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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Udall Losing Respect for Sponsoring Silly Resolution

Michelle Malkin blasts away at the "phony" Congressional resolution attacking Rush Limbaugh: "Bottom-of-the-barrel desperation," she writes, with accumulated evidence to demonstrate that those Lefties hopping on the bandwagon should have used a little more discretion first. They are giving conservative officials a platform to make our case stronger, says Newsbusters. To her credit, Malkin also recognizes the lead role played by our own The Colorado Index in publishing the silly resolution sponsored by Boulder liberal U.S. Rep. Mark Udall. As noted earlier, the Left in Colorado also has assailed Udall as "an embarrassment" for this course of action. Following the lead of a Left-liberal faux "watchdog" to use Congressional time and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Liberal Bloggers’ Union: Contemplate the Benefits

Conservative bloggers who have observed our side lagging a bit in the world of Internet political opinion should consider encouraging this trend: In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers is trying to band together to form a labor union it hopes will help members receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards. Not much could do more to slow the productivity of Lefty blogging and to raise costs for its wealthy benefactors than cyber-unionization. I'm waiting for the first Colorado union blog shop to open up and to expel non-union writers or to extract fees from them. Or what about this tantalizing possibility as a future … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Random and Miscellaneous

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Ritter Health Care Reform = Budget-Busting Nightmare?

Democrat Governor Bill Ritter's blue ribbon commission to reform health care has come up with an idea that would blow a mile-wide hole in the state budget, reports the Colorado Springs Gazette. But who is going to foot the bill for the proposed bureaucratic nightmare? Colorado Republicans, conservative and moderate independents, and even plenty of Democrats know this plan isn't going to fly. After all, it's only one of five plans the commission is floating. Once we all waste our ammunition shooting down the big, bad, scary plan, the Democrats will try to sneak through one of the less offensive (but still $1-3 billion a year costly) alternatives. Mark my words. Check out Lin Zinser's take at We Stand Firm for more details. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Happy Constitution Day

Happy 220th Birthday to the U.S. Constitution today. We knew thee well. Today also remains the bloodiest day in U.S. history - the Battle of Antietam, Maryland - a battle that played a crucial role in helping to ensure that our Constitution would better reflect the Founders' ideals as laid out in the Declaration of Independence. What do Americans know about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Civil War? I couldn't bring myself to look for detailed evidence. I'd rather have a happy Constitution Day ... and same to you! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Rockies 9, Padres 8 (13 inn.)

One of the best baseball games I have ever seen. What a contest from start to finish. Controversy, comebacks, power, pitching, good defense, clutch hitting, and after an improbable ending, the Colorado Rockies are in the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. Un- be- lie- va- ble. And somewhere in it all, Matt Holliday secured a NL batting title (and maybe an MVP), Troy Tulowitzki all but locked up NL Rookie of the Year, and the Rockies broke a Major League team season record for fielding percentage. Closest to most fan's hearts, though, is the fact Todd Helton - the long-time face of the franchise - finally gets to punch a playoff ticket, a fitting tribute to his career. Seeing this city go baseball crazy in October does my heart … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Sports and Leisure

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Drive, Don’t Walk

Rev up your engines, my friends! The careful research of one Brit has turned conventional environmental wisdom on its head: Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated. Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby. So one is left to ask: why isn't this guy considered an environmentalist icon? If you have a devout Green religionist in your life, you may not want to share … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Random and Miscellaneous

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Dem Divide: “Dump Udall”

Boulder liberal Rep. Mark Udall wants Colorado to choose him as our next U.S. Senator, but he is treading a fine line of confusion on the most important issue of our times. From the Aspen Times comes this gem: Thursday, Udall's plans were momentarily derailed when protester George Newell positioned himself behind the congressman, directly in line with cameras of local photographers. Newell carried a sign saying, "Dump Udall. He Votes For War" - a reference to Udall's recent vote for passage of a $100 billion war bill sought by President Bush. When one of Udall's staff tried to get Newell to step away, the protester reacted angrily, saying, "That's assault." When Udall joined in with a politely-phrased request to get out of the way, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Please Speak Plainly, Gov. Ritter

Consider this post a plea for Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) to pick a side of his mouth to speak out of. Echoing today's Rocky Mountain News editorial: Gov. Bill Ritter continues to insist that state employees don't "feel valued," as he said on Mike Rosen's KOA talk show last Thursday, and that a "partnership for the 21st century" is needed to "acknowledge the work of state employees, to take their input, to \[deliver] a better service to taxpayers." Who on earth could oppose any of those objectives? Why wouldn't the public prefer an entrepreneurial state work force that's constantly aiming to improve its performance? And if these are the governor's goals, why doesn't he simply implement them? The self-described "CEO of state … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Carroll: Colorado NOT Near Bottom in Education Funding

Colorado's public school establishment has gradually been losing its grip on the education monopoly, and it's also been losing its grip on the funding statistics monopoly. No need to retread old roads, but kudos once again to the Rocky Mountain News' Vincent Carroll for reminding readers that Colorado does not rank near the bottom of K-12 school funding but near the middle: [Denver superintendent Michael] Bennet is right that Coloradans don’t spend lavishly on education, comparatively speaking. But we haven’t exactly been Scrooges, either. For those dying to know more, check out my 2006 Independence Institute report "Counting the Cash." … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Post Eyes Tancredo in Saturday Iowa Straw Poll

Iowa's Ames straw poll is this Saturday, and the suspense is not in who is going to win. Since most of the top-tier candidates have chosen not to participate, Mitt Romney will walk away with it. Politico's Jonathan Martin highlights the Romney campaign's intense battle against high expectations. Meanwhile, the Denver Post spotlights Colorado's own Tom Tancredo - they may be cheering for him to beat out the slew of other also-rans for second place. Not necessarily from partisan or philosophical motives, but more from the desire to extend news coverage of the Congressman's campaign as long as possible before its inevitable demise. Without any special inside information from Iowa, but as one who follows the political news fairly closely, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics

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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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