What's amazing here is not what they tell you, but what they don't...
Well, the children in Detroit are at it again.
And is there any wonder why there is so much blow-back from Gov. Snyder’s latest excuse to waste Michigan Taxpayer money on Detroit?
{Continued below the fold}
(6)Nuh Uh.
(0)Hold onto your wallets because the fun is set to begin again tomorrow.
Last week the Michigan House, in response to the temper tantrum thrown by the Detroit Federation of Teachers (which to be fair, was in response to the gross ineptitude of one Judge Steven Rhodes), passed yet another in a long line of “life preservers” to the failed Detroit Public School district.
Despite having been “locked out” by administration (seriously, that is what the DFT was using as a speaking point on every local talking head show last weekend), things went back to normal by Wednesday.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the concept of how calling in sick en masse is somehow the equivalent of being “locked out” from your place of employment…but I digress.
Unlike the bailout proposed by the Michigan Senate, the House package is about $200-million lighter than the Senate’s, and is choked so full of poison-pill provisions that it is guaranteed to cause even more problems.
“Not to worry! With a little elbow grease and some friendly verbal persuasion, we’ll have you upright and humming along the road in no time,” our relentlessly positive Gov Snyder allegedly remarked about the latest DPS bailout.
{More below the fold}
(10)Nuh Uh.(0)
Retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven W. Rhodes, now the Detroit Public Schools’ ‘Transition Manager’, just let another financial whopper out of the bag. Detroit Public Schools received about $30 million in U.S. Department of Education reimbursements for the pensions of grant-funded employees, but failed to forward those federal funds to the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. So DPS owes MPSERS $ 30 million dollars, give or take. They are ‘negotiating’.
DPS officials knew of this funds misappropriation in December 2015. Judge Rhodes knew “in March 2016”. Before or after the Michigan Legislature got suckered into passing HB 5296 and HB 5385, the DPS emergency bailout and purported financial review commission? HB 5296, the $ 48.7 million emergency DPS bailout, cleared the Michigan House on 17 March and the Michigan Senate on 24 March. Governor Snyder signed it as Public Act 54 on 12 April.
Did anyone in Lansing know that 60% of the PA 54 DPS bailout was headed straight to the MPSERS?
If so, why did they not share this little detail with the rest of the Legislature and the public prior to the passage of HB 5296?
(13)Nuh Uh.(0)
Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Git Along Little Dogies
Some boys goes up the trail for pleasure,
But that’s where you get it most awfully wrong;
For you haven’t any idea the trouble they give us
While we go driving them all along.
Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Git Along Little Dogies
When the night comes on and we hold them on the bedground,
These little dogies that roll on so slow;
Roll up the herd and cut out the strays,
And roll the little dogies that never rolled before.
Whoopee Ti Yi Yo, Git Along Little Dogies
Traditional 19th Century American Cowboy Cattle Drive Song
Michigan’s tax-and-spend establishment continues to demonstrate world class tactical flexibility as they pursue their dubious ends. Their latest tour de force is the setup for the impending Detroit Public Schools bailout. Michigan’s legislators are being driven like cattle.
The new state appointed emergency transition manager of the Detroit Public Schools, retired U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Steven W. Rhodes, announced that the district would shut down on April 8th due to a lack of funds. This chilling announcement came a week after Governor Snyder appointed him to replace Darnell Early, who resigned at the end of February. Darnell Early, for some reason, failed to inform Michigan of the April 8th drop dead date. Judge Rhodes made his announcement four weeks in advance of the projected shutdown in a full court press to get a bailout from our State Legislature.
The first problem here is the State Legislature is scheduled to take two weeks off in the four weeks leading up to April 8th. The last week of March and the first week of April. Judge Rhodes certainly knew this, so the dilatory announcement is unquestionably a deliberate effort to stampede the Michigan Legislature into immediately delivering $ 50 – 70 million to DPS, no questions asked. Two weeks is not a reasonable legislative time frame, rather it is herding legislators like cattle on a two week drive. An echo of the tactics used by Judge Rhodes to ram through the bungled Detroit bankruptcy.
Governor Snyder has been floating an inchoate plan to rescue the Detroit Public Schools since the middle of last year; one which originally envisioned the creation of a ‘bad debt’ shell district and a new, debt free district by cellular division. Wasn’t really well received anywhere, even after he added dissolution of the much hated Education Achievement Authority. As his problems in the Flint water fiasco have mounted, Governor Snyder decided to wash his hands of the DPS situation by throwing $ 700 million at them to extinguish their ‘operating’ debt and return control to the next generation of local thieves elected school board members.
(14)Nuh Uh.(0)You people in Lansing are supposed to be Conservatives. Why not try acting like a Conservative for a change?
There is an axiom that everyone has probably heard numerous times already that goes something like this: “Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.”
A friend of mine would add in a second line to that to make it a little bit more interesting…”Those who fail to learn the lesson of history correctly, well they are just plain doomed.”
It strongly looks like were seeing that second line play out here in Michigan after the defeat of Proposal 1.
This time around, though, it doesn’t have to end that way.
{More after the fold}
(7)Nuh Uh.(1)If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear that the Michigan Republican Party wants four more years of Gretchen Whitmer.
It should stand to reason that running a candidate who is antithetical to the base is not exactly a winning strategy. Especially when they try, invariably in vain, to claim that candidate is somehow Conservative.
Typically, they will employ one of the following stratagems:
• Hallelujah, they have seen the light! You can trust them now to do the right things since they now have their eye on a higher office.
