I remember watching The Matrix for the first time and feeling horrified at the prospect of waking up to find myself in an alternate reality that I had no notion existed until that moment. More importantly, the new reality was the reality, reducing my previous so-called life to one long dream invented by others for purposes I could not fathom.

After 9/11, many Americans have been slowly waking up to extremely harsh realities that none of us could have conceived of a decade before. Many voters had an inkling that politicians lied, and most knew that special interests were at the head of the line for funding. But few could imagine that legislators would deliberately undermine the sovereign status of individual Americans with an unprecedented expansion of government, the exponential growth of the national debt, and ever-increasing taxation without representation - all for the purpose of eventually merging American production with that of foreign nations to create a single centralized economy. It is the stuff of movies ... and nightmares.

Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats came out swinging in this year's first Republican gubernatorial debate, attacking opponent and former Governor Terry Branstad on everything from raising taxes to bringing gambling to the state to appointing two of the Supreme Court justices who wrote the decision legalizing same-sex marriage in Iowa.

"Leadership is also about being honest," Vander Plaats said Wednesday. "Governor Branstad, some of the results are: raising taxes not once but twice; increasing fees 30 times; bringing in gambling, parimutuel betting, the state lottery; growing the size of government two and a half times. Those are also results that we need to be honest with the people of Iowa about."

Iowa law-enforcement officials said the real goal of a new state law banning texting while driving is to change the behavior of Iowans. A yearlong campaign to educate drivers about the law will emphasize that when tempted to grab for that cell phone, "it can wait."

"Drive to your destination and then make your phone call or send your text message," said Public Safety Commissioner Gene Meyer. "The goal here is to prevent distracted driving, particularly by reading or typing or sending text messages while driving. We in law enforcement will certainly enforce this law, but the real goal is going to be to change the behavior of drivers."

Governor Chet Culver on Thursday signed the bill into law, hailing it as a significant public-safety measure. As of July 1, it will be illegal for Iowa drivers to read, write, or send a text message while driving. Teens with an instruction permit, restricted license, or intermediate license will be banned from all cell-phone usage, including talking and texting, while driving.

The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) announced the termination of Executive Director Maxine Kilcrease, while the Legislative Council voted to authorize the legislature's government-oversight committees to meet jointly during the 2010 interim to conduct an investigation, issue subpoenas, and take other actions relating to the IASB.

IASB Board President Russ Wiesley said the board voted Thursday to terminate Kilcrease's employment, citing her decision to request and accept a salary increase of more than $100,000 without board approval. The board said Kilcrease also gave raises to several employees at the same time other employees were being terminated for financial reasons; prevented the IASB's auditing firm from providing information to the board; and directed an attorney to threaten the firm.

"We believe this to be in the best interest of the association," Wiesley said. "As a board we feel we were misled and blocked from information, and it has caused a huge amount of distress for this critical Iowa organization we so deeply care about."