SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
June 28, 2013
Sullivan’s
Salvos 7/2/13
In this edition:
*Happy Independence Day!
*RIP Maynard Hebl
*Supreme Court Decisions
*”Death To DOMA” Celebration
*Welcome Dana Aschenbrenner!
*Did You Know?
*Happy Independence Day!
Happy
Independence Day! If you are a regular reader, you know that I am a Thomas
Jefferson buff. July 4th always reminds me of this amazing but true story:
Thomas
Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4th, 1826 – exactly 50
years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. They
were the last surviving Founding Fathers – Jefferson at age 82, and Adams at
age 90. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson lives,” though Jefferson had
actually passed away four hours earlier.
Wow.
We live in an amazing Country! Perhaps you believe in fate, perhaps not. But
that is a pretty cool story!
I
hope you all have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July!
*RIP Maynard Hebl
Johnson
County lost an icon this past week with the passing of Maynard Hebl.
Maynard
was a VERY active volunteer, including the heading up the Johnson County
Cattlemen’s Association and serving several years on the Johnson County
Planning and Zoning Commission.
Maynard
even held two elected offices at once: Union Township Trustee, and Ag Extension
Director. You could always count on Maynard to step up when help was needed.
It
never really surprised me that the Iowa City Landfill was developed on/near
Hebl family land, because Maynard was very easy to get along with. I’d prefer
to negotiate with that smiling gentleman in the cowboy hat over just about
anyone else!
Maynard
Hebl was a kind and generous man with a great attitude, who left us far too
soon. RIP Maynard.
*Supreme Court Decisions
The
United States Supreme Court has been in the news a lot lately, with several big
decisions in the past few days. I am a bit of a Supreme Court junkie, so it was
a very exciting week!
While
I am excited by the Windsor Ruling that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), I was crushed by the decision in Shelby to gut the Voting Rights Act.
Add in other Court decisions that were very anti-worker and anti-Affirmative
Action, and my celebration is somewhat muted. I am THRILLED for my LGBTQ
friends, but find myself looking at huge uphill battles in other areas. The
rich and powerful still retain tight control on this country.
I’ll be honest; I HATE the Roberts Court! It is not that they are
so very conservative, though they are. It is because despite the typical
conservative moaning over “activist judges”, this is the most activist court
since the mid-60s, and perhaps EVER! They say one thing, then do another.
Needless
to say, the recent case that seemed the most hypocritical was Bush v. Gore in
2000. I realize that was the Renquist Court and not the Roberts Court, but
Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy all played key roles in that debacle. It was the
very height of hypocrisy: the pro- “State’s Rights” Court overturning a State
of Florida decision. We have witnessed similar hypocrisy in the past week, as Justice
Alito criticizes his colleagues for “overreaching” during Windsor, even though
the day before he voted to invalidate a provision the Court was not even
reviewing!
Speaking
to the conservatism of the current Court is this 2010 article from US News and
World Report: “A new paper by Richard Posner, a judge who sits on the Seventh
Circuit Court of Appeals, and William Landes, a law professor at the University
of Chicago, is now making its way through the academic community. In "Rational Judicial Behavior: A Statistical Study," Posner and Landes use a database that
includes the political background and voting records of the past 70 years of
Supreme Court justices—who appointed each justice and how the justices decided
every case—to come up with a ranking, from most conservative to least
conservative, of the 43 justices who have served on the court since 1937.”
“Their
conclusion: Four of the five most conservative justices to serve on the Supreme
Court since Franklin Roosevelt, including Roberts and Alito, are currently
sitting on the bench today. Justice Anthony Kennedy, another current Republican
appointee, is ranked No. 10. (The table has a full list.) Justices Ruth Bader
Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, the two current justices nominated by Democratic
presidents, are among the 15 "least conservative" justices of the
past 70 years. Thurgood Marshall, who became the first black Supreme Court
justice when he was appointed in 1967, has the most liberal voting record on
the list. Clarence Thomas, the second black justice, who was appointed to the
court in 1991, is ranked the most conservative.”
Even
when forced by facts to do the right thing (such as approving the Affordable
Care Act) they throw conservatives a large bone (no need to expand Medicaid!)
that wasn’t even on the table. Again, this is the most activist court in at
least 50 years.
I
firmly believe that some day, the Roberts Court will be viewed with the same
disdain as the Waite Court of the 1870s and ‘80s. That Court undermined
Reconstruction, allowing Jim Crow, and decided in Santa Clara County vs.
Southern Pacific Railroad that corporations are people. They allowed the robber
barons to gain unprecedented wealth without regulation. Unfortunately, we still
suffer from their decisions 130 years later.
*”Death to DOMA” Celebration
My
misgivings about this Supreme Court did not stop me from joining the “Death to
DOMA” celebration at the UI Pentacrest. It was great to see so many folks so
happy! Congratulations to all on this historic day!
*Welcome Dana Aschenbrenner!
Johnson
County named its first-ever Finance Director this past week with the
appointment of Dana Aschenbrenner of Iowa City.
Dana
is no stranger to County government, having served almost 11 years as a Deputy
Auditor and almost 2 years as a Deputy Treasurer.
The
Finance Department is a new creation, and a cost-neutral attempt at a more
integrated system of financial oversight. To create the department, the
Treasurer’s Office, Auditor’s Office, and Board of Supervisors’ Office each
gave up an employee.
I
look forward to greater cooperation and better results for the public.
Congrats, Dana!
*DID YOU KNOW?
James Monroe, the 5th President of the United States, also
died on July 4th.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"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.
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serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 8:54 AM
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