Extremist environmentalists have won yet another victory for propagandizing our children in schools by forcing Scholastic Books to junk a proposed energy-themed classroom education packet that treated the subject in a more even handed mode in favor of a program that only pushes extremist enviro policies. Yes, once again, the hard-core, anti-capitalist left has won a victory to control what our kids are taught in our schools.
As we learn from Commentary Magazine, Scholastic’s energy program has been under attack from the far left for weeks. Mother Jones Magazine, The New …

By 2050, America is expected to have a “majority minority” population and every vote from now until then, we can expect minorities to account for a larger share of the voting population. This is not good news for the Republican party because black Americans vote for the Democratic Party 9-to-1 and Hispanic Americans lean to the Left at a 2-to-1 clip.

Sadly, the Republican Party is doing absolutely nothing to change any of those numbers. Instead, we’re doing the same thing we’ve done for decades, which is demanding that minorities reach out to the Republican Party instead of vice-versa. That tactic hasn’t worked so far and if it works in the future, it’ll be a miracle.

The Democrats certainly don’t do that. Liberals pay off left-wing groups like the NAACP, the Rainbow Coalition, La Raza, etc to show up in the community, push left-wing policies, and call Republicans racists. This has proven to work EXTREMELY WELL.

Yet, Republicans don’t want to do it. They say they hate identity politics and so, it runs counter to their principles. However, white Republicans generally won’t go on Hispanic radio. They won’t go into the black community. That’s because they know that no matter what they say, they’ll be called racist. Black Republicans don’t want to do it either because liberals hate and fear minority Republicans, so they heap abuse on them.

How do you get around this?

You pay black Republicans to do what the NAACP does and you pay Hispanic Republicans to do what La Raza does. You do that long enough and the GOP’s numbers start to go up with minorities. It works for the Democrats and it would work for the GOP, too. If Republicans want to change those ratios, if we want to get the share of the minority vote that we deserve, we’re going to have to play the only game in town that works. If we don’t, then socialism will probably win by default no matter what else we do.

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A tacit admission by the Detroit Free Press that the stimulus boondoggle was and is an utter failure: Editorial: State is stuck on a road to crumbling bridges, potholes. The editorial centers on this recent news that I posted on recently: Then what was the stimulus for? 1,400 MI bridges need fixing; spans rated 13th worst

Remember this shovel ready lie?:

Back to the freep editorial:

A new federal report ranks Michigan 13th worst in the nation in the number of bridges in poor conditions, with more than 13% of highway bridges ranked structurally deficient.

Michigan isn’t alone, of course. Nationwide, “The Fix We’re In For” report, recently released by Transportation for America, found one in nine U.S. bridges in poor condition. Even so, another near-bottom ranking in the condition of Michigan’s transportation system should become a call to action for state legislators and Gov. Rick Snyder.

Is this not a tacit admission that the stimulus bill billed as an infrastructure modernization effort was in fact a failure? Oh yes – yes it is. The freeps solution? More taxes of course:

In the short-term, the only adequate fix is to raise the state’s 19-cents-a-gallon gas tax, which last went up — by 4 cents a gallon — in 1997. Any such increase must include overdue parity between gas and diesel taxes. An increase in fuel taxes is not a long-term solution, but it would buy the state time to develop sustainable alternatives, including odometer fees.

As usual, the freep has a fever and the only prescription is more taxes.

Remember that the establishment MSM knew it was a lie and kept it to themselves (this is why the freep editorial is bereft of any reference to the stimulus bill), only revealing the truth more than a year later: Brooks: Obama Told Me “Shovel-Ready” Jobs Don’t Exist Last Year

But back to the freep’s suggestion that the Michigan gas tax be bumped up. From a recent post you get the idea that this is a recurring theme: Detroit Free Press again calls for raising gas tax, neglects to mention MI has 7th highest gas tax and it’s being siphoned to other priorities. The ongoing saga of the Michigan gas tax – or the double tax since gas is taxed twice in Michigan. The establishment MSM has many times come out in favor of a gas tax increase. Ironically, these same entities were in lockstep with the government in favor of higher fuel efficiency standards that as a goal has the decreased use of… gas. Less gas use, less taxes. And then they come out and want to raise taxes to compensate. I recall a story out of North Carolina where a water reservoir was decreasing in its level to where the local government was getting concerned. They asked residents to voluntarily restrict water usage, which they did. But after a while the revenue from taxes on water usage also decreased so they jacked up water taxes significantly to compensate. Government – if you think the problem is bad, just wait for their solutions!

