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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Barack Obama’s Taxpayer Trick or Treat for Union Bosses, Welfare, ACORN

(Compliments of ALG Feature Syndicate) If there's one thing undecided voters need to weigh in the waning days of this presidential campaign, it indeed is Barack Obama's desire to give taxpayer-funded goodies to union bosses, the welfare state, and ACORN. Meanwhile, Obama's campaign continues to raise questions about the integrity of his online fundraising process. The bare minimum security opens the door to all kinds of potential fraud and federal campaign violations. An experiment by PowerLine readers highlights the extent of the problem. (Update: < em>HotAir has tons of mounting evidence.) Yes, you have correctly sensed a theme developing.... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: ACORN, Americans for Limited Government, Barack Obama, election, federal campaign violations, goodies, online fundraising, potential fraud, presidential campaign, security, taxpayers, undecided voters, union bosses, welfare state

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Barack Obama Would Play Jimmy Hoffa by Getting Union Bad Guys Off

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards reported its 900th conviction of union leaders for criminal activity. From the press release:During the month, OLMS obtained three convictions, seven indictments and court orders of restitution totaling more than $80,000. The office’s totals for fiscal year 2008 (which ended on Sept. 30, 2008) are 102 convictions and 130 indictments, with restitution of more than $3.2 million. The bulk of the cases involved the embezzlement of union funds. “The triple-digit numbers of indictments and convictions obtained by OLMS in the 2008 fiscal year demonstrates that criminal activity in unions is still a major problem. This problem points to the critical role … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: bad seeds, Barack Obama, Big Labor, Bill Ritter, Colorado, conviction, corruption, criminal activity, Don Todd, embezzlement, endorsement, federal agencies, forgery, Governor, indictments, Jimmy Hoffa, Office of Labor-Management Standards, oversight, restitution, rollback, Teamsters, theft, U.S. Department of Labor, union funds, union leaders, Wall Street Journal, workers

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

My Young Free Market Friends Showcase New Online Political Activism

The Saturday edition of the Rocky Mountain News featured the proverbial quadrennial story about the energized youth vote. Do we have reason to believe that more young voters will cast their ballots this year? I don't know. But one of my young free market friends astutely suggests that the state of the economy has re-engaged many of them:Wesley Dickinson, a 30-year-old Denver engineer, thinks the economy is forcing people near his age to confront politics more so than at any time since the 1970s economic downturn created a generation of Reagan Republicans. Since then, people have been able to live relatively comfortably and didn't care so much about what the government did; that no longer is true, he said. "They haven't had to worry … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: activism, Amanda Teresi, ballots, blog, campaign event, co-workers, computer, Denver, donate money, economy, engineer, free market, friends, Independence Institute, Justin Longo, Liberty on the Rocks, politics, Presidential debate, Reagan Republicans, Rocky Mountain News, technology, Web monkey, Wesley Dickinson, youth vote

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

I’m Not Ready to Delve into the 2010 Election for Colorado Governor

I'm really not ready to talk about the race for governor in 2010. Yes, I believe Bill Ritter is a vulnerable incumbent, and the Republicans have a real shot if they play it right. I agree with Rocky Mountain Right: Tom Tancredo isn't the answer. And I'm taking a wait-and-see attitude about John Elway. As of today, here's my leading choice. But let's finish this Election strong first, and think about 2010 later. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: 2010, Bill Ritter, election, Governor, incumbent, John Elway, Mark Hillman, Republicans, Rocky Mountain Right, Tom Tancredo

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Discussing Education on Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 9 PM

This evening at 9 PM (local Mountain time), I'll join state representative candidate, long-time blogger, and host Joshua Sharf (and possibly another guest) for a half-hour discussion of the latest and greatest education issues in Colorado on Blog Talk Radio. Click here to tune in. The conversation is sure to be lively and informative. And if you miss it live, you can always come back later to catch a recording. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Education, General, My Life Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, Education, Joshua Sharf

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Slow Joe the Six-Term Senator … Remember, He’s Smarter Than You

