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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

In Denver Area? Come to Feb 3 Event on Worst U.S. Supreme Court Rulings

Interested in a lively and informative presentation and discussion of some of the worst U.S. Supreme Court decisions in our history, and ideas for the federal judiciary to get back on a more Constitutional path? Are you still looking for something to do this Tuesday evening (February 3) and live in the Denver area? Well, here's an event for you. Institute for Justice president William "Chip" Mellor, one of the co-authors of the new book The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom will be speaking at the Independence Institute (directions here). Tomorrow evening's event starts with a 5:30 reception, followed by the program at 6:00. Go here to RSVP. I hope to see you there. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Health Care, Judiciary, National Politics, PPC, property rights Tagged With: Chip Mellor, co-author, Constitutional, decisions, Denver area, directions, Dirty Dozen, event, federal judiciary, freedom, government, History, Independence Institute, informative, Institute for Justice, lively, President, program, reception, RSVP, Tuesday, U.S. Supreme Court

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

How Deep is This Recession? Is It Really the Worst Crisis in 70 Years?

At American Thinker, Randall Hoven uses some firsthand research of federal statistics to turn down the volume on the alarm of economic "crisis". Hoven shows that while the current recession has not yet quite reached its peak, on several major measures it's not as bad as several others since World War Two:So simply going by averages, this recession should end this year, maybe even in this quarter or the next. If things go bad, or no worse than in the last 60 years, we might not pull out of it until late this year, with lousy employment figures lagging into 2010. By the way, none of the previous recessions was ended by the government spending a trillion dollars. Our current deficit is projected to be 7% of GDP or more. The deficit never … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: American Thinker, art, averages, crisis, current recession, deficit, economic, forecasting, GDP, government, Joshua Sharf, Labor, major measures, numbers, peak, Randall Hoven, Rossputin, science, statistics, trillion dollars, volume

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Residents in Wake of Latest RTD Expansion, See Property Rights Project

Denver's Regional Transportation District (RTD) says it needs to condemn 56 properties in northeast Denver for light-rail expansion. Maybe we can hope RTD has learned some lessons from arousing the ire of property owners on the west side of Denver. The stories of Daniel Gallegos, Kim Snyder, Galen Foster, and others should be instructive. But don't hold your breath. Residents who may be affected by RTD's latest expansion should empower themselves by checking out the resources provided by the Independence Institute's Property Rights Project. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, property rights, RTD, transportation Tagged With: breath, Daniel Gallegos, Denver, empower, Galen Foster, Independence Institute, instructive, Kim Snyder, lessons, light-rail expansion, northeast Denver, property owners, Property Rights Project, Regional Transportation District, resources

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

RMA Blog Talk Radio at 8:30: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Mike Saccone

Tune in starting at 8:30 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the 12th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio as we launch headlong into February 2009. Tonight's scheduled guests are Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, vice president of research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the Grand Junction Sentinel's ace political reporter and blogger Mike Saccone. Don't forget. If you miss the live broadcast of tonight’s show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, PPC, World Events Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, blogger, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, edition, February 2009, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Grand Junction Sentinel, Mike Saccone, Mount Virtus, podcast, political reporter, Rocky Mountain Alliance, scheduled guests

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Another Landmark Day for Colorado Citizens Fighting for Open Government

Today was another landmark day in the struggle for open, transparent government spending in Colorado. On CBS4 Denver, the Associated Press reports:About 30 people turned out at the state Capitol Tuesday to show their support for a bill from Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch, which originally would have required such reports to be posted monthly in a searchable database. [link added] A memorable line from the bill sponsor:"If you can't defend it, don't spend it," Harvey said, echoing one of the slogans on the signs at the group's rally. Where have I seen that phrase before? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life, PPC Tagged With: 19th century, 21st century, Associated Press, Aurora, average, bill, bowling, Carnival Cruise, CBS4 Denver, checkbooks, citizen activist, citizens, Colorado, common sense, credit card, cruise, debate, defensible, drinks, educating, expenses, faculty, farm towns, fix, fundraisers, if you can't defend it don't spend it, involved, Jeffco Public Schools, Ken Wyble, landmark day, legislation, letter, limited information, Lynn Setzer, miniature golf, money, Natalie Menten, online financial transparency, outings, rally, reports, Rocky Mountain News, school administrators, school system, search, searchable database, small villages, soda machines, spending, spending records, spokeswoman, Starbucks, State Capitol, stress headache, students, tax money, Ted Harvey, tickets, time, transparent government, vocational students, website

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Will Colorado Democrats Overreach on Sticking Taxpayers for Transportation?

