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Home Archives for 2008

Archives for 2008

3/4/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

Hillman Presents Reasonable Case for Conservatives to Back McCain

Former state senate Republican leader Mark Hillman, an indisputable and articulate conservative, as well as a respected friend, has written a piece for Backbone America titled "If Principles Matter, So Does McCain." Follow the link to follow his reasoning, but most notable is his conclusion:Conservatives generally recognize short-sighted self-indulgence when practiced by others. Now many conservatives are in danger of practicing a suicidal self-indulgence of their own. We must put aside self-pity and frustration and do what we always have done: choose the right and responsible course for our country. If instead we purposefully withhold our votes to gratify our personal pride and prejudice, the surrendered freedoms, suffocating tax … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Backbone America, John McCain, Mark Hillman

3/4/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Dem Leaders Weakly Downplay Voters’ Superdelegate Anxieties

An interesting piece in today's Denver Post: "Democrats vouch for superdelegate system." On a day where Hillary looks to make a comeback in the presidential primary with some critical wins, further muddling the contest between her and Obama, the possibility looms that the un-democratic superdelegate system will decide the party's leadership. So it's interesting to see Democrat leaders in Colorado try to downplay a potential crisis to their confused constituents:U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Golden, a superdelegate who supports Barack Obama, acknowledged that the large number of automatic delegates worried the Obama campaign because Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Bill Clinton have had long-term relationships with so many party … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Denver Post, Hillary Clinton, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, superdelegates

3/3/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Silly Overpopulation Scare: The Province of Nihilist Academia

A letter in today's Raleigh-Durham News & Observer:In the Feb. 15 N&O, an article's headline said, "Study's look at oceans is sobering." It described research showing negative human influences on nearly every corner of Earth's oceans and seas. This is just one of many worrisome phenomena that we read and hear about daily: severe water shortage, global warming, overcrowded schools, power plant pollution, deforestation, endangered species, gang crime and so on. But they all have something in common that never seems to get mentioned: There are too many humans on this planet! Further, I understand that we are increasing by 70 million a year! We can reduce our littering, change our consumption habits, find better ways to generate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Climate Hysteria, General, World Events Tagged With: academy, ecosocialist neo-paganism, nihilism, overpopulation, Raleigh-Durham News & Observer

3/3/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Anti-Public Records Bill Begs Question: What are Colorado Dems Hiding?

Today's Denver Post updates readers on a Democrat-sponsored bill in the Colorado statehouse that would erect more barriers between citizens and public records:A draft of [House Majority Leader Alice] Madden's [D - Boulder] bill proposes several changes in addition to requiring proof of citizenship, among them: • Citizens would have to deliver requests by hand or by certified mail instead of through a wider variety of methods allowed under current law. • More of lawmakers' e- mails — such as information from and about constituents — could be exempt. • Agencies would more easily be able to take an extra seven days to respond to requests. • Agencies could refuse to release records that contain confidential information … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Colorado Open Records Act, Democratic Party, Denver Post, elitism, Rep. Alice Madden, statism

3/1/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

My 90-Year-Old Great Aunt: The “Cool” Florida Swimming Role Model

Featured on the United States Masters Swimming website:Three 90-year-old swimmers -- Kay Schimpf (left), with 1,525 yards, Frances Cichanski (center), with 1,700 yards, and Brud Cleaveland (right), with 1,700 yards, of the Florida Mavericks, completed the popular January postal event. They then joined teammates June Reynolds, 86, Cliff Eastwood, 86, and Charles Edwards, 88, to form a men's, a women's, and a mixed relay - all in the 85+ age group! Margie Hutinger of the Mavericks reports, "They are a special group of swimmers, as they showed a lot of spunk to do their swims, in spite of the adversities they had to overcome. They are cool role models for Masters swimming." [emphasis mine] That's my great aunt Frankie, my grandpa's "baby' … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Swimming

2/29/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Good Reading Today from Corry and Kaminsky

