Short week on The Fallon Forum, thanks to Labor Day. And I mean “THANKS!” We should be profoundly grateful to the hard-working men and women who keep America moving, one widget and wheat grain at a time.

It's also important to thank labor unions who continue to fight for justice in the workplace, who through much blood, sweat and tears brought us the 40-hour workweek, the minimum wage, and an end to child-labor laws — to name just a few improvements we often take for granted.

Yet it's important, too, to point out that many union leaders have grown too cozy with corrupt elected officials whose only concern is gaining and keeping power at all costs. None of us — especially rank-and-file union members — are served well by this arrangement. At the Iowa Statehouse, one need only reflect on the failure in recent years of nearly every labor priority to understand the depth of the problem.
That's something we need to talk about on The Fallon Forum sometime, and I invite readers to suggest guests who should be part of that conversation.

Tuesday (tonight), we talk with Irish poet Seamus Cashman in advance of his visit to Iowa. We'll discuss the importance of human rights and how the Irish are acutely aware of human rights struggles, given the centuries spent under colonialism and the modern conflict in Northern Ireland. Also, Seamus recently wrote about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his latest book of poetry, and we may get his viewpoint on that hot topic as well.

Wednesday is once again “AJ DeCoster Day,” as we continue to celebrate this crook's horrific track record of abuse and corruption. Secretary of Agriculture candidate Francis Thicke — one of the few political leaders willing to step forward and criticize DeCoster — will join us by phone from the campaign trail.

Thursday, we dig-in to the battle for the Iowa House and Senate, where Republicans appear positioned to make gains. Objectively, while I'm not excited about a Republican-controlled Legislature, the big question appears to be not whether Democrats will lose seats in both chambers but whether they'll lose enough to tip the balance.

Also on Thursday, Randy Swisher with Physicians for Social Responsibility joins us for an update on his visit to Iowa to discuss wind energy.

And our Thursday giveaway is a pair of tickets to Iowa River Revival's RIVERS ROCK event this coming Saturday on the North Raccoon River in Greene County. The tickets are valued at $50 and are good for a catered meal and the concert. There's also a canoe float before dinner. Thanks to Chris Henning of Prairie Skye Productions for donating the tickets. You can learn more by visiting http://www.iowarivers.org.

So join us from 7:00-8:00 this Tuesday – Thursday for the fusion of politics and civility at 98.3 WOW-FM and online. Call (515) 312-0983 or (866) 908-TALK to participate in the conversation.  You can hear the show as a podcast, too.

And for more progressive talk radio check out The Bradshaw Show, Monday – Friday from 1:00-4:00 pm on 98.3 WOW-FM. Bradshaw's a West Des Moines' native and up against Rush Limbaugh during that time slot. So give him a listen and even a call as we work to create more local, progressive programming on our public airwaves.