Dear Friends,
THIS WEEK’S PODCAST AND RADIO PROGRAM:
(01:29) What’s causing Iowa’s high cancer rates?, with State Rep. Austin Baeth;
(19:19) Insurrection Day and Christian Nationalism, with Mark Clipsham;
(37:35) Charles operates on his pet rat;
(53:56) January garden Q & A, with Kathy Byrnes.
CANCER IN IOWA. State Rep. Austin Baeth (D-Des Moines) is an internal medicine physician. He’s helping lead the charge at the Statehouse to address Iowa’s disturbing cancer numbers. Across the state, Iowa continues to see an increase in cancer, especially breast cancer, even as other states are seeing declining rates.
Smoking is part of the problem, along with obesity, binge drinking, and radon. There’s also concern that modern agricultural practices, including the use of chemicals like atrazine and glyphosate, contribute to Iowa’s disturbing numbers.
One of the initiatives Baeth plans to push this year with like-minded Republican colleagues is a detailed study of what’s behind this increase. That in itself would be a significant accomplishment. But it’s just a start.
“We need folks from across Iowa, we need a grassroots movement to get legislation across the finish line. It’s still in its infancy, trying to get this grassroots network going,” said Baeth on my program. If you want to help build that network, contact Rep. Baeth at austin.baeth@legis.iowa.gov.
INSURRECTION DAY. Like several other tragic moments in US history, January 6, 2021, is a day that should live in infamy. Since he knows no shame, Donald Trump continues to spread lies about what transpired at the US Capitol that day. One of his most offensive rewrites is calling January 6 a “day of love.”
How is it possible to watch any footage from January 6 — this clip from NBC News, for example — and see anything but violence, terror, and hatred?
An often overlooked element of the insurrection is the event’s connection to Christian Zionism. Mark Clipsham (in photo) joins me for that conversation.
In February 2022, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) released a report, Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021, Insurrection, that delineates the role Christian Nationalism played that day, a fact that oughta receive more attention than it gets.
An element of Christian Nationalism is Christian Zionism, which Wikipedia defines as “a political and religious ideology that, in a Christian context, espouses the return of the Jewish people to the Holy Land in accordance with biblical prophecies that the re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty is a prerequisite for the Second coming of Christ.”
Not all Christian Nationalists are Zionists. Regardless, religious fanaticism of any flavor is frightening and has no place in democratic governance, especially in a world infested with over 12,000 nuclear weapons. But the extreme world views espoused by some of Trump’s appointees (Pete Hegseth, for example) are deeply disturbing in terms of how they might impact life-and-death policy decisions.
CHARLES OPERATES ON HIS PET RAT. In the midst of serious conversations, I’m a fan of adding lighter elements from time to time. Dr. Charles Goldman’s prolific pet ownership presents such an opportunity.
(Note: That’s not Charles or his rat in the photo.)
I was astounded to learn from Charles how many different types of pets he’s had over the years. Two leopard tail geckos. A cockateel. Cats. A Belgian Dwarf rabbit. A hamster. And two Sprague-Dawley rats Charles rescued from a hospital lab. A veritable menagerie!
One of those rats developed a salivary gland tumor. Charles’ story of trying to heal it — including an operation and administering CPR — is both entertaining and heart-warming. I will never again tease Charles about his poor score on the empathy component of his medical examine.
JANUARY GARDEN Q & A. In a practice we started years ago, Kathy and I answer gardening questions at the beginning of each month, specifically about growing food in northern climes. This month, we answer questions about the importance of laying out a garden plan in advance, starting seeds, and identifying fraudulent seed offers.
Fraudulent seed offers? ‘Fraid so. See photo. And if you think a tomato plant can pull off that kind of color display, I’ve got a chunk of moon rock I wanna sell you for a couple grand.
Thanks for reading, listening, and taking action. — Ed Fallon
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