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Home 2008 Archives for October 2008

Archives for October 2008

10/31/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Yes, I Am “Uncle Charley”

I am the pseudonymous conservative gadfly blogger on a local education new site. At least that's what 9News would have you believe:Not everyone agrees. An online blogger named "Uncle Charley" has written several entries for Education News Colorado trying to get readers to think about the need before they act. One blog is entitled, "More Tough Questions on DPS Bond," which talks in part about the individual items that would be funded by this bond issue and series of property tax hikes have agreed to in Denver over the past two decades. "Uncle Charley" is actually the pseudonym for Ben DeGrow, with the Independence Institute, a non-partisan conservative political think tank. DeGrow says spending $13 million dollars on athletic fields … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, My Life Tagged With: 3A campaign, athletic fields, Ben DeGrow, blogger, Colorado Education Association, conservative blogger, current recession, Denver voters, Ed News Colorado, education site, identity, Independence Institute, largest school bond proposal, legitimate needs, line-item veto, North High School, pseudonym, student performance, tax increases, think tank, tiny splash, Uncle Charley, Ward Churchill, whole package, William Ayers

10/31/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Brandon Shaffer? Evie Hudak is the “Extraordinarily Partisan” Candidate

Laughable quote of the day from Democrat state senator Brandon Shaffer, as reported in Politicker:In state Senate District 19, Shaffer gave Democrat Evie Hudak the edge over Republican Libby Szabo, saying Szabo is "extraordinarily partisan." "Eventually, there's enough of a base there, enough unaffiliated voters who are looking for more of a collaborative approach to getting things done across party lines, that they'll come home to Evie," Shaffer said. More of a collaborative approach from Evie Hudak? The Evie Hudak who publicly stated "I support the entire Democratic party platform"? I guess one would have to be "extraordinarily partisan" himself to think that represents a "collaborative approach". Yes, I'm still laughing. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Brandon Shaffer, collaborative approach, Democrat, Democratic Party platform, Evie Hudak, extraordinarily partisan, laughable, Libby Szabo, party lines, questionable truth value, Republican, state senator, truth, unaffiliated voters, whopper

10/31/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Well-Heeled Union Lobbyists Flout Law to Oppose Ethical Standards

The Rocky Mountain News reports on a complaint filed yesterday by Amendment 49 supporters:Backers of Amendment 49, which would prohibit union dues from being deducted from public payrolls, have filed a complaint with the Colorado secretary of state alleging that an opposing group failed to disclose its intention to campaign against them. Instead, Coloradans For Middle Class Relief states in its registration with the secretary of state that it would campaign against Amendment 47, according to the complaint by Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute and author of Amendment 49. But Caldara said Coloradans For Middle Class Relief has sent out fliers on other ballot measures as well, including Amendments 49 and 54. The Denver … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 47, Amendment 49, campaign laws, Coloradans for Middle Class Relief, complaint, Denver Post, Ethical Standards, fair hearing, flout law, flyers, forgiveness, government collection service, illegal, Independence Institute, initiatives, issue committees, Jon Caldara, level playing field, no comment, political power, registered, right-to-work, Rocky Mountain News, Secretary of State, special interest group, supporters, truth, union dues, union lobbyists

10/31/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

Media is Getting Closer to Figuring Out Obama Online Donation Fraud

The media establishment is getting closer to covering the grossly negligent standards of the Barack Obama campaign's collection and processing of online donations: see this Washington Post story by Matthew Mosk from yesterday. Nevertheless, Powerline's Scott Johnson notes that the heart of the story continues to be missed:Yet Mosk's story yesterday is still lacking. It fails to observe that the McCain campaign's online donation screen contributors through the use of the basic Address Verification System. On the contary, it creates the false impression that the McCain campaign is party to the same modus operandi. Moreover, despite the implication of the Obama campaign's statement that it provides "extensive review" to donations … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: Address Verification System, Barack Obama, basic credit card security, Charlie the Anchor, contributions, donations, Federal Election Commission, foreign contributions, front-end screening, imaginary interview, John Galt, John Ronning, lax standards, legal loophole, limits, Mark Steyn, Matthew Mosk, media establishment, negligence, online donations, online fraud, Powerline, Scott Johnson, Washington Post

10/30/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Resisting the Temptation to Obsess over Political Polling Numbers

