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Home Archives for liberty

5/26/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: Statewide Races, Higher Education

Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 28th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Guests for tonight's show are: Longtime GOP political consultant Patrick Davis to dissect the state of play in Colorado's major statewide races for 2010, as fields of Republicans seek to challenge Governor Bill Ritter and appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet Jessica Corry from the Independence Institute, to talk about the ongoing budget controversies at the University of Colorado and possibly the increasing attention on the drug legalization debate If you miss the live 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, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC, property rights Tagged With: 2010, appointed, attention, Bill Ritter, Blog Talk Radio, budget controversies, challenge, Colorado, debate, drug legalization, GOP, Governor, guests, increasing, Independence Institute, Jessica Corry, major, Michael Bennet, Patrick Davis, podcast, political consultant, Republicans, Rocky Mountain Alliance, sidebar, statewide races, tonight show, U.S. Senator, University of Colorado, widget

5/26/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

So-Called Credit Card “Reform: Congress Punishes Responsibility Again

Here's a great quick read to get you back into the routine following a long holiday weekend ... Ari Armstrong's Sunday guest column in the Colorado Daily makes a point I have seen seldom argued in the debate over so-called credit card reform -- namely, that Colorado U.S. Senator Mark Udall's bill protects the irresponsible and punishes the responsible. With those kind of incentives, the biggest surprise is that nearly 70 members of Congress actually voted against it. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: against, Ari Armstrong, biggest, bill, Colorado, Colorado Daily, Congress, credit card reform, debate, guest column, holiday weekend, incentives, irresponsible, long, Mark Udall, members, protects, punishes, quick read, responsible, routine, Sunday, surprise, U.S. Senator, voted

5/25/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Memorial Day: “Remembering”

Click here to watch a Complete Colorado video commemorating Memorial Day with a local flavor. Also, The National Moment of Remembrance recommends taking a special respectful moment of silence at 3 PM local time in honor of all the brave American servicemen and women who have fallen in wars past and present. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: American, brave, Complete Colorado, Memorial Day, moment of silence, National Moment of Remembrance, past, present, Remembering, servicemen, servicewomen, video, wars

5/25/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Memorial Day Reflections: Audie Murphy & A Moment for Silent Reflection

On this Memorial Day, I can't think to do any better than point you back to last year's remembrance:O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine. Today, pay your respects to a fallen soldier, sailor, airman, Marine - and to their loved ones still with us. And don’t forget to thank the troops you meet for their service to us all. Happy Memorial Day! Otherwise, I defer to this Saturday Wall Street Journal column by Peggy Noonan (H/T Steve Meyer) on the need to renew American fascination with the military hero. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, History, liberty, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: airman, Alvin York, America, America the Beautiful, Arlington Cemetery, Audie Murphy, audience, blogger, Business Executives for National Security, Chuck Boyd, column, defer, ephemera, fallen, fascination, father, government, grave, high schooler, last year, life, loved ones, lovely, Marine, Memorial Day, military hero, Mrs. Virtus, nation's capital, Oh, Peggy Noonan, plain GI headstone, podium, POW, psyche, public library, reflection, remembrance, renew, respectful, sailor, service, silence, soldier, thank, troops, veteran, Vietnam, Wall Street Journal, warriors, Washington DC, World War Two

5/22/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Big Labor Ramps Up Pro-EFCA Efforts with Biased Report, Religious Lobbyists

Update, 10:00 AM: Labor Pains' Justin Wilson has a more thorough refutation of Big Labor's new report here. In an effort to ramp up their efforts to pass the Employee Forced Choice Act (EFCA), Big Labor is touting a new report that suggests employers are rampantly breaking the law (PDF) during union organizing elections. The problem? The report's data all are based on interviews with union organizers -- hardly an unbiased source. But anything goes. While Big Labor appeals to EFCA apologists who need rational cover with impressive-sounding reports, it seems they also think they must appeal to the populist masses of religious believers. So they have sent clergy member lobbyists to Washington, DC, to insist that card-check legislation is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: advocacy, aligned, American, apologists, appeal, appointed, balance, believers, Big Labor, binding arbitration, breaking the law, card-check, chances, clergy member, coercion, Colorado, Democrat, deprive, economy, EFCA, efforts, elections, emerge, Employee Forced Choice Act, Employer Advantage, employers, expensive, George McGovern, God, Heritage Foundation, impressive-sounding, interviews, intimidation, jobs, labor law, legislation, liberal icon, lobbyists, mandatory, manufactured, masses, Michael Bennet, moral imperative, myth, nation's capital, new report, opposes, payouts, phenomenon, political desperation, populist, pro-union, procedures, protect, ramp up, rational cover, religious, Religious Left, secret ballot, skewing, social justice, source, stars, struggling, tactics, teetering, thousands, transparent, twin, U.S. Senator, unbiased, union, union organizers, union organizing, Washington DC, weak, weeks, workers, workplace

