IS IT TRUE that the Libertarian Party of Vanderburgh County has announced a new candidate seeking the office of Sheriff?…that his name is JD Walters?…that a new Facebook page has been set up to handle public relations?…that already the question of a hypothetical Department of Homeland Security firearm confiscation has been addressed and a full platform has been released?…this platform includes bullet points denouncing any attempts at federal firearm confiscation, the use of drone technology, and the acceptance of any federal funds?…that the platform also includes mandatory customer service training for all officers and a return to an emphasis on curbing reckless and dangerous driving?.. the platform signoff includes the Patrick Henry reference “Liberty or Death”?…that this should make for an interesting injection of ideas into an otherwise dull race for the office of Vanderburgh County Sheriff and we look forward to seeing it unfold?

IS IT TRUE that it was revealed by the Associated Press that the application for Obamacare is 17 pages long?…even the most complicated tax returns with multiple schedules, ownership in private companies, and capital gains do not usually get to be that long?…the only federal program that real people have to routinely deal with that even approximates 17 pages of complex questions is the FAFSA that is used to evaluate college students eligibility for federal financial aid?…several years after FAFSA was introduced it was recognized that low income and low education families were not filling out the forms thus leaving lots of financial assistance and more importantly the opportunity for their children to get an education on the table?…the FAFSA was shunned because it was intimidating for the very people who need it to fill out?…now there is a cottage industry around helping people fill out a FAFSA by entrepreneurs who do it for A FEE?…all of the claims about the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) being an engine of job creation may just come true?…it won’t be what was advertised though?…these jobs will be replicating the business model of H. R. Block and Liberty Tax Services into yet another service industry that would not exist if federal programs were simple and short?…look for franchise service providers like ObamaCare-R-Us or even Health Forms & Go to join the ranks of tax preparers, payday loans, and pawn shops feeding on the poor and the uneducated?…Obamacare will well deserve the credit for any jobs that come from yet another unnecessary service industry?

IS IT TRUE that the zinger of the week comes from Evansville City Council President Connie Robinson and was directed at Councilman Jonathan Weaver at Monday night’s meeting of the City Council?…this zinger came as a result of the Council being asked who had read a 60 page document they were being asked to discuss?…of the 9 members of the City Council Mr. Weaver was the only member to have read it?…the zinger was along the lines of “the real estate business must not be doing so well if you had time to read 60 pages on a Sunday”?…while this zinger is funny, the reality is that Councilman Weaver is to be commended for budgeting his time well enough to have read the document before the council meeting?…it is not reading documents before voting for them that has the whole country in a bit of trouble now regarding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and many other complex laws that have been passed without the benefit of reading or understanding by our lawmakers?

IS IT TRUE that last weekend’s Great Lakes Valley Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments had a surprisingly low attendance even with two local teams in the field?…it is now apparent that the average attendance for men’s two game sessions were under 1,000 and the women’s were under 500?…one would think that with local teams in the tourney that friends and family would have drawn more than that alone?…even with a pub crawl type of event organized in downtown Evansville the attendance at the games was not even at a level of doormat high school team attendance?…while 500 to 1,000 people look like allot out in the street, that number of people in Ford Center make the place look deserted?…the CCO hopes that in the future and especially at next year’s division 2 championship at least 5,000 people will show up just for the love of the game of basketball?…we are also hoping for a USI vs. Kentucky Wesleyan final?…if that does not pack the Ford Center then nothing in division 2 ever will?

IS IT TRUE that last night’s meeting of the Evansville City Council was filled with contention and anxious moments as many have been lately over the aggressive nature of Councilman Jonathan Weaver and the apparent alliance between Councilman Weaver and Councilwoman Missy Mosby together in opposition to any form of outside financial oversight that other members of the City Council support?…in another vote of 7 – 2 in favor of hiring outside financial oversight Weaver and Mosby found themselves once again as standing alone against outside financial oversight?…this time the object of outside oversight being considered is the Ford Center construction project?…City Councilman Dr. H. Dan Adams who has consistently been a voice of reason since his election in 2007 stated that he wants to put “heavy rumors” to rest regarding the financial oversight during the construction phase of the project?…last night’s City Council meeting was not the first time that the words “Fraud Center” have been uttered with respect to the Ford Center construction project?…that without making any allegation that Councilman Weaver pushed Dr. Adams for, Adams made a strong enough case to conduct a forensic audit of the Ford Center construction project that it was passed by a clear majority of the City Council?

IS IT TRUE in defense of the position of hiring no after the fact outside oversight that Weaver and Mosby have been hanging together on, this kind of oversight SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN PLACE FROM DAY ONE THROUGH THE DURATION OF THE PROJECT?…unfortunately outside financial oversight was not one of the things made a part of the deal so now that the project is over and the financial performance is not up to the projections set forth in the series of public meetings held by the committee appointed by former Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, people are asking questions?…respectfully speaking, the rumors of fraud or mismanagement need to be put to rest and hopefully a forensic audit that comes up clean will do that?…this is what happens when things get shoved down the voters throat without a referendum?…let this lesson be learned by all politicians past and future that circumventing the will of the people has consequences and this “pall of fraud” that the constituency of each and every one of the 9 City Council members are concerned over will not be the last unintended consequence as a result of doing and end run to build the Ford Center?

IS IT TRUE there is one cure for the suspicions of the citizenry and that is profitable performance by the Ford Center?…the City County Observer is fairly certain that whomever conducts this forensic audit whether it is a big name CPA firm, a local bookkeeper, or a high school math project WILL FIND instances of poor decisions, overpaying for items, cronyism, and differences in the specifications and reality?…none of those things rise to the level of fraud and we do not expect that fraud will be exposed?…as with nearly every other project taken on by the City of Evansville during the last 10 years from the McCurdy debacle, the Executive Inn dilemma, the demolition of Roberts Stadium, the $20 Million ball fields, the Earthcare Energy fiasco or the dozen moronic dramas that end with GATE, what will be exposed is abject ignorance and a cavalier attitude about said ignorance?

IS IT TRUE as Metallica wrote in their classic song Holier than Thou, “Arrogance and Ignorance go hand in hand”?…that the voters of Evansville who are now disappointed in the apparent arrogance and ignorance that have dominated nearly every project brought forth by the last two administrations are no more disappointed than those who expected competence and oversight in local governance?…we have gotten neither?

IS IT TRUE we were looking forward to seeing the scheduled public exhibition of the latest round in the David Garrett vs. the Winnecke Administration regarding the report Garrett made to the City Council last week?…a reasonable discussion without the press conference staged before the event and the calling off of a private meeting last week by City Controller Russ Lloyd Jr. could have been constructive and even respectful?…in this case the pregame press conference served much like a tent revival in Salem, MA in 1692 that was well planned to froth the crowd up for a witch burning?…David Garrett chose not to attend the City Council meeting last night even after Mayor Winnecke asked him to?…Mr. Garrett’s boss in this matter is the City Council and not the Mayor of Evansville?…perhaps if Mayor Winnecke would have asked Mr. Garrett’s client (the City Council) to request his attendance he would have attended?…in the absence of a direct client request the WITCH BURNING PARTY WAS AVOIDED?