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Home Archives for common sense

4/17/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

A Chance for Denver Tax Day Tea Party Protestors to Clarify the Record

Update, 9:40 AM: Rossputin has a more thorough and comprehensive debunking of the ProgressNow nonsense. It's simply a must-read. Also, Joshua explains the "astroturfing" myth and why the Left is pushing it. Here's a shock: the local Soros-funded Lefty media hack is completely misrepresenting the Tax Day Tea Party here in Denver and as a nationwide movement. What else would you expect? Mike Huttner has to earn his keep from the sugar daddy somehow. The vapid silliness coming from ProgressNow includes: Selectively finding the few offensive signs of the common sense-challenged out of thousands to paint the crowd with a broad brush of ignorance and hatred (here's a video that helps give lie to this tactic) Parroting discredited CNN … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: astroturf, clarification, CNN, common sense, corporate, courteous, Denver, George Soros, grassroots, hatred, ignorance, Lefty, media hack, Mike Huttner, misrepresenting, movement, nationwide, offensive signs, partisan attack, Peoples Press Collective, press release, ProgressNow, public figure, response, silliness, spoke, stereotype, sugar daddy, talking points, Tax Day Tea Party, transparent, vapid, video

3/16/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Undeterred by Plain Reading of Constitution, State Supremes Stick It to Colorado Taxpayers

Update, 3/17: Law student Constructively Reasonable says the decision is a cause for "outrage". A watcher says Colorado may not as well even have a constitution. The Colorado Supreme Court has done it again, showing its disdain for taxpayer protections in the state constitution. From the majority opinion:When it issued its declaratory judgment order, the district court did not have the benefit of our recent decision in Barber v. Ritter, 196 P.3d 238 (Colo. 2008), in which we held that a statute challenged under article X, section 20 must be proven to be unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court erroneously held that the relevant test of SB 07-199s constitutionality came from the interpretive guideline included in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Judiciary, PPC, property rights Tagged With: 49 states, Allison Eid, arbitrary rule, Ari Armstrong, boss, campaign issue, Cary Kennedy, clairvoyance, Colorado Supreme Court, common sense, compelling case, conservatives, constitutional sanity, constitutionality, Cory Gardner, Democrat, Denver Post, dissenting voice, downgrading, faith, fiscal restraint, forthcoming, full retreat, government, Governor, Grand Junction Jon Caldara, higher threshold, inescapable, Josh Penry, just, justice system, kudos, law, legal arena, libertarian, life support, local elections, local tax revenues, loyalist, most partisan, observation, offense, other ideas, partisan interests, plain reading, realization, reasonable, Republicans, SB 07-199, school districts, senate minority leader, simpler, state constitution, state house, state legal system, state of Colorado, state representative, state senate, state treasurer, tactical idea, tax dollars, tax policy change, tax revenue gain, taxpayer protections, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, The Colorado Index, violated, voter permission, weigh in, writer

2/26/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Tell Congress to Read the Bill: Why Not Sign the Online Petition Today?

Transparency (or the lack thereof) is the name of the game these days. After the Generational Theft Act got shoved down our throats in such a hurry - with Congress having a matter of only a few hours to read the mammoth bill - supporting this idea is the most basic sort of common sense we can ask for in our representative form of government. So go ahead and sign the online petition at Read the Bill, a very simple process that will take you one minute or less (H/T Soren Dayton). Why? The Democrats in charge of Congress don't want you to do it It might help the Republicans find a backbone and champion real reform on the issue It's the right thing to do For more on the government transparency movement (at least in Colorado), visit … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, My Life, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: backbone, champion, common sense, Congress, Democrats, Generational Theft Act, government, issue, mammoth bill, name of the game, Read the Bill, real reform, representative, Republicans, right thing, Soren Dayton, supporting, Transparency

2/3/2009 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

1/10/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Introducing Senator Kevin Lundberg

It's official. Colorado's newest state senator is Kevin Lundberg. A press release from the senate minority office earlier this afternoon confirmed the story:Larimer County Republican House Representative Kevin Lundberg has been appointed as the newest Larimer County State Senator. Lundberg was appointed after an election by the Senate District 15 vacancy committee. “I was greatly encouraged to have support from such a large majority of the committee. I intend to continue to represent Larimer County in the Senate as I did in the House,” Lundberg said. “We have a tough job ahead of us, and I can’t wait to get started working on solutions that help Coloradans during these tough economic times.” Lundberg will fill the seat … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: challenging times, Colorado, common sense, conservative, constituents, fiscal conservative, good news, Grand Junction, Greg Brophy, Jefferson County, Josh Penry, Kevin Lundberg, Larimer County, majority, Mike Kopp, press release, principled legislator, Republican, Senate District 15, state senator, Steve Johnson, vacancy committee

1/7/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Self-Delusion or Subtlety Behind Bill Ritter’s Assessment of Michael Bennet?

