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Home Archives for 2008

Archives for 2008

5/20/2008 By Ben 3 Comments

Colorado Supreme Court: Unions Get a Pass from Electioneering Laws

Are Coloradans awakened yet to the union takeover of Colorado? On this site, I've covered Big Labor's controlling influence on the legislature (last year's House Bill 1072) and on Gov. Bill Ritter (union "partnership" executive order, anyone?). One that hasn't received as much play is the unions' controlling influence on the Colorado Supreme Court. What, you say? There's hardly any other way to explain the Court's 5-2 ruling yesterday that the teachers union is exempt from certain campaign finance restrictions in the state constitution. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor Tagged With: Allison Eid, Ben DeGrow, Big Labor, Bill Ritter, Colorado Education Association, Colorado Supreme Court, Democrats, Fort Collins Coloradoan, Nathan Coats, Paul Marrick, Poudre Education Association, Wayne Rutt

5/19/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Debunking Medicaid Job Creation Myth

Linda Gorman from the Independence Institute (where I work), in a recent posting on John Goodman's Health Policy Blog, highlights a myth from the advocacy group Families USA being cited as facts in the current health care policy debate:Medicaid spending, the group says, creates jobs. By their reasoning, a law diverting the entire GDP of the United States to the Medicaid program would leave the U.S. awash in jobs. By contrast, the group claims the Bush administration's efforts to rein-in Medicaid spending will leave tens of thousands of people unemployed. Gorman quickly picks apart the assertion in four points, using a little fact-checking and basic economic analysis. First:Roughly speaking, for every four jobs created by spending, five … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, National Politics Tagged With: Bush administration, Families USA, health care policy, Independence Institute, John Goodman, Linda Gorman, Medicaid

5/19/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

The Rocky Mountain Alliance is Back

The Rocky Mountain Alliance of Blogs is back, with a new look:Some of the original cast remain, strengthened by the fresh blood of some high-quality newcomers. The goal of the Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0 is to promote our shared conservative vision of limited and accountable government, freedom, and personal responsibility - in Colorado and in our nation, the result of the most brilliant and noble political experiment in human history. You also may have noticed the updated logo and running feed of latest posts from RMA 2.0 members on my sidebar. Experienced and consistent center-right Colorado bloggers with at least a passing interest in state or local issues who are willing to collaborate with others and improve their effectiveness are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: Rocky Mountain Alliance

5/18/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Starting the DNC Countdown

El Presidente has started the 100-day countdown to Denver's Democratic National Convention, wrapping it up with this teaser:We'll see just how many "amateurs" cover the DNC, providing alternate content--the stuff they won't show you on TV. If you have any interest in the DNC and the moonbattery it attracts, you simply ought to be making regular stops at Slapstick Politics and The Drunkablog. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics Tagged With: Democratic National Convention, Drunkablog, Slapstick Politics

5/16/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Scandal Surrounding Ritter Grows with Disappearance of Key Computer

From the Rocky Mountain News:A laptop owned by the former campaign manager that Gov. Bill Ritter publicly disowned has been reported stolen, raising unanswered questions about its contents. Ritter accused Greg Kolomitz on April 15 of writing himself and his company $83,250 worth of unauthorized checks. The governor also produced an audit finding Kolomitz improperly paid $217,164.56 in campaign bills with money donated for the Democratic governor's inauguration. Three days later, on April 18, Kolomitz reported to Denver police that his Dell laptop had been stolen from inside his locked Colfax Avenue political consulting firm, Solutions West, sometime between the afternoon of April 16 and the morning of April 18. "Unknown suspect(s) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, campaign finance violation, Greg Kolomitz, Rocky Mountain News, stolen computer

5/16/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Charity Golf Event to Aid Local Law Enforcement Families in Need

