SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

May 31, 2023

Sullivan’s Salvos 6/6/23

In this edition:

*Deaths

*RIP Steve Rackis

*RIP Ron Henderson

*RIP Andy Small

*Congratulations Barbara!

*THINK Before You Speak!

*What We Think We Know

*Did You Know?

*Deaths

A friend once told me, “Salvos is always good when it doesn’t begin with an RIP.” I understand the sentiment. And as you can see, today’s edition mentions 3 people who have recently passed.

I do not want Salvos to be the place locals go for obituaries. I also have neither the resources nor the desire to cover every death in the county. Every death means something to someone. In my case, I never try to cover a person’s whole life. I simply want to point out that someone has passed away, and I feel you should be aware of it. It does not mean the people mentioned are better, worse, or more important than those not mentioned. I just think you ought to know. It is arbitrary, yes. But I am not a professional.

I seem to frequently find myself in some sort of “local historian” role. I’m dubious about this; I know how diligent, smart, and hard-working actual historians are. I am not in their league, and I am not trying to be. Frankly, I wish we actually had people doing the work Irving Weber, Marlene Perrin, Bob Hibbs, and others used to do!

It is remarkable to me how little historical knowledge we possess. In my mind, it is critical that you know who came before and what they did. We seem to be almost completely lacking this context, and it worries me greatly.

*RIP Steve Rackis

I was sad to hear of the passing of Steve Rackis. Our paths crossed a lot over the years; Steve was in various roles with Iowa Workforce Development for 21 years, and finished his career with the Iowa City Housing Authority. RIP, Steve.

*RIP Ron Henderson

I was sad to hear of the passing of Ron Henderson. Ron served as the Director of Youth Homes in Iowa City, then ran the Iowa City Housing Authority.

Ron was a longtime Democratic activist, running the Tiffin caucus for at least 20 years. He was a kind and funny man, and will be missed. RIP, Ron.

*RIP Andy Small

Another passing I need to mention is Andy Small of Iowa City. Some may recall Andy from the early days of Iowa City Public Television, where he was an early and frequent contributor.

Andy ran the Video Center, and did the video of all the meetings of the Board of Supervisors for about 15 years. I grew to love Andy over this time. He could be frustrating, funny, hyper, and asleep all within the same 15 minutes. Andy was definitely one of the most unique and interesting characters I have ever known, and I will miss him. Now that he is gone, maybe I can tell some of the stories! J RIP, Andy.

*Congratulations Barbara!

The Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic Executive Director Barbara Vinograde has stepped down after 31 years with the organization.

The Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic (FMC) is a non-profit organization, established in 1971. They believe that access to affordable health care is a basic human necessity. They strive to provide the widest range of medical and dental services possible to people in the Iowa City and surrounding community who would not otherwise have access to care.

Barbara Vinograde has given much of her adult life to this noble pursuit. In addition, Barbara is one of the kindest, gentlest, humblest, fairest, most caring people I have ever met. You can look far and wide, and you will not find a better human being. Congratulation, Barbara! You are the best!

*THINK Before You Speak!

You may have seen the following before. I found it on Facebook a while ago, and I really like it. I thought I’d share it here:

"Remember T.H.I.N.K. before you speak. Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?"

Unfortunately, lots of us do not observe these rules. I sometimes violate these rules myself. I promise to try to do better. I hope you’ll join me.

*What We Think We Know

The Board recently went through a retreat, and I found it quite helpful. The facilitator hit on a concept that really resonated with me. He said we all have a certain amount of information; things we are pretty certain we know. There is also a big world full of knowledge that we are pretty certain we do not know. Then there is that middle ground – the things we *THINK* we know. Obviously, it can be precarious operating in this space.

The space is different for everyone. I know quite a bit about baseball. I know very little about cross stitch. Someone else will be just the opposite. Meanwhile, both of us are unlikely to know much theoretical physics. This is one of the many reasons I believe it is important to have a 5-member Board rather than a 3-member Board – you are simply drawing upon more knowledge and experience.

Let’s focus on the things we think we know. Unfortunately, I think the Board operates in this space far too often. Why? There can be a million reasons why: We are in a hurry. Other issues have our attention. We assume we have all the necessary info. We heard from one party and assume that is the whole story. It looks simple, so we didn’t ask for comment. We haven’t thought through all the ramifications. We recognize that a colleague or two is operating in this area, but we don’t want to rock the boat. There are probably several additional reasons.

I have been really trying to point out when I see myself or others sliding into this area of “things we think we know.” Of course, sometimes you guess correctly. And sometimes you were wrong, but there were no consequences. But overall, I want to try to move out of this space.

