Detroit

(Failing) School’s out… completely.

With apologies to Alice Cooper.

 

♪ “Well we got no choice.” ♪
♪ “All the girls and boys.” ♪
♪ ”Makin’ all that noise .” ♪
♪ “’Cause they found new toys.” ♪
♪ “Well we can’t salute, ya can’t find a flag .” ♪
♪ “If that don’t suit ya that’s a drag.” ♪
♪ “School’s out for summer .” ♪
♪ “School’s out forever .” ♪
♪ “School’s been blown to pieces.” ♪

We should never see this happen again with Taxpayer’s money…ever.

Promoters of Cloward-Piven will need to go back to the drawing board this month.

Another spigot has been turned off…hopefully for good!

{I promise: No more misusing and abusing the songs of your youth below the fold!}

You Betcha! (7)Nuh Uh.(1)

Hey, would you look at that? We’re right back where we started from.

Betcha didn’t see this coming:

“Today, Detroit’s five state senators stood united in supporting a major road funding package. This bill will allow us to speed up repair of Detroit’s roads and make major improvements to the bus service for our 100,000 passengers daily. With their support HB 5477 passed the Senate by a 23-14 vote. Be sure to thank Senators Virgil Smith, Coleman Young, Jr., Burt Johnson, Morris Hood III, and Tupac Hunter for their leadership and encourage your representatives in the State House to support this important legislation.”

Did anyone catch anything earlier about paying more at the pump to support mass transit?

Me neither.

Oh, and it gets better.

{Story continues below the fold}

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And So It Begins

Taking no chances that the grassroots come out in opposition, the Progressives strike.

The Michigan State Senate nearly doubles our state gasoline taxes.

Voting to raise the gas taxes by 17 cents at legislative maturity, RINO Senate Leader and tax raiser Randy Richardville’s bill will create even more hardships on those who are already struggling to put fuel in the tank.  Much of it earmarked for mass transit too?  Wonderful.  The Ivory Tower reports:

The bill from Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville, R-Monroe, was passed quickly and without debate, by a 23-14 vote, after a number of false starts earlier in the day.

The Senate took “a big step to show people we’re serious,” Richardville said. “If you’ve got an alternative, we’re going to take a look at it.”

Emphasis provided to demonstrate what double speak is

those-guys

Cowards and thieves.

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Someone is waking up (and finally realizing that they’ve been scammed all along).

“In Detroit, where’re your leaders at?”

 

It’s a shame that they couldn’t cut this down into a :60 spot (or at least break it up among several spots). You couldn’t make the point any clearer (Especially after the democrats recent fundraising appearance for a governor who makes Granholm look like an off-the-charts genius).

Granted, this was shot in Chicago. But the subject matter is easily applicable to Detroit as well.

Should also give the trolls lurking from the other side (like Christine, Eric, that husband/wife team from the-site-that-shall-not-be-named), something to mull over…and dread.

Submitted w/o any further comment

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Pay up Suckers

Never underestimate the local ‘Team R’ actors who will roll with RINO Ron’s DIA Bailout.

gingell_mike_smIn the letter, which Gingell read to The News, Gargaro said he wants to work on connecting the three art authorities — which are contracted with the DIA and collect tax money on behalf of the county — with compensation decisions by meeting with them three or four times a year.

“So the county art authorities have opportunity for input, so that’s a good measure,” Gingell said. “They would review the DIA audited financial statements and discuss it in an open forum with the art authorities. It’s definitely more outreach, more transparency, more practical steps to address compensation.”

Reached by The News Wednesday afternoon, Gargaro declined to discuss the specifics of the letter or what it was offering. “I haven’t had a chance to speak with the commissioners about it yet,” Gargaro said.

In other words, Eugene Gargaro hasn’t read the official script yet.

Gargaro is expected to meet with commissioners during their caucus Thursday morning, Gingell said. That will take place just before the start of the regular board meeting, at which commissioner Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak, had planned to offer a resolution to dissolve the Oakland County Art Authority, which sends $11 million a year to the DIA.

Gingell said once all 21 members of the board read the letter and speak with Gargaro, “my personal opinion is things will move on” and the issue of dissolving the art authority will be over.

REST

Yep. Easy peasy. Just another case of watching the layers of bureaucrats and their insider onion peel.

