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Home Archives for clean government

9/25/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Financial Transparency Moving Forward to Reform Colorado Government

A timeout during the heated election to write: If there's one issue showing true bipartisan momentum in the interest of the public good, it's financial transparency in government. Expect the issue to be up front during Colorado's 2009 legislative session. For now, you can read a Denver Post op-ed co-authored by my Independence Institute colleagues Amy Oliver and Stephanie Kubala. Check it out, and see where the transparency issue has taken hold already, and what promise it holds for Colorado. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Amy Oliver, bipartisan, Colorado, Denver Post, election season, financial transparency, government, Independence Institute, issue, legislative session, op-ed, Stephanie Kubala, timeout

9/24/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Average Colorado Springs Voters Reject Anti-Amendment 49 Deception

What do people think of the deceptive Protect Colorado's Culture of Corruption Future ads against Amendment 47 (Right-to-Work), Amendment 49 (Ethical Standards), and Amendment 54 (Government Contracting Reform), when a few pertinent facts are included with them? KRDO in Colorado Springs bothered to ask the man on the street (follow the link for video):"There's nothing exactly covering union dues, union this or union anything," says Colorado Springs voter Todd Landsborough. "You know what's interesting, is this thing right here, you can put that in the garbage can. I mean it's totally misleading."... "I'll probably go online and write them a letter, ‘I think you guys are phony as hell,'" says [Colorado Springs voter Andy] … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, average voter, Colorado Springs, deception, Ethical Standards, facts, government contract, KRDO, man on the street, Protect Colorado's Future, reaction, right-to-work, video

9/23/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

The Need for Journalistic Remediation on Colorado Amendment 49

Channel 7 reports that Gov. Bill Ritter has turned down an offer from Jon Caldara to withdraw Amendment 49 from the Colorado ballot in exchange for Ritter revoking his executive order that unionized state government:Jon Caldara, head of the Independence Institute, a conservative think tank, said he also wants Ritter's word to oppose any effort to pass a paycheck deduction into law. Not exactly, at least if you read the letter Caldara sent to Ritter yesterday:...These same opponents have been champions of your Executive Order D 028 07, which drastically reshaped labor relations by introducing collective bargaining to state government. I therefore propose withdrawing Amendment 49 from the statewide ballot, contingent upon your repeal of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Bill Owens, Bill Ritter, blogger, Bridget Johnson, Channel 7, clarification, Collective Bargaining, Colorado ballot, confusing, correction, Denver Post, egregious, error, Ethical Standards, Executive Order, headline, headline writer, inaccurate, Independence Institute, initiative, Jon Caldara, letter, misleading, monopoly representation, MSM, offer, paycheck deduction, paycheck protection, reporter, right-to-work, Rocky Mountain News, state government, think tank, unionization, unwanted union representation, wages, withdraw, working conditions

9/22/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Sorry, David: Even the Strongest Case Against Amendment 49 is Very Weak

Rank liberal blogger David Thielen among the confused and misinformed about Amendment 49. Now David and I have a cordial relationship, so the misinformation and illogic in his attack on Amendment 49 deserve a cordial response. First, though, I have to say David did the most admirable job I have yet seen in trying to argue against the Ethical Standards Initiative. His case is miles ahead of the deception and hypocrisy in the well-heeled opposition Protect Colorado's Culture of Corruption Future. Nevertheless, David still comes up short. His primary problem is rooted in the fact that he thinks Amendment 49 somehow will affect the Colorado Labor Peace Act. Simply put, it doesn't. (Read the ballot language for yourself.) Even so, David … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 49, assumptions, attack, automatic payroll deduction, Best Destiny, Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Colorado voters, confused, cordial, David Thielen, deception, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, dues collection, endorsements, Ethical Standards initiative, hypocrisy, illogic, Labor Peace Act, labor unions, liberal blogger, liberal fallacy, lobbying organizations, membership, middleman, misinformation, motives, political groups, professional associations, Protect Colorado's Future, Public employee unions, public school employee, representation, well-heeled opposition

9/22/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter, Labor Leaders Prepare to Subject Coloradans’ Votes to Blackmail

With the aid of Governor Bill Ritter, the labor leaders behind Protect Colorado's Culture of Corruption Future - the group with a rap sheet of deception, hypocrisy, and avoidance of public debates - are preparing to practice extortion, subjecting the votes of the people of Colorado to blackmail:Business and labor leaders planned to meet Tuesday night to discuss a compromise in which four contentious union-backed measures would be pulled from the state's November ballot, according to sources. Labor, in return, would receive financial support from businesses to fight a union-restricting measure. It's the last sentence that is key. What labor leaders are doing goes beyond the simple give-and-take of negotiation. They are demanding money … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 49, audio, bad principle, Bill Owens, Bill Ritter, blackmail, business leaders, Colorado, compromise, deception, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, economy-busting initiatives, Ethical Standards Now, extortion, forced extraction, hypocrisy, Independence Institute, Jon Caldara, KOA, labor leaders, negotiation, political money, private sector, Protect Colorado's Future, public debates, rap sheet, underhanded activities, votes

9/22/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Mark Udall’s “Sweatshop” Connection

