rodsullivan.org
SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 31, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 2/5/19
In this edition:
*Brutal Weather!
*Assessors
*Mayors Rock!
*2020 Caucus!
*Bowl For Kids Sake
*Did You Know?
*Brutal Weather!
A mild December gave way to a remarkably cold and snowy January! Folks, wind chills of below zero really ARE dangerous! If the air temp is 5 degrees and there is a 15 mph wind, it only takes 15 minutes to contract frostbite! And it has been much colder and windier here!
Please be careful and take extra precautions. Be safe, and we’ll get through this!
*Assessors
The City and County Conference Boards met recently to discuss the performances and budgets of the Iowa City and Johnson County Assessors.
Assessors are the folks who determine the value of all our taxable real estate. Every county has an Assessor; so do several of the larger cities. In some areas, notably Des Moines/Polk County and Waterloo/Black Hawk County, the City Assessor’s Office has been absorbed by the County Assessor’s Office.
The Iowa City Assessor handles all the property inside Iowa City proper; the Johnson County Assessor does everything else. The IC Assessor is responsible for about $7.5 billion in appraised value; the JC Assessor is responsible for about $8.5 billion. Both serve about 75,000 residents.
Houses, businesses, farms and the like all go up and down in value. Because Johnson County has historically been viewed as a very good place to live, property values here have gone up steadily. While property values across the country crashed as the housing bubble broke, property values in Johnson County remained fairly flat, and started to increase again very quickly.
Property tax-levying governmental units (county, cities, schools) are represented on the Conference Boards. So the IC Assessor’s Office is overseen by Johnson County, Iowa City, and the ICCSD. The JC Assessor’s Office is overseen by Johnson County, ten cities (all but IC), and ten school districts (including the ICCSD).
Now for some very good news: Assessors are measured for accuracy and ranked every year. The JC Assessor’s Office ranked #1 in the state out of about 115 offices. The IC Assessor’s Office ranked #2. That is correct – Iowa City and Johnson County were numbers one and two! (We take this for granted, because both offices are near the very top every year!)
In addition to being number one as a simple matter of pride, we should be extremely pleased by these results. This means that property tax payers are likely paying their fair share. You are not likely paying too much, nor are you paying too little, relative to all property tax payers. That is a very good thing.
We are being well served by our Assessors. Congratulations to Iowa City Assessor Brad Comer, Johnson County Assessor Tom Van Buer, and all their employees on these tremendous accomplishments!
*Mayors Rock!
I was thinking recently about the small-town Mayors in Johnson County. They are a remarkable group of people!
With all due respect to the Mayors of our larger cities – all fine people – small town Mayors have VERY difficult jobs! They lack the staff support of their colleagues in larger cities, yet expectations can be just as high. They serve on innumerable committees, and would amaze you with their vast knowledge!
I am not certain why these folks are not held in higher regard. Too many people think “Mayor” and conjure up an image such as the bumbling Mayor Quimby on the Simpsons. I am here to tell you, that is just not the case!
The stories are too numerous to mention. Loose dog? Call the Mayor. Incorrect water bill? Call the Mayor. Noisy neighbors? Call the Mayor. Does not fit neatly into any other category? Call the Mayor!
These folks do phenomenal work for very low pay. The headaches are many, and the appreciation rare. I believe the current group is as good as any we’ve ever had. So, a special shout out to:
Christopher Taylor, Swisher; Louise From, University Heights; Tim Hennes, Oxford; Steve Berner, Tiffin; Steve Stange, Solon; Tim Kemp, Hills; and Jonathon Green, Lone Tree. Thank you to every member of this outstanding group!
*2020 Caucus!
Not that anyone asked, but here is the debut of my Top 25 for 2020! Just like in sports, the Top 25 can change. As a matter of fact, I put this out on Facebook a while ago. It has changed a bit since! These are just my current opinions. What do you think?
Warren
Harris
Brown
Merkely
Sanders
Klobuchar
Bullock
Castro
Inslee
Hickenlooper
O'Rourke
Swalwell
Yang
Gillibrand
Booker
Garcetti
Biden
Gabbard
Buttigieg
Ojeda
Delaney
Bloomberg
Holder
McAuliffe
Schultz
Thoughts? Fair warning; please treat all of these folks with respect. Any one of them could be our nominee. OK. Not Howard Schultz. You can disrespect him. He deserves no respect. As a matter of fact, PLEASE disrespect him. J OK. Have fun!
