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Home Archives for PPC

4/8/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Thanks to What?: Posing a Clear Litmus Test Between Left and Right

Blogging for the Heritage Foundation, Conn Carroll points readers to a clear litmus test between the Left and the Right. If you followed that link and said, "Hey, that's not a bad idea, why didn't I think of that?" -- it's pretty safe to say you're on the Left. On the other hand, if you laughed out loud and/or your stomach turned upon reading it, you must be on the Right. But here's my thought: If we're going to be showing our gratitude for painful certainties that show no sign of abating, why not a campaign to get people to say Thanks for this? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: abating, campaign, certainty, clear, Conn Carroll, death, gratitude, Heritage Foundation, laugh, Left, link, litmus test, Right, stomach, taxes, thanks, turned

4/8/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Is It Time to Step Up Advertising on Colorado Conservative Blogs?

Over at RedState, Erick Erickson makes a great point about rebuilding the conservative movement that can be applied to Colorado:In the past few years, SEIU, AFL-CIO, NEA, DCCC, and a host of other left-wing organizations have been buying ads on left of center blogs keeping those blogs going — allowing the bloggers on the left some financial incentive to keep blogging for the left.... In addition to all of that, you’ve got the Soros gang and SEIU engaging in a host of left-wing activities online that recruit and fund online writers — bloggers, journalists, etc.... Every day in Washington, there is some right-wing group somewhere bemoaning the efforts of the right online. Sadly, for them and the rest of the right, their first … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, Labor, liberty, My Life, PPC Tagged With: advertisers, bloggers, businesses, Colorado, conservative movement, Erick Erickson, existing talent, George Soros, great point, ineffectiveness, journalists, labor unions, left-wing organizations, members, modest rate, operators, owners, Peoples Press Collective, rebuilding, RedState, Rocky Mountain Alliance, SEIU, take heed

4/8/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

RMA Blog Talk Radio Solo Hosting Stint: Helpful and Humorous Links

Last night I was honored to host Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio by myself. I was blessed to have three great conversations - including an update on the Fort Collins city council elections with Randy Ketner, a discussion on a range of fiscal issues with prospective state treasurer candidate J.J. Ament, and 12 minutes with my wife and Independence Institute colleague, the lovely Mrs. Virtus, to talk about parental rights and homeschooling freedoms. A rank amateur flying solo by the seat of my pants, I filled in the rest of the time with a monologue referencing several stories. Here are the links for anyone who is interested: Vince Carroll's excellent "Blowing the lid off TABOR" column in yesterday's Denver Post -- which Ament … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: adoptable, apostates, apostles, Arne Duncan, Blog Talk Radio, BYU, candidate, city council, colleague, column, Complete Colorado, conversations, Denver Post, Education News Colorado, Education Secretary, elections, flying solo, Fort Collins, freedoms, great sources, homeschooling, Independence Institute, J.J. Ament, links, lovely, monologue, Mrs. Virtus, parental rights, PETA, pets, photo caption, podcast, Randy Ketner, rank amateur, Rocky Mountain Alliance, state treasurer, stint, student newspaper, TABOR, Vince Carroll, vouchers, Washington DC, wife

4/7/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: State Treasurer Candidate J.J. Ament

Tune in tonight at 8:30 PM local Mountain time for the 21st edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio, go check it out. Our confirmed guest for this week is J.J. Ament, to discuss a potential run for state treasurer. We also may have someone else to discuss goings-on at the State Capitol. And perhaps there will be time to check returns from today's heated Fort Collins city council election. 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, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, candidate, city council, election, Fort Collins, guest, J.J. Ament, returns, Rocky Mountain Alliance, State Capitol, state treasurer

4/6/2009 By Ryan Leave a Comment

How Much is a Trillion?

To put a trillion dollars into perspective, I decided to do a little imagining.  Just suppose that you could use a 53-foot semi-trailer to represent 1 million dollars.  One million dollars won't fill a trailer, but every time you see one, you know it stands for a million dollars. Now, imagine driving 12 hours per day on a road trip past a solid row of 53-foot semi trailers.  This row of trailers represents 1 trillion dollars, with 1 million dollars in each trailer.  Here are your approximate trip stats (based on this route and driving time): 10,000 Miles of semi trailers 3.74 Rows of trailers from LA to DC 146 Hours to drive up and down the rows 12 Days for a road trip (driving 12-hour days) up and down the rows Now that's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous

4/5/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Strange But True: Bernie Buescher Lectures Protesters on “Good Policy”

