IS IT TRUE Part 2, August 21, 2012

IS IT TRUE that the taxpayers subsidized the Zoo at the tone of 3.4 million dollars in 2012?…that the head man over at the Evansville Zoo recently proposed to try something new to energize the Zoo’s cash flow and attendance?…this great idea is to have concerts at a newly fixed up Mesker Amphitheatre?…if this is a new idea then we are all teenagers here at the CCO since we have all seen concerts at Mesker since we were teenagers in the 60’s and 70’s?…Mesker is in the shape it is in because the City of Evansville Parks and Recreation Department does not maintain anything in an acceptable manner?…if the head zookeeper thinks this is a new idea then he must have had his head in the sand like and ostrich or an emu?

IS IT TRUE that in 2012 the past administration projection of incoming revenue for the Parks and Recreation was overstated by $2.1 million?

IS IT TRUE that the payment for the debt service bonds for Ford Center beginning in 2013 shall be about 8 million dollars a year? …that $6.5 million dollars to make the bond payment is slated come from the TIF fund? …that rest of the money to pay for the Ford Center bonds debt service shall come from Riverboat and Beverage and Food tax funds? …we hope that in the future our elected officials and administrators for Venue Works will stop trying to convince us that the Ford Center is making a profit for the taxpayers of Evansville before the bonds have to be paid? …henceforth, they should push the fact that events at the Ford Center bring guests to Evansville and they spend great deal money with our local business? …that the bottom line is that the taxpayers of this community should finally realize that the Ford Center will always have to be subsidized by local government and never profitable until someday in the far future when the bonds are paid off?…the portion of the TIF collections that were supposed to come from the taxes paid by the VAPOR HOTEL are going to be ZERO for at least 3 years?…those dollars slated by the Weinzapfel administration to cover part of the bond payments will now have to come from somewhere else?

IS IT TRUE that one of our “Moles” saw County Commissioner Joe Kiefer and County Councilman, Pete Swain having lunch with the owner of MRC-Computer Services …we are hearing that County Commissioners Marsha Abell and Joe Kiefer are backing away from the verbal comment they made to City Councilman, John Friend concerning the county helping the city to fund the IT assessment audit later this year?…these two desperados should be on the receiving end of a strong lecture on being truthful and on the virtues of keeping their word?…there is still time for these two to be honest?

IS IT TRUE that one of our “Moles” saw the Mayor and County Commissioner, Marsha Abell being wined, dined, and lobbied by members of an Indy consulting firm at the plush Cavanaugh’s restaurant in the Casino Aztar? …we wonder if our elected officials paid for food and drink they consumed at this expensive gathering or if they copied the example set by their fellow Democrats Missy Mosby and Jonathan Weaver down at the February City Council meeting that was held at the Maingate Bar after the regularly scheduled City Council meeting?

IS IT TRUE when it comes to the debt of the federal government that the ratio that matters is debt to revenue?…that number has leapt upward from 165 percent in 2008 to 262 percent this year, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund?… among developed economies, only Ireland and Spain have seen a bigger deterioration.

IS IT TRUE that in the last 4 plus years the Evansville Utilities Department has spent about $4.5 Million on soft costs? …that soft costs are defined as engineering, lawyers, accounting, and IT costs?

IS IT TRUE that last week the Civic Center was under attacked by fleas? …that makes the Civic Center being under attack by fleas and “moles” so far this month?…the people who run the Civic Center may be able to invest in deadly chemicals to rid the place of fleas but the MOLES ARE FOREVER?

IS IT TRUE we wonder if the County is still paying for the empty space that once housed the County jail? …if this information is correct the Vanderburgh County taxpayers have paid the Vanderburgh County Building Authority millions of dollars for this space since it was vacated by the Sheriff’s Department?…if we can convince all of the County Council members to attend and stay at a budget hearing they just might be able to find an answer to stop this extremely costly tax drain on our county budget?

IS IT TRUE we just learned that EVSC has a new tenant that just located on the old North High School Campus?…we would like someone one to explain what kind of Academy did the EVSC brain trust locate there?…we wonder why every school in Vanderburgh County taught on the elementary school level is called an Academy?…we wonder why all the other school systems in the region simply call their schools elementary schools?…that calling a building an international academy does not make the people in it international or academic?…that calling Forrest Gump a genius does not make him a genius?…that putting the slowest kid in a school in a T-shirt that says state champion on it does not make this kid a state champion?…that playing the name change game doesn’t really change anything but the name?

IS IT TRUE that liberal publication and historical Obama supporter Newsweek Magazine sort of shocked the political world with its cover article in it’s most recent issue?…the title article on the just released issue of Newsweek by Niall Ferguson is titled “Hit the Road Barack, Why We Need a New President”?…there is a link to the story at the end of today’s IS IT TRUE?…that one particular excerpt from this Newsweek article the following reads nearly like an indictment?

“In his inaugural address, Obama promised “not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.” He promised to “build the roads and bridges, the electric grids, and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.” He promised to “restore science to its rightful place and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost.” And he promised to “transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.” Unfortunately the president’s scorecard on every single one of those bold pledges is pitiful.”

IS IT TRUE that this is a radical departure from the 2008 campaign when candidate Obama was on the cover six times with some of the most adoring articles imaginable that surely aided President Obama’s ascension to the White House?…that when your biggest fans start telling you it is time to go that there are serious problems with the campaign’s message and performance?…that is the time ever comes when Rachel Maddow, Ed Schultz, and Chris Matthews stand up and sing “Hit the Road Barack” that the party really will be over?…that in spite of the defection of Newsweek that the election remains statistically tied and that just because “Hit the Road Barack” is on the cover there is still not a hoard of starry eyed mindless zombies filling football stadiums for Mitt Romney?…that it seems as though the American people and even the liberal media are finally starting to see past the facade of President Obama but that at the same time the Romney Ryan ticket is not inspiring the disturbed, underemployed masses to embrace their brand of hope and change the way President Obama’s supporters did in 2008?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/08/19/niall-ferguson-on-why-barack-obama-needs-to-go.html