch.”

Bottom line, Trump’s rhetoric doesn’t match his actions. But the fact that he’s calling out the nuclear threat is a starting point. Maybe those who have his ear can push him to embrace a foreign policy that moves us toward nuclear disarmament, not deeper into the peril of a globe armed to the teeth with weapons that could end life on Earth.

What’s my ask this week? Write to your Congressperson and US Senators. Remind them what Trump is saying about nuclear weapons. Ask them to (1) offer cuts to the US nuclear weapons budget and (2) tell Trump to embrace diplomacy instead of bellicose rhetoric that only pushes other countries to extreme measures.

Oh, one more thing you can do: SPEAK UP! LOUDLY! PERSISTENTLY.!

Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. — Ed Fallon

*******

In addition to our PODCAST, listen to the Fallon Forum on these affiliates:

– KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames, Iowa)
– KICI.LP 105.3 FM (Iowa City, Iowa)
– WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans, Louisiana)
– KPIP-LP, 94.7 FM (Fayette, Missouri)
– KCEI 90.1 FM (Taos, New Mexico)
– KRFP 90.3 FM (Moscow, Idaho)
– WGRN 94.1 FM (Columbus, Ohio)