5/20/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Look at Both Gallup Polls: Republicans Have an Opportunity, If They’ll Take It

Two Gallup polls, released on the same day: Monday, May 18. Wildly different headlines. Part of a bigger story, but some can only seem to latch on to one or the other. Those who trumpeted the results of the survey showing across-the-board demographic losses for the Republican Party since 2001 (conducted from January to April of this year) might also want to note the results of the survey showing Republican-leaning support matching Democrat-leaning support for the first time in nearly four years. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: across the board, administration, advantage, Barack Obama, Big Government, bigger, blob, brand, business as usual, California, coalition, Congress, dealings, Deep Blue, Democrats, demographic, depth, different, election cycles, election time, fade away, fiscally conservative, gaffes, Gallup, generation, genuine alternative, George Bush, GOP, headlines, hint, interesting times, interpretation, irrelevance, leaning, losses, majority, majority status, Nancy Pelosi, opportunity, overwhelming, policies, politicians, polls, profligate, program, regain, rejection, Republican Party, results, serious, skirts, solutions-oriented, squandering, story, support, survey, tax-and-spend, voters

5/19/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Talking to Mike Rosen about the Boulder Teacher “Sickout” & Other Labor Issues

Feeling ill because of the teacher sickout in Boulder Valley School District? Another 269 teachers came down with the phantom cough today. Few things can drive people as crazy as trying to figure out the ins-and-outs of Colorado labor laws and policies, and how they apply to teachers and possible teacher strikes. So Mike Rosen had me on his show this morning (check May 19, 9 AM hour ... I come on during the second half of the hour) to give the lowdown and shed some more light on the goings-on in Boulder. If you're bored, or maybe sick at home with the blue flu, please take time to listen and let me know what you think. Thanks also to Complete Colorado for the kind link. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, liberty, My Life, PPC Tagged With: blue flu, Boulder Valley School District, Colorado, Complete Colorado, crazy, ill, kind, labor laws, link, listen, Mike Rosen, phantom cough, show, sickout, teacher, teacher strikes, this morning

5/19/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: Legislative Session, Rep. Kent Lambert

Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 27th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. We hope to dedicate this episode to a review of the good, the bad, and the ugly from the recently concluded legislative session in Denver. Our special guest will be Representative Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, vice chair of the Republican Study Committee of Colorado. If you miss the live 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, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Denver, episode, Kent Lambert, legislative session, podcast, representative, Republican Study Committee, Rocky Mountain Alliance, sidebar, vice-chair, widget

5/18/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Quote of the Day

Former state senate leader and former state treasurer Mark Hillman, in his column lambasting the arrogance behind Colorado Democrats' Senate Bill 291, which would strip away state education funds from school districts that opt to reinstitute taxpayer protections:This from the party that claims to do everything “for the children.” In reality, the Democrats do everything “for the government” and aren’t above using your children as hostages in their extortion racket. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: arrogance, Colorado, Democrats, education funds, extortion racket, for the children, for the government, former, leader, Mark Hillman, reinstitute, school districts, Senate Bill 291, state, state senate, state treasurer, taxpayer protections

5/18/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

If the Federal Debt Could Be Imagined as a Map of the United States…

Less than 3 minutes is all it takes for this excellent visual explanation of the rate of our mounting national debt (H/T Gene Kinsey): Brought to you by the same guy who cleverly explained Barack Obama's proposed spending "cuts" in terms of pennies and large containers of water. I hope he keeps these coming. For the record, I'm not comfortable with any rate of speed going westward at this point. Rather than drag-racing to Los Angeles, I'd be happy to see us hitchhiking back to the Big Apple (metaphorically speaking, that is). … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Barack Obama, Big Apple, comfortable, drag-racing, explanation, Gene Kinsey, hitchhiking, large containers, Los Angeles, metaphorically speaking, mounting, national debt, pennies, President, rate, speed, spending cuts, video, visual, water, westward, 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.

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