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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Dr. Jay P. Greene, Blogger

It is my pleasure to share the following notice with my readers: Dr. Jay P. Greene, head of the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform and Manhattan Institute scholar, one of the sharpest minds in the world of education policy, has started a blog under his own name. In only a few days Jay already has provocative posts up on the proximity of teachers union headquarters to state capitols, comparisons of sexual misconduct data on male public school teachers vs. male Catholic priests, and more evidence of the myth on K-12 education spending. ( As he explains on the introduction page, all views expressed on the blog are his, and not necessarily those of the respective institutions for which he works.) I would invite you to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Education, General Tagged With: edublogging, Jay P. Greene, University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Blogger Protection Act of 2008

Over at Craig Sprout's Montana Politics site, Congressman Denny Rehberg explains why the Blogger Protection Act of 2008 is needed:Exempting Internet speech from FEC regulation was right thing to do, but the fight isn’t over. As easily as this rule was created in 2006, it can be removed by a new Administration. That’s why the Blogger Protection Act is necessary. It’s critical my House colleagues and I move quickly in making this protection permanent. This is something all bloggers can get behind, regardless of their political and philosophical orientation. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, National Politics Tagged With: Blogger Protection Act of 2008, Craig Sprout, Montana Politics, Rep. Denny Rehberg

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Harsanyi: Choice Key to Overcoming Union Obstacle to Dropout Problem

In today's Denver Post column, David Harsanyi brings attention to the new America's Promise Alliance (APA) report on the dropout "crisis." Knowing the report will fuel the cry for more money to solve the problem, Harsanyi explains:Teachers unions place culpability for education woes on a lack of funding and "cuts." This is a myth. Obviously, schools could always benefit from an infusion of cash but, in most of the failing systems, funding per pupil is at an all-time high. According to a study by the right-of-center Hoover Institution, in 1982 per-pupil spending was $5,930 and rose 60 percent by 2000 to $9,230 in inflation-adjusted dollars (in high-population districts, the number is far higher). In Utah, a recent school-reform … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, Labor Tagged With: America's Promise Alliance, David Harsanyi, Denver Post, dropout rate, Gov. Bill Ritter, school choice, teachers union

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

RTD vs. The American Dream

Via the Independence Institute's (disclosure: where I work) Property Rights multimedia page, here is the "East Denver Story" of Daniel Gallegos, whose family's property was confiscated by the Regional Transportation District (RTD) at well below fair market value: The video is also up at The Property Rights Project blog (along with links to Gallegos' speech and other key documents), at the Caldara blog, at the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Open Market blog, and at Rocky Mountain Right. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, property rights Tagged With: Competitive Enterprise Institute, Daniel Gallegos, Denver, Independence Institute, Open Market blog, Property Rights Project, Regional Transportation District, Rocky Mountain Right

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Setting the Record Straight

I saw this post from The Colorado Index earlier in the week. Busy at the time, I just shook my head and moved on. But when Rossputin - the subject of the post - brought it to my attention again, I decided it was worthy of a quick response. A watcher is entitled to his opinions and to the manner of delivering those opinions, but a couple factual corrections are in order: 1. A watcher wrote: "'Blogger Extraordinaire' Ross Kaminsky - the self promoter who admits he doesn't read conservative Colorado blogs...." Fact: The implication behind the use of "Blogger Extraordinaire," which was used twice in this post, was that it was a title Ross chose for himself. In fact, it was the Samsphere promoters who devised and used the label. To my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life Tagged With: dispute, facts, Rossputin, Samsphere, The Colorado Index

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Momentum for Joshua Sharf Campaign

Updates on Joshua Sharf's primary challenge to Rima Barakat Sinclair in House District 6 ... Rocky Mountain News editor Vince Carroll unpacks Barakat Sinclair's claims that she is a "centrist":You might wonder about our judgment, but you cannot doubt where Barakat Sinclair stands on the Israeli-Palestinian debate: with the hard-edged anti-Israel fringe. She has made too many similar claims regarding the Israelis' alleged policies of "systematic indiscriminate murder" to brush them off as an aberration. "Sinclair describes herself as a centrist," her campaign Web site tells us. Except on the one issue she cares most about, it seems. (H/T Michael at Best Destiny, who also issued his official endorsement of Joshua) Joshua's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Random and Miscellaneous, World Events Tagged With: Best Destiny, Israel, Joshua Sharf, Little Green Footballs, Rima Barakat Sinclair, Rocky Mountain News, View from a Height, Vince Carroll

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Blogger Exposes CNN Agenda Journalism on Penn State Campus

On the eve of the most crucialest of all crucial votes in this media-obsessed rollercoaster of a Democrat presidential showdown - also known as the Pennsylvania primary - I wanted to turn attention to a major example of in-your-face media bias provided in coverage of the event. Warner Todd Huston, someone I met at Samsphere Chicago, exposed the verbally abusive bias of CNN's Rick Sanchez on the Penn State University campus:CNN contacted students in several political clubs at Penn State to arrange for the interview and two weeks ago their cameras and crews arrived at the university to film the segment with the on-air personality. 21-year-old journalism student Chelsea Brown, though, was less than impressed by Sanchez’ bellicose … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, CNN, Hillary Clinton, media bias, Penn State University, Pennsylvania primary, Rick Sanchez, Warner Todd Huston

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Pueblo Chieftain: “We agree” with Clean Government Payroll Initiative

A ballot initiative proposed for the November 2008 Colorado ballot (and supported by the Independence Institute, where I work) has earned its third major newspaper endorsement, still more than six months out from the election. From the Pueblo Chieftain today:THE INDEPENDENCE Institute, a Golden-based think tank, is circulating petitions for a ballot initiative that would stop governmental agencies from collecting union dues from their employees. In 2001, then-Gov. Bill Owens signed an executive order that stopped the payroll deduction for unionized state employees. Soon after Bill Ritter’s election, the new governor issued a new executive order to resume the automatic deductions. Jon Caldera, president of Independence, says the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life Tagged With: ballot initiative, Colorado, Colorado Springs Gazette, ethical standards for public payroll, Independence Institute, Jon Caldara, Pueblo Chieftain, Rocky Mountain News

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Nope. Sorry.

I don't want to talk about the Detroit Tigers ... or the Colorado Rockies. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Baseball

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Formal Complaint Filed in Bill Ritter’s $300,000 Campaign Finance Violation

The Denver Post reports today the latest in Gov. Bill Ritter's campaign spending problems:The complaint, from Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, prompts the process for reviewing campaign-finance violations. Without the complaint, it is unclear whether the Secretary of State's Office could have begun a formal inquiry. "There are some very specific rules you've got to follow," Lambert said of campaign-finance laws. "This seemed to violate at least several of them and needs to be investigated further." Last week, Ritter, a Democrat, announced that his former campaign manager, Greg Kolomitz, wrongly used inaugural funds to pay off more than $200,000 in campaign debt and also overpaid himself by about $83,000. At the least, Bill … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: campaign finance violation, Denver Post, Gov. Bill Ritter, Rep. Kent Lambert

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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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Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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