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Home Archives for Commemorative

6/6/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

D-Day Plus 65 Years

Last night I watched again the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan. It's hard to put such moving sacrifice into perspective, on this the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion to begin the liberation of Europe. But I leave you with portions of two relevant addresses -- one contemporaneous and one retrospective. First, from General Dwight D. Eisenhower on the eve of invasion:You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, History, liberty, Movie Reviews, PPC Tagged With: 65th anniversary, 67th anniversary, achievement, addresses, Allies, American, appreciation, Army Rangers, Battle of Midway, behalf, belief, boys, brave, cliffs, conquest, countries, country, D-Day invasion, democracy, Dwight Eisenhower, dying, dying for, Europe, faith, fitting, force, forget, France, free people, generation, German, Great Crusade, humanity, ideals, liberation, liberty-loving people, listen, loyalty, men, moral difference, Nazi tyranny, never, Normanday, opening scenes, oppressed peoples, Pacific, perspective, Pointe du Hoc, profound, reflect, Ronald Reagan, sacrifice, Saving Private Ryan, Second World War, serving, show, tide, tremendous, trenches, turned, ultimately, veterans, war, war machine

6/2/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

‘Noble Pride’ Lives On: A Principled Lesson for the ‘Hillsdale of the East’

Unbelievably, a few weeks ago I passed the 10th anniversary of my graduation from Hillsdale College with a bachelors degree. But the spirit of school pride lives on, and my heart smiled when today I read William McGurn's Wall Street Journal column "How Hillsdale Beats Harvard". After explaining how Hillsdale's principled stand of not accepting any federal funds fits right in with the school's warm welcome of military recruiters on campus, McGurn concludes:If Harvard believes that our Armed Forces are inconsistent with its values, surely the honest thing to do is to stand on principle and accept the funding consequences. The folks at Hillsdale would be glad to show the way. Back in the good old college days, there was a running quip … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, Education, General, liberty, My Life, PPC Tagged With: accepting, alma mater, Armed Forces, bachelors degree, campus, column, consequences, East, federal funds, graduation, Harvard, heart, Hillsdale College, honest thing, inconsistent, lives on, Midwest, military recruiters, noble pride, principled stand, quip, right reasons, running, school pride, smiles, spirit, values, Wall Street Journal, warm welcome, William McGurn

6/1/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

The World is Changing: GM Pontiac Plant Closing Strikes Close to Home

This report from the Detroit News strikes close to home:Oakland County is taking a major hit in General Motors Corp.'s restructuring in bankruptcy, with an estimated 6,600 of the 8,900 factory jobs lost in Michigan based in the affluent county north of Detroit. But one of the plants to be idled, in Orion Township, is in the running to build a small car in the future, said GM spokesman Chris Lee. The Orion site currently assembles the mid-size Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6. "It's a real sad day," said UAW Local 549 President Doug Bowman in Pontiac. Workers at Pontiac Assembly, which makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, were told by plant officials at 8:15 a.m. the 3.4 million-square-foot plant will close in October … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, Labor, My Life, National Politics, PPC

5/25/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Memorial Day: “Remembering”

Click here to watch a Complete Colorado video commemorating Memorial Day with a local flavor. Also, The National Moment of Remembrance recommends taking a special respectful moment of silence at 3 PM local time in honor of all the brave American servicemen and women who have fallen in wars past and present. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: American, brave, Complete Colorado, Memorial Day, moment of silence, National Moment of Remembrance, past, present, Remembering, servicemen, servicewomen, video, wars

5/25/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Memorial Day Reflections: Audie Murphy & A Moment for Silent Reflection

On this Memorial Day, I can't think to do any better than point you back to last year's remembrance:O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine. Today, pay your respects to a fallen soldier, sailor, airman, Marine - and to their loved ones still with us. And don’t forget to thank the troops you meet for their service to us all. Happy Memorial Day! Otherwise, I defer to this Saturday Wall Street Journal column by Peggy Noonan (H/T Steve Meyer) on the need to renew American fascination with the military hero. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, History, liberty, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: airman, Alvin York, America, America the Beautiful, Arlington Cemetery, Audie Murphy, audience, blogger, Business Executives for National Security, Chuck Boyd, column, defer, ephemera, fallen, fascination, father, government, grave, high schooler, last year, life, loved ones, lovely, Marine, Memorial Day, military hero, Mrs. Virtus, nation's capital, Oh, Peggy Noonan, plain GI headstone, podium, POW, psyche, public library, reflection, remembrance, renew, respectful, sailor, service, silence, soldier, thank, troops, veteran, Vietnam, Wall Street Journal, warriors, Washington DC, World War Two

