THREE Questions Answered...

Three questions:

1- Will Bradley playing a regular season game on campus in the new arena be a negative or a positive?

I think it'll be a big positive for all the reasons stated. BUT the bottom line is that it's just one game against a low level opponent that many people just won't care much about.....leaving plenty of tickets for those who want to be there.
It'll be little different in the end from an exhibition game, and so attendance won't be great and anyone who really wants tickets will easily get them and enjoy the game at the new Bradley Renaissance Arena.

The most ridiculous comment I have seen in all the discussion so far -- and I won't link to it as to avoid embarrassing anyone...
Is this comment on one local message boards regarding whether we can schedule NAIA and NCAA games on campus.......

"They've played NCAA teams at the Fieldhouse. I was at a game in the recent past that Bradley lost.It is what it is...."

Hmmm... well since Bradley moved to Carver Arena 30 years ago -- the only games ever played at the Fieldhouse have been preseason exhibitions and the one game in 1993 against Illinois Wesleyan.
I don't recall losing any recently and I don't recall any game that could fit this description -- so what alternate universe are talking here???



2) What's with the hot weather?
(and don't get duped by the manufactured number called heat index that they use to impress you with hotness)

So -- what's with the heat? Is this proof of global warming?? Some will surely claim it is...and you will hear many claims that worldwide temperatures are higher than ever, but choose to believe what you want -- it simply isn't true.
Just keep in mind that so many things being claimed are already proven false, based of selected, biased, and worthless data, and driven by certain agendas...

Did you know that despite a few record temperatures being set by this heat, that most areas of Illinois and of the midwest are NOT having record temps?...and in some cases we're plenty short of the records...

In almost every area of Illinois -- all the records for virtually every day in June or July were set YEARS ago ---
Example -- yesterday's record high for Peoria was 103 in 1930 - so we fell five degrees short..we weren't even that close....

Again -- almost all the records for hottest temps on any July day were 103, 105, and even some 107's set back in the 1930's long before worries of global warming and carbon dioxide increases...

In fact - the last time we set a high temperature record in Peoria on any day in July was 1988
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/climate/rec3pia.php

And only TWICE have we set a temp record since 1936!!! ONLY TWICE in 75 years!
Yup -- only two July days since 1936 in Peoria have set high temperature records..13 different days in July of 1936 alone set records that still stand!!! How'd ya like to have been living in Peoria in 1936 -- especially if your air conditioning broke down!

Same is true for other months...
Virtually NO new high temp records in decades -- mostly since the 1930's
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/climate/rec2pia.php

And there's a lot more that you haven't been hearing.....
BUT by contrast -- numerous cold temp records have been set in Peoria over just the past decade or so
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/climate/rec1pia.php


Then add this to your equation...

Almost all of the west, the northwest, and all across the upper great plains and much of Canada are having unseasonably cool temperatures....
High of just 68 in Seattle yesterday, 69 in San Francisco, lows in the 50's all over the place from LA to Washington, Montana, South Dakota...

Meanwhile the entire rest of the northern hemisphere and much of the southern hemisphere are having....
get ready for this, since you won't read it anywhere in the American press, ...
very cool temperatures...

http://www.smh.com.au/wa-news/no-surprises-here-perths-on-another-record-cold-spell-20110711-1ha94.html

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2011/06/24/326631_weather-news.html

Ski resorts from California to Colorado were open on the Fourth of July!!!!
This was absolutely astounding and a very rare event but I'll bet you never saw those headlines -- ever wonder why?? Could there be a selective bias in media??
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h_hB_x_tgPSqkgTzFeDLW6szi4uQ?docId=2735e2a4c0ed4968a853721c395a0ea2

Almost all of South America is having RECORD cold and snowfalls!!!
http://www.mnnonline.org/article/15984

So believe what you want - but use some common sense -- we've had heat waves before -- and many of the ones even in our lifetimes have been far worse and nobody foretold that it was a sign of global warming.

The data for July is obviously not yet available but let's look at the past few months here in Illinois...

Here's an authoritative source proving that for the month of June, 2011, the majority of Illinois was at or under their historical average temperature -- but you never heard that did you...
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m06_11.tdev.png

BUT even more impressive is that for Jan., Feb., March, April, and May of 2011 - virtually every single square inch of Illinois was at or under --and much was considerably under their average temperatures...
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m05_11.tdev.png
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m04_11.tdev.png
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m03_11.tdev.png
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m02_11.tdev.png
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m01_11.tdev.png


And be sure you check January and February of 2011 in those links and see that most all of Illinois was as much as 3, 4 and 5 degrees below average temperatures...

Amazing what a few little facts actually show when you look for them!!

You can also show we are sure NOT having drought as nearly every square inch of Illinois is well above precipitation averages and has been for almost every single month of every single year over the past SIX years!!!
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m04_11.pperc.png
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m02_11.pperc.png

Much of Illinois was hitting 200% of their usual precipitation...
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m04_11.pperc.png
http://mrcc.isws.illinois.edu/cliwatch/months/m06_11.pperc.png

And remember that all the floods along the Missouri, Ohio, and Mississippi Rivers this year were all attributed to the massive precipitation & snowfalls and late melt-off of the past winter!