Two of my prolific-writing Colorado friends have pieces published today that are well worth reading. Though I'm short on time to elaborate extensively, let me just point you in their direction: First, Jessica Corry highlights an underhanded liberal tactic to deceive voters about Ward Connerly's Colorado Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) by placing a contradictory copycat on the ballot. Here's a clip:The CCRI reads: "Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning a prohibition against discrimination by the state, and, in connection therewith, prohibiting the state from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Colorado Civil Rights initiative, conservativces, Human Events, Jessica Corry, John McCain, Kevan McNaught, liberal deception, Mark Hillman, Ross Kaminsky, Ward Connerly

2/29/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Happy Leap Day Everyone, Especially to All Ye Leaplings

It's not often we get to wish one another Happy Leap Day - the only other time for this blog was in the very early days of its existence. So let's celebrate the opportunity to catch our calendars up to the earth's solar revolution schedule, and enjoy the irony of what this day means. One of my favorite February 29 memories comes from my freshman year in college, walking to the buildings on "the Hill" and seeing homemade signs posted urging us to wish fellow student Sam a happy 5th birthday. No, Sam - whom I later got to know and appreciate for his good nature and good humor, not to mention his artistic and literary gifts - wasn't some sort of amazing prodigy. He was what Wikipedia informs me is called a "leapling." Another "leapling" is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Leap year, leaplings

2/28/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Barack Obama’s “No, We Can’t” About-Face on School Vouchers

I almost missed this one... From the editors of the New York Sun comes notice that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may be more cynical and duplicitous than widely given credit for:No sooner had we issued Elizabeth Green's dispatch under the headline "Obama Open to Private School Vouchers" than his campaign was scrambling to undo the potential damage with the Democratic primary electorate. On February 20, his campaign issued a statement headlined, "Response to Misleading Reports Concerning Senator Obama's Position on Vouchers" that said, "Senator Obama has always been a critic of vouchers." The statement went on, "Throughout his career, he has voted against voucher proposals and voiced concern for siphoning off resources from … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Education Gadfly, hypocrisy, John McCain, National Education Association, New York Sun, school vouchers

2/28/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Tribute to Buckley Reminder of “Great Task Remaining Before Us”

Over at Pajamas Media, Scott Johnson eulogizes the late William F. Buckley, Jr.. First, probably his most significant accomplishment:When Buckley founded National Review as the voice of the [conservative] movement, he performed two acts of statesmanship that were vital to the movement’s ultimate, if unlikely, success: he reserved exclusive ownership of the magazine to himself so as to prevent the kind of sectarian brawls that had killed other such magazines, and he prohibited John Birchers and other kooky anti-Semitic organizations from the magazine’s precincts. Johnson also observes what is left undone:Until [Buckley] gave up public speaking in 1998, his frequent campus speaking engagements were part missionary work, part … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, Cultural Conservatism, Education, General Tagged With: Bill Buckley, Free Speech police, God and Man at Yale, National Review, Pajamas Media, Scott Johnson, university

2/28/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Dems Push Forward “Wet Noodle” Anti-Strike Legislation

A bill that would ban strikes for Colorado state workers passed a Senate committee yesterday, reports the Denver Post - all unleashed by the stroke of Gov. Bill Ritter's pen. Today's article omits the significant detail, so it's incumbent upon this blogger to remind you that the Democrat proposal is weak and ineffectual. Colorado Senate News features the best commentary on the bill:"Obviously, this bill wouldn't have been introduced at all if Republicans hadn't urged the governor to do the right thing and assure taxpayers their vital public services wouldn't be jeopardized by the threat of a strike," the GOP's Sen. Bill Cadman, of Colorado Springs, said after the committee vote. "Unfortunately, what we got from the governor and his … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: "wet noodle" enforcement, Colorado Senate News, Denver Post, Gov. Bill Ritter, No-strike legislation, Rep. Bill Cadman

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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

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
  • My Baker’s Dozen of Top 2023 Reads
  • 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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Completing the Blogroll

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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