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Home Archives for Ben

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Baseball Players Stump for EFCA: A Bad Way to Mix Sports and Politics

Here's the latest, greatest example why sports and politics don't mix .... At first, when I read this posting from the Right to Work blog, I thought I had another solid reason to cheer against the New York Yankees for whatever is left of the World Series:Mark Teixeira has a $100 million contract to play baseball with the Yankees. Good for Mark. But it’s too bad that this multi-millionaire is stepping to the plate on behalf of the union bosses by advocating for the Card Check Forced Unionism bill. But then I followed the link and found that two of the 12 Forced Unionism baseball spokesmen were Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies. And horror of horrors, my favorite hometown pitcher Justin Verlander is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, Labor, National Politics, PPC, Sports and Leisure

2/7/2026 By Ben 5 Comments

Democrat State Sen. Dan Gibbs to Forego Re-election: Start Speculating

New RMA member Don Johnson reports that Democrat state senator Dan Gibbs will not run for re-election in his mountain district in 2010. A good opportunity for the Dead Guvs to pine that state lawmakers aren't paid well enough. Suddenly, SD16 has to look a lot more appealing to Republicans. Last time around Gibbs beat Don Ytterberg (now the chairman of the Jefferson County GOP) by a nearly 3-to-2 margin. But the political environment makes the seat a lot more competitive for Republicans in 2010, and I don't see any scenario where they can win back the majority without it. If the rumors haven't already started to circulate, allow me to ask: Will first-term Rep. Cheri Gerou in HD 25 make the leap? Might someone coax former Rep. Rob … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Rally With the Tea Party Express in Denver’s Civic Center Today at 5 PM

The Tea Party Express rolls into Denver today for a 5 PM Election Day 2009 rally featuring Joe The Plumber. Angry about the Pelosi-Obama health care monstrosity? Fed up with the billions in "stimulus" money that's done so little for jobs and the economy? Here's your chance to show your support for limited government, liberty and fiscal responsibility:Date/Time: Tuesday, November 3rd at 5:00 pm Rally Location: Civic Center – Greek Theater 100 W 14th Ave Denver, CO 80204 As Joshua points out, today is a busy day of important elections (not to mention the school board election here in Jefferson County) here in Colorado and back East. If you are able to vote in one of these important races (or know someone who is) and haven't … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Taking on the Colorado Supreme Court: Mark Hillman, Mike Rosen & Me

Update, 1:50 PM: I also will be talking about the Lobato case and school funding adequacy on Face The State weekend radio with Brad Jones. In the Denver area, that's AM 710 KNUS on Saturday at 5:00 AM and Sunday at noon. Check local listings for additional stations and times. A sense that the Colorado Supreme Court is growing out of control continues to pick up momentum after the October 19 Lobato v State ruling (PDF), in which the 4-3 liberal majority arrogated to itself the power to determine school funding policy. On Wednesday my friend and former state senate leader Mark Hillman ably dissected the dangers in this decision. Yesterday, Colorado's leading conservative talk show host Mike Rosen leaped into the fray with a strong … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Judiciary, liberty, My Life, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Wow: Obama Stimulus Spending in Jefferson County at $1.1 Million Per Job

In a recent diary at Rocky Mountain Right, Mike Robinson finds that the Obama stimulus bill created 654 jobs in Douglas County at a cost of $131,548 per job. Using the same Recovery.gov website, I learned that Douglas has nothing on my own Jefferson County. According to my calculations, $244,783,814 in ARRA "stimulus" money has been spent in Jeffco. How many jobs created? 221.39 ... For a total of $1,105,667.89 per job. As bad as $230,000 per job nationwide (presuming no union featherbedding is going on) is for stimulus spending, Jeffco really has felt the short end of the stick. Kind of like construction jobs anywhere. Far and away the biggest single Jeffco award went to Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, in Golden: nearly $160 … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

State of Colorado’s Republican Race for Governor: After Penry, the Deluge?

Chuck Plunkett is one of the more liberal members of the Denver Post's editorial board, but he's a straight shooter. And his Friday posting on the state of Colorado's Republican primary for governor -- "Whither Tancredo?" -- is full of spot-on insights, such as:Party insiders say the problem is that the campaign [Scott] McInnis has structured to date has created a vacuum that conservatives abhor. And: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Journalism, liberty, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Remembering Grandpa Two Years Past the 100th Anniversary of His Birth

Two years ago today I posted a brief memoir in honor of what would have been my Grandpa's 100th birthday. It was uplifting to go back and re-read what I wrote then -- something that seldom happens with the many things I write here. I wouldn't change anything, except to add an update. Thanks to my brother's experimentation, I now have a recipe for popcorn that very nearly resembles Grandpa's very special, almost-world-famous concoction. In the past week I've made myself a few batches -- even ate one batch while watching one of the World Series games. Good memories of good times nearly brought to life. While I won't be undertaking another series on gratitude this November, I'm still thankful for the legacy of my grandparents. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, My Life

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

How Long for Michael Bennet to Decide on Fed Reserve Transparency?

In a savvy political move that promotes a good, old-fashioned commonsense idea -- something very rare in the halls of Congress -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck has called on incumbent appointee Michael Bennet to join the bipartisan Congressional co-sponsorship of a very important transparency bill:In an e-mail to Bennet, Buck, a Republican candidate for the Senate seat Bennet currently holds, wrote that “auditing Federal Reserve operations isn't a political question. It's a simple matter of good government and financial responsibility.”... The Federal Reserve Sunshine Act would force the Fed to open its books to the Government Accountability Office. The bill has 30 Senate co-sponsors, and 309 representatives are co-sponsoring … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Reminder: Call Congress Today to Oppose H.R. 3962 Obama Care

I was planning to post a notice today about the need to take action against the Pelosi version of Obama Care. And today is the time to do it! But being busy, I got permission to paste this email (with a couple slight tweaks) from a friend:Hello to all! If you want tax dollars funding abortions and for medical coverage to become less available, now is the time to do nothing! The house version of the health care "reform" bill will come up for a vote tomorrow (Saturday). … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben 6 Comments

Help Steer the Local Political Discussion: It’s Time for the November Survey

Mount Virtus readers, this post will remain sticky through the end of the survey (November 13). For newer postings, please scroll down. It's that time again. Yes, El Presidente and I have commissioned and fashioned another survey that we hope you will take 10 minutes or so to complete — especially if you’re from Colorado. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill quick-hit polls. Once again we’ve gone a little more in-depth. Some of the questions are the same. Some are new. One interesting added follow-up is asking what the most important factor is for you in choosing to support a Republican primary candidate for governor and U.S. Senate. Click here to take the November 2009 Colorado online political survey Your opinion counts. Take a … [Read more...]

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

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Inside

  • About Ben
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    • Colorado Ballot 2008
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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

Colorado News

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National News and Politics

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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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  • E!! The True Conservative Story
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  • 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
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Christian Commentary et al.

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  • Backbone America
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Other Sites

  • Technorati
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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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  • View from a Height

To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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