IS IT TRUE? December 3, 2011 “Settle the Bet”

IS IT TRUE? December 3, 2011

IS IT TRUE that there is a friendly bet among the staff of the CCO?…that one says that if the ERC is irresponsible enough to go forward with a downtown Convention Hotel deal without the recommendation of Hunden Strategic Partners that the Evansville City Council will take the high road and refuse to fund the deal?…that the other says that both the ERC and the City Council are wearing puppet strings and that the Que Sera Council and ERC will do whatever their master tells them without regard to having the recommendation of a professional vetting company that was paid to VET?…that both hope to see the right thing done?

IS IT TRUE that the Lady Aces Winter Classic at Ford Center last night where two basketball games between four teams squared off at Ford Center offered local ladies basketball fans an opportunity to attend for tickets starting at $8.00?…that the official attendance at the Friday games was listed at only 425?…that we are sure that everyone was both hoping and expecting bigger crowds than 425 for these games?…that the men’s team plays a quality opponent tonight with TCU comes to town?…that the attendance figures for this game and for the Evansville Icemen’s game tomorrow will be of much interest?

IS IT TRUE that this afternoon the UK Wildcats defeated the UNC Tarheels in a 37 year old Rupp Arena by a score of 73 – 72 in front of a sellout crowd of just over 24,000?…that tickets to this game were selling on Stubhub for over $1,000 apiece up through gametime?…that the 6th ranked Louisville Cardinals defeated Vanderbilt on a last second basket in overtime in front of a sellout crowd of over 22,400 people in the sparkling new YUM Center in downtown Louisville?…that Evansville native Kyle Kuric scored 5 points for the Cardinals in the last minute of overtime to set up the winning scenario…that the moral of this story is that it is nationally ranked teams with quality opponents that sell out game after game for the entire season?…that old and in need of repair Rupp Arena and the shiny new Yum Center are both home to top 5 programs and sell out every game?…that it is not about the arena it is about the team?

IS IT TRUE that the Evansville Icemen have done a magnificent job of putting together a competitive team and are now sitting in first place in their division?…that this is why the attendance for hockey has been at very respectable levels thus far?…that one interesting and healthy competition will be to see if the Evansville Icemen average a higher level of attendance than the Evansville Purple Aces?…that the winner should be given a “Fill the Ford” award?…that it is a good indication for the future of hockey in Evansville if the attendance for hockey can continue to compete with the attendance figures for college basketball?

IS IT TRUE that the headlines have been announcing the drop in the “official” unemployment rate as a significant indicator that the recession is ending?…that what is in the fine print but not the headline is that the reduction in the official statistic is largely due to the fact that 350,000 just gave up searching for a job?…that the other un-headlined statistic is that the number of people whose unemployment has expired are dropped from the official roles of the unemployed as well?…that the number of people that are unemployed, underemployed, or part time workers who really want full time work is holding steady at just under 20%?…that as people exhaust their unemployment benefits we can expect that the official unemployment rate will drop to 7% or less during the 2012 election year?…that any and all candidates for office who may try to capitalize on this bogus statistic should have their mouths washed out with soap for lying?

IS IT TRUE that politicians are well known for using the truth to tell lies while playwrights and authors use lies to tell the truths?…that this is especially true of the truths that need telling make politicians look bad?