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2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Kevin Miller’s National Freedom Initiative: A Reincarnation of Frank Meyer’s Fusionism?

In his latest offering, former state legislative leader Mark Hillman praises the "freedom nationally, virtue locally" National Freedom Initiative of Colorado's own Kevin Miller -- not the first time it has crossed my path. It was last year about this time I wrestled a lot with the role social conservatism should play, and something that never strays too far from my mind. Therefore, I'm very intrigued by this initiative -- which, of course, is not altogether new, but rather a very sensible clarification and reformulation for our current political context. The opportunity definitely is there: To educate many social conservatives on the vital and wholly compatible value of liberty and limited government To build a strong bridge between … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, History, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Really the Best 25 Christmas Movies?

With time off work over the holiday, I decided to survey some newly-posted lists on the Web to get a sense of which Christmas movies are widely believed to be the best ever -- with lists including (but not limited to) Moviefone, the Chicago Tribune, Saturday Evening Post, and the objectively-measured most loved Christmas movies list. Using a not-so-highly scientific formula (and not necessarily my own personal preferences), the result is the 25 most highly rated Christmas movies: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, Movie Reviews, Random and Miscellaneous

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Josh Penry Closes Out 2009 with Good News … and a Head Scratcher

As 2009 winds down, some half-good, half-headscratching Colorado political news reported by the Grand Junction Sentinel:State Sen. Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, said he isn’t interested in joining the ticket of his onetime rival, Scott McInnis, as the candidate for lieutenant governor. “If I were hell-bent on being on the ticket, I’d still be in the race,” Penry said last week when asked about reports that he might be interested in the lieutenant governor slot. Penry, however, didn’t tip his hand on a question that has five Republicans watching closely — his decision whether to run for a second term in the state Senate. … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Seriously Rich Obama Irony: Closed Door Meeting on Open Government

I've pointed out before the lack of transparency in the Obama administration's Labor Department. But this new Associated Press story about so-called Obama transparency takes the cake with a new level of irony:It's hardly the image of transparency the Obama administration wants to project: A workshop on government openness is closed to the public. Political cartoonists are probably already putting pen to paper now to mock this amazing self-parody. Imagine the scene: Citizen: Hi, I've come for the meeting on open government. Is this the right place? Security guard: Where's your invitation? Citizen: I, uh... W-what? This is about open government, right? Security guard: Right. Which is why President Obama says it's too important to let … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Memo to National GOP: Wake Up and FIGHT the Obama Care Travesty

Over at Red State, Erick Erickson outlines what Senate Republicans should be doing right now and in the coming days to slow down the anti-liberty Obama Care beast opposed by most Americans. Among many others, Erick makes this salient point:If the Republicans want the news media to cover what they are doing to educate the American people even further about the atrociousness of this bill, they have to create drama on the floor of the Senate. The national Republican party is flirting dangerously with proving itself an entirely ineffectual ally of liberty and limited government. If they can't fight the government health care takeover with all they have now, how can they be trusted in any meaningful way as fellow Guards of our future … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

19-Year-Old Student Daniel Lippman Proofreads Beltway Reporters

And I thought I was anal. (H/T Betsy's Page) Now if someone could help with the AP's whole ideologically-driven, selectively sloppy investigation problem. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, Journalism, media bias, My Life, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Ryan Frazier’s Hispanic Backers Mark GOP Strength, Political Diversity

As fellow RMA blogger Don Johnson also has noted, Republican Congressional candidate Ryan Frazier today announced support for his campaign from 23 key area Hispanic leaders. Many of them have made their marks as business leaders and entrepreneurs. A good number on the list are traditional Republican partisans, such as former state party chair Bob Martinez, but there is also a little political diversity among the group. For example, according to CampaignMoney.com, Source One Management President Sal Gomez has a record of contributing money to both Democrat and Republican campaigns -- his most recent giving includes Rudy Giuliani, Mark Udall, and the Salazar brothers (John and Ken). Another Frazier-backing business leader, Diedra … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

State Supremes’ ID Theft Ruling Lifts Case for Clear The Bench Colorado

One of the most tireless conservative grassroots organizers I know today received a small but certainly plum reward for his hard work. I'm talking about Matt Arnold from Clear the Bench Colorado, and the plug he received in a Valerie Richardson Washington Times article about another controversial Colorado Supreme Court decision: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Judiciary, liberty, PPC, property rights

2/7/2026 By Ben 4 Comments

Colorado 2010 State Senate Showdown: An Early Look at Hot Races

Colorado Republicans need to win four seats in the upcoming 2010 elections to win back a majority in the state senate. While such a development remains improbable at the moment, it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Of the 35 four-year seats in the chamber, 19 are contested in 2010 (including two for special election). Of those 19 seats: 4 are Democrat incumbents facing re-election to a second term 4 are open seats currently held by Democrats 3 are Democrat incumbents seeking their first election to the seat after filling a vacancy 5 are Republican incumbents facing re-election to a second term 2 are open seats currently held by Republicans 1 is a Republican incumbent seeking his first election to the seat after … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Memo to Colorado GOP: Court–Don’t Co-opt–The Tea Party Crowd

Update, 12/2: More valuable insights from Joshua Sharf. First, the Denver Post's Dan Haley weighed in on the Republicans' "Platform for Prosperity." Today, the story went national with coverage from Wall Street Journal reporter Stephanie Simon, and a quote from from one of my favorite grassroots activists (in spite of her misplaced football loyalties):Republicans, however, said the platform would prompt voters to focus on the party's message, rather than their feelings about individual candidates. "People can vote for the agenda," said Tom Tancredo, a former Republican congressman who had been mulling a run for governor. But Nikki Mata, a conservative activist in suburban Denver, said that such a strategy misses the point of the … [Read more...]

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

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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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