The whole idea reminded me of something former Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld famously said. Rumsfeld noted that there are “known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.” If you stop and think about it for a moment, it makes a lot of sense. Rumsfeld was giving a pretty good explanation of a psychology tool called the Johari Window. (Google it.) It is a pretty good tool for gaining insight into problems.

(It should be noted – Don Rumsfeld was a liar and a war criminal. I also happen to know that he blackmailed someone. Hundred of thousands of humans lost their lives because of him. So I don’t give him much credit for anything. But we’ll admit that he helped teach a bit of logic to the American people.)

Anyway – back to the topic at hand. We need to all be careful about those things we think we know. As the old saying goes, “Beware! Here there be monsters!”

*DID YOU KNOW? The Iowa City Free Clinic was established in 1971 by a group of people who were all concerned about the high cost of health care. They believed that access to health care was a basic human right and that everyone – regardless of their ability to pay – should receive needed care. Clinics were first held in a building in what is now the Pedestrian Mall. Because of the Clinic’s strong community support, the Iowa City Free Clinic is one of the longest running free clinics in the United States.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.

"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

May 24, 2023

Monday, May 29 is Memorial Day. I hope you have a wonderful holiday, and I hope you spend at least a part of it remembering those who have died while serving our Country. Happy Memorial Day to all!

I really don’t know what to say about this. It is 2023, and this pisses me off: Nine states officially set aside a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War: Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia.

“Hey, y’all! Let’s celebrate traitors who attempted to overthrow the US Government because they wanted to keep black people as property!” Can’t we do better?

I hate to say it, but this headline from The Onion continues to be appropriate day after day, year after year. In reference to the incredible amount of mass shootings in the US:

The Onion: “‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”

Memorial Day Weekend means graduations. Congratulations to all our graduating seniors! Commencement has already taken place at the UI and Kirkwood, and the local high schools are graduating soon.

I know that Melissa (and others) accuse me of being overly sentimental when it comes to these types of things. That may be true. But graduation really is a milestone.

Certainly, what graduates do in the future is much more important than what they have done to date. But the fact is, they have accomplished something important. Let’s reflect upon it, and celebrate it! Congrats again to all the graduates!

I recently saw retired UI Professor Chris Jones read from his new book, “Swine Republic “ at Prairie Lights. It reminded me of something I put in Salvos on 12/21/21. Here is that article. Meanwhile, please buy Jones’ book, available at Ice Cube Press.

It is not a popular position to hold in Iowa, but I think we need to reimagine the way we do agriculture. And there are opportunities to act now that would be to the benefit of us all.

For starters, look at the ongoing droughts in the American west. Why divert millions of gallons of water to agriculture in the west when most of those crops could be grown right here? That would allow westerners to respond to the drought, while we use our great soil to produce more actual food.

According to experts at Iowa State, all of the following vegetables thrive in Iowa and could do so at scale: kale, spinach, Brussel sprouts, Swiss chard, beets, green onions, lettuce, arugula, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, beans, and radishes! We can grow just about everything!

My guess is that farmers in the west would hate the idea of ending production. But how much are we willing to spend to keep them in business? They are being heavily subsidized either way. So why use up all the water? It would be cheaper and better for the planet to pay them NOT to grow anything.

Farmers in the Midwest would hate it, too. Why? 1) People dislike change. 2) Farmers would need some new equipment. 3) Growing the crops would be more labor intensive. 4) It would be viewed as Communist.

But, Midwest farmers may NEED to consider something different soon. Because we are quickly moving to electric vehicles. What does that mean for farmers in the Midwest? Well, 33% of all corn goes toward ethanol. That ethanol will not be needed in electric vehicles. The market for a third of our corn could disappear. Shifting that cropland to food production makes a lot of sense.

Or, farmers can get on the solar train! Consider the following stats from Bill Nussey:

If you compare the energy utility of an acre of solar panels to an acre of corn, the acre of solar wins by a landslide.

Each year, one acre of corn produces 551 gallons of ethanol, which is the equivalent of 386 gallons of gas. Using the average miles per gallon of a US automobile, this equates to 9691 miles driven per acre of corn per year.

In Iowa, an acre of solar panels produces 198,870 kilowatt hours each year. A typical EV drives approximately 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour. So, each year, an acre of solar panels produces enough energy for an EV to drive 710,250 miles. This is over 70 times the distance the same acre producing corn could provide.

Unlike ethanol, an acre of solar can power anything attached to the grid. The same Iowa acre, for instance, could also be used to provide 18 average US homes with electricity for the year.