*Bowl For Kid’s Sake
The Sullivan for Supervisor team is once again raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County by Bowling For Kids’ Sake on Saturday, February 23.
Bowl for Kids' Sake is Big Brothers Big Sisters largest national fundraiser, raising over $20 million annually for children in need across the country. Because of Bowl for Kids' Sake, more Bigs and Littles can be paired up, more friendships can be created and improved outlooks on life can be started.
To donate, see: https://amplify.netdonor.net/8061/bfks2019/donate
*DID YOU KNOW? 5 cities in Johnson County have a City Manager or Administrator (Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin, and Solon), while 5 cities do not (Hills, Swisher, Shueyville, Lone Tree, and University Heights). West Branch, which has a single subdivision in Johnson County, also has a City Manager.
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.
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
January 24, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/29/19
In this edition:
*RIP Betsy Riesz
*Congratulations Shirley!
*Diversity and the Fair
*Downtown Benches
*LT Grocery
*Bowl For Kid’s Sake
*Did You Know?
*RIP Betsy Riesz
RIP Betsy Riesz – a strong, smart, and kind woman. When Betsy saw something left undone, she stepped up and did it. I have the utmost respect for Betsy Riesz, and my prayers go out to her family and friends.
*Congratulations Shirley!
Shirley Barker is retiring from Johnson County after many years of service as a Programmer/Analyst in our Information Technology Department.
Shirley is a neat person; very intelligent with a great deal of insight. I have always wanted to pick her brain about spending a long career in IT as a woman; Shirley was really quite a pioneer!
And the work is important! County government is almost completely digital. Without quality IT professionals, we can’t do much of anything!
Congratulations, Shirley, and thank you for all of your hard work over the years!
*Diversity and the Fair
Supervisor Royceann Porter does not need me to defend her. And she may not want me to defend her. But I have HAD it with people complaining about her recent comments regarding the Johnson County Fair.
First, supporters of the Fair got exactly what they have always gotten from Johnson County – a huge commitment of funding and other support. All 5 Supervisors - including Royceann – voted for the funding. Take yes for an answer!
Secondly, people are upset about something that was written in the Press Citizen that Royceann DID NOT SAY. The writer of the article said the Fair served a “mostly white slice” of Johnson County. One – Royceann did not say that. Two – it is true!
Thirdly, Royceann DID say, “I don’t see many African American, or Sudanese, or Latino kids out there.” One – this is true. Two – IMMEDIATELY following that, she said, “And I’d like to help you with that.” Conveniently, everyone has ignored her saying, “And I’d like to help you with that.”
I have had dozens of people contacting me, “outraged” at what she said. And you know what? Most of these comments come from a place of ignorance. Unfortunately, some comments come from a place of straight up racism!
If you are complaining, you either A) did not actually hear how the vote went and what was said, or B) you bought into a bunch of racist bullshit. Neither one is good.
We have a GREAT Fair! Could it be better? Sure! Would it be better if a more diverse crowd attended and learned about agriculture? Of course! Why on earth would anyone be offended by someone who offered to help with that?
Like I said, we know the answer. Either you did not actually hear it, or you bought into a bunch of racist bullshit. Come on, people! We can do better!
A lot of people now seem to think we need a lot of information on 4H. Nobody ever threatened 4H, but OK. At least the vast majority of the people I have heard from about 4H have been polite and seem to be informed. I just hope they all clearly understand that no one is coming for 4H! Janet, Melissa, and everyone at our local 4H organization do incredible work! That has never been in question.
Watch. A certain group will turn this into “Sullivan says the Fair is racist!” I have not said that, and I do not believe that. I have received a number of reasonable responses to the issue. I have also gotten racist replies on this issue. A few additional replies remind me of something my Grandpa used to say out on the farm: “Does it cross the line? No. But it walks up to the line and pisses over it!”
The Ag Association is fully funded. 4H is in no trouble. Remind me what we are mad about? Again, we can do better! We must do better!
