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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bob Schaffer-Mark Udall Debate Coverage Roundup

Here's a roundup of new media coverage of Monday's premier public debate between Colorado U.S. Senate candidates Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall. From Schaffer v Udall... - Schaffer v Udall Debate: Update, Quick First Impressions - Bob Schaffer's Clear Debate Victory over Mark Udall Sways Uncommitted Voter - Schaffer v Udall Debate Photos - Missing the Point of Bob Schaffer's Powerful Zing on Mark Udall's Iraq Record - Mark Udall Healthcare Quips From Rocky Mountain Right... - Pictures from the Schaffer-Udall Debate - Breaking News from the RMN: Udall Staffer Approves of Udall's Debate Performance! Also check out Face The State's slideshow of the debate. And, of course, though it's not new media, 9News has a report from the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Bob Schaffer, debate, Face the State, Mark Udall, Rocky Mountain Right, Schaffer v Udall, U.S. Senate

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Officials Can Act Wisely to Quash Anti-Taxpayer Rumors

A watcher writes:I heard a rumor that some (unnamed) someone had offered the State Supreme Court a promise of a new building if only the Court would find the illegal property tax imposed by Governor Ritter and his Democrat legislature was constitutional. That would explain why Bill Ritter seems so confident that the State Supreme Court will rule his way. If the Court is dumb enough to appear to be bought and if the legislature is dumb enough to send a hundred million their way immediately after the ruling, Colorado will have a black eye for years to come. Again, this is a rumor, but a rumor that might have some substance. I've seen this one come through the grapevine, too. Gov. Bill Ritter's actions have only made the rumor more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Colorado General Assembly, Colorado Supreme Court, grapevine, Property Tax Increase, rumor, The Colorado Index

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Pollster Floyd Ciruli Rehashes Reasons for Bill Ritter’s Sinking Popularity

In today's Rocky Mountain News, Colorado Democrat pollster Floyd Ciruli takes a cold, analytical look at Gov. Bill Ritter's approval ratings -- boiled down, the picture isn't pretty for the potential one-term governor:Surprisingly, new Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter may be in trouble. When compared with his Montana counterpart, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, in recent Rasmussen polls, Ritter's job rating lags behind Schweitzer by 19 points. Only 45 percent of Colorado voters gave Ritter an excellent or good job rating, whereas 64 percent of Montanans rated Schweitzer as doing an excellent or good job. Floyd Ciruli cites a litany of reasons for Bill Ritter's sagging popularity, reasons that have been regular themes of this and other local new media … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, Labor Tagged With: bathroom bill, Bill Ritter, blue-ribbon panels, Brian Schweitzer, campaign finance violation, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Executive Order, Face the State, Floyd Ciruli, Human Events, Montana, oil and gas drilling, Property Tax Increase, Rasmussen poll, Rocky Mountain News, Senate Bill 200, severance tax, state government, TV commercials

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Majority of Coloradans Don’t Think Bill Ritter is Doing a Terrible Job

The times sure have changed for Gov. Bill Ritter. Back in September 2007, two separate polls placed the governor's approval ratings -- in one case, those who believed he was doing an "excellent" or "good" job -- around 70 percent:Ritter's spokesman said the governor has earned his high approval ratings by taking on renewable energy, transportation, health care and education. "I think the kind of partisan attacks that have come from a few state house Republicans don't resonate, because the issues that people care about are the issues that Gov. Ritter is addressing," Evan Dreyer said. This week, it's Bill Ritter's sinking poll numbers that are in the headlines. From today's Denver Post (including a chance to express your own view in an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: agenda, approval rating, Bill Ritter, Colorado, Denver Post, Evan Dreyer, fair, leadership, polls, poor, report card

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Betsy Markey Out of Touch on Big Labor Bill: Boon for Marilyn Musgrave?