• Or, just sweep their record under the rug and use industrial-strength gaslighting on anyone who dares to bring it up.
How often have we seen this?
Well, we’ve seen this play out nationally with McCain in ’08. The Republican kakistocracy wanted him badly (it was HIS turn to run, after all). The base didn’t trust him. We ended up getting stuck with Barry for eight years because Willard certainly wasn’t any better four years later.
Here in Michigan, we’ve seen this in ’18 when B.S. got tapped to run for that coveted seat in the Romney Building (again, according to the Nigh-omnipotent potentates in the Michigan GOP, it was HIS turn). The same candidate who couldn’t be bothered to show himself in front of the Grassroots before the Primary, yet always found ample time in his busy schedule for a fundraiser with deep-pocketed donors…well, we all know how that nightmare started.
Fast-forward to this week, when Trump disloyalist Liz Cheney got her backside handed to her by Wyoming Voters by about a 2-1 ratio. Throwing your lot in with the democrats and then taking part in a political star chamber…not a great plan. If your Paul Pelosi-level of investments didn’t pay off as well as they have while you were “serving” your Constituents in Wyoming, people might have a reason to feel sorry for your future.
So, where is this observation heading towards True Believers are asking themselves?
{Click below the fold to find out}
(7)Nuh Uh.(1)No fewer than a dozen warnings that this would happen ..repeatedly.
Scales just commented this grand disaster.
From the people who watch such things, we just wanted to remind you that the fix you thought was there? Wasn’t. As reported in the Detroit News Detroit schools need mo money:
“Without state support to address its growing capital needs, Detroit’s public school system poses a potential threat to Detroit’s economic revitalization, Moody’s Investors Service said Tuesday.
The rating agency said for fiscal 2019, the Detroit Public Schools Community District has budgeted $9 million in capital expenses, out of a budget of roughly $760 million. Detroit’s school buildings have $500 million in capital needs and deferred maintenance.”
Disappointing, yet not altogether surprising.
Before giving anymore, perhaps Michigan’s investors actually look at who gets da money?
Anyhow, it never should have happened to begin with.
I have solutions for any of these school issues. If anyone in the game really wants to fix it once and for all, feel free to reach out. It would take a little courage, but the repair would last forever.
[call me](14)Nuh Uh.(0)So in the midst of all of the post-election analysis, we’ve heard the “experts” from other outlets drone on about why the 2018 Election went the way it did.
We’ve heard them tell us that this is the vaunted “Blue Wave” sweeping across America. Despite the rash of ballots “miraculously” showing up in places like Florida (and apparently now here) along with Arizona, democrats still only control the House.
We’ve been told that this is the year of the woman. Yet, I’m waiting to hear why superior candidates like Lang and Epstein didn’t benefit from this?
Finally, the media (or infotainment complex…take your pick), dredges up their favorite rationale for last Tuesday Night’s results: It’s all President Trump’s fault.
If you get past their self-created echo chamber, you might have noticed the marked lack of coverage of the rise in America’s economy that has taken place since the ‘16 election (far higher than any democrat or their sycophants claimed was possible) , unemployment numbers falling ACROSS THE BOARD, and a newfound respect for America around the world since a certain Chicago street hustler was no longer in a position to embarrass our Republic by bowing down to foreign leaders at every opportunity and generally showing no backbone with the same by conceding at every opportunity.
I’m going to bring up a topic that the so-called conservative policy wonks running the multitude of losing campaigns are loath to ask themselves.
{Post continues after the fold}
(11)Nuh Uh.(2)Come and meet the news boss…same as the old boss.
OPM.
Isn’t it grand to not be responsible for money.
Large sums of money, even.
Money that you would’ve thought SOMEONE would’ve learned their lesson after having their fat pulled out of the fire multiple times in the past.
Same characters played by different actors.
{This week’s stupidity players are revealed below the fold}
(9)Nuh Uh.(1)Fast Times At The Detroit Public Schools Community District
Norman Shy, the Detroit Public Schools vendor who stole $ 3 million with the capable assistance of 12 DPS principals and one DPS administrator, has begun paying his court-ordered restitution. The Detroit Free Press reported today that the Detroit Public Schools Community District has received $ 1.5 million from Mr. Shy, out of the total $ 2.7 million in restitution U.S. District Court ordered Mr. Shy to pay in September 2016.
The problem here? Mr. Shy’s scam looted the pre bailout/bankruptcy Detroit Public School District, not the new Detroit Public Schools Community District. The new Detroit Public Schools Community District was created in July 2016, before Mr. Shy’s sentencing but well after his 13 year long scam concluded.
The legacy Detroit Public School District still exists as a ward of the State of Michigan to pay off more than $ 500 million in ‘operating debts’. Debts which, in part, are directly due to Mr. Shy’s scam and dozens of other thieves. Michigan taxpayers at large are paying down those debts of the legacy DPS District, and will be paying until 2025 – if not longer.
Mr. Shy’s restitution payments should be paid to the legacy DPS District, not the new DPSC District. Its not like Michigan taxpayers owe these monies to the new DPSCD. Michigan taxpayers fronted the DPSCD $ 617 million as part of the 2016 bailout/bankruptcy, and the new, ‘debt free’ district is now being financed just as generously as every other school district in Michigan.
$ 1.5 million is real money. Restitution should be directed to those financially damaged. In this case, it is the taxpayers of Michigan – not the new Detroit Public Schools Community District – who were looted by Mr. Shy.
Anyone still wonder why Michigan residents are so ill disposed towards Detroit and its very creative government accounting practices?
(10)Nuh Uh.(0)