4/29/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Michael Riley’s “100 Days” Obama Paean Could Use a Little Perspective

As Barack Obama nears 100 days in office, major newspapers take notice. Yet what a difference a turn of the phrase makes. First, Michael Riley leads off his "Potent voice of change" on the front page of today's Denver Post:One hundred days into his administration — forced by events and prodded by his own driving leadership style — Barack Obama has brought change to Washington that is bigger, bolder and far more risky than anything he articulated in his historic campaign. What's another way of saying that? Let's ask the editors of the Washington Times:Perplexed about complaints over Mr. Obama's expansion of government, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham asked: "does no one listen during campaigns?" It was these pundits who weren't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, media bias, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: 100 days, adoration, article, articulated, attacks, Barack Obama, bigger, Bill Clinton, Bob Schaffer, bolder, campaign, candidate, change, choice, Congressional career, deficit, Democrat, Denver Post, Diana Degette, ethical debate, expansion, failing, fiscal course, Gallup, Gene Kinsey, George W. Bush, glorified, government, government spending, historical perspective, Jimmy Carter, job performance, Jon Meacham, leadership, Left-wing, massive, Michael Riley, Newsweek, obeisance, Olympian, promises, pundits, reckless, Republican, responsible, Richard Nixon, script, stem cells, succeeding, survey, thrust, U.S. Senate, Washington Times, wisdom

4/27/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Limited Government Week: An Awareness Raiser To Rally Behind

No day, week, or month passes that isn't officially commemorated for some reason. Take April, the month we're in for a few more days: What have you done the last 27 days to honor National Poetry Month, Stress Awareness Month, or even Fresh Florida Tomato Month? That's what I thought ... In the meantime, there are important causes that definitely deserve greater awareness, like this one: Limited Government Week. If you can get down to Colorado Springs anytime in the next few days, you may find one or more valuable events to attend. The highlight is a Tuesday dinner with keynote speaker Amity Shlaes, author of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression (an excellent book). For more details on the week's activities, go … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Commemorative, Cultural Conservatism, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: Amity Shlaes, angels, April, assessment, author, Barack Obama, believe, CASE, causes, Colorado Springs, commemorated, controls, crowd, devout, dinner, elements, Federalist Papers, Fresh Florida Tomato Month, greater awareness, highlight, honest, hopey-changey, human nature, important, James Madison, Limited Government Week, men, National Poetry Month, principle, Stress Awareness Month, The Forgotten Man, Tuesday, understanding

4/12/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Happy Easter

From the New American Standard version:Luke 24:1-9 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Commemorative, General, liberty, My Life

4/6/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Opening Day

Snow is on the ground, but the Major League Baseball regular season is here. Hopes are renewed. Leading up to the season, Michael at Best Destiny has featured his takes on the best baseball movies ever. I largely concur with his opinions. As a Detroit Tigers fan, I consider myself sufficiently humbled after last year's crash from the plateau of high expectations -- a crash of epic proportions. This year the team looks somewhat different, definitely younger, and based on significant uncertainty in the bullpen could finish almost anywhere in the division. But it's April 6, and I'm hoping for the best. As for the hometown Colorado Rockies (my National League team), they likewise are relieved of the burden of high expectations. In a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, My Life, Sports and Leisure

3/31/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Sign Up Today for the One-Night Version of Free People, Free Markets

Have you been interested in taking the Free People, Free Markets course - the one I've told you about before - but decided it was too much of a time commitment? Well, then, do I have the solution for you. You can sign up for a special, one-night only, three-hour crash course version of Free People, Free Markets: Wednesday, April 15. The location is especially convenient if you live in the south Denver metro area. But don't wait to sign up until the last minute. For only $25, take advantage of this unforgettable opportunity. At the very least, it will give you a newfound disgust for the annual deadline to pay your federal income taxes. More than likely, though, you'll gain a tremendous appreciation for the principles of capitalism … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, PPC, property rights Tagged With: annual deadline, appreciation, April 15, capitalism, course, disgust, federal income taxes, Free People Free Markets, last minute, liberties, newfound, one-night, opportunity, principles, sign up, solution, special, take advantage, three-hour, time commitment, undergird, unforgettable, very least

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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.

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