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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Complete Colorado Offers Up Top 10 Political (& Non-Political) Stories of 2008

On New Years Day, CompleteColorado.com's Todd Shepherd (also a colleague of mine at the Independence Institute) shared his respective lists of Colorado's Top 10 political and non-political stories of 2008 with AM 740 KVOR guest talk radio host Jeff Crank (H/T El Presidente). A few of Todd's entries may take you by surprise, or trigger something lost in the memory banks. The entire broadcast is nearly an hour long, but any time you can give will glean some interesting perspectives: And if you haven't bookmarked Complete Colorado for regular stops, now is a good time to do so. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Commemorative, General Tagged With: broadcast, colleague, Colorado, Complete Colorado, El Presidente, entries, Independence Institute, interesting perspectives, Jeff Crank, KVOR, memory banks, non-political stories, political stories, Slapstick Politics, surprise, talk radio, Todd Shepherd, Top 10

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Fiscally Conservative Kevin Lundberg Merits Nod for State Senate Seat

I see the upcoming showdown over the appointment to replace state senator Steve Johnson as a real testing ground: Do Republicans want well-qualified and proven fiscal conservatives of class and character - regardless of their views on social issues - or do they just want to toss officials overboard for their socially conservative views? Estes Park's Jon Nicholas gets it right: state representative Kevin Lundberg is the right person to fill Johnson's seat. Especially if Nicholas' observations (one technical error aside) about Lundberg's less well-known rivals indeed are correct: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Amendment 23, appearance, appointment, articulate, Blog Talk Radio, breakfast meeting, character, class, Colorado Union of Taxpayers, conservative principles, Deborah Moeck, Denver, Douglas Bruce, Estes Park, fiscal conservatives, fiscal watchdogs, hard-working, Jon Nicholas, Kevin Lundberg, lawmakers, limited government, Mike Lynch, personal endorsement, Referendum C, Republicans, responsible, right person, Rocky Mountain Alliance, social issues, spokesman, state representative, state senator, Steve Johnson, TABOR, testing ground, voting record, website, well-qualified

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Upside of a Typically Cold Birthday

Another Christmas. Another New Year. Another birthday. Time marches on. Rare are the birthdays I've spent without ice, snow, and/or freezing cold temperatures. It's usually why I don't want to dwell here too long. Upside? The days are getting longer, and the hope for change lies around the corner. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

How Much Does It Cost to Pay the IRS a Nickel Owed for Federal Taxes?

Did you hear the one about the Internal Revenue Service, a trial lawyer, and loose pocket change? A true - and telling - story in today's Detroit Free Press:In mid-November, [Detroit criminal defense attorney James] Howarth received notice that his FICA account, even after an adjustment, was out of whack. He owed the IRS a nickel. And the IRS was serious. It advised him to act promptly "to avoid additional penalty and/or interest." Howarth started calculating how much that nickel was going to cost him. As he figures it, there is the 5 cents plus the cost of a check -- payment must be made by check or money order. Then there is his CPA's fee, an envelope, his secretary's time, his own time and a 42-cent stamp. "The costs are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, property rights Tagged With: adjustment, bureaucracy, CPA, Detroit Free Press, envelope, federal government, FICA, interest, Internal Revenue Service, James Howarth, letter, nickel, penalty, pocket change, refund, sanity, secretary, stamp, story, trial lawyer

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Would Ed Perlmutter Vote our Taxpayer Dollars to Bail Out the Big Three?