The financial utility of replacing corn with solar also promises huge gains for farmers. For example, it is not uncommon for a farmer to make two to three times more money per acre leasing to solar rather than planting corn. Solar also guarantees a steady stream of revenue, unlike corn which stands the risk of crop failure and price volatility.

Nussey doesn’t even talk about the environmental benefits of less nitrogen and phosphate in the water supply, and more of our precious soil remaining in place. And the red herrings that are constantly brought up about taking up farmland? What if we simply exchange the amount of land dedicated to ethanol for land dedicated to vegetables and solar? Plus solar panels are easy to remove. What a huge win!

It is well past time that we consider doing some things differently when it comes to agriculture. Let’s get ahead of the curve and put our land to work in a better way!

I have never bought anything on Amazon. Nothing. Ever. And I don’t plan to start.

Since the early ‘80s, I have made a single purchase at a Wal-Mart: diapers for my granddaughter when we were in a small town with no other options.

There are several other companies I have avoided to varying degrees: Koch Industries, Sinclair, Dollar General, and Uber are just a few of the companies I avoid that are on the Forbes “Bottom of the Barrel” 100 worst corporate citizens. But I have certainly been guilty of supporting companies who are on that list – Casey’s, just to name one.

The fact of the matter is, big corporations suck. Virtually every single one of them. They all hurt the little guy, whether it be through environmental destruction, labor violations, tax schemes – I am convinced there are no GOOD big corporations. When your sole pursuit is profit, you do a great deal of collateral damage along the way. The question is only how bad are they?

There are various websites that rank companies on various measures of social good. I’d urge you to do a little searching – you may find it eye opening!

So how does a consumer navigate their purchasing decisions nowadays? Honestly, I struggle with it! As a person who has these struggles, please allow me to offer a little advice:

First, PLEASE continue to shop with your values in mind. It is easy to throw up your arms and say it is too hard. I get it. But it is almost the only power we have!

Second, do not beat yourself up when you are not perfect. Sometimes, you just need to buy something. It is OK.

*DID YOU KNOW? Despite millions of tax dollars going to farmers as incentives to improve our water quality, water quality in Iowa continues to get worse. (Source: University of Iowa.)

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!

May 17, 2023

This appeared in Salvos back in January of this year. I made two small changes; otherwise, it remains true today.

The fight over the Debt Ceiling is about to begin once again. Here are just a few things you should know:

1.) This is *NOT* about spending! That is done during the budget. This is about simply paying bills you have already accrued. If you feel spending is too great, address it at budget time.

2.) This is the fault of Republicans in the House of Representatives. No one else – just House Republicans. Democrats stand ready to pay our bills. Republicans are trying to tank the economy.

3.) What do these Republicans want? Cuts to SNAP (food stamps), cuts to the IRS (which will COST the federal government $120 million), cutting renewable energy, and more.

4.) There are two additional people you can be angry with – Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. If they would have agreed to end the filibuster JUST FOR THIS MATTER, Democrats could have taken the issue off the table permanently. So whatever economic damage is done, they have blood on their hands.

Let’s hope the standoff ends quickly, with minimal damage. But please understand, this is *NOT* a political negotiation. It is akin to hostage taking.

As I noted over the past couple of weeks, I am hoping Johnson County can do some things to assist in addressing the Loneliness Pandemic that is sweeping the US. I am very committed to doing more. But what, exactly, can local governments do?

The obvious things are to support our local mental health providers. We need to do that as a government and as individuals. But I think there are many additional ways in which local governments can and should think about loneliness.

Think for a moment about our built environment. In some neighborhoods you have greater density, sidewalks, curb cuts, front porches, parks, Little Free Libraries, public transit, and so much more. In other “neighborhoods,” you have low density. You have snub nosed houses with no porches, where you enter your car without leaving your house. They often lack sidewalks. Public land and public transit are nowhere nearby. Which “neighborhood” contributes to greater isolation? Obviously, we need more neighborhoods that encourage the former, and we need to encourage folks to live in them.

Government can also actively go to people and invite them in. We can cosponsor neighborhood events. We can reach out in every way possible. In fairness, several of these efforts have been tried in the past. But we need to keep trying.

When we consider the Loneliness Pandemic, it is important to think about the things that have changed in our society. Everyone has a phone now, and they are on it constantly. Social media has replaced human contact. People go out less – no need to leave the house to work, shop, or get food from a restaurant. There is more tribalism. There is more anger. It is easy to see how loneliness is on the rise.