With the recent story of Boulder liberal Mark Udall refusing to return contributions from admitted tax cheat (and fellow Democratic Congressman) Charlie Rangel, the list of dirty money flowing into the Udall campaign continues to grow. Wait, but there's more. Over at Schaffer v Udall, I unearthed Udall's "sweatshop" connection. Yes, it looks very much like retired "sweatshop" owner Susie Tompkins-Buell organized a $50,000 San Francisco fundraiser for Udall in 2007. Charlie Rangel. Norman Hsu. Jack Abramoff. Susie Tompkins-Buell. All giving money to and/or organizing fundraisers for the Mark Udall campaign. Nearly all of the money kept by Udall. Reporters need to ask some hard questions, like should he at least consider returning the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: "sweatshop" connection, Boulder liberal, Charlie Rangel, Democratic Congressman, dirty money, Jack Abramoff, Mark Udall, Norman Hsu, reporters, San Francisco fundraiser, Schaffer v Udall, Susie Tompkins-Buell, tax cheat, Udall campaign

9/21/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Protect Colorado’s Future Afraid to Publicly Defend Its Hypocrisy and Lies

Protect Colorado's Culture of Corruption Future has sought to oppose Amendment 47 (Right-to-Work), Amendment 49 (Ethical Standards), and Amendment 54 (Government Contracting Reform) with hypocritical attacks; sleazy, deceptive TV ads; more sleazy, deceptive TV ads; sleazy, deceptive mailers; and dishonest fabrications at "educational" forums. Now Face The State reports that Jess Knox, the spokesman for Protect Colorado's Future, is afraid to debate at least two of the issues (Amendments 47 and 49) in public. Hmmm, I wonder why? You figure it out. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: "Educational" forums, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, deceptive, dishonesty, Ethical Standards, fabrications, Face the State, government contracting reform, hypocrisy, Jess Knox, lies, mailers, Protect Colorado's Future, right-to-work, sleazy, spokesman, television ads

9/19/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Teachers Union Spreads Fear and Disinformation about Amendment 47

Michael at Best Destiny, a Jefferson County teacher by day, writes:Yesterday, the union representative at one of my schools came back from a district-wide meeting in breathless distress over this year's ballot. She said that, based on what was told to her in her meeting, there was the potential that the passage of Amendment 47 could mean the "end of teacher representation, and the school district would no longer have to follow any rules about how they ordered you to spend your time." She even went so far as to say that the passage of 47 would be more devastating for schools than the failure of either the Mill Levy increase or of the Bond election. Another anecdote that shows the teachers union - in this case, the Jefferson County … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, American Idol, ballot initiative, Best Destiny, Blue Book, deception, Democrat, disinformation, district-wide meeting, Evie Hudak, facts, fear-mongering, hair loss, independent thought, infertility, JCEA leaders, Jefferson County, Jefferson County Education Association, labor organization, Michael, my union said so, National Education Association, nonsense, party platform, Political contributions, Protect Colorado's Future, public educators, right-to-work, sad commentary, school, state senate candidate, teacher, teachers union, think for themselves, union dues, union representative

9/17/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

More Lies Attacking Colorado’s Amendment 47, Amendment 54

Face The State has a great story on a forum hosted by Lefty non-profit groups to "educate" about various initiatives on Colorado's fall ballot. As reported, a spokesman for the well-heeled group Protect Colorado's Future lied directly to the audience about two initiatives his group opposes. First, he deceived attendees about the effects of Amendment 47, the Right-to-Work initiative:“In places where they’ve been successful in passing these laws in other states, there is data that has shown workers make about $5,000 less per year and infant mortality is actually 21 percent higher,” said [spokesman Daniel] Klawitter on Amendment 47, the right-to-work measure. But Kelley Harp, spokesman for the Amendment 47 campaign, questioned … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: "educational" forum, Amendment 47, Amendment 54, ballot initatives, campaign contributions, Daniel Klawitter, deception, earnings, economic development, economic growth, employment, Face the State, government contractors, infant mortality, Kelley Harp, Lefty non-profit groups, lies, no-bid contracts, political campaigns, Protect Colorado's Future, right-to-work

9/17/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Mass Deception in Attacks Against Amendment 49, Amendment 54

This morning Mike Rosen, Colorado's leading radio talk show host, called out the group "Protect Colorado's Future" for deceptive ads run against Amendment 47, Amendment 49, and Amendment 54 on Colorado's ballot this fall. Here's the transcript:CALLER: A fairly deceptive ad running on TV. I've seen it a number of times recently. It's a fireman from Littleton, and the background is sort of set against a real sympathetic figure fighting fires, been doing this for 14 years and, you know, I'm in the same league with nurses, and teachers, and policemen, and all that, and vote against these "deceptive" amendments 47, 49, and 54. He never, they never come right out and say what these amendments are obviously, but - ROSEN: It's a clever tactic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, audio clip, bundling money, clean government, Colorado ballot, deceptive ad, deceptive attacks, Ethical Standards Now, firefighters union, fireman, hollow case, hypocrisy, Littleton, lobbying groups, mass deception, Mike Rosen, nurses, police union, policemen, Protect Colorado's Future, public payroll systems, radio talk show, reforms, right-to-work, special interests, sympathetic figure, teachers, ugly playbook, Unions, workers' rights

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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.

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