Then this -- evidence that in almost every single state -- the record for the greatest snowfall has come within the past couple decades - even many states' records coming in the 1990's and 2000's.
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/snowiest-year.php

And FIVE of the coldest 16 temperatures ever recorded in the US have come since 1985 when global warming supposedly has hit us.
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/coldest.php

And NOT ONE of the eighteen HOTTEST US temperatures on record have occurred within the past 16 years -- when we've supposedly been hit with a new era of massive global warming and record temps - not one!!!!
http://www.currentresults.com/Weather-Extremes/US/hottest.php

The data speaks for itself.



3) With all the dismal economic reports what's the best thing to do with my money?

Answer -- since it's worth as little now as ever then now's the best time to give your money away!
Remember - Matthew 6:20
"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."
and "...you will have treasure in heaven." Matthew 19:21
http://bible.cc/matthew/6-20.htm

If you give your money to a Godly cause you will gain great benefits.

BUT -- be careful -- I have suspicions about some people who ask for your money -- demand accountability.
Recall how many "charities" have been proven to be scandalous -- Jim Bakker's ministry, the United Way was bilking people and paying a million dollar salary for CEO's to ride on private jets, etc....

Here's just a few thoughts about one charity that gets lots of airplay in Peoria....

The Race for the Cure is a really big thing in Peoria and gets tremendous coverage via the local media..
Every year thousands participate, and even many more thousands are supporters, workers, volunteers, and organizers.
http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/news/local/Race-For-The-Cure-Brings-Thousands-Together-121452454.html

In all it is estimated that at least 50,000 people spent at least 4 hours of their day involved with this race and trying to help raise money...and then claims that more than $800,000 was raised with hopes some day of raising a million dollars.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:8sjPzO10SmwJ:www2.pjstar.com/index.php/race/article/race_sets_1_million_goal/+peoria+race+for+the+cure+million&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com

Similar numbers elsewhere -- St. Louis - 64,000 race participants and claims of over $3 million

The entry fee $30 so multiply that by 15,000 runners/walkers (almost 1/2 million)..

And their brochure encourages people to get sponsors and raise even more ..
"If every Race participant raised an average of $100 over the registration fee, the Komen Peoria Affiliate would raise an additional $1.9 million ..."

They say in their own literature that they spend only 12% of all their funds on administration and a large percentage goes to funding research and education...but even their own claims cite 34% of their funds go to "Education" and they never quite say what that is...
BUT -- even by their own literature, of the $421 million they raised worldwide in 2010, only $75 million went to "Research"..and only $20 million to "Treatment"..
that's an incredibly small percentage!!
http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/SGKFTC_FY10AnnualReport.pdf

But -- the facts may even be a bit more surprising as tracked by this charity watchdog organization....

First -- they pay their CEO half a million
http://content.opportunityknocks.org/2009/11/20/komen-ceo-leaves-3-days-after-new-federal-cancer-guidelines/

They spend nearly 80% of the $316 million they raised in 2009 on themselves as list the expenditures as "Program Expenses", "Administration Expenses" and "Fund Raising Expenses".


This charity tracking site gives info and rates the Komen organization as raising only 9 cents for every dollar they take in...
in other words $.91 out of every dollar they get they spend on themselves.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=4509


So as best as I can reckon -- the 50,000 participants spending about 4-5 hours each on that cool May morning -- (200,000 to 250,00 man-hours of time spent) are raising about $4 or $5 per hour of effort.
Good for them but if they all just went to work and then donated just ONE or TWO hours of their pay they'd raise at least as much -- and if they donated the pay they'd have made from the same number of hours -- 4 or 5 that morning, then they'd have easily raised more than TWICE as much money.

Add to that the vague and cloudy detailing of where all this money goes, the exhorbitant salaries they pay to their upper echelon people, and one more fact as well -- that almost ALL breast cancer research -- indeed almost all medical research is funded by government grants or is funded privately by the drug companies as they are researching new treatments...

....then I have to say I am just a bit skeptical about where's all the money going??
I am not saying they don't do good -- I would just expect a little more accountability and openness.
Peorple are free to give their money where they want -- but beware of any and all charities....

Remember these stories of corruption inside of big name charities...

The United Way CEO makes a $ million per year!

Some cancer charities pay their CEO's about a $ Million and are irresponsible..

And many charities are incredibly irresponsible with the money given them...some are downright CORRUPT -- with plenty of their big wigs living high on the hog at the expense of the people contributing.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/26/15-highest-paid-charity-ceos.html
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/news/20-worst-charities-america?page=4
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/09/25/united-way-agency-corruption/
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/5/15/corrupt-charities-pstrongcorrection-appended-see-belowstrongp/

One other thing the Komen people do with their charitable funds is sue HUNDREDS of other people just for using the color pink or for daring to use the WORD "Cure"!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/komen-foundation-charities-cure_n_793176.html?ref=fb&src=sp

Stephen Colbert even ripped Komen for muscling and suing other home-grown charities out when they try to raise money for their causes....nice guys!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/04/colbert-komen-cure-cancer_n_804233.html