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Steve Boron: “Conservatism Wins,” especially in tough districts

Protecting gun rights, cutting taxes, reducing spending, and stopping Obamacare. These aren’t issues you’d expect a Republican to run on in a blue district, like Michigan’s 16th House District which consists of the cities of Wayne and Westland. But Steve Boron says it’s the only way Republicans can win over Democrats and Independents.

Steve Boron talks with a voter over the phone. He estimates that his campaign has placed over 15,000 live phone calls to voters in his district.

Steve Boron talks with a voter over the phone. His campaign has placed over 15,000 live phone calls to voters in Michigan’s 16th House District.

“A lot of voters are disengaging from the political process because they feel neither party represents them,” said Boron. “Instead of being ‘Democrat-lite’, Republicans need to take a stand for conservative principles and inspire their base to get out and vote.”

Steve Boron is a 20-year member of the UAW, the owner of a small solar panel business, and a lifelong resident of Westland. On paper, he seems unlikely to be a free-market conservative – let alone a Republican candidate for State Representative. But Boron says his background is his biggest strength.

“I’m a blue collar worker and a union member just like most people in the district. Voters here will trust me before they trust a career politician or a wealthy CEO,” he said. “I understand what issues matter to my community and how to tailor the conservative message to win over their support.”

Campaign Strategy

When asked whether he has any proof his strategy works, Steve Boron responds that he is simply “retooling” Barack Obama’s successful re-election strategy.

“Obama won in 2012 because he moved to the left, fired up his base, and got out the vote,” Boron says. “It made me wonder, ‘why can’t Republicans improve on that model?'”

Boron points out his training at the Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership and experience as a grassroots activist were also formative in his understanding of political strategy.

“We’re focusing heavily on voter identification and microtargeting. Once we know where a voter stands on a few issues, we know how to communicate to them,” he said. “For example, every supporter of the Second Amendment we identify will be targeted with a message about my ‘A’ rating from the NRA and the endorsement I received from the Michigan Coalition of Responsible Gun Owners.”

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Did Robert Kosowski Lie To Gain A Key Endorsement?

Did State Rep. Robert Kosowski (D-Westland) lie about his voting record on education in order to gain the Wayne-Westland Observer’s endorsement? Despite misleading claims in the Wayne-Westland Observer, Kosowski voted to cut education funding and ban charter schools.

In his first term as Wayne and Westland’s State Representative, Robert Kosowski voted numerous times to expand the power of Tax Increment Financing Authorities (TIFAs) to take money from local school districts. Rep. Kosowski also co-sponsored House Bill 5852, which would force every single charter school in the state to close once its charter expires.

In addition to cutting the budgets of local school districts and banning charter schools, Kosowski voted for the “Common Core” standards, which increases federal control of local school districts and mandates additional standardized testing of students. Rounding out Kosowski’s voting record on education is his opposition to Education Achievement Authorities, which are the state agencies that help failing public schools.

In their endorsement of Kosowski, LeAnne Rogers of the Wayne-Westland Observer reported that Rep. Kosowski said “he’s not opposed to charter schools.” In a different article for the Observer, Rogers reported that Kosowski supported school funding increases.

It’s possible that Kosowski lied about his voting record in order to gain the Observer’s endorsement – and Rogers, the Observer editor, failed to do her homework. However, some have accused LeAnne Rogers of being biased after she misquoted Kosowski’s Republican opponent as being in favor of the gasoline tax. Dan MacDonald, a top commenter on the Observer’s website, claimed that “she pulled the same thing during the city council race.”

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Pluck your magic twanger…and help out a good cause at the same time.

If you’re near St. Clair Shores this weekend, especially around the Nautical Mile, swing into Brownie’s on the Lake off of Jefferson and check out what’s happening this Saturday Night.

Starting at 8pm, The Ghoul and his Madhouse of Mystery will be appearing along with  WRIF/WCSX air personality Doug Podell as Spooktacular Guest MC.

There’s no cover to get in and food will be available. No, I won’t get into the whole “Shorian Pride” thing, although it is a nice restaurant.

The purpose of this event is to help raise funds for The Wounded Warrior Project.

Donations to Wounded Warriors can be made at the door and are greatly appreciated.

Help out a good cause and have some fun at the same time this Saturday at 8pm.

 

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