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New area trails maps available

CORALVILLE COURIER EDITOR'S NOTE:  Meanwhile, roads have pot holes, bridges are in decline, maintenance on infrastructure keeps getting deferred......The city can't properly maintain what it already has.  But GOSH, we've got these great new maps and look at all the plans for new stuff!

The new 2013 edition of the Iowa City Metro Area Trails Map is now available, with updated information on existing and proposed trails, wide sidewalks, paved shoulders, and park amenities for hikers, bicyclists, and other outdoor enthusiasts. The map includes trail information for Coralville, Iowa City, North Liberty, Tiffin, University Heights, and Johnson County.

Copies are available free of charge at area libraries, city halls, recreation centers, the Iowa City-Coralville Convention & Visitors Bureau, and local bike shops. The maps are produced each year by the Metro Planning Organization of Johnson County ( www.mpojc.org ). This year, the project was sponsored in part by the Bicyclists of Iowa City ( www.bicyclistsofiowacity.org ).


Residents are also encouraged to download the Johnson County Outdoor Recreation & Conservation Areas brochure available at www.johnson-county.com/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=3953 for information about popular recreation destinations outside the urbanized area.

For additional information, contact Kristopher Ackerson, Assistant Transportation Planner, at 356-5257 or e-mail kristopher-ackerson@iowa-city.org.

Afghan president says CIA payments to continue - Yahoo! News

CORALVILLE COURIER EDITOR'S NOTE: We know that Karzai is crooked, it's been reported on, documented and chronicled.   Why do we continue to spend money in Afghanistan? Why do we continue to flush hard-earned taxpayer money down the toilet overseas?  Don't we have enough problems at home?  Ask your Senator and Congressman.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that the CIA's station chief in Kabul has assured him that regular funding the U.S. intelligence agency gives his government will not be cut off.

He said the Afghan government had been receiving funds from CIA for more than a decade as part of regular monthly assistance from the U.S. government.

via news.yahoo.com

Congress finds it hard to let Federal Helium Program run out of gas - The Washington Post

President Ronald Reagan tried to get rid of it. So did President Bill Clinton. This October, their wish is finally set to come true.

The Federal Helium Program — left over from the age of zeppelins and an infamous symbol of Washington’s inability to cut what it no longer needs — will be terminated.

via www.washingtonpost.com

30 years later, nation remains at educational risk - Yahoo! News

CORALVILLE COURIER EDITOR'S NOTE: Why do we have the U.S. Department of Education? We've thrown millions and millions of dollars into that department with little to nothing to show for it. Our children were better off prior to federal mismanagement and meddling.   Since Carter created the Department back in 1979, our education system has failed to deliver as promised.  Scrap the department, keep that tax money in the states.  Documented history shows us that the department has underperformed if not hindered for more than 30 YEARS.  You don't fix that, you get RID of it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. students are falling behind their international rivals. Young people aren't adept at new technology. America's economy will suffer if schools don't step up their game.

"A Nation at Risk," the report issued 30 years ago by President Ronald Reagan's Education Department, was meant as a wake-up call for the country. It spelled out where the United States was coming up short in education and what steps could be taken to avert a crisis.

via news.yahoo.com

What did we do before the 'creation' of FEMA?

Recover.

The 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas is an excellent example of how things were before the creation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  The argument could easily be made that recovery from major storms and the like was faster and more efficient back in the day, the times before federal government *management* of natural disaster situations.

Making landfall on September 8, 1900, The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was documented as a category 4 hurricane and is the most deadly and second most damaging natural disaster ever to strike the United States.  Official records list the death toll at 8,000 and damages costing in excess of $99 billion (2005 dollars).

There was no FEMA back then.  So how on earth did Galveston recover?  Hard work.  The people of Texas and the city of Galveston didn't stand around waiting for federal government assistance.   They rolled up their sleeves and went to work.   Survivors constructed "storm lumber" homes, temporary shelter using salvageable material from the debris.  Others got with the U.S. Army and set up surplus tents along the shore.   Four days after the storm the city started receiving mail again.  On day five, basic water service was restored and telegraph service was back in operation.  Within three weeks, the port was again busy shipping out cotton.

We don't need FEMA.

In contrast, there's Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans August 23, 2005.   Katrina claimed 1,800 lives and inflicted damages costing about $105 billion (2005 dollars).  Reconstruction was hindered by FEMA mismanagement.  Power didn't start getting restored to the city until September 5, that's 12 days after the storm.   The Port of New Orleans was opened on September 6, but only to receive relief ships, not conduct business.     Commercial business wouldn't start back up for another two weeks.   The first section of the city to have a "boil water" order lifted was on October 6 and the city's 9th ward didn't get the "boil water" order lifted until a year later .   And remember the FEMA trailer fiasco, you know, laced with formaldehyde?   People given FEMA provided *shelter* ended up with headaches, bloody noses, breathing problems and an assortment of other ills.

