Ed Anderson, former CEO of the National Arbitration Forum was apparently asked about criticism that NAF arbitrators who ruled in favor of consumers over creditors were no longer selected to arbitrate NAF cases.  One would expect to hear a denial from NAF that they do not allow that to happen.  Instead, Anderson seems to see no problem with the practice.
 

He is quoted as saying “… dismissing arbitrators is no different from jockeying for more business-friendly judges, information that credit-card companies are more likely to have.  In any case, in any system there’s power of knowledge  … that’s why you try to hire the best informed lawyer.”
 

Our system of selecting judges in Iowa is nothing like what Anderson describes.  There are no judges in Iowa who are removed for ruling in favor of a consumer.  In Polk County there are systems in place to avoid judge shopping. 

In any event, I’m not sure why it is even debatable whether a system where creditors almost always win over consumers is fair.  NAF claims arbitration is a good system because it is fast and cheap.  While that claim is patently false, it doesn’t follow that fast and cheap should be the primary concern for the justice system.  Lynching was fast and cheap—that doesn’t mean it was a superior system of justice.

Any civil justice system that allows creditors to remove arbitrators who rule against them even once is not fair and impartial.  It is an absolute outrage that Congress allows this fiasco to continue.

Here is a link to the article.

http://www.startribune.com/business/18812529.html

If you are an Iowan, I'm sure you have seen a vehicle parked outside a mall, a sporting event, a school activity, parked in your neighbors driveway or wherever and the vehicle has a dealer license plate.  If you like the car, ask the driver how much it is and if you can take it for a spin.  The car is for sale--or at least it is supposed to be.  There should also be a used car window sticker on the vehicle, because used cars offered for sale are supposed to have a window sticker.

Call me a skeptic, but it sure looks to me like there are a lot of cars with dealer plates being driven in Iowa by car dealers, car salesman and their family members as personal vehicles for their own personal use.  The dealer plate appears to be little more than a means to avoid paying use tax the rest of us pay to license our vehicles each year.

I suggest closing this loophole and using the extra revenue to maintain Iowa's bike trails.