IS IT TRUE the EPD activity report for yesterday is a whopping sixteen pages long?…that the summer of 2012 continues to be a summer of lawlessness in the City of Evansville with more and more crimes being committed?…that fortunately for some but unfortunately for others the crime locations are staying the same subjecting roughly 40% of the City of Evansville to Detroit style crime rates while the remaining 60% is more like a middle class law abiding city?…that how on earth people can find the energy to commit crimes with the temperature at 106 degrees in the Midwestern humidity is beyond comprehension?

IS IT TRUE the United States Supreme Court found a way to uphold the implementation of ObamaCare while declaring the purchase mandate to be unconstitutional?…the way Chief Justice Roberts did this was to declare that Congress has the power to tax and that the roughly $2,000 per year that each person will now owe in taxes for healthcare REALLY IS A TAX?…that the City County Observer published this very argument yesterday before the ruling?…that Justice Roberts had the legal brilliance to find a way to clarify the truth about this TAX and set the stage for an election where we finally have found a difference in the two candidates?…that there will be no more of the statements saying that President Obama and Mitt Romney are two peas in a pod because now a sharp line of distinction is drawn between them?…that two days ago this election was about the President’s performance on the economy and Romney’s criticism of that performance?…today the 2012 Presidential election is about ObamaCare first and the floundering economy second?…that for the first time since 1984 the choices are pretty darn clear and based on simple and easy to understand issues?

IS IT TRUE President Obama said time and again that Obamacare was not a tax?…Justice Roberts took him to school yesterday and declared that the only way this is legal is because it is a tax?…the Chief Justice in a very elegant way repudiated the method by which the Congress and the President “sold” Obamacare to the nation as essentially unconstitutional and fraudulent?…in reality Obamacare is a flat FEE for healthcare that is to be paid annually to the IRS for the privilege living here of roughly $2,000 each?…this is the FAIREST AND LEAST PROGRESSIVE TAX we shall ever see?… Warren Buffet pays $2,000 and so does the poorest of the poor?…we should all say thank you President Obama for sneaking through the fairest TAX that has been passed in the history of the USA?…that this writer’s Cadillac $18,000 per year family policy shall be replaced in 2014 with my decision to elect to pay the $2,000 TAX and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to save $16,000?…that many people and businesses will do the same throwing the new healthcare funding system into chaos?

IS IT TRUE that all local governments derive their power from two sources?…that the first source as is well known is the power of the budget that in the case of Evansville resides with the City Council?…the other source of power wielded by Mayors across the country is the power to appoint cronies and buddies to do their bidding on public boards?…that one can usually judge a Chief Executive by their appointments?…that the CCO will publish a detailed list in a couple of days of all of the appointments of Mayor Winnecke that we obtained through the Freedom of Information Act?

IS IT TRUE that the summer break has only been going on for a month or so and the crime of killing or trying to kill each other is way off the charts by Evansville standards?…that this has never been a “murder a week” or even a “murder a month” kind of town but that the summer of 2012 is off to a “murder or attempted murder a week” start?…that the City County Observer would like to encourage the people who take life so cheaply as to murder others over passion or property to please snap out of it and stop the senseless violence?…this looks worse and makes us worse as a community than anything that any politician or group of politicians could ever do on a local level.

IS IT TRUE that today is widely expected to be the day that we learn about what the United States Supreme Court believes about the constitutionality of Obamacare?…that predicting what a court will do has always been a losing proposition and that either of the possibilities have some probability associated with them?…if it were not for the arrogance of power we would not be in the waiting on baited breath for today’s decision?…the memory of Nancy Pelosi parading around with an oversized gavel and dismissing statements like “SERIOUSLY” when asked point blank if Obamacare was constitutional?…that IF the Congress of the United States would have read the bill (some might call that VETTING) we as a country would not be on the precipice of seeing three years of work wasted by a judicial ruling?

