Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett to meet with Flood Victims at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 14, 2010

Breaking News January 14, 2010- The Gazette

LIVE VIDEO: Cedar Rapids Mayor meets with flood victims - The Gazette
Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett will hold a town hall meeting with flood victims from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at the IBEW Hall located on Wiley Boulevard SW.

The Gazette will provide live video of the meeting at 6 p.m on January 14, 2010 by following link above.

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State of Iowa Legislature begins 2010 Legislative Session

The challenges facing the State of Iowa will fall on the shoulders of the Iowa Legislature and Governor Chet Culver as they began the 2010 Legislative Session on Monday, January 11, 2010 at 10 a.m. The Iowa Legislature plans to cut off business two weeks early in 2010.

Iowa Legislature opens 2010 session facing budget challenges - The Gazette

Iowa Legislature Opens Shortened Session on Budget - ABC News
AP The Iowa Legislature convened Monday for a shortened session with legislative leaders promising to make deep cuts needed to ...

Iowa Legislature set to start brief session focusing on big budget problems - WQAD
Culver stands to gain from shortened legislative session - DesMoinesRegister.com
LAWMAKERS RETURN: Legislators are getting back to work Monday and their focus ... -WHO-TV

Iowa Legislature: New session, old tactics - DesMoinesRegister.com (blog)
Iowa could get as much as $175 million, which looks mighty appealing in such a tight budget year. But there are significant strings attached, ...

In Cedar Rapids, Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) meets with the Chamber of Commerce, speaks at the Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids at a Noon luncheon, then heads to Anamosa for a Town Meeting.

Businesses tell Grassley that failures will accelerate - The Gazette
CEDAR RAPIDS — Business failures from the June 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids will be higher than necessary because of the slow and ...

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The Federal Government through the IRS is looking to require Registering and CEUs

By the way, if you received your paycheck today: You will see that the Federal Government is asking Employers to collect more tax from your paycheck.

Licensing at the State Level already occurs for various occupations: CPAs, real estate, insurance, appraisers, engineers, lawyers, doctors, etal.

Here comes the Federal Arm for Licensing ...

Under the plan, which would begin with the 2011 tax season, anyone who takes
money to help people with their taxes will have to register with the IRS, and
eventually pass competency tests and sign up for continuing education. So having
made tax filing so complicated that most Americans need help with their forms,
Washington now wants to raise the price of such counsel by regulating advisers
in a way that may reduce their supply. - Wall Street Journal

Today's article is from the Thursday, January 7, 2010 edition of The Wall Street Journal is titled, H&R Blockheads. For more on this issue, read: LIMITS: Increasing Income Tax Complexity Takes up More and More of our Time and Money.

So, what is the Role of the State and the Tenth Amendment? Remember, there was a time when a Federal Income Tax was not lawful. Is this another attack on the Tenth Amendment?

We noticed a comment from a social network friend that posted the following ...

"Tax code complexity violates right to due process, yet see WSJ.com - IRS to Boost Oversight of Paid Tax Preparers

http://bit.ly/5HvGqV"

The same link as above.

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New Cedar Rapids City Council begins work under leadership of new Mayor Ron Corbett

We want to wish the new City Council of the City of Cedar Rapids the very best as they get started in 2010 ...

LIVE COVERAGE: Mayor Corbett holds first council meeting, 5:30 p.m. - The Gazette
Ron Corbett will hold his first city council meeting as mayor tonight. Rick Smith will provide live coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m.

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The University of Iowa wins their first BCS bowl game with a Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech

Iowa 24, Georgia Tech 14

After the game, Ricky Stanzi was asked a strange question from the Fox Network's Chris Meyers that aired the game between the Yellow Jackets and Hawkeyes ...

The answer has been picked up by several blogs, tweets and other social networks.

