SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 25, 2023
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/31/23
In this edition:
*Happy Halloween!
*VOTE!
*COVID Shot
*Big Changes at County Buildings
*Iowa City Human Rights Awards
*Remembering November 1, 1991
*A Few Bad Actors
*Did You Know?
*Happy Halloween!
Halloween is Tuesday the 31st. I have been amazed in recent years by the amount of effort (and money) that goes into decorating homes for the season. When I was young, few homes displayed anything other than carved pumpkins. Now, there are huge blow-up characters, lights, and much more.
Regardless of how you view Halloween, we need to remember a few key things: First, be careful! One thing that has not changed is an abundance of young children in dark costumes excitedly crossing streets. Secondly, you may want to temporarily take down your campaign yard signs. Despite annual accusations to the contrary, I still think most signs that disappear are teen pranks. Finally, have fun! Halloween offers all of us an opportunity to be young again.
VOTE!
Election season is upon us, and voters in the ICCSD face a very serious choice. There are seven candidates for the ICCSD Board, three of whom are “parent’s rights” candidates.
It is critical that these candidates lose and lose badly! This is our opportunity to demonstrate that we care about *ALL* the children in our District, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual identity, disability, etc. Now is the time to stand up and be heard!
Again, there are 7 candidates in this election, to fill four seats. Incumbents Lisa Williams, Charlie Eastham, and Molly Abraham have done a great job, and they deserve your continued support. Mitch Lingo should get your fourth vote. He has a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and is philosophically aligned with the incumbents.
We are not even going to mention the others. Just remember to vote Williams, Eastham, Abraham, and Lingo! Please join me in preserving the type of education people in the ICCSD have come to expect!
Election Day is November 7, but voting began October 18! Please get out and vote! Williams, Eastham, Abraham, and Lingo!
*COVID Shot
I just got a COVID shot. It was my fifth – I previously got shots in 3/21, 4/21, 10/21, 10/22, and now 10/23.
I am proud to say that. I think it reflects that I am willing to do what it takes for the good of everyone else. I hope you feel the same way.
Johnson County is proudly paying for the shot for any of our employees who want it. Shots are administered through our Department of Public Health, and funded through our self-insurance pool.
*Big Changes at County Buildings
The Johnson County administration building is undergoing renovations. On October 23, offices will begin moving to temporary locations in the Health & Human Services Building at 855 S Dubuque Street. The move will take place over several weeks.
If you need to access a county government office, please call ahead to see where you need to go. More info is available on the county website at: www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.
*Iowa City Human Rights Awards
I attended the 39th Annual Iowa City Human Rights Awards on October 25. The Human Rights Commission honored several deserving individuals and organizations. DVIP received the Bill Reagan Award. Tashundra Marshall of the Housing Fellowship received the Isabell Turner Award. Daniel Lekin, an ESL teacher at Liberty High, won the Ken Cmiel Award. Dr. Jerry Anthony from the UI received the Linda Severson Award for his work on affordable housing. Kim Painter won the Rick Graf Award for her years of LGBTQ+ advocacy. Congratulations to all the winners!
*Remembering November 1st, 1991
32 years ago on November 1st, a UI post-graduate student named Gang Liu killed four faculty members, a student, and himself.
Faculty members Christoph Goertz, Dwight Nicholson, Robert Smith, T. Anne Cleary, and Linhua Shan were all slain. Student Miya Rodolfo-Sioson was shot and survived but was left paralyzed from the neck down.
If you ask longtime residents of Johnson County, most can tell you where they were that fateful evening. (I was working my second job - a Friday night shift in a Systems Unlimited group home.)
I wish I could say that in the decades that passed, something good had come from this horror. Frankly, I simply do not see it. Even bigger mass killings have occurred on other campuses across the nation. Our mental health system is no better, and our gun laws are even worse. The killings make no more sense today than they did 32 years ago.
Most of us who still live here know someone who was personally affected by this tragedy. The scars are still there.
I hope you will take a moment to reflect upon one of the saddest days in Johnson County history, and pray for the many survivors whose lives were touched by the people we lost that day.
*A Few Bad Actors
I don’t know about you, but I am sick of entire professions being denigrated because of a few bad actors.
I played football back in high school. Football players are supposed to be stupid. I wasn’t stupid, and neither were most of my teammates. Ironically, I remember my football coach (who was NOT a good person) teasing me for being smart!
I am probably extra sensitive now because my job is one of those positions that gets denigrated the most. I am an elected official, and we are all crooked, immoral, unprincipled, on the take, etc.
I have known hundreds and hundreds of elected officials over the years. Very few of them fit that description. Most care deeply, and work really hard for low pay.
I get it. Donald Trump has lowered the bar for everyone. And Democrats are not immune – look at Bob Menendez. But those people are exceptions, not the rule. Especially when you are talking local government. A few bad actors do not represent a whole group.
Lawyers have long been the butt of jokes. They are all unscrupulous, immoral, and money hungry. They make our lives worse by complicating everything. Yes, we have seen some pretty shady attorneys; again, see Donald Trump’s entourage. But are all lawyers rotten? Of course not!
I have many friends who are attorneys. They are smart people who really care about justice. They care about right and wrong. They practice law because they want to see justice done. A few bad actors do not represent a whole group.
Another position that gets denigrated is that of law enforcement officer. I am really tired of all cops being criticized for the actions of a few. Yes, we have seen far too many examples of police brutality. Of course it is not acceptable. No one is more upset by these events than other cops. It is also not what usually happens.
I know a lot of cops. A couple, I will admit, are not great people. But scores of them ARE. Some of the finest people I have ever met in my life are cops. They deserve our respect. A few bad actors do not represent the whole group.
Before I got into politics, I worked in human services. In general, the public seems to like social workers. And for the most part, the social workers I know are indeed pretty great. But guess what? I know some current and former social workers who are awful people. So it works both ways.
All teachers do not deserve to be judged by the worst teacher out there. All custodians do not deserve to be judged by the worst custodian out there. All elected officials do not deserve to be judged by the worst elected official out there. All attorneys do not deserve to be judged by the worst attorney out there. All cops do not deserve to be judged by the worst cop out there.
If I made a statement like this based on race – “All black people are ___,” I would rightly be called racist. If I made a statement like this based on religion – “All Jews are ____,” I would rightly be called antisemitic. So why do we think it is OK to judge people based upon their occupations?
Please stop this nonsense, and view individuals as individuals.
By the way, according to Insider Monkey, the three most respected jobs are #3 – firefighters, #2 – scientists, and #1 – Doctors. My wife (and a lot of other scientists) will be surprised to see that result, especially post-COVID.
*DID YOU KNOW? Mass shootings were a relatively new phenomenon in 1991. There had never been more than one in a single year until ’91, when there were 3, including Iowa City.
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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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 @ 1:12 PM
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