IS IT TRUE April 24, 2012

IS IT TRUE that a most unusual sewer bill for the last month for a home in Newburgh was made known to the CCO yesterday?…that what is unusual about this sewer bill is that the actual water use which is widely thought to be the basis for the sewer charge was clearly recorded as ZERO?…that the monthly charge for that 31 day period of ZERO USE was $42.41?…that the charge of $42.41 was the same when the use was over 2,000 gallons per month?…that this is an example of decoupling gone wild?…that if one uses ZERO water that the charge for sewer should be ZERO as well?…that if there is a nominal fee it should not be $42.41, it should be more like $5?…that the water bill for ZERO use was not ZERO either?…that the charge for ZERO water was $7.22?…that the sewer charge for ZERO is exactly 487% higher than the water bill?

IS IT TRUE that we have just learned that 2011 was a year in which a record was set for the number of United States citizens who renounced their citizenship?…that just a few years ago the average number of American citizens who renounced their citizenship averaged just under 500 per year…that the number has been growing since 2009 and that last year 1,788 Americans renounced their citizenship?…that is an increase of over 250% in just three years?…that there is not any exit interview study that has been released to the public so there is no way right now to know why these people have decided to become citizens of someplace else?…that most of the opinions that have been expressed about this phenomena revolve around the complicated nature of American taxation and in particular how foreign income is taxed?…that this may be true and is an easy answer but what if that is not the reason?…that we expect that the long time number of 500 per year was a baseline that was dominated by people who may have married a foreign national or had some philosophical disagreement with the American Republic?…that the additional people renouncing their citizenship are in most likelihood economic refuges of some sort?…that America has always been a place that people come to for opportunity as opposed to a place that they flee?…that these canaries in the American coal mine merit serious study because if we are losing our job creators over economic policies and tax laws we had better get busy and change that?

IS IT TRUE that the WalMart Corporation is making news for allegedly paying bribes to local officials in Mexico to get permits issued faster?…that this should not surprise anyone and that the use of bribes to public officials to grease the wheels of commerce while disgusting has been going on in every country including the United States for as long as there have been public officials to be greased?…that the United States and especially local governments find ways for pet projects to move to the front of the line or be escorted through the process all of the time?…that what is called a bribe in Mexico is called a political contribution in the United States?…that the end result is the same?…that when a favor is done for a person or a company that was not customarily done for everyone and money exchanges hands that is in effect a bribe?

IS IT TRUE that private vetting efforts on the Earthcare Energy deal continue and more information turns up nearly every day?…that this information is being made available to elected officials who should have known such things before a vote was held on the loan?…that there are some very concerned people in the halls of local government right now?…that some of the people in local government are “as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs”?

IS IT TRUE that the Associated Press is reporting that 2012 is a horrible year for new college graduates to find employment in their field?…that the last 3 years have been no picnic either and that our nation and especially certain areas that do not have professional based economies are full of degreed waiter and waitresses?…that some of this has to do with students who chose to pursue degrees that have never had jobs waiting for them or who partied in school and are among the degreed who can’t fill out a job application or form a complete sentence?…that some of these unemployed or underemployed young people also fell for a pitch from an institution of higher learning that overstated the recruitment on campus or presented statistics from long ago as though they were current?…that this situation not only is wasting talent but the loans carried by many of these young people will not be capable of being repaid creating yet another bubble that will burst leaving the federal government to deal with the fallout?…that some kids graduate college with $50,000 or more in loans and no prospect of employment at more than the minimum wage?…that these numbers simply do not work?

IS IT TRUE that the latest set of polls for the office of President of the United States are all within the margin of error and are about equal with respect to whether President Obama or Governor Romney will win by a fraction of a percent?…that while interesting the popular vote really does not have any direct bearing on the outcome of the election?…that most of the Electoral College polls still have President Obama with a lead but no polls are now predicting that either candidate has strong enough numbers to be elected?…that much of the country is predictably either blue or red and that the battle for the White House will take place in a relatively small number of states that are still in play?…that it really looks like the keys to victory for either candidate are Ohio and Pennsylvania?…that either candidate that can take both of those will most likely win?…that if those states split then some combination of states with enough electors to add up to either Ohio or Pennsylvania will win?…that a combination of the “too close to call” states like any three of Virginia, Iowa, Nevada, Minnesota, and New Hampshire will make up for one big loss?…that unless a scandal breaks or someone commits a faux pas it really looks like less than 10 states will be getting all of the attention from our candidates for President?

IS IT TRUE that the CCO MOLES that have been invited to make predictions in the upcoming primaries are starting to send in their ballots?…that as soon as we have them all but not later than Friday we shall publish the MOLES PREDICTIONS?

IS IT TRUE that the Earthcare Energy VETTING may be out of the news but it is not out of the minds of the people who are mystified at how this happened the way it did?…that not a day goes by that the CCO is not contacted by someone that is completely confused as to how this City Council vote happened under duress without much information about any VETTING of the business model, the management team, the markets, or the other investors being considered?…that this pot is nearing a boil and that much information that was not made available to the City Council prior to the vote is becoming common knowledge?…that as more and more of this information finds its way into the halls of government and into the general population that the process that lead to the 5 – 4 vote will come under intense scrutiny?…that it looks like at some point in the very near future that there will be an old fashioned “coming to Jesus” meeting for the process of VETTING projects in the City of Evansville?…that we hope that such a meeting is open to the public and not hidden behind the doors of a surrogate that will not allow the media or the public inside?…that we think the places for such meetings are the Evansville City Council and the Vanderburgh County Commissioners who substantially fund GAGE’s operation?