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Home Archives for Michael

2/11/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Markets Don’t Like What Obama and Dems Are Inflicting on Economy

Rossputin has the in-depth commentary on the markets' reaction to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and points to two polls showing the American people want more tax cuts, less federal spending. Are Colorado's U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall even paying attention? Polipundit has the telling visual about Geithner's negative impact on the markets. What's so funny? I guess you had to be there. Finally, Michael at Best Destiny says it's time to start tagging this as "the Reid/Pelosi/Obama economy". I agree: they can have it. If it only didn't hurt so many of the rest of us in the process. Things do look bleak - you can't blame investors for their reactions. The President isn't the Savior. Here's a start: sign the No … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: American people, Barack Obama, Best Destiny, bleak, Colorado, economy, funny, Harry Reid, hurt, in-depth commentary, investors, less federal spending, Mark Udall, markets, Michael, Michael Bennet, Michelle Malkin, more tax cuts, Nancy Pelosi, paying attention, Polipundit, polls, President, process, reactions, Rossputin, Savior, telling visual, Timothy Geithner, Treasury secretary, U.S. Senator

1/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Etch Yesterday in Stone as Rare Proud Moment for Congressional GOP

It's not often that I can say Congressional Republicans make me proud by their actions. So let's etch January 28, 2009, in stone as one of those momentous occasions. Hats off to the House GOP yesterday for standing 100 percent united against the Obama-Democrat trillion dollar pork bill that promises to mount piles of debt on my generation and future generations. Of course, this is small consolation as there aren't enough Republicans - with or without backbone - to stop the socialist steamroller "stimulus" from gliding through. But at least if the GOP hangs tough and united, rather than set us up for disappointment, the Democrats will own this economic disaster. (Will Senate Republicans follow their House brethren?) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: backbone, Barack Obama, basic sanity, Beltway, Best Destiny, Colorado, Congress, conservative, conservative leaders, creativity, delegation, Democrats, disappointment, economic disaster, energized, fiscal conservatism, free market, generations, gloomy news, grassroots, hand-wringing, hard work, House GOP, impact, late, limited government, memo, Michael, momentous occasions, necessary, never, party-line vote, piles of debt, political, pork bill, proud, realization, Republicans, rock bottom, Rocky Mountain Right, Senate, small consolation, small rays of hope, Socialist, solidarity, steamroller, stimulus, struggles, tough, trillion dollar, united, waiting, Washington

1/12/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bon Voyage: Kathleen Parker Set Adrift from All Conservative Moorings?

I have had to defend my critical assessment of a Kathleen Parker post-election column sloppily aimed with disdain at social conservatives. Within that debate, even I have been inclined to see what she wrote as part of an internal squabble within the larger conservative Republican movement. But if Parker's most recent writing is any indication, it would seem she has no real conservative moorings on fiscal issues, either. You simply have to read it all, as no excerpt sufficiently captures the overtones wrapped insider her ambivalent - and sometimes confused - rhetoric. I agree with Michael: Many messengers of the conservative movement are stuck on old themes, when a newly-crafted message is what's needed. However, as Kathleen Parker … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: adrift, ambivalent, Best Destiny, challenge, column, conservative, conservative moorinigs, conservative movement, critical assessment, debate, defend, disdain, economic history, fiscal crisis, fiscal issues, internal squabble, Kathleen Parker, liberals, messengers, Michael, mush, new message, old themes, religious beliefs, Republican, rhetoric, social conservatives, thought-provoking, Washington DC

9/19/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Teachers Union Spreads Fear and Disinformation about Amendment 47