*Downtown Benches
The recent kerfuffle over Iowa City’s downtown benches is interesting. The design of our public spaces IS important, and governments should always consider this. The design of the benches IS important, but it should not take away from the tremendous investments this Council has made to address homelessness in our community.
The Iowa City Council has funded support for Shelter House; support for the Cross Park Place Housing First project; training every police officer in Crisis Intervention; millions of dollars toward affordable housing; millions of dollars toward the Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center; support for additional officers downtown; and more. The current Iowa City Council has walked the walk like none before them!
The benches may be an issue, but they are a drop of water in the ocean when it comes to fighting homelessness. Let’s get the benches right, but focus on what really matters!
*LT’s Fine Grocery
I was very sad to see that the LT’s Fine Grocery store closed in Lone Tree. The closing was a long time coming – owner Ed Eden announced it back in August. But to see the building empty was still sad.
So what can we learn from this? Well, shopping habits have been changing for decades now. Major retailers like Sears are hanging by a thread. And that is in the big cities! What in the world can the small towns do?
I think the answer is simple… we need to buy local! Yes, hours of operation might not be as good. Prices might not be as good. Selection might not be as good. There are always trade-offs. But if you want local businesses to succeed, you have to patronize them!
*Bowl For Kid’s Sake
The Sullivan for Supervisor team is once again raising money for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County by Bowling For Kids’ Sake on Saturday, February 23.
Bowl for Kids' Sake is Big Brothers Big Sisters largest national fundraiser, raising over $20 million annually for children in need across the country. Because of Bowl for Kids' Sake, more Bigs and Littles can be paired up, more friendships can be created and improved outlooks on life can be started.
To donate, see: https://e-activist.com/page/12455/donate/1
*DID YOU KNOW? The Johnson County Fairgrounds are not owned by the County; they are owned by a nonprofit group called the Johnson County Ag Association. The Ag Association is responsible for putting on the Fair each year. Johnson County provides over $100,000 in funding to this group each year.
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.
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
January 17, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/22/19
In this edition:
*Retirements
*Free Tax Help!
*Real Economic Development!
*Stock Market Perspective
*Did You Know?
*Retirements
Wonderful people come, and wonderful people go. A couple of retirements deserving of mention:
Jan Rutledge has retired after many years with the Iowa City office of Iowa Legal Aid. If you are not familiar with Iowa Legal Aid, you should be! In criminal cases, defendants who cannot afford an attorney have one appointed to them. There is no such thing in civil court.
In other words, if you get screwed by your landlord and cannot afford a lawyer? Tough. Get screwed by your employer and cannot afford a lawyer? Tough. Get screwed by the health insurance industry and cannot afford a lawyer? Tough. Try to leave an abusive husband and cannot afford a lawyer? Tough. Try to collect from someone who owes you money and cannot afford a lawyer? Tough. You get the idea.
The one and only solution for people in these situations is Iowa Legal Aid. And for many years, Jan Rutledge has offered this type of support and counsel to our neediest neighbors.
Jan has always been a kind, caring, and considerate professional. Thanks, Jan, for all your good work. You will be missed!
Our second retirement: Matt Glasson has retired after many years of service to working people – most recently at the University of Iowa Labor Center.
Matt is a great teacher and presenter, and does a wonderful job of explaining economics in a way that regular people understand and wealthy people fear.
On top of that, Matt has been the President of my union – AFT Local 716 – for the past few years. Congratulations, Matt, and thanks for all of your efforts on behalf of working people!
*Free Tax Help!
Don’t pay a fee to get your refund! The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program provides trained volunteers that will help you file your taxes. This service is available FOR FREE to people who earned less than $55,000 in 2018. E-filing is available, and interpretation services are available at many sites or by appointment.
“You Earned It. Now Claim It!”
Sites and times are available on the County website – see the Social Services Department for the complete schedule.
Spanish interpreters are available; interpreters for other languages can be scheduled by calling 356-6090.
*Real Economic Development!
This appeared in Salvos several times over the years, but it bears repeating as we approach tax season.
*What if I told you we could bring in 60 full-time jobs that would pay $15 per hour?
*What if I told you these jobs could neither be outsourced overseas nor subcontracted?
