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5/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Rightosphere and I Agree on the Basics

I participated in the latest edition of Right Wing News' "Rightosphere Temperature Check". In case you're wondering, I happened to vote with the majority on each of the seven A or B questions. Digging further into the details likely would yield more disagreement, but when you only have two options.... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: details, digging, disagreement, edition, further, latest, majority, options, questions, Right Wing News, Rightosphere, vote, yield

4/30/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Scott McInnis’ Responses to “Serious Questions” Less Than Satisfactory

Complete Colorado has the scoop on one likely Republican candidate for governor's foot-in-mouth problem when it comes to voice mail messages. Did Scott McInnis' remarks reveal something illegal or unethical? Jessica Fender reports that it's technically not. But McInnis' responses are concerning:McInnis, who verified that he left the message, points out he's not officially announced his candidacy or formed a candidate committee, so the rules do not yet apply. And what he really meant to say was that [Sean] Tonner, president of consulting firm Phase Line Strategies, is a supporter and answering questions about potential future 527s, he said. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, PPC Tagged With: 2010, 527, apply, attribution, ballyhooed, Bill Ritter, candidate, candidate committee, Complete Colorado, decision, Democrat, distasteful, easier, events, foot in mouth, former Congressman, Governor, illegal, jealous, Jessica Fedner, Josh Penry, judgment, leaning, likely, motives, Phase Line Strategies, political, public poll, questions, ranking, remarks, reports, Republican, responses, revelation, Rocky Mountain Right, rules, scoop, Scott McInnis, Sean Tonner, serious questions, support, unethical, voice mail messages

3/12/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Is Dennis Apuan Still Boulder’s Own Representative in El Paso County?

Face The State follows up on a Complete Colorado lead about Democrat State Representative Dennis Apuan. He is the lead sponsor of a resolution honoring fallen soldiers (PDF), but he also has been arrested as an anti-war protester. Jeff Crank, former Republican Congressional candidate and current Colorado Springs radio host, wants to know why Apuan is hiding from his 2003 arrest. The following response was fired back from the Democrats' press office:Statement from Rep. Dennis Apuan (D-El Paso) Date: Fri, Mar 6, 2009 "Six years ago, long before I was an elected official, I participated in a peaceful prayer vigil at Peterson Air Force Base. With a group of religious leaders, I peacefully expressed my opposition to the use of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, PPC, property rights Tagged With: answering, anti-war protester, arrest, Boulder, Colorado Springs, community service, Complete Colorado, Congressional candidate, Democrat, Democrats, Dennis Apuan, district, El Paso County, Face the State, fallen soldiers, Fort Carson, issue, Jeff Crank, lead sponsor, military personnel, nuclear weapons, Peterson Air Force Base, prayer vigil, prepared statement, press office, property, questions, radio host, religious leaders, Republican, resolution, response, rest, state representative, Sunday School, trespassing, views

2/27/2009 By Ben 4 Comments

Ask Colorado LOSES Why the Union Card-Check Bill is Such a Bad Idea

Do you still need more reason to understand why union bosses are so keen on taking away the secret ballot from workplace elections? On the Colorado LOSES website, state employee Dave Ohmart gives an account of his experience trying to attend the Colorado WINS union's rally / lobbying event at the State Capitol on Wednesday:Ryan Webber, a union organizer, immediately came to me and asked, “You’re not going to say anything, are you Dave? I’ll have to toss you out of here if you do.” Another security-type person came over and stood behind me. Ryan then asked, “You’re not going to write more lies about me, are you Dave?” (Don’t think I ever have!) I assured him I was not there to make a scene. Governor Ritter spoke … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, card-check, coerce, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Colorado Loses, Colorado taxpayers, Colorado WINS, contact, Dave Ohmart, dissent, e-mail accounts, economic condition, Employee Free Choice Act, employees, Examiner, experience, Governor, intense pressure, lobbying event, monthly access, no bargain, party line, pushy, questions, rally, Republicans, Ryan Webber, secret ballot, signs, State Capitol, state employee, state senate, toe, union bosses, union organizers, union pressure, vandalized, Washington state, website, Wednesday, workplace elections

12/5/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Questions Linger as Colorado Supremes Sit on Ritter Tax Hike Decision

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and Governor Bill Ritter are defendants in a case filed by the Independence Institute (disclosure: where I work) and numerous aggrieved taxpayers over a 2007 law that raised property taxes without a proper vote of the people, as required by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. Denver District Court Judge Christine Habas came down on the side of the people nearly seven months ago, but the Colorado Supreme Court has been silent since - despite reasonable expectations that critical tax revenue issues be addressed in a timely manner. As Face The State reports, CDE needs the Supreme Court to "hurry up":In June, Ritter, a defendant alongside CDE, appealed the decision to the state's highest court. Oral … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, property rights Tagged With: aggrieved taxpayers, attorney, Bill Ritter, CASE, chaos, Christine Habas, cockiness, Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Supreme Court, decision, defendants, Denver, Denver District Court, Evan Gluckman, exact science, Face the State, gamble, Governor, hurry up, Independence Institute, Jason Dunn, judge, landmine, Main Street Cafe, oral arguments, owner, plaintiffs, political insiders, property taxes, questions, reasonable expectations, revenue, Richard Westfall, Rocky Mountain Right, taxpayer dollars, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, timely manner

11/24/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

The Case for Colorado Spending Transparency: Jeffco Schools Edition

Quite simply, the people of Colorado deserve open, accountable, and transparent government. Not the kind where you as a taxpayer walk into the school district admin building, get a barrage of questions for asking for a copy of the district's credit card transactions, and have to pay $75 from your own pocket just to see how your money is being spent. That's Natalie Menten's story with Jeffco Public Schools, and you can hear it on an iVoices podcast: Shouldn't it be easier for citizens to access this information? Is creating a comprehensive, user-friendly, online searchable database asking too much of our governments? In these tumultuous economic times, placing the public eye on government spending should help ensure that money is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: appropriate, citizens, Colorado, Colorado Spending Transparency, credit card transactions, cutting edge, government spending, governments, hard economic times, Independence Institute, information, iVoices podcast, Jeffco Public Schools, money, Natalie Menten, open government, pocket, prudent, public eye, questions, school district, searchable database, State Capitol, taxpayer, Transparency, user-friendly

11/14/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

What I’m Thankful For #8: A Liberal Arts College Education

This is one in a series of daily posts I conceived of writing many weeks ago while the election still raged on, as I looked for something to write about of more lasting value. The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving seemed perfectly appropriate for it. Just in case you wondered, the topics introduced are not necessarily in any particular order. I hope the series is of some small encouragement to you, even as my site traffic takes a dive. If my mission in life were to go forth and make as much money as possible, I'd have to be considered a fool and a failure by now (some think the same of me, anyway). One of my first missteps would have been choosing to be a history major at a small liberal arts college of somewhat unique renown. But I have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, My Life Tagged With: answers, cafeteria, debates, discussions, dorms, dull, grateful, Hillsdale College, history major, humble, lectures, liberal arts education, life, lifelong learning, listless moments, mission, money, professors, questions, scholarships, thankfulness, the beautiful, the good, the true, thirst for knowledge

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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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