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Home Archives for 2009

Archives for 2009

11/22/2009 By Ben 5 Comments

Josh Penry Backs Scott McInnis, GOP Unites Behind 20 Governing Principles

Word has leaked to the Grand Junction Sentinel that state senate minority leader Josh Penry will formally announce his endorsement of former rival Scott McInnis for Colorado governor. The endorsement was contingent on the McInnis formally agreeing to 20 conservative governing principles. "These are the principles that swept the GOP to victory in New Jersey in Virginia," Penry said. "And they can re-unite our Party too, and pave the way for a successful campaign and, more important, a successful governing party when the election's over and done with." Without further ado, here's the list of unified governing principles that was forwarded to Mount Virtus, a list that contains a fair amount of specificity: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, liberty, PPC

11/20/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Wake Up Early Monday to See Me: Jeffco Republican Men’s Club Speech

I am slated as the keynote speaker this coming Monday, 7 AM, at the Jefferson County Republican Men's Club (follow link and scroll down for information). The topic? "What Do Teachers Unions Negotiate from You?" Find more about my areas of research here. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Education, General, Labor, liberty, My Life, PPC

11/20/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Friday PM Quick Hits

A devastating story for the scaremongering "climate change" religionists breaks today because of illegal hacking activity: Climate Audit, "Mike's nature trick" Ed Morrissey, Hot Air, "Do hacked e-mails show global warming fraud?" Paul Chesser, American Spectator, "Get that hacker a pimp coat" On a different note, George Will has a great column about the power of states to nullify a coercive Obama Care law -- a Plan B I hope we can keep in mothballs. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Climate Hysteria, General, Health Care, liberty, National Politics, PPC

11/20/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Ryan Frazier Touts Endorsements from Wide Range of “Influential Coloradans”

As Don at Business Word notes, the Ryan Frazier campaign yesterday touted a list of endorsements from "nearly one hundred influential Coloradans" in his bid to be the next Congressman from the 7th District. Yes, the list contains the names of some heavy-hitters -- including Phil Anschutz, Pete Coors, Attorney General John Suthers, and former Governor Bill Owens. But at least as telling to me is that Ryan Frazier has earned the support from both my friends Jessica Corry and Libby Szabo, the last two Republican candidates for state senate District 19. Why so significant? Jessica is a young up-and-comer from the more libertarian wing of the party. Libby is more of a traditional conservative and a longtime activist well known in Jefferson … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC

11/19/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Celebrating the Independence Institute’s Silver Anniversary This Evening

This evening the Independence Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary with a sold-out Founders' Night dinner featuring keynote speaker P.J. O'Rourke. It should be a good family reunion of sorts. Count me as one of the crazy, freedom-fighting cousins. No one in the area is better at leveraging the media spotlight than my boss Jon Caldara. Witness today's perfect-pitch feature by the Denver Post's Jessica Fender:Asked what has allowed Colorado's free-market think tank, the Independence Institute, to live long enough for a 25th-anniversary celebration tonight, the organization's famously bawdy president offers a joke. "Embezzlement," says Jon Caldara. "Embezzlement and glossy black-and-white photographs of politicians in compromising … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Commemorative, Education, General, liberty, My Life, PPC

11/19/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Someone Doesn’t Like Senator Mark Udall’s Autoreply Form Letters

This was forwarded to me a little while ago. Someone named Kathy from Evergreen apparently (and doubtless with good reason) is not happy with the responsiveness of Congress to her concerns about Obama Care and a rapidly growing and spending federal government. She took a mechanical form letter from Colorado Democrat U.S. Senator Mark Udall's office and interjected her own thoughts in italics. I gathered a screenshot and pasted it below (click "fullscreen" and use the "Zoom" for greater reading ease): … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, liberty, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous

11/19/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Listen to Colorado Loses’ Podcast Update: AFSCME’s Mass Mail Screwup

Last Saturday I reported that thousands of Colorado state employees who never signed up to join a union were barraged with membership cards from the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) -- one of the union partners in the "Colorado WINS" coalition brought to life by Governor Bill Ritter's 2007 executive order. Well, apparently, AFSCME somehow reversed their membership and non-membership lists, and in the process annoyed a lot of state workers and wasted tons of paper. As to where they found the home addresses, the State of Colorado says it didn't hand them out. And I guess AFSCME isn't telling. Click the play button below (or follow this link) to hear a 10-minute podcast as state employee and "The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous

11/19/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

A Campaign Volunteer Opportunity that Gives Back to the Community

If you live in the Denver metro area, Ryan Frazier, a Republican candidate for Colorado's 7th Congressional District, is advertising a volunteer opportunity for you that does not involve stuffing envelopes, knocking on doors or waving signs. Rather, it's a way to help those in the community who are struggling during these difficult economic times:Please join us on Monday, November 23 from 9:30am - noon as we volunteer our time at the JeffCo Action Center. We will be helping to sort and box food in their warehouse 8035 W. Colfax Avenue in Lakewood. The JeffCo Action Center needs to know how many of us to expect, so please RSVP by clicking here or emailing Marc Massey at marc@frazierforcolorado.com by noon on November 20. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, liberty

11/18/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Arm Yourself with Knowledge … Fight Back Against Senate Democrat Tactics

Update, 12:30 PM: If you have the same experience as I did, you'll find the voice mail in Senator Bennet's D.C. office to be full. Then go ahead and call the regional office near you. You'll likely talk to a tired-sounding staffer who will take your message in opposition to the Baucus health care bill and the vote to proceed, along with your ZIP code. It's that simple. Now is the time to speak up. Writing over at Red State, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) shines light on the deceptive approach he believes Harry Reid and the Senate Democrat leadership will take to ram their government health care takeover through:To begin debate on this new version of Obamacare, Reid will play a shell game. He needs 60 senators to “vote to proceed” to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, liberty, National Politics, PPC

11/17/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

Senate District 16: Rob Witwer, Dan Maes Out; Penry Touts Cheri Gerou

Update, 11/18: Count out another one, too. Ali Hasan left a comment following my earlier speculation that included his name as a possible candidate: "Sorry Mount Virtus, but I won’t be getting into SD16 at all – I got my eyes on a different race. Honestly, Don Ytterberg ran a great campaign and he would be a terrific candidate for this race, especially since Gibbs’s 2008 win mostly came off of his 75% vote total in Summit County, which propelled his victory – a non-Summit Dem puts this race in the R column, imo." Last night I noted Democrat state senator Dan Gibbs' announced decision not to seek re-election in 2010, and started the speculation about which Republicans might be enticed to step up to the plate. After all, this key seat very … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, liberty, PPC

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Inside

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    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
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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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