*What if I told you those jobs would be filled by hard-working low-income people, all of whom are local?
*What if I told you NO bribery (aka “tax incentives”) would be required to land these jobs?
*What if I told you there were no special workforce training programs required?
*What if I told you virtually ALL of the money earned would be spent locally?
What would happen? Well, the Chamber of Commerce would put it in their newsletter, and the Ambassadors would do a ribbon cutting. Debi Durham would come over from Des Moines and do a big press event, and the Governor just might join her. ICAD would tweet this success to the world. Mayors would grab gold shovels and pose for a photo. You might get a visit from a US Senator. The Press Citizen and Gazette would both do front page stories. The Corridor Business Journal would write a nice editorial. The region would be hailed for its forward thinking, and folks would talk far and wide about how well we do economic development.
So what if I told you the exact equivalent has already occurred? It has.
Several years ago, I went to a National Association of Counties (NACo) conference and learned about a program that had started in Cook County, Illinois.
As it turns out, a huge number of low-income workers leave money on the table when it comes to the federal income tax system, particularly the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Cook County created a series of free tax clinics to ensure this money returned to their county.
I did some investigating, and it just so happened that Johnson County had the same problem, though obviously on a much smaller scale.
So I pushed for Johnson County to begin a free tax help program. It struck me that we had a potential partner in the Tippe College of Business, and as luck would have it, I could not have had better timing. Dr. Joyce Berg was ready to greatly expand the work her student tax preparers would do. It was a perfect fit.
Former Supervisor (and current Legislator) Sally Stutsman was very supportive. Amy Correia had just been hired as Johnson County’s first Social Services Director, and Amy took the ball and ran with it, including securing grants to cover all operating costs. The Tippe College, ICCSD, United Way, Iowa City Public Library, and many others have become valued partners. In recent years, current Social Services Director Lynette Jacoby has maintained and improved upon all this success.
What are the results? The Free Tax Help Program brings well over $1.5 million into the local economy every year. It goes to low-income local workers, who spend it locally. And it uses no local tax dollars.
Remember when I said “60 full-time jobs at $15 per hour”? That adds up to a $1.78 million annual impact, just like the Free Tax Help Program. But the Free Tax Help Program is actually even better, because it serves over 1,400 Johnson County tax filers and their families!
Economic Development can take many forms. I happen to believe the Free Tax Help program has contributed a lot of good things to the local economy. We have not had any fancy groundbreakings or ribbon cuttings, but we have accomplished something!
So if you know Lynette Jacoby, thank Lynette Jacoby. She has done great work! If you know Joyce Berg, thank Joyce Berg. Her students have given much more back to this community than they could ever take.
*Stock Market Perspective
From Steven Greenhouse: “As we celebrate the Dow being at over 20,000, let’s not forget: Over half of all Americans are not helped by this. 40% of all stocks are owned by the richest 1%. 85% of all stocks are owned by the richest 10%. The top 0.1% of Americans has the same wealth as the bottom 90%.”
Consider this when you hear criticism of the proposals put forth by Alexandra Ocasio Cortez. There is a reason that monied interests fear her! They know they should pay more. She has called them out, and they have no defense. So they attack her age, race, or a video of her dancing in college.
*DID YOU KNOW? As of 2019, Johnson County became the first county in Iowa with 4 female Supervisors!
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.
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
January 10, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/15/19
In this edition:
*Senators Grassley and Ernst – Do Your Jobs!
*MLK
*Krugman on Minimum Wage
*Did You Know?
*Senators Grassley and Ernst – Do Your Jobs!
On December 19, the US Senate voted 100-0 to fund the US government. Obviously, those 100 votes included the votes of Iowa’s two Senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst.
Then Donald Trump threw a tantrum, and decided to close down the government until he gets a wall. Unfortunately, Iowa’s Senators flip flopped in order to capitulate to Trump. So now they refuse to fund the government.
Wait a minute! You voted on December 19 to fund the government. Trump throws a fit, and you change your mind?
A lot of people depend upon the federal government for a lot of things. Real people are being hurt! Iowa’s Senators should quit taking hostages, and vote to fund the government. Just like they did BEFORE Trump’s tantrum!
Push for a wall all you want. But do your jobs, and keep the government running!