As we chatted about on last night's Blog Talk Radio program, the fallout from Bill Ritter's appointment of Michael Bennet to the U.S. Senate continues. Liberal angst on behalf of the spurned former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff continues to grow. The latest is Susan Barnes-Gelt's column "What Was Ritter Thinking?" in the Denver Post:Bennet's decade-plus resume, elite pedigree and acute intelligence may confer gravitas-lite. However, his utter lack of legislative experience, political/elected bona fides and thorough knowledge of the state, its issues and character cast doubt on the governor's judgment. What does it say about our state's chief executive that he passed over an equally young, talented, out-of-the-box reformer who boasts an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Barack Obama, Bill Ritter, Blog Talk Radio, chief executive, City Club of Denver, Colorado, common sense, complicating, conventional wisdom, Democrats, Denver Daily News, Denver Post, Ed Perlmutter, experience, Governor, gravitas-lite, ideology, independent, John Hickenlooper, Joshua Sharf, liberal angst, loyalty, mastermind, memo, mesh, Michael Bennet, passed over, political future, political target, President-elect, promise broken, reformer, rumors, Secretary of State, self-delusion, self-interest, situation, State Capitol, Susan Barnes-Gelt, team player, U.S. Senate

12/12/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Chesser Gives Climate Change Alarmism a Well-Deserved Slap in the Face

A great read for this Friday is Paul Chesser's well-documented rant in the American Spectator. He gets it rolling as follows:Someone please tell me it's about to end. That it's O-V-A-H in New England. That's it's D-U-N in Rio Linda. That it's fini in France and finito in Italy. I've experienced a build-up of evidence that undermines climate change alarmism, and I'm at the tipping point. My head has formed a canopy of truth-trapping that can only contain so much before my circuits overheat, blood pressure elevates, and my faith in broad-based common sense melts away. So please: polish it off in Poznan -- wishful thinking, you might think, but signs point to the beginning of that end. Read on. As global warming pathologists insist that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: 2008 Presidential campaign, American Spectator, Antarctic ice swells, anthropogenic, Arctic ice loss, Bill Ritter, candidates, carbon dioxide, climate change, climate change alarmism, climate trends, common sense, cooling pattern, Denver, disaster, global warming pathologists, Governor, great read, obsession, on the wane, Paul Chesser, phenomena, planetary meltdown, Poznan, public support, retrospect, scientists, solar cycles, temperature monitoring stations, valid theory, warming bias, well-documented rant, white Christmas, wishful thinking

10/19/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Denver Post Backs Grassroots GOP HD27 Challenger John Bodnar

The Denver Post gave its complete endorsement round-up for Colorado state house races today. It's impossible for us mere mortals to divine the rhyme or reason behind the Post's endorsements. As expected, the center-left editorial board has backed more Democrats than Republicans, and nearly every incumbent. But interestingly, the Post threw its lot behind two Republican challengers over Democrat officeholders. One of them is here in Arvada, where a hard-working, truly grassroots, common-sense candidate has emerged:HD 27 (Jefferson) — First-term incumbent Democrat Sara Gagliardi, a nurse, has focused primarily on health care. But we're more impressed with Republican challenger John Bodnar because of his balanced views on energy and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Arvada, candidate Sara Gagliardi, challengers, closer contests, Colorado, common sense, conservative blogosphere, Democrats, Denver Post, editorial board, endorsements, Energy, environmental issues, grassroots, health care options, incumbents, Joshua Sharf, Libby Szabo, Lois Court, officeholders, Republicans, rumors, staffer, star, state house, state senate, taxpaying citizens

10/14/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Voter Fraud ACORN Opposes Colorado Amendment 49, Ethical Standards

ACORN, the increasingly notorious voter fraud group, is part of the Colorado C-3 Roundtable going around "educating" voters about various ballot initiatives. Among the initiatives ACORN hates and opposes (and which the Roundtable won't invite supporters to share their side of the debate) is Amendment 49, the Ethical Standards initiative. This amendment "will prohibit governments from bundling money from public employees’ paychecks and delivering the funds to special interests, like unions. These special interests use the money to lobby the same politicians who just delivered the cash to them." So why is ACORN part of the virulent opposition? We could start with its own ethical lapses, which include not only voter fraud but also an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: ACORN, Amendment 49, bad precedent, ballot initiatives, Boulder Daily Camera, business groups, civic organizations, Colorado C-3 Roundtable, Colorado Springs Gazette, common sense, community leaders, corruption, Denver Post, ethical lapses, Ethical Standards, good-government measure, investigations, lobbyists, major newspapers, misuse of tax dollars, opposition, politicians, prohibit, Protect Colorado's Future, Rocky Mountain News, special interests, voter fraud

8/14/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

American Victory Coalition Patriotic Rally in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 24

It's good to see a breath of fresh air and common sense coming to Denver to counter the sea of Moonbat protesters drawn to the Democratic National Convention like moths to a flame. The American Victory Coalition is holding a patriotic rally in support of our troops and victory at Denver's Pioneer Monument Park on Sunday, August 24, from 10 am to 2 pm. Go here to find more details on speakers, security, suggestion for what to bring, and other details like parking and transportation. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics, World Events Tagged With: American Victory Coalition, common sense, Democratic National Convention, Denver, fresh air, moonbat protesters, patriotic rally, Pioneer Monument Park

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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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