As we discussed on last night's Blog Talk Radio show with the Grand Junction Sentinel's Mike Saccone (to listen to a recording, you can go to the sidebar or directly to the RMA page) - the fight over transportation dollars is the big story brewing at the State Capitol. Senate minority leader Josh Penry and the Republicans say their proposals haven't been taken seriously in negotiations and are willing to let the Democrats own measures like the unpopular interstate highway tolls and the controversial Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee. Reasonable compromise is part of lawmakers' job, but I hope that conservatives in the House demand a little more from Governor Bill Ritter and the majority Democrats. Namely, the legislature needs to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC, transportation Tagged With: big story, Bill Ritter, Blog Talk Radio, burden, Democrats, Governor, Grand Junction Sentinel, interstate highway, Josh Penry, majority, measures, Mike Saccone, minority leader, negotiations, overreach, prevailing wage, proposals, Republicans, Rocky Mountain Alliance, sources, State Capitol, taxpayers, tolls, transportation dollars, transportation needs, unpopular, Vehicle Miles Traveled, VMT fee

2/7/2026 By Ben 9 Comments

Rossputin Explains Why The Current Recession is So Uniquely Bad

A few days ago I raised the question based on a provocative American Thinker essay by Randall Hoven: How deep is this recession? Is it really the worst crisis in 70 years? I am not that well versed in - nor closely attuned to - macroeconomic data and the trends they indicate. Something seemed incomplete in the essay. So I'm glad to see that Rossputin has weighed in with a thoughtful and thorough response, disagreeing with Hoven. Whether you are more swayed by Hoven or Rossputin, Rossputin's conclusion is something we all should easily be able to agree with:The Democrats’ medicine will be worse than our current illness, and will turn what should have been a moderately annoying case of the fiscal flu into a devastating economic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: agree, American Thinker, Americans, aversion, conclusion, crisis, Democrats, devastating, disagree, economic pneumonia, encouraging news, essay, fiscal flu, incomplete, macroeconomic data, medicine, prescription, question, Randall Hoven, recession, Rossputin, thorough, thoughtful, toxic, trends, weighed in, well versed

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Democrats Working Hard to Become the Party of Toll Roads

Update, 8:50 PM: 19 Democrats voted for the taxes and tolls in the transportation bill. Lefties are in turmoil, with some angry that the Dems are responsible for passing a regressive tax. Yesterday I asked if Colorado Democrats would try to overreach in sticking taxpayers for state transportation costs. It didn't take long to see where the ruling party at the State Capitol stands. In a bizarre about-face, the Democrats decided to toss bipartisan compromise out the window to push a provision that would allow tolling on some of Colorado's busiest highways:Republicans and a handful of Democrats first voted to remove provisions allowing local authorities to toll existing roads. After a break in the debate, the bill sponsor and Democratic … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC, transportation Tagged With: about-face, bill sponsor, bipartisan, busiest highways, Colorado, compromise, costs, deal breaker, debate, Democrats, Grand Junction, introduced, Josh Penry, local authorities, overreach, Party, party-line vote, provision, push, Republicans, Senate Bill 108, senate minority leader, State Capitol, strategic decision, taxpayers, toll roads, tolling, transportation

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

My 2.5 Minutes on KOA’s Morning Show – Taxpayer-Friendly School Reform

Yesterday morning I made a hit-and-run appearance on Colorado's Morning News (850 KOA) to discuss a couple simple education reform ideas in the context of announced state budget cutbacks and the so-called federal "stimulus" bill. Thanks to producer Jason Borgmann, here's the audio: Not quite as delirious as I thought I sounded at 7:00 AM. Clearly, this wasn't the medium for going in-depth and really tackling subject matter, but I think I got a couple provocative points across. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Is This How John Sweeney Will Convince Michael Bennet to Kill the Secret Ballot?

Courtesy of Hot Air, a great video exposing the hypocrisy and dubious logic behind Big Labor's poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act: Of course, the removal of the secret ballot process from workplace elections only presents the more sensational half of the problems posed by this legislation. Costly binding arbitration makes up the other half. But if AFL-CIO president John Sweeney of all people can't tell you why the secret ballot should go (but liberal icon George McGovern can tell you why not), isn't the case rather clear cut? All eyes are on Colorado's newly-selected U.S. Senator Michael Bennet to see where he comes down on this issue. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Labor, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: AFL-CIO, Big Labor, binding arbitration, CASE, clear cut, Colorado, costly, dubious logic, Employee Free Choice Act, George McGovern, Hot Air, hypocrisy, John Sweeney, legislation, liberal icon, Michael Bennet, newly-selected, President, problems, secret ballot process, sensational, U.S. Senator, video, workplace elections, YouTube

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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
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Completing the Blogroll

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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