*MLK
Monday, January 21st marks the federal holiday celebrating the birthday of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Junior. I am so pleased that our country has chosen to honor this great man, and I hope you enjoy the holiday in his name. As usual, the Board of Supervisors will be doing a proclamation in his honor; this year, that will be Thursday, January 17 at 9:00 AM.
We would like to think America has come a long way since the 60s. After the 2016 elections, I’m not certain I feel that way any longer. Race was a HUGE issue in the 2016 election, and the team the racists supported won.
Look at America today. Black Lives Matter is a response to the epidemic of black men being killed by police. The US Supreme Court killed much of the Voting Rights Act, and they are likely to kill Affirmative Action. Black men are more likely to go to prison than college. The list goes on and on. Our society still has a deep racial divide.
We also need to recognize that King was a radical. America grudgingly accepted racial reforms because they were less dangerous to the status quo than the other issues King championed. King took seriously the Biblical teachings that the love of money is a sin, and that rich men will not be welcomed into Heaven. (Yes, King was a Social Democrat!) He proposed seismic changes to the political and social structures that exist in America. In addition, King was adamantly anti-war. To the status quo, he was the most dangerous man in the world.
Take some time this week to read some of the great books that are out there on Dr. King. More importantly, take some time to read the things he wrote himself.
And if you are so inclined, there are several worthwhile local celebrations. Here are a few:
The MLK Unity March begins at 9 AM at Eastdale Plaza, marching to the Scanlon gym at Mercer Park. Festivities there begin at 10 AM, with lunch served at noon.
Bethel AME Church is holding a service and program at 2PM at the church. (I will be one of the speakers at the event.)
The Coralville Public Library will do a reading of the “I Have A Dream” speech at 5pm that day at the Library. (I will be one of the readers.)
The University of Iowa celebrates Human Rights Week in conjunction with the MLK holiday. There is a long list of events; see https://mlk.uiowa.edu for details.
We have SO much work to do. We cannot forget that. But we also need to take the time to celebrate our successes. Happy MLK Day!
*Krugman on Minimum Wage
Nobel Laureate Economist Paul Krugman recently let loose with a string of tweets that simply nailed it! I have copied and posted them here:
Some thoughts inspired by this @ritholtzarticle on Seattle's minimum wage, which was loudly declared a job destroyer -- but wasn't. The reality is now clear: there has been no visible hit to employment in the restaurant sector, where you'd expect to see one if anywhere.
Furthermore, this is no surprise: at this point there's a large body of research on the effects of minimum wage hikes, which shows little if any employment effect in the U.S. context. This literature is very solid, because state actions provide natural experiments.
But there's steady drizzle of claims that minimum wage hikes do too kill jobs -- a sort of minimum-wage skeptic literature -- that continues no matter how strong the evidence gets. And the usual suspects predict disaster every time a hike is proposed.
Why can't this issue seem to get settled? Because there are powerful, wealthy interests who don't want to accept what the evidence says. I hereby propose we call this "Upton Sinclair economics", after the famous line "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." And minimum wages are hardly the only example.
In fact, the most important example of Upton Sinclair economics surely involved taxes, where the belief that tax hikes destroy economies and tax cuts work miracles survives no matter how many times it fails in practice.
You'd be hard pressed to get a better test than the contrast between, on one side, Jerry Brown's California, which right-wingers declared was committing "economic suicide" by raising taxes (and increasing the minimum wage).
*DID YOU KNOW? "I want to say to you as I move to my conclusion, as we talk about "Where do we go from here?" that we must honestly face the fact that the movement must address itself to the question of restructuring the whole of American society. There are forty million poor people here, and one day we must ask the question, "Why are there forty million poor people in America?" And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising a question about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. And I'm simply saying that more and more, we've got to begin to ask questions about the whole society."
---Martin Luther King, Jr.
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.
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
January 3, 2019
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/8/19
In this edition:
*Representing the Rural Folks
*Congratulations Becky!
*Agreeing With Trump?
*Picking Your Battles
*Did You Know?