From The Hill (via Rocky Mountain Right):Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) sat on an exercise bicycle at the Wheat Ridge Recreation center this weekend, hearing unvarnished advice from constituents about the auto bailout. “It was one after another,” Perlmutter recounted. “One guy would come up and say, ‘You can’t let them fail.’ The next guy would say, ‘Let them go bankrupt.’ ” Perlmutter said he was leaning in favor of the bailout, but couldn’t say for certain until he sees final language. As a constituent of Ed Perlmutter who is paying very close attention to these developments, count me among the latter: Let them go bankrupt. It's the bitter medicine needed, certainly not a vast government takeover at the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: 2010, advice, auto bailout, bankrupt, colleague, Colorado, Colorado delegation, constituents, Democratic, Ed Perlmutter, fail, Jared Polis, leaning, massive bailout, Rocky Mountain Right, The Hill, Wheat Ridge Recreation Center

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Yo, Ho, Ho! A UAW Boss’s Life for Me…

Here's another small log to throw into the automotive bailout fiasco: A local Detroit TV news station tracks the well-paid lifestyle of a couple UAW union plant officials. See if you can count the number of stops at the liquor store made while on the clock, being compensated from their line workers' mandatory dues funds. (H/T Labor Pains) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: automotive bailouts, Detroit, liquor store, mandatory dues, TV news station, union officials, United Auto Workers, well-paid lifestyle

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Democrat Moe Keller Happy to Spend Your Money While Spending is Good

Hey, Colorado, guess what? Leave the Democrats in charge in your state for too long, and taste the fruits of bad fiscal judgment. Witness this Face The State story about my own state senator:Audio from April 3 uncovered by Face The State reveals Sen. Moe Keller, a Wheat Ridge Democrat and chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee, optimistically arguing that Colorado’s economic future is a bright one, even though Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted on that same day the country was headed into a recession. "We do not have a projection from our economists that we are going into a fiscal train wreck," she said. Moe Keller and her fellow Democrats at the State Capitol are just happy to spend your money while the spending is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: bad fiscal judgment, Ben Bernanke, Bill Ritter, chairwoman, citizens, Colorado, Democrats, Denver, Denver Post, economic downturn, economic forecasters, economists, Face the State, Federal Reserve, fiscally conservative, gamble, Grand Junction, Joint Budget Committee, Josh Penry, legislative session, legislative staff, Long Bill, minority leader, Moe Keller, overly optimistic, policies, power, predicted, priorities, rainy day fund, recession, Republicans, sensible, smarts, special interests, state, State Capitol, state leader, state senator, taxpayer dollars, Wheat Ridge

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio with Tom Lucero Tonight at 9 PM

Tune in at 9 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the eighth edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio, the first of 2009. Tonight's guest is Tom Lucero - University of Colorado Regent, chairman of the recently successful Amendment 54 campaign, and already a declared Republican candidate for Colorado's 4th Congressional race in 2010. Don't forget. If you miss the live broadcast of tonight’s show, you can go back and download the podcast, or just use the handy widget on my sidebar to listen directly from Mount Virtus. More information on past and future episodes is posted at Slapstick Politics. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

This is Christmas: Our 2-Year-Old Serenades Us with “Away in a Manger”

Okay, we're light on the politics here for a little while. It's too close to the sacred celebration of Christmas, and most people are completely tuned out anyway. Last night, the older Virtus girl (still nearly 2 months shy of her 3rd birthday) gave us a remarkably clear and *almost completely accurate rendition of "Away in a Manger"--the first verse lyrics with a little melody, anyway. Little things like that show the spirit of Christmas is growing in our household. So much to be thankful for (yes, we ARE rich), and many extra blessings beside. Fancy presents are nice (but overrated--if I see one more of those annoying Lexus commercials, I think I'll scream), though there aren't as many of them this year. Baked goodies I can rarely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Away in a Manger, baked goodies, blessings, Christmas, Family, fancy presents, friends, household, Lexus, price tag, rich, spirit, thankful

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Talking Education with Amy Oliver Live on Air Tuesday at 10 AM

For anyone interested, I am scheduled to be live on the Amy Oliver radio show on 1310 KFKA this Tuesday at 10 AM local Mountain Time. The topics will include school choice, the Obama administration's education agenda, and the inimitable Washington DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. If you have a moment to spare, please tune in via your radio or the Internet. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, My Life Tagged With: 1310 KFKA, Amy Oliver Show, Barack Obama, education agenda, Internet, Michelle Rhee, radio, school choice, Washington DC

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Inside

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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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