Update, 4/6: A Rocky Mountain Right diarist from Ouray isn't too happy with the Governor's cancellation. What a bummer when you show up to protest someone, and they aren't able to make it in person. Such apparently was the case this weekend in Grand Junction, when inclement weather prevented Governor Bill Ritter from being welcomed by more than 50 Coloradans "totally disgusted" about the negative impacts of his various tax policies and newly-approved oil and gas rules. The interesting tidbit came from local news station KJCT, which reported that Secretary of State (and Western Slope native) Bernie Buescher showed up to take the slings and arrows in Ritter's place:He says the Governor recognizes this is a difficult time and it's time … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: appointment, arrogant, arrows, be quiet, Bernie Buescher, Bill Ritter, blind spot, bummer, CASE, Coloradans, Colorado, comment, common ground, current position, Democratic Party, elected, Face the State, go home, governing, Governor, Grand Junction, Grand Junction Sentinel, in person, inclement weather, interesting, KJCT, levers of power, local, majority, native, negative impacts, news station, obvious, oiil and gas rules, partisan bickering, penchant, protest, protesters, Secretary of State, slings, smug, startling, strong words, tax policies, taxpayers, tidbit, totally disgusted, tough issues, weekend, welcomed, Western Slope

4/3/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

What Kind of Online State Spending Database Will Colorado Get?

Update, 4/4: The editors of the Denver Post agree with my commonsense observation, saying "We would prefer to see Ritter's project hew more to the kind of details espoused in the legislative proposal." What kind of online state spending database are Coloradans going to get if they are going to hope to keep an eye on state government and help find cost efficiencies to save us all money? This is the question of the hour, after Governor Bill Ritter's weak executive order came out yesterday. We're also learning that the Governor is working to kill bipartisan House Bill 1288, which would provide the real detail that is lacking from his watered-down order. The highly impressive new State Representative B.J. Nikkel is the sponsor of HB … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: advocates, Americans for Tax Reform, B.J. Nikkel, Bill Ritter, Coloradans, cost efficiencies, credit, current course, database, Democrats, good legislation, Governor, highly impressive, hour, House Bill 1288, interests, issue, keep an eye, kill, lacking, limelight, members, memo, money, National Taxpayers Union, online, opposing party, plaudits, playing games, pointless, protects, question, real detail, Republicans, save, share, state government, state representative, state spending, steal, taxpayers, toothless tiger, Transparency, weak executive order, yesterday

4/3/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Counting Down

Only 33 days until the Colorado General Assembly adjourns. That's 33 more days to hold onto your wallets. Hang in there with me. … [Read more...]

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

4/2/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Democrats: Governing Themselves Out of the Majority?

Are the Democrats at the State Capitol trying to govern themselves out of the majority? They sure are making it easier for the GOP - with a string of shenanigans and assorted bad ideas just from the past several days: From slamming the door on school spending transparency To ignoring critical scholarly arguments in order to push through a nakedly partisan ploy to weaken Colorado's political influence and undermine the Electoral College To cravenly moving a vote while a Republican lawmaker was out of town (aiding a relative with Alzheimer's) - all to pass a constitutionally dubious bill that grants in-state tuition to illegal aliens To talking out loud about exploiting a partisan, anti-taxpayer state supreme court ruling to repeal some … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, liberty, PPC Tagged With: 2010, Alzheimer's, anti-taxpayer, bad ideas, Colorado, comprehensive list, constitutionally dubious, Democrats, electoral college, exemptions, exploiting, GOP, govern, illegal aliens, in-state tuition, lawmaker, majority, partisan ploy, policy outcomes, political influence, power, recessionary strain, Republicans, ruling, scholarly arguments, school spending, severe, shenanigans, State Capitol, supreme court, tax credits, Transparency, vote, weaken

4/2/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Hundreds of Iowa Taxpayers Kicked Out of Capitol: Is Colorado Watching?

Update: Here is a better link to Tax Day Tea Party information for all of Colorado. (H/T to Amy Oliver for this story) "Hundreds of Iowans" showed up at the State Capitol in Des Moines to protest a tax on a tax, and ended up getting forcibly ejected by the House Speaker. I've heard of "Iowa stubborn", but not "Iowa rowdy". Not exactly Howard Beale - but a pretty amazing display of organized populist outrage nonetheless. Maybe Colorado pro-liberty grassroots organizers could find something to learn from Iowans for Tax Relief. If you're a Colorado taxpayer not used to these sorts of things but are interested in getting involved, the Denver Tax Day Tea Party on April 15 is a good place to start. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: amazing display, Colorado, Denver, Des Moines, grassroots, House Speaker, Howard Beale, involved, Iowa rowdy, Iowa stubborn, Iowans, Iowans for Tax Relief, populist outrage, pro-liberty, protest, State Capitol, Tax Day Tea Party, taxes, taxpayer

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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

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