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

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Home Archives for Fort Collins

5/4/2009 By Ben 5 Comments

Senate Bill 180: Another Big Labor Veto Dilemma for Vulnerable Bill Ritter

Two years ago Governor Bill Ritter came right out of the gate and ran smack into a tough veto choice that caused friction with his Big Labor supporters. Ritter made up for the nixing of House Bill 1072 later in 2007 with an executive order giving union organizers a gold-plated invitation into Colorado state government. Now, to some extent, history is replaying itself. As the Denver Post's John Ingold reports, the choice Bill Ritter is confronted with now is whether to sign or veto the bad policy that is Senate Bill 180. The bogus argument used for SB 180 -- which narrowly passed the Democrat-controlled legislature -- is that firefighters need greater union bargaining rights to ensure they get needed safety equipment. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: alienate, approval ratings, argument, Aurora, bad policy, bargaining agreements, bargaining rights, benefits, Big Labor, Bill Ritter, bogus, business community, choice, Colorado, Colorado Municipal League, confronted, costly, curry, decide, Democrat, Denver Post, disses, Drop dead, Englewood, evidence, Executive Order, favor, fire departments, firefighters, Fort Collins, friend, gold-plated, government, Governor, Greeley, heroes, higher, History, House Bill 1072, invitation, issues, John Ingold, legislature, little attention, local communities, local officials, management rights, mountain communities, narrowly, nemesis, opposition, overwhelmingly, passed, political, political side, power, Pueblo, rejected, reports, safety equipment, safety records, Senate Bill 180, sign, state government, state mandate, statement, sunk, union organizers, uphold, veto, wages, wise course

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

3/26/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Just What Did Colorado Ethics Watch Learn from Media Matters’ Demise?

Colorado Ethics Watch's Chantell Taylor has filed an especially frivolous complaint, reports Face The State. While a frustrating annoyance, it's also a badge of honor for Fort Collins city council candidate Andrew Boucher, who is running a tireless and effective pro-liberty campaign. The uncanny timing and sheer desperation of this complaint makes me wonder if Colorado Ethics Watch has been watching what happened to their state sister Media Matters (after all, they have the same rich Lefty sugar daddies as part of their common affiliation with the Colorado Democracy Alliance), and whether the group has observed the right lesson from its demise. Does Ethics Watch believe that the plug was pulled on Media Matters because the phony … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, liberty, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Andrew Boucher, annoyance, badge of honor, butt, campaign, candidate, Chantell Taylor, city council, Colorado Democracy Alliance, Colorado Ethics Watch, common affiliation, complaint, curious, demise, effective, existence, Face the State, Fort Collins, frivolous complaint, frustrating, impelled, jokes, Lefty, Media Matters, organization, phony watchdogs, pick up slack, plug, pro-liberty, pulled, recently-departed, reports, right lesson, sheer desperation, sugar-daddies, theater of the absurd, timing, tireless, uncanny

3/3/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

RMA Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 8:30: A Look at Fort Collins, Tom Stone

Tune in starting at 8:30 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the 16th edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. In the early slot, two candidates for Fort Collins city council join us to discuss issues facing one of the best places to live in the United States, and their vision for the city's future. Later we'll talk with Tom Stone, recently announced candidate for the chairmanship of the Colorado Republican Party. We'll find out his thoughts about where the party has fallen short and lost its way, and what it will take to turn things around. Is it time for a new guard? Don't forget. If you miss the live broadcast of tonight’s show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, PPC Tagged With: best places, Blog Talk Radio, candidates, chairmanship, city council, Colorado, Fort Collins, Mount Virtus, podcast, Republican Party, Rocky Mountain Alliance, sidebar, Tom Stone, United States

2/23/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Good News: Night Twister Spins Liberty on the Rocks into Fort Collins

Kudos to fellow Rocky Mountain Alliance member Randy Ketner (aka Night Twister) for taking the initiative to launch the Fort Collins chapter of Liberty on the Rocks. (Of course, you would already have known this if you were listening to Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio.) The movement continues to grow. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, General, My Life, PPC Tagged With: chapter, Fort Collins, grow, kudos, Liberty on the Rocks, member, movement, Night Twister, Randy Ketner, Rocky Mountain Alliance

2/6/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Unions Lobby State Democrats to Slow Down School Building Inspections

