SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
August 3, 2008
Sullivan’s Salvos 8/5/08
I am very busy at work. Melissa is busy with experiments, writing papers, and serving as an Elder at church. The kids are trying to squeeze in some late summer fun, but preparations for school have begun. The garden is in full bloom, and tomatoes and cucumbers abound. Even though August has arrived, the Cubs keep us interested. A fall full of politics is on the horizon. Life is full, but it is very good. Right?
Life is good. For most of us. Despite the flooding, most people in Johnson County have a roof overhead and food to eat. Gas prices are high, but we suck it up and adapt. Our collective attention span is short. There are plenty of things on our minds.
So when was the last time you thought about the war in Iraq? I know it ruins the good summer vibe to bring this up, but the US continues to be involved in an illegal war. The US invaded a sovereign nation, without provocation, and continues to occupy that country. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and almost 5,000 US troops have died as a result. Over a million Iraqis are refugees. Thousands of US soldiers return to the US with PTSD and other difficulties. In the process, the US has resorted to torture, and placed new and far-reaching limitations on our civil liberties. Countries around the world have lost respect for the US. The war is the most expensive in US history, costing $600 billion. As a result of all of this, our war in Afghanistan is faltering, al-Qaeda has grown in strength, and US citizens are less safe.
I am not saying to forget the floods. I am not saying forget your work or family. I am not saying forget having any summer fun.
I simply want to remind everyone that we continue to be involved in a terrible foreign policy boondoggle. There are no legal goals for this war, so there are no real guages of success. Our soldiers serve admirably, but there is no way to “win” this illegal war. The US could kill every living organism in Iraq. Would that be a victory? People like John McCain, who led us to this illegal war, now say we must not end it lest we “surrender” or “lose”. He is lying. We lost the day we lost our moral compass. Leaving an illegal war that we began is the only moral thing to do. We need to end the illegal war in Iraq before we do more harm.
Please do not forget the war in Iraq. Especially when you go to the voting booth.
Taxpayers in Johnson County, Iowa will pay $191.3 million for total Iraq war spending approved to date. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:
57,241 People with Health Care for One Year OR
215,208 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR
4,572 Public Safety Officers for One year OR
31,176 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR
2,380 Affordable Housing Units OR
4,282 Elementary School Teachers for One Year.
That is correct - those figures are the cost for Johnson County alone!
(Source: Costofwar.com)
The Johnson County Historical Society is holding it’s annual historic barn tour Saturday, August 16 from 9-1:30. To RSVP, call 351-5738.
Beginning on Monday August 4th, Congressman Loebsack will host Flood Assistance Meetings throughout the Second Congressional District to provide individuals, small business owners, and farmers with one-on-one help in applying for federal and state flood assistance.
During these meetings, Congressman Loebsack will meet individually with residents affected by the floods to cut through bureaucratic red tape and assist them in applying for state and federal disaster relief. Residents who suffered losses due to the floods are encouraged to attend the Loebsack Flood Assistance Meeting, or to contact his office toll-free at 1-866-914-IOWA (4692) for assistance.
Johnson County meetings are Tuesday, August 5, 9:30 – 10:30 AM at the Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau, and 11:00 – 12:00 at the Iowa City Public Library.
ToGather Together is a new grassroots network formed to encourage partnerships among local communities of faith, service organizations, businesses and neighborhood elementary and junior high schools throughout Johnson County.
ToGather Together will provide new school supplies and new/gently used clothing for the approximately 3000 students who are in need of such assistance in Johnson County.
They are asking for financial contributions, donations of new school supplies and new and gently-used clothing, sizes pre-school to adult (appropriate for young adults).
Clothing distributions will take place on Saturday, August 9th at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, Coralville United Methodist Church and North Liberty United Methodist Church from 9:00 – 11:00 AM.
School supplies will be distributed at each school according to each individual school’s plans.
All donations of supplies and clothing can be dropped off by August 7th at any HyVee location in marked collection boxes.
Financial contributions can be mailed to ToGather Together c/o Neighborhood Centers, P.O. Box 2491, Iowa City, IA 52244, with checks made out to “ToGather Together”. Contributions are tax deductible.
To find out more about ToGather Together, browse the link on the Neighborhood Centers’ webpage, www.ncjc.org or contact Karrie Craig at thecraigfamily@mchsi.com or 339-9403.
DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County has $10 billion in taxable property. This does not include government property (the UI, Coralville Reservoir, etc.), churches, or nonprofits.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 6:21 PM
1 Comments:
Impressed..! I too very busy.. I have to buy school supplies for my kids.
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