Mount Virtus

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

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Home Archives for shenanigans

4/2/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Democrats: Governing Themselves Out of the Majority?

Are the Democrats at the State Capitol trying to govern themselves out of the majority? They sure are making it easier for the GOP - with a string of shenanigans and assorted bad ideas just from the past several days: From slamming the door on school spending transparency To ignoring critical scholarly arguments in order to push through a nakedly partisan ploy to weaken Colorado's political influence and undermine the Electoral College To cravenly moving a vote while a Republican lawmaker was out of town (aiding a relative with Alzheimer's) - all to pass a constitutionally dubious bill that grants in-state tuition to illegal aliens To talking out loud about exploiting a partisan, anti-taxpayer state supreme court ruling to repeal some … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, liberty, PPC Tagged With: 2010, Alzheimer's, anti-taxpayer, bad ideas, Colorado, comprehensive list, constitutionally dubious, Democrats, electoral college, exemptions, exploiting, GOP, govern, illegal aliens, in-state tuition, lawmaker, majority, partisan ploy, policy outcomes, political influence, power, recessionary strain, Republicans, ruling, scholarly arguments, school spending, severe, shenanigans, State Capitol, supreme court, tax credits, Transparency, vote, weaken

4/1/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

House Education Committee Democrats Killed Spending Transparency… Fast

One of my favorite aphorisms about Colorado politics is that the House Education Committee is where good education reform goes to die. Case in point is Senate Bill 57, the school spending transparency legislation that committee Democrats shot down after hearing more than 30 citizens and activists who volunteered to come down and testify for the bill. Thanks to a Face The State mini-investigation, we learn today it was even worse than that:Also known as Senate Bill 57, the bill was postponed indefinitely after four hours of committee debate that lasted late into the evening. [Democrat] Speaker Terrance Carroll and [Republican] House Minority Leader Mike May arrived to work the next morning ready to revive it. But they were too … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: activists, aphorism, bipartisan, case in point, charter school, citizens, Colorado, committee report, Democrats, die, education reform, example, Face the State, good, hearing, House clerk, House Education Committee, House Speaker, intercepted, irony, legislation, Mike May, Mike Merrifield, mini-investigation, minority leader, morning, motion, obscure tactic, occur, politics, postponed indefinitely, process, proposal, reintroduce, Republican, revive, school, school spending transparency, Senate Bill 57, shenanigans, special place in hell, spent, State Capitol, supporters, tax funds, Terrance Carroll, testify, too late, volunteered

1/6/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Dig into UAW Golf Course Hijinks Before Obama Ends Union Disclosure

Perhaps you have seen the story about the United Auto Workers-owned golf course in northern Michigan and the controversy about the value of its property and tax history. Well, local blogger Chetly Zarko has dug even deeper to try to figure out why the facility's reported Pension Fund expenses are so high:The only explanation in my mind for this kind of pension fund investment is that the pension contributions are for SOMEONE ELSE other than the workers at the hotel. Just who might be receiving the long-term benefit of those contributions? It's not big enough to pay the pension debt of any serious number of rank-and-file union members - but it is big enough to sauce up a few individual's or union leadership. Or perhaps the UAW is using … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: administration, analysis, artificial loss, Barack Obama, bliss, blogger, Chetly Zarko, contributions, corrupt, Department of Labor, facility, financial disclosure reports, Hilda Solis, ignorance, IRS, Labor Secretary, LM-2, Michigan, Pension Fund, property, shenanigans, speculation, tax evasion, taxes, union, union bosses, United Auto Workers, Wall Street Journal

10/27/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

ObamaFraud and the Ongoing Motivation of the GOP Ground Game

There is a ton to catch up on heading into the election's final week: Palestra has the latest on vote fraud committed by Barack Obama staffers camping out in Ohio. Naysayers repeat the mantra that this fraud can't possibly affect the election, because it's on such a small scale. Focused so intently on potential direct impacts, they miss the point. The ever expanding, yet unknowable, scale of voter registration fraud has been part of feeding a public perception. Based on what we know about human nature and behavior, it will have some effect - how so, it's too hard to say. To further understand the concern, think instead about what this says: the bare minimum of electronic controls to cover his online donations, allowing for myriad kinds … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Abraham Lincoln, anger, anonymous, assumptions, Barack Obama, Beldar, Colorado, credibility, Democrats, disparities, distortions, election, electronic controls, essay, Gateway Pundit, ground game, John McCain, journalist, margins of error, media establishment, Michael Malone, millions of dollars, nationwide, naysayers, Newsbusters, oblivion, Ohio, online donation fraud, overconfidence, Palestra, phone calls, polls, public support, reality, shenanigans, small scale, statistical sampling, volunteers, votger fraud, walking precincts, Zombie