"Gotta love America! If you don't love it, leave it!" -Iowa Hawkeye QB Ricky Stanzi (YouTube link)

Chris Myers' Ricky Stanzi Question Leads To USA Rallying Cry (VIDEO)‎ - Huffington Post (blog)
Fox's Chris Myers asked Hawkeyes quarterback Ricky Stanzi if he "feels like ... by the same token GA Tech lost for all America... it truly is "a beautiful ...
Ricky Stanzi Is America And You Can Too - Buster Sports
Jan 6, 2010 ... Fox Sports' Chris Myers asks Iowa quarterback a stupid question about America. Ricky Stanzi gives Myers a stupid answer.www.bustersports.com/.../ricky-stanzi-is-america-and-you-can-too/ - 9 hours ago -
Iowa, Ricky Stanzi, And The Speech That Healed America - SB Nation
Jan 6, 2010 ... SB Nation is a collection of over 200 individual communities, each offering high quality year-round coverage and conversation led by fans ...www.sbnation.com/2010/1/6/.../iowaricky-stanzi-and-the-speech - 8 hours ago -
Video: Ricky Stanzi's Orange Bowl tribute to America - Dr ...
Jan 6, 2010 ... Complete College Football news, scores, standings.rivals.yahoo.com/.../Video-Ricky-Stanzi-s-Orange-Bowl-tribute-to-Ame?... - 7 hours ago -
Ricky Stanzi, American Hero - Andy Hutchins - The Sporting Blog ...
Jan 6, 2010 ... After Iowa stifled Georgia Tech to win the Orange Bowl last night, Chris Myers asked Ricky Stanzi this "question": ...

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On Iowa beat Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl; but let's not forget our government's love for size and fat budgets today

We may be getting excited for the 2010 Orange Bowl tonight on FOX from Miami, Florida between #10 Iowa vs. #9 Georgia Tech, but what good stories are out there regarding our Local, State or Federal public policy ...

Time for Iowans to tell regents 'enough is enough' press-citizen.com Iowa City Press Citizen - http://www.press-citizen.com/
Guest opinion by Jeff Kaufmann and Pat Grassley.
We would go further and suggest the Board of Regents should cut lobbyists for the Regents and high education as well to save money.

Today's article from the Tuesday, January 5, 2010 edition of USA Today titled States braced to tighten 2010 belts amid $14.8B in shortfalls is worthy of your time. For more on this issue, read: Institute Brief: Iowa's State Budget: Spending Our Way to a Crisis Again.

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It's Time to Push Back on the Expansion of the Federal Government in America

We believe in Limited Government and Limited Spending in our country! We believe that our country needs to focus again on Liberty! That Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is important to Americans. Equality and Property Rights cannot be forgotten, but Liberty and Personal Responsibility are crucial for our Republic. Our President and Elected Officials need to get the financial house in order for our Country.

Today's article is from the Monday, January 4, 2010 edition of The Wall Street Journal is titled, Deficit, Budget Woes Need Solutions as U.S. Nears the Precipice. For more on this issue, read: Institute Brief: Cutting Federal Spending Must Be a Top Priority.

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The Run Away Train that is our Government in America

Our governments at the Local, State and Fedaral levels have certainly lost their way.

An interesting article in 2009 was the article titled Earning, Saving and Giving: Have We Lost Our Way? by Ken Washer, DBA, CFA Associate Professor of Finance at Creighton University.

Further, the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, January 2, 2010 published an article The States and the Stimulus. The story points out how a supposed boon has become a fiscal burden for states. The State of Iowa is certainly a part of that mess, when in 2007-2009 the majority party in both houses, the Democrats, and Governor Chet Culver rode the supposed boon.

Local articles on the local concerns in the State of Iowa ...

12 questions that will shape Siouxland - Sioux City Journal
Facing a likely reduction in funding from the state, district officials will have to get creative. Last year, federal stimulus funds came to the rescue. ...
More budget woes ahead - TheReporter.com - Judy Lin
The stimulus funding and temporary taxes will begin to end at the end of 2010, leaving less revenue for the second half of the fiscal year that will begin ...

The challenges in Sioux City will not be much different for communities like Cedar Rapids and others throughout the State of Iowa. The second article is about the State of California and while the State of Iowa doesn't face the same woes as California, we face the same problem as Wall Street Journal article pointed out.

Unlike Nebraska and the promises given to Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE), how will the State of Iowa fare in Health Care Reform? As a 100% rural state, whether we want to admit it or not, Cedar Rapids by Federal Standards is rural, and would be urban, if over 500,000 people. The impact in the past on Federal programs, including Flood Recovery, has been challenging for rural states.