Michael at Best Destiny, a Jefferson County teacher by day, writes:Yesterday, the union representative at one of my schools came back from a district-wide meeting in breathless distress over this year's ballot. She said that, based on what was told to her in her meeting, there was the potential that the passage of Amendment 47 could mean the "end of teacher representation, and the school district would no longer have to follow any rules about how they ordered you to spend your time." She even went so far as to say that the passage of 47 would be more devastating for schools than the failure of either the Mill Levy increase or of the Bond election. Another anecdote that shows the teachers union - in this case, the Jefferson County … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Amendment 54, American Idol, ballot initiative, Best Destiny, Blue Book, deception, Democrat, disinformation, district-wide meeting, Evie Hudak, facts, fear-mongering, hair loss, independent thought, infertility, JCEA leaders, Jefferson County, Jefferson County Education Association, labor organization, Michael, my union said so, National Education Association, nonsense, party platform, Political contributions, Protect Colorado's Future, public educators, right-to-work, sad commentary, school, state senate candidate, teacher, teachers union, think for themselves, union dues, union representative

9/4/2008 By Ben 10 Comments

Alaska Can Have Bill Ritter … Colorado Will Take Sarah Palin Any Day

After last night's amazing speech, I'm jealous. Alaska, you can have Bill Ritter. Can we have Sarah Palin? Then I thought, in a few months she has a very good chance of being our vice-president. I'll settle for that. Interestingly, the Denver Post reports today about Gov. Ritter's lackluster speaking performance at last week's Democratic National Convention. A broken teleprompter appears to have been part of his problem. It seems Sarah Palin faced the same teleprompter problems, but went on unfazed to deliver a homerun. Could the same be said of Bill Ritter - or for that matter, Barack Obama - when they're off teleprompter? Broken teleprompter or not, I like this take from Michael at Best Destiny:But let me just leave this first … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Alaska, Best Destiny, Bill Ritter, broken teleprompter, Colorado, Democratic National Convention, Denver Post, Governor, heartburn, Lefties, Michael, Republican National Convention, Sarah Palin

8/23/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Seriously … Joe Biden?

Update: Another Colorado blogger added to the list below Barack Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate ... seriously? When I first heard the news late last night, it sounded too good to be true. My first reaction was that Obama must have made the pick from an insecurity about Obama's personal and political weaknesses. Example? There's no way Biden's long-winded, incoherent ramblings could upstage the Obamessiah's cultish appeal at this week's Democratic National Convention. Beyond the DNC, what does Barack Obama have to look forward to in having Joe Biden as a running mate? What do we really know about Biden? Here's a quick rundown from Colorado bloggers: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, National Politics, World Events Tagged With: Atrios, Barack Obama, Best Destiny, blogosphere, Bob Agard, Clarence Thomas, Colorado blogs, compliment, Daily Kos, David Harsanyi, Delaware, Democratic National Convention, Democrats, Denver, Denver Post, eat their words, gaffe-free, gaffe-prone, gravitas, Haditha, Human Events, hypocrisy, infamous audio, Joe Biden, John McCain, Joshua Marshall, Lefty bloggers, liberal, long-winded ramblings, lose their lunch, Michael, Mickey Kaus, National Journal, Obamessiah, Patrick Ruffini, plagiarism, political weaknesses, Rocky Mountain Right, Ross Kaminsky, running mate, script, seniority, teleprompter, The Next Right, Townhall, U.S. Marines, U.S. Senator, U.S. Supreme Court, vice president, YouTube video

8/16/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Sara Gagliardi’s Do-Nothing Record Puts a John Bodnar Sign in my Yard

Michael at Best Destiny points out the inconsequential, do-nothing record of his and my state representative Sara Gagliardi - and the representative for most of Arvada, Colorado:Among things she did NOT sponsor, she did manage to join her party voting to extend unionization into the state government (which had to be vetoed, only to reappear via Executive fiat . . .er, order); she did manage to vote against increasing academic requirements for graduation, but vote to create standards for Sex Education in the schools. So the entire track record of Sara Gagliardi's first year in office as a part of the majority was: --no academic standards --Sex Ed standards --banned smoking in casinos, which encroaches on personal rights and hurt … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor Tagged With: academic requirements, Arvada, Best Destiny, Colorado, do-nothing record, John Bodnar, Michael, Sara Gagliardi, sex education, smoking, state representative, unionization, yard sign

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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
  • Sleep Deprivation and Parental Controls: How to Ensure Your Kids are Safe from Media Exposure
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