Colorado's mega-rich liberals Tim Gill and Pat Stryker have it in for conservative Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who has represented northeastern Colorado since 2003. They have spent countless amounts of money trying to unseat her in the past two election cycles, and are committed to doing it again. This time they believe they have a winning candidate in Democrat Betsy Markey, someone to fulfill their obsession. But this video clip of Betsy Markey trying to explain her position on the poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act shows that Tim Gill and Pat Stryker still have some work to do with their out-of-touch candidate: As the Labor Pains blog points out, this is the same Betsy Markey who has sought to woo small businesses but struggles to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: Betsy Markey, Big Labor, Congress, Employee Free Choice Act, Labor Pains, Marilyn Musgrave, Pat Stryker, secret ballots, small business, Tim Gill

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Libby Szabo is a Legislative Candidate Worthy of Conservative Support

Face The State yesterday featured a campaign money breakdown for what figures to be Colorado's hottest state legislative race - and quite possibly a bellwether for others across the state - and that's Senate District 19:In Jefferson County's closely contested Senate District 19, Democrat Evie Hudak has started raking in union cash, while Republican Libby Szabo has seen her large-donor support come mostly from pro-business organizations and the state's energy providers. Libby Szabo is a personal friend and a common sense conservative with plenty of real-world experience in raising a family and running a business. Unfortunately, I live just outside her district and can't vote for Libby. But I'm glad to commend her to readers, especially … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: campaign contributions, Colorado, conservative, Evie Hudak, Face the State, Jefferson County, Libby Szabo, limited government, Senate District 19

2/7/2026 By Ben 4 Comments

Lawsuit Against Bible Publishers New Milestone in Warped Leftist Lunacy

The warped, whiny, politically correct victim culture has reached a new milestone of insanity:A homosexual man who has a blog on Sen. Barack Obama's campaign website is suing two major Christian publishers for violating his constitutional rights and causing emotional pain, because the Bible versions they publish refer to homosexuality as a sin. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reported. I'm sure if he goes judge-shopping long enough, Mr. Fowler the Barack Obama blogger may even find one who agrees with him that scholarly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Bradley LaShawn Fowler, Christian publishers, Grand Rapids Press, insanity, Moonbattery, politically correct victim culture, religious freedom, Right Wing News, Thomas Nelson, World Net Daily, Zondervan

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Chalk One Up for the Constitution… and Independence Institute’s Dave Kopel

Once in awhile, the U.S. Supreme Court gets it right. Today that's the case with the 5-4 landmark ruling in DC v Heller that overturns the Washington, D.C., gun ban and sets the Second Amendment on the solid terrain intended by our nation's Founders. Around the Independence Institute, where research director Dave Kopel is one of the most renowned experts in the field, this makes for a busy day, and one of celebration. Dave authored a friendly brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Institute and numerous law enforcement organizations, providing evidence of how citizens owning firearms is important to public safety. Dave also was one of three attorneys who sat at plaintiff Heller's table during the oral arguments before the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, Second Amendment Tagged With: amicus brief, ATF party, Constructively Reasonable, Dave Kopel, DC v Heller, Human Events, Independence Institute, iVoices, Jon Caldara, oral arguments, Pajamas Media, Reason, SCOTUS blog, Second Amendment, U.S. Supreme Court, Washington DC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Good News for Amendment 46

If you're running a statewide ballot initiative campaign, these are the kind of numbers you want to see:A national survey conducted jointly by the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post.com, and Quinnipiac University released Thursday shows that the majority of Colorado voters — Democrat and Republican alike — overwhelmingly support Amendment 46, also known as the Colorado Civil Rights Initiative. The proposed constitutional amendment would prohibit government from considering race or gender in education, government employment, or public contracting. The poll, conducted last week, showed that 66 percent of all voters surveyed were supportive of the initiative's language, with just 15 percent saying they were opposed. Democrats were … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Amendment 46, ballot initiative, Colorado Civil Rights initiative, Face the State, poll, Qunnipiac University, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Not in My Future

Monday morning, little time to write. As I get ready to head back for another week of work, I ironically find this posting for a job that probably isn't in my future. Given my credentials, I doubt I would even get a phone call for an interview. Oh, well. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, Labor, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous

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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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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
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Other Sites

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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