In any case, less gas usage isn’t the problem here in Michigan. The siphoning of gas tax revenues is. I have written about this several times before, such as these two most recent posts:

• Detroit News again calls for raising gas tax, neglects to mention MI has 7th highest gas tax and it’s being siphoned to other priorities
• Detroit News blames falling gas tax revenue on lowered services, neglects to mention MI has 7th highest gas tax and it’s being siphoned to other priorities

Back in May, The Detroit Free Press was crying crocodile tears over losing federal money because gas tax revenues are coming up short (Detroit Free Press: You know what? Right now is like a totally awesome time to DOUBLE THE GAS TAX! Neglect the fact that gas tax revenues have been raided for years). What they willfully neglect to tell their readers is this: MI Lacks Gas Tax Revenue Because Gas Tax Proceeds Have Been Raided For Years. Now Stand To Lose Federal Matching Money. Wouldn’t stopping the diversions raise the necessary revenues for roads? You know – like stopping the diversion from road repair to mass transit subsidies? Or the diversion of the Michigan Transportation Fund to the Secretary of State? Or to other projects? Wouldn’t that help some? Or rooting out incompetence and corruption? Capitalist cronyism? How about scrap the prevailing wage boondoggle that keeps the cost of road projects high? Back in January of this year, when Democrats wanted to increase the gas tax, Jack McHugh had this on the subject: Gas Tax Hike Another Obstacle to Recovery

According to the American Petroleum Institute, Michigan now imposes the nation’s 7th highest state tax on gasoline, and the 13th highest tax on diesel. This is because in addition to a 19-cent per gasoline tax and 15-cent per gallon diesel tax, the state levies the 6 percent sales tax on fuel, plus a 0.875-cent per gallon tax that was originally imposed to clean up leaking underground fuel tanks, but was diverted to displace general fund money in the Department of Environmental Quality budget in one of the Legislature’s many “fund raids” in recent years.

The sales tax Michigan imposes on fuel does not go to road funding, but to general government spending, mostly for public schools. That’s why the state has one of the highest tax rates in the nation, while at the same time politicians, state transportation bureaucrats and road-builder special interests complain that Michigan will lose out on federal road money because we can’t come up with the required matching funds.

Under the proposed increase, Michigan would have the fourth highest tax on gasoline, behind only California, New York and Hawaii.

We don’t have a funding problem. We have a spending problem. We already are the state with the 7th highest gas tax. What do these editorial boards want, for MI to be #1? How is increasing the tax burden going to help the state’s economy? So here’s the simple solution to falling gas tax revenues: STOP SIPHONING THE MONEY!

UPDATE: Speaking of the freep’s tax mantra: Editorial: Be honest: Pay tax for online purchases. The honest taxpayer’s response: pass right to work and stop forcing taxpayers to fund the Democratic Party!

Cross-posted at theblogprof

It’s believed the President will not be going on vacation after staying up late on the budget Friday, butttttt… we don’t know that for sure.  It’s also not clear if Michelle will go without him, or  with the girls.  If … href="http://www.uncoverage.net/2011/04/is-michelle-antoinette-going-for-some-high-priced-shopping-in-williamsburg/">Continue reading class="meta-nav">→

Here is the Q&A of our AFDI/SIOA Ground Zero mosque event at CPAC (pictures here and videos here).

This is the segment where I made the remarks about CPAC and the Muslim Brotherhood ties that were picked up by Glenn Beck and the rabid left (minute 7:48 on the above video).

Below video is an excellent recap by Sally Regenhard on why the Ground Zero Mosque is a disgrace:

Full coverage of CPAC 2011: Ground Zero Mosque.

THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY

Sensitive to Feelings, Wal-Mart Drops store plan near Va. Civil War site Ground Zero Mosqueteers Bloomberg, NYC Council, Islamic Supremacists, Are you Listening?

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has abandoned plans to build a store near a hallowed Civil War site. Sharif El-Gamal, are you listening? That is what it means to be "American," to be decent and compassionate. Take a page, learn what it means to be human. Withdraw the Ground Zero mega-mosque.

We are holding a protest against the Ground Zero Islamic supremacist mosque on February 3rd at the NYC Council hearings downtown to ban Wal-Mart from NYC. Please join us at 49-51 CHAMBERS STREET at 12:45PM and fight this grotesque insult.