Do you live along Colorado's Front Range, want to contribute to a good cause, perhaps even enjoy playing a round of golf? Then please check out the Jefferson County Sheriff's Cup Golf Tournament, scheduled to take place on Monday, June 9, at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Golden. Proceeds go to support the Employee Assistance Fund to aid members of the Sheriff's Office who face serious financial need because of illness or death in their family. What a great cause - giving back to help those who sacrifice to protect and serve us in Jefferson County. A friend who is serving as a volunteer fund-raiser for the Tournament brought this to my attention, and I'm glad to help advertise for him. I not only have another friend who serves in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Labor, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: brother, charity, golf, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, law enforcement, Rolling Hills Country Club, Sheriff's Cup Golf Tournament

5/16/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Intellectual Ammunition for Colorado’s State and Local Candidates

Calling all Colorado candidates for state and county office! Want to catch up on your policy homework? The Independence Institute (where I work) is sponsoring an important event on June 11:Want your state legislative candidates to be intellectually well-armed for battle on the campaign trail? Then make sure he or she attends our candidates' briefing on Wednesday, June 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Independence Institute offices. We gather the state's leading free market experts on everything from TABOR, to transportation, to education, to property rights, to energy policy and more. Candidates will leave well-prepared to debate issues and field questions from friends and foes alike. This event is free of change and open to all state … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, property rights, Second Amendment Tagged With: candidates briefing, Education, Energy policy, grassroots organizing, Health Care, Independence Institute, property rights, Second Amendment, TABOR, transportation

5/15/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Iowahawk Parodies GOP Backsliding, Fred Embodies Conservative Hope

Earlier this evening I asked if the results of recent special elections had thrown enough cold water on Congressional Republicans to get them to wake up and return to their conservative senses. Well, the master satirist Iowahawk has painted the picture of the Congressional GOP's downfall better than I can with a series of letters from fictional Congressman Jerry Bristol. Check it out. The other good news to cheer up my day? Fred Thompson is back, with his inspirational and no-nonsense conservative commentary as a Townhall blogger (H/T Michelle Malkin). I was a loyal Fredhead for a couple months there, before the wheels came off his campaign. He wasn't destined to be President, but perhaps he'll do much better as an online conservative … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics Tagged With: Congressional Republicans, Fred Thompson, Iowahawk, Michelle Malkin, Townhall

5/15/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Enough Cold Water Splashed on the Face of the GOP in Congress?

There's a great editorial in the Wall Street Journal today:If there is such a thing as a useful election defeat, then Tuesday's Republican loss in a special House election in Mississippi would qualify. Maybe this thumping in a heretofore safe GOP seat will finally scare the Members straight, or at least less crooked. Followed by a reminder that many members of Congress need to figure out what it is they stand for:In the Mississippi race, the national GOP tried to link Democratic candidate Travis Childers to Barack Obama and Reverend Jeremiah Wright. One TV ad declared: "Travis Childers: He took Obama's endorsement over our conservative values." But Mr. Childers was well known as a cultural conservative who favors gun rights and opposes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, National Politics Tagged With: agenda, Barack Obama, Jeff Blanco, Jeremiah Wright, John McCain, Louisiana Conservative, Mississippi, reform, Republican Party, Wall Street Journal

5/14/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Ed is Watching

Why the cryptic title: Ed is Watching? It's the name of a new blog I've started contributing to as part of the Independence Institute's Education Policy Center. If you go there now, you'll already find posts up on charter schools, on Flunked: The Movie's Colorado debut, and on a new major school choice law in Georgia. From Jon Caldara's blog:Ed’s job is to keep an eye on, “… legislators, state officials, school boards, administrators, principals, teachers, and other people and groups that have an influence on public education in this great state.” So to get your daily education fix, check in with Ed and see what he has to say. Please stop by the site, bookmark it for regular visits, and tell all your friends! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Education, General, My Life Tagged With: blogging, Ed is Watching, Education Policy Center, Independence Institute, Jon Caldara

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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

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
  • My Baker’s Dozen of Top 2023 Reads
  • Common Learning Disabilities in Children
  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition

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  • American Thinker
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Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
  • Black Five
  • Blogs of War
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  • Flypaper
  • Fraters Libertas
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  • IMAO
  • Jay P. Greene
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Christian Commentary et al.

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Other Sites

  • Technorati
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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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  • View from a Height

To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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