An article worth a look was supplied by a friend this weekend. It's on Heath Care Reform ...

“VIP” Treatment Under Nationalized Health Care - Hot Air (blog)

Really, the discussion in Washington D.C. is really a topic of National Heath Care Insurance Reform. Is it really Health Care Reform that will push toward encouraging and implementing programs to make all Americans healthier ... nope!

Health care reform – one physician's view - San Diego Union Tribune - Eileen Natuzzi
When the Senate voted for the third time to pass what it calls “sweeping health care reform,” the media splashed it out. ...

Mines dot health bills: Public option among concerns for business - Crain's Detroit Business - Jay Greene
Health care and business leaders in Southeast Michigan have mixed reactions to a 2700-page health care reform bill approved Christmas Eve by ...

"The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said the $871 billion cost of the bill would reduce the future federal budget deficits by $132 billion between 2010 and 2019." Of course, look at government's expectations in the past with Medicare when it was unveiled and the costs that came about. Further, look at our State Budgets today, when everything was a supposed boon, but it turned about to be a bust.

Prudence is needed today more than ever ...

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City of Cedar Rapids will swear in second Mayor, Ron Corbett, to serve under Community's Local Home Rule Charter

"It's been a long path for me to get here, but it has been an even longer path
for all those who were so dramatically affected by the flood. I plan to hit the
ground running just as soon as I get sworn in." - Ron Corbett

Corbett Campaign: Corbett set to be sworn in Saturday - IowaPolictics.com (press release)
Cedar Rapids- Mayor-elect, Ron Corbett is set to be sworn in along with other new city council members this Saturday, January 2nd, at the Veterans Memorial ...

The voters in June 2005 in Cedar Rapids adopted the Council-Manager form of government when they over whelming approved the City's Local Home Rule Charter with over 69% support. The transition to the new form of government has been extremely rocky.

The leadership style of the outgoing mayor contributed greatly to the rocky transition. Further, the hiring of a proponent to the Carver Governance Model may have contributed greatly, especially, with the City Council's inaction establishing the board's pre-stated standards of prudence and ethics and implementing policy to assist in the transition from the Commission form of government to the Council-Manager form of government. The Council dropped the ball on the Ethics section of the City Charter.

The first two and half years were extremely rocky and the expected building blocks were lacking in the transition. Then, the worse natural disaster in the State of Iowa's history occurs in June 2008, with the Flood of 2008.

It will be a challenge for the new Mayor, the third City Council and the community to move forward. Embracing our City Charter and the culture, governance and leadership styles that make the City of Cedar Rapids who we are will be extremely important.

Best wishes to our new Mayor and our other leaders in our community in the New Year. There will be plenty of work ahead for all in our community.

Further, in 2010, we will see Republicans and Democrats conduct a Caucus statewide in each county for each precinct on January 23Rd at 1 p.m. Our State will have a primary in June and a general election in November, as well.

We encourage everyone to get involved and engage in the political process of caucusing, voting and discussing the public policy that our elected leaders will engage in at the local, state and Federal levels.

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A New Decade Begins: Happy New Year 2010 Everyone!

Our thoughts and resolutions from cidsports to kick off the new decade and New Year!

We want to wish everyone the very best in the coming New Year.

H is for Hugs!

A is for Accountability in government at all levels!

P is for Passion!

P is for Prudence and ethics in our society and our government!

Y is for Y that is found in Liberty!

N is for New opportunities that a New decade and New year bring!

E is for Energy!

W is for Work and the good works that come from Service!

Y is for Yesterdays and the lessons that history can bring!

E is for Eradicating!

A is for Attitudes, positive rather than negative!

R is for Rotary and the motto: Service Above Self!

E is for Economics: Earning, Saving and Giving!

V is for Virtue and Values over vice or violence!

E is for Enjoying: Life!

R is for Responsibility: we must support Liberty and personal responsibility!

Y is for the Y in Victory in 2010!

O is for Orange and the January 5Th bowl game and the Iowa Hawkeyes!

N is for Neighbor and The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)!

E is for the E that is found in LOVE!

This first post for the New Year is dedicated to my mother and the many gifts she passes on through her love, support and encouragement from birth through youth through adulthood through our times now in 2010!

Happy New Year Everyone!

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