Christine Quinn and her quisling council are spitting on the New Yorkers they were elected to represent (87% of polled New Yorkers want Wal-Mart's jobs and cheap prices, and the majority of New Yorkers oppose a mega mosque on Ground Zero). Quinn has been very vocal in her support of the mega-mosque and fierce in her opposition to Wal-Mart (nuts). The NYC Council declared December 14th "Hate Wal-Mart day." Has the NYC Council declared "hate Jihad day" or "Hate Islamic Ethnic Cleasning Day" or "Hate the Islamic Slaughter of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs Day"? Hate Wal-Mart day — this is insanity. Please join us in this protest.

In an interesting turn in the Ground Zero mosquestroisty attack, Wal-Mart has withdrawn plans to build a store near a hallowed Civil War site. Ground Zero is the "nerve center" in the Islamic war on the West; the 15-story Mecca mosque on the Hudson should also be withdrawn, and NYC government should be working to that end, not to ban Wal-Mart from our citizens. The recent release of e-mails revealed a close relationship between Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office and the Islamic supremacist mega mosque, Cordoba. Ninety pages of e-mails going back to 2009 show that Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and his wife Daisy Khan relied heavily on Bloomberg and City Hall for help, support, advice and assistance as they moved forward to build a 15-story mega-mosque on Ground Zero.

Wal-Mart drops store plan near Va. Civil War site Yahoo news (hat tip Robert)

ORANGE, Va. – …. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. abandoned plans Wednesday to build a Supercenter near a hallowed Civil War site where Robert E. Lee first met Ulysses S. Grant on the field of battle in 1864.

Attorneys for the world's largest retailer announced the decision in court on the eve of a trial that would have put Pulitzer Prize winning historian James McPherson on the witness stand. He was to testify that a portion of the site 60 miles southwest of Washington, D.C., was a "nerve center" for the Battle of the Wilderness.

Wal-Mart, which had weathered two years of criticism by preservationists over the site, did not elaborate on its decision to withdraw plans for the store one day before the trial was to begin.

"We just felt it was the right thing to do," said William C. Wertz, a spokesman for the Arkansas retailer. He said the company would seek another location in Orange County and compensate the county for its expenses in defending its decision to approve the store.

[...]

Burt P. Flickinger III of Strategic Resource Group said it is rare for Wal-Mart to back away from a store once it has researched a location and settled on a site. [...]

"To the company's credit they decided to do something different," said Flickinger, who said he is a Wal-Mart shareholder.

While clearly surprised by the decision, preservationists celebrated the turnaround and said the decision signals their resolve to protect America's heritage.

"I hope this sends a message not only to Wal-Mart but to other developers that the preservation community is willing to fight for historic sites," said Robert Rosenbaum, an attorney for residents and the preservation group.

How about mega-mosque developers on hallowed ground?

"On the historic issues, we believe we would have won," he said.

The 143,000-square-foot store planned by the Bentonville, Ark.,-based retailer would have been outside the limits of the protected national park where the core battlefield is located. The company had argued the area was already dotted with retail locations and zoned for commercial use.

[...]The Battle of the Wilderness is viewed by historians as a critical point when the Civil War started to turn in favor of the North. The war ended 11 months later. An estimated 185,000 Union and Confederate troops fought over three days in the Wilderness, leaving 30,000 killed, injured or missing.

Hundreds of historians, including McPherson, filmmaker Ken Burns and celebrities such as Robert Duvall had appealed to Wal-Mart to walk away from the 50-acre property and find another place to build in the rural county of less than 35,000 people.

Where are the historians and filmmakers and celebrities appealing to Islamic supremacist developers? Hypocrites.

McPherson wrote in a summary of his testimony that Grant's headquarters and his senior leaders were encamped near the site of the proposed store and Union casualties were treated on the site or in an area destined to be a parking lot for the store.

"Among other things, thousands of wounded and dying soldiers occupied the then open fields that included the Walmart site, which is where many of the Union Army hospital tents were located during the battle," McPherson wrote.

Three thousand innocent civilians were slaughtered, jumped to their inevitable deaths. Few human remains were recovered; the people vaporized into dust.

Wal-Mart and county officials argued that no significant battles occurred on the site.

But opposition to the store was unrelenting from preservation groups, who supplied maps of troop movements and maneuvers in a region that is dotted with Civil War battlefields.

Yes, and our opposition will be relentless. We will not stop.

While preservation groups battled the store, residents and some county officials had welcomed the convenience of a Supercenter and the jobs and tax revenue it would have generated for the county.

Nobody welcomes the Ground Zero mosque except supremacists and their leftist apologists. Wal-Mart did the decent thing. The store was far removed from the actual site and still they withdrew the store.

The Ground Zero mosque is in a building that was part of the attack. It was destroyed in the Islamic attack on America, the largest, bloodiest attack on American soil. A mega-mosque there? How vile.