SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 1, 2012
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/4/12 In this edition: *Apples! *Working With A Republican Friend *Respecting People’s Time *Fry Fest *Iowa City Scrabble Club *Did You Know? *Apples! We have a bumper crop of apples in our backyard. The summer heat has resulted in the largest, tastiest apples that our tree has ever produced! So, if you want apples, just come pick them. The tree is in the back yard. All I ask is a rough estimate of when you might be here so I can alert my family. Spread the word, and happy picking! *Working With A Republican Friend I ran into an old high school friend the other day. We don’t see each other often, and it was great catching up. My friend is a staunch Republican; as Salvos readers know, I am a staunch Democrat. Yet the two of us have what I would call incredibly productive political discussions. I have several Republican friends, but for some reason the two of us seem to really click when it comes to problem solving. It begins with respect. Both of us believe that respect is earned, and over the years, we have earned it from each other. Our friendship is much more important than the politics. My buddy was always good at cutting through the BS. In fact, he is so direct that it sometimes causes fights. For example, a mutual friend was going on about how “Obama was going to take his guns.” My buddy said, “Obama has been President for 4 years. Gun laws are looser than when he was elected. We are going to discuss a real issue.” No matter the issue – jobs, taxes, Social Security, Medicare, education, Afghanistan – we can find middle ground. I honestly believe that between the two of us, we could solve all our problems. That begs the question: why can’t the federal government resolve these same issues? The answer is simple – the priority is winning, not governing. In a rare moment of honesty, Mitch McConnell said as much. My friend and I agree on the best solution here, too: a Constitutional Amendment creating 100% publicly financed campaigns. The current Supreme Court would likely shoot down anything less. In addition to a Constitutional Amendment, we agreed that Congress needs term limits. Terms in the House should be extended from 2 to 4 years, and individuals should be limited to 3 terms. Similarly, individuals should be limited to three 6-year Senate terms. If the cards fell just right, a single individual could serve 30 years at the federal level. That is plenty! It was good to see an old friend. It was good to have a spirited political discussion. I hope all of you have at least one relationship like the one I am blessed to have. And I hope some day people from the two largest political parties can reach similar agreements! *Respecting People’s Time One of my pet peeves is when people fail to respect my time. Like most people in today’s fast-paced world, my daily schedule is full. My guess is that yours is, too. This tight schedule means that I cannot afford to have someone show up half an hour late for an appointment. It affects every other appointment for the rest of the day. Interestingly, the places where I have the most trouble are doctor’s offices. The irony there is that they set the appointment! I feel like saying, “Hey – YOU told ME to be here at 2:00 – not the other way around!” We are all busy; probably too busy. I promise to do my best to respect your time – I hope you will do the same. *Fry Fest The 4th Annual FRY fest will take place FRYday, September 7, and will recognize and celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the renewal of the Iowa vs. Iowa State football rivalry, the day before the Hawkeyes take on the Cyclones in Kinnick Stadium. FRY fest attendees will be able to take in a day of panel discussions reliving stories from broadcasters, players and coaches’ perspectives from this intra-state rivalry game played annually between Big 12 Conference member Iowa State Cyclones and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference. The “World’s Largest Hawkeye Tradeshow & Tailgate Party” is back where fans can interact with Hawkeye retailers, licensees, and other related groups. New to the mix will be some Cyclone licensed vendors offering fans their latest and greatest merchandise as well. Also returning are the FRY fest car show presented by Carousel Nissan, FRY fest small FRY zone at Diamond Dreams, and the FRY fest pep rally, all FREE and open to the public. The day will wrap up with an incredible outdoor concert. With numerous family-friendly activities planned throughout the day, FRY fest is a true ‘Celebration of all that is Hawkeye.’ We hope to see you on September 7! For more information and a full schedule of events, see: fryfest.com *Iowa City Scrabble Club Many people love the classic board game Scrabble, but few realize that Iowa City has a local Scrabble Club. The club meets once or twice per month, usually at the Iowa City Public Library. Players are matched based upon skill and competitiveness, and all the participants have been good-natured. A spin off group has begun meeting in Coralville; I know less about that gathering. To get your name added to the e-mail list, or for more information on either group, contact Gary Sanders at 337-7739. *DID YOU KNOW? The highest score for a single word in Scrabble is 392. The word was craziques, which means Indian Chief. Dr. Saladin Khoshnaw played the word in 1982. 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 @ 8:05 PM
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