The always erudite Phil Mella reminds readers of "the problem with polls", and why it's better generally to ignore them during the give-and-take of a long campaign. I understand the point he's conveying, but no matter which side of the political spectrum you're on, it is awfully tempting to take a peek at the daily poll numbers and read more into them than is actually there. Maybe there's a treatment program for political junkies.... The good news is that in 5 days we'll have the only poll that counts, and we can go back to life as normal. (Or the new socialist utopia that's promised to us. Cough. Sorry.) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: campaign, Clear Commentary, daily poll numbers, Phil Mella, political spectrum, tempting

10/30/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Krista Kafer’s New Face The State Column Brings Needed Perspective

My Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR) classmate, sometimes Backbone America radio co-host, and Independence Institute senior fellow Krista Kafer debuted a weekly Face The State column today. Here's the timely conclusion of this first installment:Special interests that have much to gain from the demise of Amendments 47 and 49 are funneling millions of dollars into the election. Slick campaigns from candidates and groups lure voters with the promise to “Protect Colorado’s Future.” The advocacy groups, leftist candidates, and sadly, even the media, are banking on the public’s fears for the economy to turn the election in their favor. Unfortunately, conservatives and libertarians have had trouble articulating what’s at stake. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, My Life, National Politics, property rights Tagged With: advocacy groups, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Backbone America, Ben Franklin, conservatives, dark days, electorate, Face the State, fears, free stuff, freedom, Independence Institute, Krista Kafer, Leadership Program of the Rockies, leftist candidates, libertarians, media, Protect Colorado's Future, senior fellow, slick campaigns, special interests, warning, weekly column

10/30/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Sheriffs Debunk Lies about Law Enforcement against Amendment 49

Read and hear more about what the sheriffs had to say here. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Amendment 49, Colorado, debunk, Ethical Standards, law enforcement, lies, sheriffs, YouTube

10/30/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Believe “Nonsense” Against Colorado Amendment 49? “Don’t Be Stupid”

The Rocky Mountain News today provides the most systematic deconstruction of the grossly misleading, multi-million dollar Protect Colorado's Future campaign against 49:There's no obligation for political campaigns to be fair, let alone balanced, but there are times when messages go beyond the pale. Case in point: the advertising, largely bankrolled by labor unions, to defeat Amendment 49, the "ethical standards" initiative. Muzzle workers and endanger public safety? "In what way? The amendment doesn't say unions can't collect dues. It just says government can't collect dues for them." Threaten public employees' paychecks? "Nonsense." Silence small business? "Bizarre." Backed by multinational corporations? "What a joke." Or as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 49, bankrolled, Ethical Standards, grossly misleading, labor unions, multi-million dollar, political campaigns, Protect Colorado's Future, Rocky Mountain News, systematic deconstruction

10/30/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Front Range County Sheriffs Refute Campaign Lies against Amendment 49

Readers of this blog are now well familiar with the orchestrated deception by a group called Protect Colorado's Future (PCF) against Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative. In addition to numerous Colorado newspaper editorial boards, respected public figures like former U.S. Senator Hank Brown and former state treasurer Mark Hillman have refuted the lies. Many of PCF's false claims center around purported negative effects on the ability of law enforcement and public safety workers to do their jobs. Who better to refute the lies than respected law enforcement officials whose jurisdictions already have an Ethical Standards policy in place? In today's Denver Post, three Colorado county sheriffs took their turn at batting down the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Arapahoe County, audio, body armor, Boulder County, Boulder Daily Camera, county sheriffs, David Weaver, deceptive attacks, Denver Post, Douglas County, El Paso County, Ethical Standards, Hank Brown, Jeff Shaw, Jefferson County, John Cooke, law enforcement, letter, lies, Mark Hillman, modern equipment, multi-million dollar ad campaign, orchestrated deception, Protect Colorado's Future, public safety workers, refuted, Rocky Mountain News, Sheriff, similar theme, Ted Mink, Weld County

10/29/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Do You Think Maybe Political Yard Sign Theft Has Gotten Out of Hand?

(Face The State) Do you think maybe the sign stealing has gotten a bit out of hand? This kind of repeated vandalous behavior has all the trademarks of *union goon activity. Hey, union goons, don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about. Less than a week. Take a deep breath. It will all be over soon. (*Of course, there are fiends and idiots on all sides of the political spectrum who pilfer political signs off people's private property. But I come from Michigan. No one is as skilled and prolific at this sort of activity as the union goons.) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, property rights Tagged With: Face the State, fiends, idiots, Michigan, political spectrum, private property, thieves, union goon, vandals, yard signs

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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

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