10/12/2008 By Ben 24 Comments

Obama Asked Vote Fraud ACORN to Help “Shape” Presidential Agenda

A few days ago I highlighted the connections between Barack Obama and ACORN, the group infamously known for two things: 1. Lawsuits that blackmailed banks and other financial institutions into making untold amounts of bad loans, a practice that fed the cancer underpinning the current market crisis. 2. Massive voter fraud in key election battleground states. Barack Obama used to work for ACORN, filed at least one lawsuit on behalf of ACORN, and gave $800,000 from his campaign to ACORN. Yeah, some skeptics say, but really how connected are they? Compliments of Elmumfo - by way of Okie Campaigns - we are treated to further enlightening of what Obama thinks of ACORN:In December of 2007, Obama told ACORN activists: "...but let me even … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: ACORN, activists, agenda, bad loans, banks, Barack Obama, blackmail, campaign, community organizations, connections, election, Elmumfo, financial institutions, John McCain, lawsuits, market crisis, middle-of-the-road, Okie Campaigns, presidency, shenanigans, transition, United States of America, voters, YouTube

8/21/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Peoples Press Collective: Grassroots Coverage of the DNC in Denver

For more of the latest coverage of Denver's Democratic National Convention (Mon, Aug. 25 - Thur, Aug. 28), bookmark the Peoples Press Collective (PPC). My boss Jon Caldara explains on his blog:They are a team of Colorado bloggers who will be armed to the teeth with point and shoot cameras, video cameras, and live streaming cell phones to document all the shenanigans, beat downs, hippie love-fests, and wacky protests going down in the streets. Basically anything the mainstream media won’t be around for, they will. Some pretty big time Colorado bloggers like the Rocky Mountain Right, Rossputin, Slapstick Politics, and Drunkablog have already signed on. They’ve got some cool features on their site like a quick 1 minute DNC preview video, a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, National Politics Tagged With: "A Mile High and an Inch Deep", aggregator, cameras, Colorado bloggers, Democratic National Convention, Denver, Drunkablog, Jon Caldara, Michelle Malkin, Mount Virtus, Peoples Press Collective, protesters, Rocky Mountain Right, Rossputin, schedule of events, shenanigans, Slapstick Politics, YouTube

Inside

  • About Ben
  • Archives
  • Colorado Ballot Reviews
    • Colorado Ballot 2008
    • Colorado Ballot 2010
    • Colorado Ballot 2012
    • Colorado Ballot 2014
  • Mary and Jacob: From the Forgotten Dust
  • Mount Virtus?
  • Passion and Purpose:
    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
  • What I’m Thankful For
  • Writer / Editor For Hire

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

  • 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
  • 8 Original Ways To Leverage Influencer Marketing
  • Why Every Single Business Needs A YouTube Channel

Colorado News

  • Colorado Senate News
  • Complete Colorado
  • Independence Institute
  • Loveland Politics
  • The Colorado Observer

National News and Politics

  • Drudge Report
  • Hot Air
  • National Review
  • Politico
  • Real Clear Politics
  • Reason
  • The Washington Times
  • TownHall
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Weekly Standard
  • World Magazine

Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
  • David Harsanyi’s Blog
  • E!! The True Conservative Story
  • EIA Intercepts
  • Evangelical Outpost
  • Hugh Hewitt
  • Instapundit
  • LaShawn Barber
  • Lileks
  • Little Green Footballs
  • Michelle Malkin
  • NRO's The Corner
  • Power Line
  • Red State

Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
  • Black Five
  • Blogs of War
  • Eduwonk
  • Flypaper
  • Fraters Libertas
  • Historical Conversations
  • IMAO
  • Jay P. Greene
  • Mike Anderson
  • Mullings
  • Professor Bainbridge
  • Right Thinking
  • Right Wing News
  • Right Wing Nuthouse
  • Shot in the Dark
  • Talking Points Memo
  • Virginia Postrel
  • Volokh Conspiracy

Christian Commentary et al.

  • Kevin Pierpont
  • Sharper Iron

Conservative and GOP Sites

  • Backbone America
  • Cal Thomas
  • Colorado Republican Party
  • Colorado Republican Study Committee
  • Dennis Prager
  • Denver Metro Young Republicans
  • Free Republic
  • Heritage Foundation
  • Jefferson County Republican Party
  • Mackinac Center for Public Policy
  • Mark Steyn
  • Michael Medved
  • Rush Limbaugh

Colorado Blogs

  • American Kestrel
  • Bob Agard
  • Colorado Charter Schools
  • Colorado Peak Politics
  • Colorado Pols
  • Colorado Right
  • Conservative Libertarian Outpost
  • Coyote Gulch
  • Ed Is Watching
  • Free Colorado
  • Jeff Crank Show
  • Mark Hillman
  • Patient Power
  • PirateBallerina
  • Protein Wisdom
  • Reagan Girl
  • Rocky Mountain Alliance 1.0 (Archive)
  • Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0 (Archive)
  • Rossputin
  • Stop the ACLU Blog
  • The Spot (Denver Post)
  • We Stand Firm

Other Sites

  • Technorati
  • Word Press

Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
  • The Business Word
  • The Daily Blogster
  • View from a Height

To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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