Happy New Year and Peace to all ...

Have a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve in Cedar Rapids or wherever you may be ...

Thank you for visiting our blog throughout the year and we look forward to a better 2010!

Today's article from Thursday, December 31, 2009 edition of The Washington Times is an article titled, Dems tout year of wins but wait for more Obama priorities. For more on political philosophy of the Obama administration, read: The fourth wave of progressivism.

Let's make 2010 a year of:

• Limited Government
• Limited Spending
• Life
• Liberty
• Pursuit of Happiness

peace

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for 2009 ...

Where do we start as we close out the Year 2009?

There is always more good in the world, than bad. But, things are getting ugly in many respects.

The Good ...

• Christmas - we hope everyone had a very nice Christmas 2009
• Family - the love of family is always special
• Community - 'Who is my neighbor' - if willing, you will often find good people to break bread and get to know ...
• New leadership in Cedar Rapids in 2010, as Ron Corbett is elected Mayor in 2009
• Private flood recovery and small business flood recovery

The Bad ...

• Well, the loss of life isn't always a bad thing. Many people simply live a long life and time reaches a point, where they gently pass on. But, it is tough to lose friends, family and loved ones to age, cancer, accident, H1N1 and/or tragedy. Two more die of H1N1 flu
• The Economy
• The time consumed by social networking, blogging and other demands of time at work and otherwise ...
• Not always keeping up with our blogs ...
• The next recession, which appears around the corner, due to our public policies ...
• Our Federal Government and State Government's expansion throughout 2009
• The transition in Cedar Rapids to the Council-Manager Form of Government over the past four years ...
• Tax Climate

The Ugly ...

• More terrorism on the horizon in the USA - Fort Hood and Christmas Flight to Detroit
• Health Care Reform and tactics
• Congressional Earmarks
• We could add to the list, but we would suggest the following needs to be promoted in 2010 and that there is more good in life, than bad ...

Needed in 2010 ...

• Limited Spending
• Limited Government
• Life
• Liberty
• Pursuit of Happiness

Governments and individuals need to uphold established standards of ethics and prudence at all levels. Whether it be a political organization, a local, state or federal government, we have a lot of work to do to build a better tomorrow and to rebuild the trust of the American taxpayer.

The past year, we ran across a person who at the end of many conversations or e-mails, would simply say in his salutation or his departure ... "Pay Taxes"

While government has an important role at all levels, there is more to life than taxes ...

Let's work to build a better tomorrow, with getting involved in our local communities and working to better know our neighbors.

peace

Wow! Is it actually December already? Where did the year go?

We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving wherever your travels took you.

By the way, hopefully, you didn't forget to Vote on December 1 in Cedar Rapids for the municipal runoff election ...

Election turnout hottest in four District 3 precincts - The Gazette

Cedar Rapids City Council runoff election is today - The Gazette

How can we get more participation in Local, State and Federal elections in Cedar Rapids and throughout our State?

On Monday, November 30Th, Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks announced that she will be a candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2nd U.S. Congressional District of Iowa to face current incumbant Dave Loebsack (D-IA).

Miller-Meeks returns to challenge Loebsack - Muscatine Journal
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, center, announced Monday at the Quality Cobbler at Muscatine Mall that she plans to run for Iowa's 2nd ...
Miller-Meeks jumps right back in - Burlington Hawk Eye
Miller-Meeks to seek 2nd District seat again - UI The Daily Iowan
Miller-Meeks stresses 2008 lessons learned - Ottumwa Courier

IowaPolitics.com (press release) - Quad City Times

Mayor-elect Ron Corbett in Cedar Rapids wants feedback from Flood victims.

Mayor-elect Corbett to meet with flood victims on Thursday evening - The Gazette
Mayor-elect Ron Corbett will hold what he’s billing as a “listening session for flood victims” on Thursday evening from 6 to 8 at IBEW Local 405, 1211 Wiley Blvd. SW.In a news release announcing the event, Corbett says he promised during his recent election campaign that he would make helping flood victims a first priority.He calls the listening session “the first step toward fulfilling that campaign promise.”He wants to hear about gaps and needs and how the city can improve ...

It's not all Flood recovery business in the City of Cedar Rapids.

City open house on trails set for Monday evening - The Gazette
City Hall is holding an open house on Monday evening to give the public a chance to weigh in on a Comprehensive Trails Master Plan.The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in Ballroom #2 at the Crowne Plaza Five Seasons Hotel.Residents also can provide feedback at www.cedar-rapids.org/publicworks or www.shive-hattery.com/CRTrails/index.htmlThe comments will help the City Council prioritize trail construction in the next 10 years ...

Local candidate for Governor suspends campaign in Iowa.

Fong suspends camapign, but promises a second act - The Gazette
The first act didn’t end well, “but the play is still being written and I’m looking forward to taking the stage again,” Cedar Rapids gubernatorial hopeful Christian Fong said Tuesday.
Fong suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor, but promised he’ll be back.Fong, 32, who was making his first run ...

The State of Iowa has a Budget Gap to clean up come January 2010.

Iowa lawmakers will return in January to a billion dollar budget gap - The Gazette
State lawmakers will be required to close a billion-dollar funding gap when they return to the Capitol next January to fashion a fiscal 2011 budget, according to an analysis issued Wednesday.The nonpartisan Legislative Service Agency released projections for the upcoming budget cycle that estimated built-in spending commitments of $6.466 billion and available revenue under the 99 percent spending limitation law at $5.396 billion – leaving a projected budget gap of $1.07 billion.“It’s about what we expected,” said Senate Majority Leader ...

Closing thoughts on Government:

• Limited Government


• Limited Spending


• Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

peace