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Home Archives for My Life

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Savoring Silver Anniversary of Detroit Tigers’ Last World Championship

A quick walk down Detroit Tigers memory lane: Today is the 3rd anniversary of Magglio Ordonez' walk-off 3-run homer that won the ALCS and launched the Tigers into the World Series (also the first epic late-inning playoff loss for Huston Street, then of the Oakland A's). Which also means it was exactly 25 years ago today that the Detroit Tigers last celebrated World Series triumph, with an 8-5 victory over the San Diego Padres in Game 5 down at the Corner (and my childhood hero Alan Trammell named Series MVP). Sadly, the stadium is gone now. But the memory lives on. Here's hoping that Detroit repeats the feat sometime before that anniversary turns golden and my hair turns (completely) gray. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, liberty, My Life, Sports and Leisure

2/7/2026 By Ben 49 Comments

Laura Boggs for Jeffco School Board

Update, 10/29: Rumors have spread, including in my own comment section, that candidate Laura Boggs has plans to close down Green Mountain and Wheat Ridge high schools. There is no truth to these rumors, and the candidate herself has debunked them. Furthermore, in today's Denver Post story about Jeffco Schools considering closures, it reads: "Closing an elementary school building saves about $300,000 a year on fixed costs; closing a middle school saves $800,000 to $1 million; and shutting down a high school — which is not one of the district's 45 options — saves $3 million a year." [emphasis added] Several people this week have asked for my insights on whom to support for school board here in Jefferson County -- Colorado's largest school … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Another Norton-McCain Connection?

(H/T Complete Colorado) The Colorado Independent reports on another connection between Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jane Norton and our last presidential nominee John McCain -- thanks for the links. In the race for a little more than five weeks now, the former lieutenant governor has been hitting the campaign trail on the Western Slope recently. As the Grand Junction Sentinel notes, Norton certainly is hitting the right talking points early on. This blogger still has some skepticism, some questions to be answered. An interview may be in the near future: Stay tuned.... … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter Thanks the Independence Institute (No Pigs Seen Airborne)

More than one late-morning Denver metro area commuter nearly may have swerved out of their lane of traffic and into danger today, just from the shock of what they heard on the airwaves. What do I mean? During his monthly interview with 850 KOA's Mike Rosen, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter acknowledged that the Independence Institute's recent investigation into his administration's ethical shortcoming was right on: About 2 minutes into the clip, you hear Governor Bill Ritter say: "Thank you to Jon Caldara and the Independence Institute." Hope no one crashed their vehicle as a result. As for the office where I work, we're ready to frame the statement and hang it on the wall. Still no word from Colorado Ethics Watch, though. … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Restoring Some Substance to the Political Junk Food Menu at Mt. Virtus

With the nearly never-ending election cycle, those of us here in the trenches can sometimes too easily lapse into the day-to-day tussles of the news without enough time spent in more serious reflection. (Or maybe it's just those of us with small children whose attention spans are so easily distracted.) Earlier this year I wrote several more reflective essays, most of which have ended up ignored by now. But while I still plan to write about the immediate issues of the day and follow events leading up to the 2010 election, I am also interested in engaging once more in deeper discussions about the status and future of the conservative movement -- albeit, as dictated by the limits of my own time, occasionally. What (besides the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cultural Conservatism, General, History, liberty, My Life, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Historic Hillsdale Homecoming Win: Chargers Down No. 1 GVSU Lakers

You'll grant me a few indulgences for posting this one -- after all, how often do I bother to write about my alma mater's athletic feats? Not too often, I can assure you. But what happened yesterday in the old Hills & Dales on homecoming rates among the most historic gridiron happenings on Muddy Waters Field: the Chargers toppled the number 1 team in Division II, the perennial powerhouse Grand Valley State Lakers, 27-24. Well, historic enough to make the Detroit News, anyway. The last time Hillsdale beat conference foe Grand Valley? Fifteen years ago, the year before I began my (non-athletic) college career. True, because it certainly didn't happen during my brief tenures as sports editor for both the Hillsdale Collegian (1997) and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, History, My Life, Sports and Leisure

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

A Little Different Take on Ryan Frazier from Liberal Blogger David Thielen

About 5 months ago El Presidente and I interviewed Republican U.S. Senate primary candidate Ryan Frazier. I left the interview with the theme of Frazier as a "principled" candidate focused on a solutions-oriented message. On Friday, liberal blogger David Thielen posted his favorable observations after a sit-down with Ryan Frazier. A few key passages jumped out at me: … [Read more...]

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

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Is Obama Striving to Make Jimmy Carter Look Good on Foreign Policy?

I spend very little time on this page analyzing foreign affairs, but I just want to take the chance to go on the record now before returning to my regularly scheduled blogging on state and national domestic policy and politics.... For those who believe America primarily has been a force for evil in the world and should kowtow to foreign dictators, leave no doubt Barack Obama is your man. It's hard to find any rationale for yesterday's pathetic U.N. speech, other than Obama might be trying to build up former president Jimmy Carter's self-esteem or that possibly he's trying to rewrite history to make Woodrow Wilson look like a foreign policy realist. If Obama believes what he said, it's scary about where he wants to take our nation. If … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC, World Events

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

McInnis-Norton Think Tank Comes to Life with Bizarre, Irony-Rich Poll

Update, 9/25: From this morning's Denver Post: Sean Tonner said CPI "is not for elections" and "is going to be here long past 2010." However, Tonner has a long track record of working on elections, and CPI has absolutely no track record as an independent organization. So despite the obvious explanation that there's no formal relationship between CPI and these campaigns, the claim is dubious. Gulp -- I even agree with the Dead Guvs on this one. I'd been wondering when the new Colorado Policy Institute (CPI) would come to life and do something. So what did they finally do today? Publish a white paper? None of those yet. Post an item or two on their "Issues" page? Nope, still waiting for that to happen. One more guess, readers.... CPI … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Josh Penry, Colorado’s Next Governor, Makes Another National Splash

Quickly working to establish himself as the Republican frontrunner to challenge Bill Ritter for governor in 2010, Josh Penry -- whom I am not ashamed to admit I support -- once again is drawing attention in the national press. Take a minute to check out yesterday's Christian Science Monitor piece: "The 33-year-old who would be Colorado's next governor". Need more reason to read the article? Find out what Josh Penry has to say about Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal. Gotcha, didn't I? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, My Life

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Inside

  • About Ben
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  • Colorado Ballot Reviews
    • Colorado Ballot 2008
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  • Mary and Jacob: From the Forgotten Dust
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  • Passion and Purpose:
    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
  • The Westfield Gardener
  • What I’m Thankful For
  • Writer / Editor For Hire

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

Colorado News

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  • Complete Colorado
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National News and Politics

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  • Reason
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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
  • David Harsanyi’s Blog
  • E!! The True Conservative Story
  • EIA Intercepts
  • Evangelical Outpost
  • Hugh Hewitt
  • Instapundit
  • LaShawn Barber
  • Lileks
  • Little Green Footballs
  • Michelle Malkin
  • NRO's The Corner
  • Power Line
  • Red State

Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
  • Black Five
  • Blogs of War
  • Eduwonk
  • Flypaper
  • Fraters Libertas
  • Historical Conversations
  • IMAO
  • Jay P. Greene
  • Mike Anderson
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Christian Commentary et al.

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Conservative and GOP Sites

  • Backbone America
  • Cal Thomas
  • Colorado Republican Party
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Colorado Blogs

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Other Sites

  • Technorati
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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
  • The Business Word
  • The Daily Blogster
  • View from a Height

To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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