SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
July 21, 2021
Sullivan’s Salvos 7/27/21
In this edition:
*Happy Anniversary!
*Swisher Fun Days
*Thank You John Lundell!
*Lulu Merle Johnson T-shirts!
*Walking and Reading
*Voting Rights
*Don’t Tell Me “We Can’t”!
*Did You Know?
*Happy Anniversary!
Happy Anniversary on August 1 to my wonderful wife, Dr. Melissa Fath. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know I got a great deal here! Melissa is the best wife and mother a person could ever hope for!
Happy Anniversary, Honey! It has been a great ride!
I hope we celebrate many more!
*Swisher Fun Days
Fun Days in Swisher runs Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31. If you have never visited Johnson County’s northwest corner, give it a try!
For event details, see: https://swisher-fun-days.square.site/?fbclid=IwAR3zfe7qrTZOtiZQIwdqahkMK4MqQjfmHhMEMtTBkSS4v0Fxrx01o3-GIV8
*Thank You John Lundell!
Coralville Mayor John Lundell announced that he will not be seeking reelection in the fall. John is a very kind and decent fellow who worked very hard in his role as Mayor. The amount of time he dedicated to the position was enormous, and much of it took place out of the public eye.
I think John deserves tremendous credit for his efforts in ending what were essentially ongoing feuds with Iowa City, North Liberty, Tiffin, and Johnson County. It was not all that long ago that those groups were experiencing a great deal of animosity between them. The previous way Coralville had dealt with these issues was to ignore them; that approach was not getting good results.
John went a different direction. Nothing was ignored. We could discuss differences, even publicly. John wasn’t willing to completely change course, but he was willing to listen, negotiate, and find common ground where possible. Coralville has stepped into spaces the city did not even acknowledge ten years ago, and done good work. Things are SO much better than they were just a few years ago, and John Lundell deserves much of that credit.
Thank you for you service, Mr. Mayor!
*Lulu Merle Johnson T-shirts!
I just learned that Raygun has Lulu Merle Johnson t-shirts available! How cool is that? And a portion of each sale goes to the African American Museum of Iowa!
The shirts come small through 3X, and can be purchased online or at the downtown Iowa City location. I am getting mine – I hope you’ll join me!
*Walking and Reading
Count me among the many people that burst with pride over Iowa City’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature. And while I appreciate all the “big” things that make it so, such as the UI Writer’s Workshop, I also appreciate the little things. Foremost among these is the practice of walking while reading.
If you live in Iowa City, you know exactly what I am talking about. All over town, you can see people reading as they walk. Newspapers, novels, random sheets of paper – all over town, you see people reading while they walk. I have travelled many places, and I don’t know if I have ever seen this anywhere but Iowa City. (Actually, I have seen it in Coralville, too – befitting the metro area!)
I have tried reading while walking. It is hard. You stumble a lot. You step in puddles and bird poop. Still, our walking readers stride on.
I love this about Iowa City. This idea that there is simply not enough time in the day to read everything we want to read. So much so that we cannot put our reading down even to walk from point A to point B. I love it, and I think it says, “City of Literature.”
*Voting Rights
I believe that we are in the most important American political period since the Civil War. States have passed enough anti-democratic legislation to forever alter our country. Those things are already done. We have only one hope – that the US Senate passes a bill to fix things. And they are running out of time.
Let’s turn to Wikipedia for a brief history: The John Lewis Voting Rights Act (also known as HR4) is proposed legislation that would restore and strengthen parts of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, certain portions of which were struck down by the US Supreme Court in 2013 by Shelby County vs. Holder. Particularly, it would bring back the requirement that certain states pre-clear changes to their voting laws with the federal government. It is named after late Georgia Representative and Civil Rights activist John Lewis.
The For the People Act (introduced as H.R.1) was a bill in the US Congress to significantly federalize state elections, change campaign finance laws, ban gerrymandering, and create new ethics rules for federal officeholders.
The act was originally introduced in 2019, as the first official legislation of the 116thCongress. The House passed it by a party-line vote of 234–193. The bill was viewed as a "signature piece of legislation" from the Democratic House majority. After the House passed the bill, it was blocked from receiving a vote by the then Republican -controlled Senate, under Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
In 2021, congressional Democrats reintroduced the act as H.R.1 and S.1. The bill passed the House of Representatives on a near party-line vote of 220–210, advancing to the Senate, which is split 50–50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote. The bill had unified support among Democrats, but Senate Republicans blocked the bill with a filibuster in June, 2021. Some Senate Democrats expressed support for abolishing the filibuster for the bill, but a few in their caucus remained opposed or expressed reservations about doing so.
So, we have two separate bills, but the same basic problem: the Republicans in the Senate will filibuster anything Democrats pass. Democrats MUST kill the filibuster, if only for this bill.
It is hard to understate the importance of this period in our history. We need all Federal elected officials to focus on this until it gets done. Everything else pales in comparison.
*Don’t Tell Me “We Can’t”!
I wrote the following back in 2018, but it certainly seems appropriate still today:
Nothing makes me angrier than a politician on the campaign trail telling Americans “We can’t” do a given thing. Maybe it is difficult. Maybe it is unlikely. But DO NOT tell me we can’t!
Do we need to win the Presidency, House, and Senate? Tell me that. Do we need some fresh faces on the Supreme Court? Tell me that. Will it be expensive? Tell me that. Should we focus elsewhere? Tell me that. But DO NOT tell me we can’t!
Remember “Si Si Puede!”? Yes We Can! Politicians – your job is to inspire us. If you cannot do that, step aside, and let someone else lead!
*DID YOU KNOW? On November 20, 2008, UNESCO designated Iowa City, Iowa, the world’s third City of Literature, making the community part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Iowa City joined Edinburgh, Scotland and Melbourne, Australia to become the third UNESCO City of Literature.
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 rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.
As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 2:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home