One of the things that I think can really help is the idea of responsibility. One of the causes of our Loneliness Pandemic has to be that people do not feel a collective responsibility for public outcomes. People don’t vote. They do not see picking up dog poop as their responsibility. They do not feel a sense of ownership when it comes to parks, or schools, or social services programs. It seems as though loneliness would lessen if we all felt as though we had real agency in running things. Knowing you are responsible for your share – that the rest of us have expectations - just might help.

I said these things last time, but I want to be certain to say them again: First, if you are reading this, I’d be happy to chat with you. On the phone or in person. We can have coffee, play catch, sit on my porch, whatever. Reach out. I am game.

Secondly, please seek out help if you need it. All you need to do is pick up any phone and dial 988. Professionals will pick up, ready and willing to help. There is help out there!

A very thoughtful friend recently had a great discussion going on his Facebook page. (I know, right?) It really struck a nerve with me, so I wanted to bring the discussion here.

My friend was expressing his frustration re: something government has not accomplished. I’m not even going to mention the topic, because I’m not sure it matters. After introducing the topic, my friend said, “Why doesn’t anyone care?”

That struck a nerve with some of his friends, who obviously DO care about the topic. One of his friends responded with something like this: “What do you want us to do? The government has proven it is going to do whatever it wants, regardless of the opinion of the people. What is your plan for fixing the situation?”

My friend replied, “It’s not my job to come up with a plan for fixing the situation. But the fact that I don’t have a plan does not mean I lose my right to demand action.”

What a great conversation! I am so glad I got to be a fly on the wall! I have a few thoughts here; I’m curious what you think.

My friend obviously got a rise out of people when he asked, “Why doesn’t anyone care?” On one hand, perhaps this is the only way to get attention for his topic. I understand using the tactic in that sense. On the other hand, people clearly took offense. You could almost see an exhausted, frustrated, compassion-fatigued group scraping themselves up to say, “No! I care!” I can totally empathize with those people.

I recently had a constituent that I like very much castigate me for Johnson County’s “lack of fight” when it came to all the environmental damage the GOP is doing in Des Moines. (And it is a LOT of damage!) I’m not unaware; we have been trying to make it better. But just mentioning that Johnson County/Iowa City/Coralville cares about something is a poison pill with this Legislature. So how do we fight back? We enlisted some surrogates, and did a few things, but it wasn’t enough. I know that. I also know we dodged some bullets; perhaps our efforts made a difference. But like my friends’ friend, I feel like screaming out, “What is your plan for fixing the situation?”

The Legislative session was so full of attacks on LGBTQ+ folks, including book banning, etc. that it was hard to move past it all. Then there were assaults on women, children, the poor, people of color… as a social worker, this stuff has always been more in my wheelhouse. I care deeply about the environment. But I care about these other issues, too. It was all very exhausting.

I am sure people are frustrated by the inability of Johnson County to achieve certain milestones. Here is an example - I spent the better part of ten years fighting for justice when it comes to mobile home parks. We improved some things. We got a couple people sent to jail. We might have marginally improved the lives of some people. All in all, it was the most frustrating thing I ever dealt with a County Supervisor. There were no right answers. We needed (and still need) legislation, and it never got done despite tremendous efforts from Johnson County legislators. (They had more power and more experience then, btw.)

So when I see new efforts to improve the lives of mobile home residents? I applaud these efforts! I want these efforts to succeed where I failed. I want to support these efforts. I feel as though I have a great deal of knowledge and experience on this topic, and I’m willing to bring it to the table. But when I hear “Supervisors have never done anything about this!”? It hurts. It really hurts. I am one of hundreds who tried SO hard to “fix” this situation. And it is not that we quit caring. We just couldn’t close the deal. Then we got exhausted, and other issues came up. Is that an excuse? I suppose so. But it is also reality.

I remember back during the aftermath of the George Floyd protests. I heard a young woman speak about my dear friend Orville Townsend, who has been doing civil rights work in Iowa City for 60 years. When told that, the young activist replied, “Well, he hasn’t done it very f’ing well, because here we are!”

My heart broke for Orville. I think the young woman was very wrong in both attitude and approach. But I could also see where she was coming from. She didn’t give a damn that I felt she was taking the wrong approach. She wanted results, and my opinion did not matter. I think we can both learn from that moment.

Man, did this Facebook post ever hit a nerve! How do we do advocacy in a way that demands action but also respects both the people involved and the constraints they face? I’d like to know your thoughts!

*DID YOU KNOW? Iowa used to consistently rank in the top 2-3 states with the best educational systems. World Population Review now ranks Iowa at no. 13, Wallet Hub puts Iowa at no. 19, and US News and World Report, one of the most well-known organizations for education rankings, lists Iowa at no. 24.

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!

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SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

May 31, 2023

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