We don't need FEMA.

A more recent hurricane, Sandy, struck the east coast on October 25, 2012 and nailed New York City the hardest.  It caused the death of 285 people and inflicted about $50 billion in damage (2012 dollars).   An estimated 1.8 million people were still without power 15 days after the storm hit.   Boil water orders started getting rescinded in certain areas on November 6 but didn't wrap up until December 3.  With Sandy, the most KUDOS can go out to the American Red Cross who immediately stepped in and provided access to food, water and temporary shelter .

The performance of FEMA pales in comparison to the Galveston recovery.  it's not even close.

In all three examples, the most efficient, the most expeditious recovery efforts was conducted by the state and the impacted communities, NOT FEMA!   It was neighbors helping neighbors, businesses helping other businesses, volunteers, church organizations and non-profits pitching in to fill the gaps that got things done.  NOT FEMA.   With Sandy, specialists from out-of-state, medical professionals, emergency response personnel, electricians, construction outfits traveled to the east coast to help out.  They did some heavy lifting, NOT FEMA! 

We don't need FEMA.   Why do we send money to Washington to an organization that truly is not needed, to an organization that has a track record of mismanaging things and only causing delay to and getting in the way of reconstruction efforts?  That hard-earned taxpayer money that FEMA gets should never go to Washington, it should stay in the states it comes from.

FEMA requested a budget of more than $13.5 billion for fiscal year 2013.

Galveston didn't need FEMA, the city recovered faster without their existence.  FEMA did MUCH more documented harm than good with Katrina.  FEMA stood around and watched other people roll up their sleeves with Sandy.

WTF?

PROPOSED:  Terminate FEMA, effective immediately.  Return that $13+ billion to the states.

 

Iowa Bicycle Coalition to target education in Iowa schools - The Daily Iowan

CORALVILLE COURIER EDITOR'S NOTE: Seriously, is this really necessary? Sounds like an angle to get some grant money to me....   Another hand in the taxpayer pocket.  Such things didn't exist when I was a kid, they didn't NEED to exist. Kids rode their bikes everywhere to include riding on busy streets and they did so safely. We need a non-profit organization taking state funds and its 'employees' to encourage bike riding? Give me a break.   Any funding this outfit gets from the government should be questioned.  Oh, and the building the Iowa Bicycle Coalition occupies at the corner of 10th Avenue and the strip in Coralville, is a SWEET deal for the outfit, courtesy of the city.....  No property taxes generated there!   GOSH, I wonder how much they pay for rent and utilities?.....

State officials are not only pushing school districts across Iowa to encourage their students to ride bicycles to school, but they also hope to provide more rider education.

The Iowa Bicycle Coalition recently hired University of Iowa graduate Alana Croco as the Safe Routes to School program director. She graduated from the UI with a sociology degree in December 2011.

via www.dailyiowan.com

USPS Losing $25 Million A Day

CORALVILLE COURIER EDITOR'S NOTE: The Postmaster WANTS to take some cost cutting measures like going to a five-day delivery, but union supported members of Congress won't let him!

News of heavy losses for the US Postal Service is not exactly a revelation, but Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe is now warning the service could become “a significant burden to the taxpayer” unless it is allowed to change its business operations.

Speaking to Congress Wenesday, Donahoe revealed the Postal Service was losing $25 million a day and warned the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that the service was “currently operating with a broken business model.”

via www.inquisitr.com

Proposed tobacco tax increase welcomed by some Iowa City smokers - The Daily Iowan

CORALVILLE COURIER EDITOR'S NOTE: Funding government-run preschool through smoking? Really? C'mon..... And never mind that Barack Obama isn't serious about cutting government spending.   And never mind that kids who attend preschool lose their edge over kids that didn't attend preschool by third/fourth grade.

Some Iowa City smokers welcome a proposed increase in the federal tax on cigarettes provided the money goes to its current proposed destination.

President Obama proposed a 94-cent increase in the federal cigarette tax as a part of his budget last week to help finance the “Preschool for All” initiative — a partnership with states to provide preschool to 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income households.

via www.dailyiowan.com

24 IRS workers charged with theft | The Oshkosh Northwestern | thenorthwestern.com

MEMPHIS, TENN. — Federal prosecutors say 24 current and former Internal Revenue Service employees have been charged with stealing government benefits.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Memphis said Wednesday that the employees were indicted on charges that they fraudulently received more than $250,000 in benefits including unemployment insurance payments, food stamps, welfare, and housing vouchers.

via www.thenorthwestern.com