Message from Ed Fallon
By Ed Fallon
Dear Friends,
We
hope you enjoyed a restful and thoughtful Independence Day, and that
you had some time to think about what independence means to
Americans. In our work with IM for Iowa, independence is never far
from our minds. Wed like to reflect for a moment on our purpose and
mission.
In the 1770s, Americas founders challenged the unjust
economic policies of an illegitimate foreign power. In the 1890s,
rural Midwesterners fostered a progressive populist movement to reclaim
control of their lives and economies from moneyed interests grown
greedy and corrupt.
Today, the growing power of corporate
lobbyists, special interests and unresponsive politicians threatens the
very foundations of our democracy. This threat demands a stronger,
more politically engaged grassroots movement committed to the patriotic
ideals upon which our nation was founded.
Across Iowa and across the
nation, more and more people are fighting to regain control of our
government and our country. Here in the heartland, I'M for Iowa is
developing a broad network of Iowans working for:
- Independence from special-interest campaign contributions.
- Independence from poverty, injustice and discrimination.
- Independence from fossil fuels.
- Independence from government subsidies for big business, from risky ventures
that waste our tax dollars while failing to deliver on promises of
economic prosperity, and from national chains that exert a stranglehold
on our communities.
- Independence from government
officials who operate without the publics interest in mind, often
behind closed doors, and with a lack of integrity and accountability.
One
important thing we can all do is support our independent farmers and
businesses. The pillage of Iowas Main Streets and downtowns by
national chains is substantially similar to the British pillage of the
original American colonies over 200 years ago. Check out our website
(Shop Locally) for information about family farmers and locally-owned
businesses near you. (This section of our website is a work in
progress, and we need YOU to suggest additional resources.)
Also,
with the reauthorization of the federal Farm Bill underway in Congress,
we encourage you to contact Iowas Congressmen and Senators to tell
them you want local foods, small farmers, sustainable agriculture and
conservation to play a central role in the new Farm Bill. For more
information, contact Wendy Wasserman with Edible Iowa River Valley at
http://www.edibleiowarivervalley.com.
And thanks to all who took time
to contact Governor Culver last week about jumping on the no new coal
plants bandwagon. Please share any responses you get with us.
Sincerely,
Ed Fallon and Lynn Heuss
UPCOMING EVENTS (most of which well be at)
Saturday, July 7 (Decorah)
Greg Brown benefit concert for Seed Savers Heritage Farm
3094 North Winn Road, 7:00 p.m.
(tickets are $20 in advance, $25 the day of the concert)
Contact http://www.seedsavers.org
Saturday, July 7 (all of Iowa and well beyond)
Party for the Planet
Millions
of people around the world are gathering in small groups to watch a
special preview of presidential candidates answering questions on
climate change.
Contact http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=86
Tuesday, July 10 Wednesday, July 11 (Ames)
Leopold Center Twentieth Anniversary Celebration
Scheman Building, ISU Campus
Register on-line at http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/home.html
Contact Laura Miller at lwmiller@iastate.edu
Friday, July 13 Saturday, July 14 (Des Moines)
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Statewide Convention
Hotel Fort Des Moines, 10th and Walnut
Contact (515) 284-0484 or http://www.iowacci.org
Saturday, July 14 (Ankeny)
SWINE: Iowas Premier Pork and Wine event
Des Moines Area Community College
2006 Ankeny Blvd., 4:00 9:00 p.m.
Admissi on is $20 in advance, $25 at the door
Contact http://www.swinefestival.com
Monday, July 16 (Marshalltown)
Ed Fallon will address Marshalltown Community College students on poverty
Further details pending
Saturday, July 28 (Mount Vernon)
1000 Friends of Iowa Annual Meeting
Enabling Sustainable Development for Iowa: What it means for food, land and people
(followed by a walking tour of downtown Mount Vernon)
Cornell College Commons, 9:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.
Contact http://www.kfoi.org/kfoi_meeting.php
Thursday, August 2 Sunday, August 5 (Ames to Des Moines)
March to Re-Energize Iowa
Building a clean energy economy for real global warming solutions
A project of the Sierra Student Coalition
Contact http://www.climatesummer.org
Blog For Iowa 