Joe Biden, er, how many letters in that word? If it makes you feel better, Joe Biden clearly has a "much higher IQ than you": It's Friday, a good time for laughs. So if you have 10 minutes, you also ought to watch the good-spirited and rollicking humor of Senator John McCain's speech at the Al Smith dinner. Even Barack Obama was in stitches as many of the subtle (and sometimes self-deprecating) jabs were delivered. (H/T Patrick Ruffini, The Next Right) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Al Smith Dinner, Barack Obama, Friday, good-spirited, higher IQ, Humor, jobs, Joe Biden, John McCain, letters, Patrick Ruffini, speech, The Next Right, word, YouTube

2/7/2026 By Ben 6 Comments

GOP Voter Registration Fraud Story is Bad – Not As Bad As ACORN, Though

I find this story out of California quite disturbing. The Los Angeles Times reports that a Republican contractor has been targeted with serious allegations of engaging in voter registration fraud - a stupid, repugnant, and unethical activity (H/T Volokh Conspiracy):Voters contacted by The Times said they were tricked into switching parties while signing what they believed were petitions for tougher penalties against child molesters. Some said they were told that they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Others had no idea their registration was being changed.... It is a bait-and-switch scheme familiar to election experts. The firm hired by the California Republican Party -- a small … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: ACORN scandals, allegations, Barack Obama, California, Curious Stranger, Democratic agenda, FBI criminal investigation, initiative law, Los Angeles Times, national election, non-partisan, partisan, petition, Republican contractor, Republican Party, stupid, taxpayer funds, unethical, Volokh Conspiracy, voter registration fraud, Young Political Majors

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

A National Media Double Standard on Florida Congressional Scandals?

The radical shift in polling numbers after the explosive news about the sex/bribe scandal of Democratic Rep. Tim Mahoney - who replaced the infamous Republican Rep. Mark Foley - ensures that Florida Congressional seat shifts back to GOP hands. But where are the national media's incessant demands to find the facts about what Democratic leaders knew and when? I guess the question answers itself. The liberal media establishment doesn't want to drive its favored party into the ground and harm the chances of its chosen candidate (read: Barack Obama). Mark Foley at least had enough shame to do the decent thing and resign over his illicit messages to Congressional pages (and as I said then of Republican leaders, "if they knew and withheld … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, chosen candidate, Congressional pages, Congressman, decency, demands, Democrat, Democratic leaders, double standard, favored party, Florida, Mark Foley, media establishment, national media, question, Republican, resign, scandal, shame, Tim Mahoney

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Denver Post Backs Grassroots GOP HD27 Challenger John Bodnar

The Denver Post gave its complete endorsement round-up for Colorado state house races today. It's impossible for us mere mortals to divine the rhyme or reason behind the Post's endorsements. As expected, the center-left editorial board has backed more Democrats than Republicans, and nearly every incumbent. But interestingly, the Post threw its lot behind two Republican challengers over Democrat officeholders. One of them is here in Arvada, where a hard-working, truly grassroots, common-sense candidate has emerged:HD 27 (Jefferson) — First-term incumbent Democrat Sara Gagliardi, a nurse, has focused primarily on health care. But we're more impressed with Republican challenger John Bodnar because of his balanced views on energy and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Andrew Romanoff, Arvada, candidate Sara Gagliardi, challengers, closer contests, Colorado, common sense, conservative blogosphere, Democrats, Denver Post, editorial board, endorsements, Energy, environmental issues, grassroots, health care options, incumbents, Joshua Sharf, Libby Szabo, Lois Court, officeholders, Republicans, rumors, staffer, star, state house, state senate, taxpaying citizens

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Time to Vote, Colorado

The Virtus household are casting our ballots today, finally getting it over with. If you live in Colorado and still need insights and/or suggestions on the statewide ballot issues, please check out my updated Colorado ballot guide 2008. And now a joint message from a group of local bloggers: AN URGENT MESSAGE TO ALL COLORADO REPUBLICAN VOTERS From the Colorado Coalition of Conservative Bloggers As you know, Colorado has been labeled a "swing"state in this year's elections, and will be one of the states that will determine the direction of our nation for the next four or eight years. Historically, the voters in Colorado elected Republican candidates, largely because of the higher numbers of registered Republican voters. This … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life

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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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Christian Commentary et al.

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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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