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"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

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Home Archives for disclosure

2/12/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Is Barack Obama for Transparency, Except As It Might Apply to Labor?

For all the serious disagreements I have with President Barack Obama over policy and philosophy, I have been pleased to hear him promote the idea of greater government transparency. That's something all citizens can rally behind, regardless of partisan affiliation. Only a few days into office, Obama sent out a memo to department heads about the Freedom of Information Act:A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants."... All agencies should adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure, in order to renew their commitment to the principles embodied in FOIA, and to usher in a new era of open Government. The presumption of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: accountability, Barack Obama, Bloomberg News, burdensome, bureaucrats, Bush administration, campaign, Charles Craver, citizens, collect, comment, commitment, corporations, democracy, Democratic, disagreements, disappointing, disclosure, disinfectants, dues money, excited, financial reports, FOIA, Freedom of Information Act, funded, Generational Theft Act, George Washington University, government transparency, Harry Reid, idea, instructions, Justice Louis Brandeis, Labor Department, labor law, labor unions, memo, Nancy Pelosi, open government, openness, organizations, outfoxed, partisan affiliation, philosophy, policy, President, presumption, promote, proposed, rule changes, shoved, spend, testing ground, The Union Label, Transparency

10/9/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Fraudulent ACORN’s Fallout: How Far From Barack Obama’s Campaign Tree?

Update: From Michelle Malkin, more compelling information on ACORN fraudulent activity, plus federal judge calls out Ohio secretary of state for election law violations... If you haven't been paying attention, it's time to tune in to the story of the Democratic presidential candidate (Barack Obama), widespread voting fraud (ACORN), and detestable past actions that fed the current financial crisis. Are you with me so far? I don't need to retread all the facts because so many others already have. Let's start with this editorial in Investor's Business Daily:A radical group Barack Obama used to work for is committing voter-registration fraud in several states, ahead of the election. What does Obama know about this scam? It goes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: ACORN, attorney, bad loans, Barack Obama, blackmail, brilliant, Colorado, community organizer, Community Reinvestment Act, Connecticut, conservative, criminal conspiracy, criminal investigations, Dallas Cowboys, Democratic, disclosure, economy, Ed Morrissey, editorial, email address, entertain, Fannie Mae, financial crisis, financial institutions, Florida, former employer, Franklin Raines, Imaginary-Americans, Indiana, integrity, investigative blogger, Investor's Business Daily, Iowahawk, John Hinderaker, media, Michigan, Missouri, mounting evidence, name, national elections, Nevada, Ohio, online petition, opinion, Pennsylvania, Powerline, presidential candidate, racism, satire, STOP ACORN, Tennessee, voter fraud, voter registration, Wisconsin

10/1/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Will VP Debate Moderator Gwen Ifill Disclose Her Conflict of Interest?

Question before tomorrow night's vice-presidential debate: Will moderator Gwen Ifill disclose to the viewing audience her clear conflict of interest? Just wanted to lay that out up front. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, National Politics Tagged With: conflict of interest, debate, disclosure, Gwen Ifill, moderator, vice presidential, viewing audience

8/12/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

Reasonable Solution Needed in Denver Post Lawsuit against Bill Ritter

So the Denver Post is suing Gov. Bill Ritter for access to his personal cell phone records? While I'm a strong proponent of transparency in government, it would seem this is slightly over the line. Over at The Colorado Index, a watcher writes "in defense of Bill Ritter." The typically conservative blogger is no big fan of either the Governor or the Post. A watcher especially has problems with the way the latter has responded to his quest for legal ethics reform. So what should be done? I agree with Rocky Mountain Right's assessment:Ritter should disclose any calls he made related to state business in accordance with the law even if they were on a private phone, but he should also not have to disclose every time he called his wife or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, cell phone records, Colorado, Denver Post, disclosure, lawsuit, legal ethics reform, privacy, Rocky Mountain Right, The Colorado Index, Transparency

6/3/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Closing the Loop on Labor Union Disclosure of Member Dues Money

Union members in Colorado and across the nation stand to gain from newly proposed federal rules that would provide a clearer picture of how union leaders are spending their hard-earned dues money. If you're a glutton for punishment, there's the official 103-page document with the new rules. For the rest of us, compliments of the Public Service Research Foundation, there is a layman's version of the new pro-worker rules:They require that unions specify the costs of benefits being provided to officers and employees. Under the present system the cost of benefits is only reported as one big lump sum. The new regulations will allow union members to see how much they are paying in benefits for each officer and employee. This will … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: disclosure, LM-2, luxury trips, public comment, Public Service Research Foundation, Transparency, U.S. Department of Labor, union financial disclosure, union leaders

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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

  • 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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