*Representing the Rural Folks
If you paid any attention to the recent special election, you know that one candidate ran on the idea that rural voters are “unrepresented”. Obviously, many rural voters agreed with this; rural precincts voted for the losing candidate at a 72% clip. This is personally troubling to me on two levels:
First,I grew up way out in the country, on a gravel road, a few miles from the nearest paved road. I rode the school bus 40 minutes each way. We had a party line phone. Rather than buy eggs at the store, we gathered them from a cousin’s hens. Though we didn’t use them, our house had an outhouse, a summer kitchen, a cistern, and a root cellar.
BOTH SIDES of my Mom’s family have Heritage Farms - 150 years in the same family. My family has been farming the same area since before Iowa was a state!
As a young person, I did just about every type of farm work. I baled hay, walked beans, hayed horses, picked sweet corn, detassled corn, moved cattle, loaded hogs, and picked apples, just to name a few. I know a thing or two about growing up rural!
Secondly, I am pretty proud of the things we have accomplished during my time on the Board of Supervisors. I am happy to share these accomplishments with anyone who will listen. I find it really sad that so many rural residents would think I would be unwilling to listen to them. I get very few calls, really. And only a small percentage of those come from rural residents.
Look – I cannot address your concerns if I don’t know what they are! If you have a question or concern, please call me! I can be reached at rsullivan@co.johnson.ia.us, or by phone at 319-356-6000 (office) or 319-354-7199 (home). We may not agree on every issue, but I want to know what you think.
*Congratulations Becky!
Becky Mills is retiring after over 30 years of service to the Johnson County Department of Public Health. Hard working, detail oriented, and fun to be around, Becky is one of my favorite people in Johnson County government.
Thanks, Becky, for all your years of service, and congratulations on your retirement! You will be missed!
*Agreeing With Trump?
It doesn’t happen very often, but I find myself in agreement with Donald Trump on one issue: Let’s bring some troops home!
The US somehow has 170,000 active duty military troops in about 150 of the 200 countries on planet Earth. Many are engaged in hot wars. This, despite the fact that Congress has not actually declared war since WWII.
Why? Why are American troops in these places? What is the mission? How does it help the US?
I understand the argument that this announcement was managed poorly; Trump failed to include the proper people in his plans, and they should have been consulted before withdrawals were announced. It should come as no surprise that even on the rare occasion where he gets one right, the execution is poor. But don’t let the means distract from the ends! Withdrawals are good!
When we pull out, do we leave behind a mess? Yep. That is what happens when we exercise military power in foreign countries. It SHOULD serve as a reminder that we shouldn’t go into most of these countries in the first place! I can only hope we learn some lessons from this, though I doubt it.
Are we abandoning these countries? I would urge we replace each soldier 1:1 with a member of the diplomatic corps. (Trump will never do that!) We can play a role in helping other countries. But not at gunpoint.
*Picking Your Battles
I often hear people make the statement, “You have to pick your battles.” Heck, I sometimes offer that advice to others. But what do we really mean when we say this?
I know there are people who will stand on a certain principle or principles no matter what. They will NEVER let it go.
While this can be admired, it can also be harmful. What if maintaining a certain principle guaranteed your mother would die a painful death? Would you still stand strong?
Yes, that example is quite severe. But “always” is a strong word! Thinking you are principled and being principled are not the same thing.
I deal with many other people in my professional life who are forceful advocates for certain positions, but are not very effective. Why? Because they do not know when to pick their battles.
In the immortal words of They Might Be Giants – “I can shake my tiny fist and swear I wasn’t wrong. But what’s the point in arguing when you’re all alone?”
On the other hand, too many folks defer TOO often. I would argue that most folks do not pick ENOUGH battles! Far too many people fail to stand on principle far too often.
Where is the happy medium? When should we pick our battles? The answer, as you might guess, is “it depends”.
In the past two weeks, I have been charged with not knowing when to pick my battles. I have also been charged with not standing strong enough for the things in which I believe.
I try to strike a balance. I don’t know if I’m doing it well or not. So – readers… what are your thoughts? Do we need more standing on principle, more negotiation and cooperation, or does it “depend”? How do you decide?
*DID YOU KNOW? The month of January is named after the Roman God Janus, who is the God of beginning and transitions or often called the God of doorways. Having 2 faces, he watches over the past as well as the future.
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.
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
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