Who's in charge at the Colorado State Capitol these days? Big Labor:A bill whose only aim was to make it easier for local school districts to get their new buildings inspected was blindsided today on the Senate floor by union-led opposition, with all but two of the chamber's Democrats voting to kill the measure. Three of the Democrats who voted with the majority against Senate Bill 64 [PDF]--Sens. Bob Bacon, of Fort Collins, Rollie Heath, of Boulder, and Evie Hudak, of Arvada--had voted in favor of it in the Senate Education Committee only two weeks earlier. What changed their minds? The bill's sponsor, the GOP's Sen. Keith King, of Colorado Springs, says it was the fact that the Journeyman Plumbers and Gas Fitters Union began lobbying … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: Arvada, Big Labor, bill, Bob Bacon, Boulder, buildings, California, chamber, clean-up bill, clout, Colorado, Colorado Senate News, Colorado Springs, committee, cool, Democrats, efficient, Evie Hudak, exchange, flabbergasted, flip-flops, Fort Collins, General Assembly, hearing, inspections, Journeyman Plumbers, Keith King, lobbying, Michigan, New Jersey, opposition, Republican, reserved, Rollie Heath, school districts, school inspections, Senate, Senate Bill 64, Senate Education Committee, sponsor, State Capitol, union, union interests, voting, wow

1/28/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Coloradans, You Can Make a Difference for School Financial Transparency

Update, 1/29: More coverage on Colorado Spending Transparency and Ed News Colorado, as well as a kind link from the Open Records blog. This morning the Colorado Senate Education Committee got a bit of a surprise, it might seem, with a slew of concerned citizens coming forward to testify in support of Senate Bill 57 (PDF) (sponsored by state senator Ted Harvey) - which would bring something akin to full-fledged financial transparency to Colorado public schools. It's unusual to see more than 15 average citizens come forward to testify for a piece of legislation - and rarer yet, to have many of them do so quite eloquently. Most were from the metro Denver area, a couple hailed from Weld County, and one of them drove three hours over the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life, PPC Tagged With: against, Arvada, bloggers, Bob Bacon, bureaucrat, centennial, Chris Romer, Colorado, Colorado Association of School Boards, Colorado Association of School Executives, Colorado Open Records Act, Colorado Press Association, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs School District 11, concerned citizens, corporate executives, cost savings, cripples, David Williams, Denver, Eagle County, eloquently, employee support, everyday apathy, Evie Hudak, financial information, financial transparency, Fort Collins, golden dome, government books, grassroots, Jack Ott, Keith King, legislation, legislative audio, little victory, Littleton, lobbyists, local government officials, metro Denver, Mike Kopp, Nancy Spence, Natalie Menten, online spending database, open government, parents, Peter Groff, political activists, prolonged testimony, proud moment, public eyes, public schools, reconvene, reliable ally, requests, Rollie Heath, searchable database, Senate Bill 57, Senate Education Committee, slew, small business owners, support, surprise, Ted Harvey, testify, Tom Stone, vacation, Weld County

1/25/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Night Twister’s Online Guide to Colorado Conservative Political Activism

Fort Collins' Randy Ketner - better known to online readers as Night Twister - has just officially entered his name into contention for 2009 Colorado Conservative Activist of the Year. How is that? See what Randy compiled over on his RedState page: "Getting Connected in Colorado". It's a seemingly comprehensive list of government officials, political organizations, online conservative organizations (including my Independence Institute), bloggers and talk radio shows, Colorado Web 2.0, Colorado "mainstream media", and online national groups. If you see anything missing, leave Randy a note so he can keep it updated. When it comes to local political blogging, Randy is a relative newcomer - only about 18 months under his belt at Night … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, PPC Tagged With: bloggers, bookmarked, Colorado, combination, compilation, comprehensive list, conservative activist, conservative renewal, El Presidente, Energy, excuse, Fort Collins, getting connected, government officials, involved, mainstream media, missing, Night Twister, note, online national groups, political blogging, political organizations, Randy Ketner, relative newcomer, Republican State Assembly, Rocky Mountain Alliance, savvy, talk radio shows, thank you, time, updated, useful page, Web 2.0, zeal

1/8/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter Publicly Endorses Posting State Check Register Online

Update: Colorado Spending Transparency has a similar response about the devil being in the details. Read the post to get a sense of just what some of those details might be. Face The State's report was correct: During his State of the State speech, just a moment ago, Gov. Bill Ritter announced he would back the Republican plan to post the state government's check register online. It's good to see transparency go forward as a non-partisan effort. The governor's announcement foresees a landmark moment for Colorado government, one that promises to empower the citizens of the state. The city of Fort Collins has set the standard for transparency. With the state moving forward, too, now it would be good to see other local governments - … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life Tagged With: Bill Ritter, check register, citizen empowerment, Colorado government, development, Face the State, Fort Collins, implementation, non-partisan, online, plan, policy, Republican, school districts, speech, State of the State, Transparency

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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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