IS IT TRUE that anyone with a lick of common sense and an understanding of the concept of freedom knew that a commercial mandate from the government would come under harsh constitutional scrutiny?…that on the other side of the coin, it also makes common sense for healthcare to be affordable and accessible for every person?…the question at hand is whether or not the government can FORCE THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES TO BUY ANYTHING FROM A PRIVATE BUSINESS?…the common sense of preserving self determination and freedom in this case should override the niceness of offering healthcare for all if a mandatory purchase provision is the method of funding?…this could have been done honestly if the Democrats in congress would have been honest enough to CALL A TAX A TAX as opposed to doing what they did which was to put the IRS in charge of collecting it and loudly asserting that THIS IS NOT A TAX?…that the actions of today are the culmination of a dysfunctional and dishonest federal government that treated the people of this country like idiots and the Constitution of the United States as a dish rag?…that this is one more case of not really getting what we voted for which was transparency, honesty, and good judgment?

IS IT TRUE that what we are sure of is that either the Obama Administration learned its VETTING process from the Weinzapfel Administration or the Weinzapfel Administration mimicked Obamacare when it came to VETTING?…it is time to stop the idiocy but we are truly concerned that no one in power knows how to do that?

IS IT TRUE that comparing the debt levels and the reasons for the debt of Stockton, CA that is on the verge of bankruptcy to Evansville does make one wonder if we are close behind?…the biggest killer of the Stockton budget and the driving force behind the bankruptcy has more to do with unfunded obligations for retirees than it does with debt to build public buildings?…that being the case Evansville may ratio out to look more like Stockton than it really is?

IS IT TRUE June 27, 2012

IS IT TRUE the City County Observer has been in contact with Evansville City Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley?…that we anticipate that we will have a statement from her today regarding the unusual events of Monday night?…that Councilwoman Riley has made a few things very clear and the first is that she stands behind the legal research that she spent 100 hours doing which uncovered public records that were not particularly flattering to the management team of Earthcare Energy?…these records while extensive were easy to read and understand?…that denial of public records is a pretty silly thing for anyone to do as these records are nearly impossible to hide from?…that when one is under review for a secret clearance that the first thing that the people checking one out looks into is the public record?…that some non-public records can have some inaccurate information that can be explained away but that facts in public records cannot?…if a public record has your signature on a dated document and sworn before a judge that you filed for bankruptcy that it is a very safe bet that this is exactly the truth?

IS IT TRUE that Mayor Winnecke has affirmed his commitment to not go forward with the Earthcare deal?…this is encouraging as there was much speculation yesterday that the actions of “THE FIVE” were a prelude to a flip flop by Mayor Winnecke?…that is part of the reason that he is the Mayor and they are “THE FIVE”?…that we hope to see a thorough VETTING of the Johnson Controls deal before it is allowed to go forward?…that one of the main proponents of the Johnson Controls deal in the Weinzapfel Administration, City-County Chief Information Officer Matt Arvay abruptly resigned his position without notice?…this resignation came less than 24 hours after the Evansville City Council authorized that $20,000 would be spent to hire someone to privately VET the Johnson Controls deal?…this deal was rushed through by Mayor Weinzapfel and has had about the same level of VETTING as the three convention hotel deals, the McCurdy, and Earthcare did before the camera crews were called over for smiling Mayors to make announcements?…that we are beginning to feel encouraged that Mayor Winnecke may have finally learned the lesson to VET BEFORE BOASTING?…that would be a colossal step forward from the last 8 years of Evansville politics?

IS IT TRUE the Vanderburgh County Republican Party had a caucus last night and have made three choices to fill four ballot vacancies?… the choices are Surveyor–Jeff Mueller, Recorder– Cliff Holm, and County Council– Julia (Judy) May?…the caucus also granted the authority to Chairman Parke to appoint a qualified Candidate to fill the fourth vacant position on the ballot without calling a formal caucus?…this action gives Chairman Parke the power to appoint a Candidate to fill the only remaining Republican ballot vacancy— the 3rd District County Commissioner?

IS IT TRUE that we are certain that by the end of today that the actions that occurred at Monday night’s meeting of the Evansville City Council will have been explained?…that while it will all make sense there is one thing that still makes us look like DOGPATCH?…that action is the fact that a vote was held on the word of City Council President Connie Robinson who has been a vocal proponent for the Earthcare Energy deal from day one?…taking a vote on the word of an opponent makes about the same amount of sense as President Obama making a statement on behalf of Supreme Court Justice Kennedy and having the other 8 members of the Supreme Court believe him and proceed to uphold ObamaCare by a 5 – 4 vote?…that Evansville really needs to stop doing things to make us all look like we just fell off of the turnip truck?