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Mount Virtus?

Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

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Colorado Ballot Reviews

Sometimes the choices are daunting or confusing, sometimes they're as clear as a Mile High view.

Writer / Editor For Hire

If I had five more writers just like him, I think my job would be the easiest in journalism....

9/26/2008 By Ben 5 Comments

Liveblogging the First Presidential Debate

… [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics, World Events

9/26/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

More Deception From Foes of Colorado Amendment 49, Amendment 54

In a campaign characterized by hypocrisy, deception, and cowardice, the opponents of Colorado's Amendment 47 (Right-to-Work), Amendment 49 (Ethical Standards), and Amendment 54 (Government Contracting Reform) are at it again. The People's Press Collective documents the latest misleading campaign flyer from Protect Colorado's Culture of Corruption Future, noting: "You won’t be surprised that they’re still abusing Colorado’s real heroes as puppets for their elaborate LIES." Indeed. At this point, I'm not sure how low the opponents of good government and worker freedom would have to go to take me by surprise. The campaign isn't over yet, though. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: abuse, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, campaign flyer, cowardice, Culture of Corruption, deception, Ethical Standards, good government, government contracting reform, heroes, hypocrisy, misleading, Peoples Press Collective, Protect Colorado's Future, right-to-work, surprise, worker freedom

9/25/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Cory Gardner Spearheads Grassroots Defense of Colorado Charter Schools

To his credit, State Rep. Cory Gardner is spearheading a grassroots effort to support public charter schools and the families they serve. Recently the Adams 12 school board unanimously decided to support legislation unfriendly to charter schools (see Resolution 1.3). Adams 12 effectively wants to beef up its own authority to deny charters, to limit parents' authority to appeal rejected charter school applications, and to undercut charter schools' already sub-par funding. But Cory Gardner (R-Yuma), a rising star in the GOP, took the initiative to craft a letter alerting charter school parents and supporters to the attack and urging them to get involved in the fight. In all, 17 Republican state representatives and 9 Republican state … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General Tagged With: Adams 12, Charter School Champion Award, children, Cory Gardner, Democrats, denial, funding, grassroots, legislation, Nancy Spence, parents, public charter schools, rejected applications, Republican Party, rising star, school board, state representatives, state senators, Yuma

9/25/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Volunteer Opportunities Abound for Colorado Republicans this Election

This presidential election year, more than any in recent history, is calling for Republican volunteers to get in the game here in Colorado. The race between John McCain-Sarah Palin on one hand and the not-so-dynamic duo of the Obamessiah and Slow Joe Biden on the other is calling you to get involved. There are a dozen Colorado "victory centers" - meaning, probably one very near you - where you can get involved. Maybe I'll see you on the trail this Saturday. Locations and contact information below the fold: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics

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

9/25/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

Passing Thoughts on “Bailout” Debate

Passing thoughts on the "bailout" debate.... John Hawkins at Right Wing News:If the history of government intervention in this country has taught us anything, it's that we should be much more afraid of the long term ramifications of the government rushing through an emergency "solution" to a problem than the actual problem the government is trying to "solve" in the first place. Agreed. In that spirit, the Heritage Foundation has an excellent piece urging Congress to live up to its "deliberative" role in this debate. Meanwhile, Rossputin has recanted his initial tentative support of the administration's $700 billion bailout plan, writing:[Federal Reserve Chairman Ben] Bernanke is warning us that doing nothing poses serious risks to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, property rights Tagged With: administration, bailout, Ben Bernanke, Congress, debate, deliberative role, emergency solution, Federal Reserve, government intervention, Heritage Foundation, insurance prices, John Hawkins, lawmakers, lender of last resort, market liquidity, market risk, moral hazard, Paulson Plan, price supports, recanted, Right Wing News, Rossputin, socialism, special interest goodies, taxpayer exposure, temporary, tentative support

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

9/24/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Romanoff & Kennedy: Saving TABOR’s Heart by Driving a Stake through It

I think Colorado's Democratic powerhouses behind Amendment 59 need to get on the same page. It was only last month that State Treasurer Cary Kennedy was overheard saying that Amendment 59 will "drive a stake in the heart" of the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. In yesterday's Denver Post, however, outgoing House Speaker Andrew Romanoff sought to argue that under Amendment 59 "'the heart' of TABOR — that all tax increases must have voter approval — would be preserved." Uncle Charley came to the valid conclusion:Romanoff and Kennedy need to talk to each other: How do you preserve TABOR’s heart after a stake has been driven through it? Exactly. Someone needs to cartoon this... If you're going to take away all future TABOR refunds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Amendment 59, Andrew Romanoff, cartoon, Cary Kennedy, Colorado, contradictions, Democrats, Denver Post, drive a stake in the heart, House Speaker, state treasurer, TABOR refunds, tax increases, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, Uncle Charley

9/23/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Slow Joe Biden, the Gaffe-Making Gift that Just Keeps On Giving

One month ago, when we learned Barack Obama had picked someone even more gaffe-prone than himself to be his running mate, I said: Let Joe Biden speak for himself! Last week the 3rd-most liberal U.S. Senator Biden basically announced his intention to lose western Pennsylvania by saying "no coal plants here in America": Then yesterday, the self-professed high-IQ Joe Biden declared his monumental historical illiteracy to Katie Couric: Jessie Walker on Reason.com had the best retort:And if you owned an experimental TV set in 1929, you would have seen him. And you would have said to yourself, "Who is that guy? What happened to President Hoover?" Maybe the next thing we'll learn is that Abraham Lincoln telephoned Ulysses S. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, History, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, British, Democrats, FDR, Great Depression, Herbert Hoover, high-IQ, historical illiteracy, Joe Biden, Katie Couric, liberal, no coal plants, surrender, television, U.S. Senator, Ulysses S. Grant, victory, western Pennsylvania, Yorktown

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

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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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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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Completing the Blogroll

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Christian Commentary et al.

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Other Sites

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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