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Home Archives for National Politics

7/12/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Rest in Peace, Tony Snow

Sad news today about a man with integrity, decency, and affability uncommon to contemporary public life, who finally succumbed in his long bout with colon cancer. Via American Thinker, here is quotable wisdom Tony Snow shared in a May 2007 commencement speech, advice to "live boldly, to live a whole life": 1. Think; use your brains. 2. Take risks; don't be content with what you know. 3. Commit to God. Faith is as natural as the air we breathe. Religion is the introduction to the ultimate extreme sport. 4. Get out and experience life. Get your fingernails dirty... and laugh, a lot, at yourselves. ..the pain, the poignancy, the aches are essential; they bring us together. 5. Love. It is everything...to love is to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Commemorative, General, National Politics Tagged With: American Thinker, colon cancer, commencement speech, faith, Fox News, obituary, Tony Snow

7/11/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

AFL-CIO Tells IRS with a Straight Face It Spends No Money on Politics

Do you ever wonder why there's such skepticism about Big Labor's support of legislation that attacks workers' ballot privacy, not to mention Big Labor's opposition to legislation that gives workers more freedom over their earnings? Underreported news like this from the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) would give a satisfactory answer. Here's the letter from AWF to the Internal Revenue Service:On behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF), and rank-and-file working Americans, I urge you to investigate the apparent incongruence contained within the 2005-2006 tax filings by the AFL-CIO. According to their annual LM-2 financial disclosure form filed with the Department of Labor, the AFL-CIO spent $41,620,583 on political activities … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: AFL-CIO, Alliance for Worker Freedom, Big Labor, corruption, Department of Labor, fair elections, Internal Revenue Service, LM-2, National Education Association, political activities, political expenditures, tax evasion, workers' funds

7/11/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Phil Gramm’s Foot-in-Mouth Problem vs. Barack Obama’s Ongoing Elitism

Did you hear what Phil Gramm - former U.S. Senator, McCain for President economic adviser - said? If you're reading this blog, it's almost impossible to have missed it. (Hey - don't whine at me if you haven't heard what Gramm said!) It's become so bad that less than 24 hours into the story the big media is referencing the extent of its own coverage:Remarks by former Sen. Phil Gramm (R), a top economic advisor to Sen. John McCain, are drawing heavy negative attention for the candidate in the latest media cycle. 1996 was a long time ago - it was the first Presidential election in which I was eligible to vote. Yesterday helped to remind me why the Phil Gramm campaign never left the ground. The man is an economic whiz and one of the most … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Democrats, double standards, economic elitism, foot-in-mouth disease, John McCain, Phil Gramm, recession, U.S. News and World Report

7/10/2008 By Ben 4 Comments

Lawsuit Against Bible Publishers New Milestone in Warped Leftist Lunacy

The warped, whiny, politically correct victim culture has reached a new milestone of insanity:A homosexual man who has a blog on Sen. Barack Obama's campaign website is suing two major Christian publishers for violating his constitutional rights and causing emotional pain, because the Bible versions they publish refer to homosexuality as a sin. Bradley LaShawn Fowler, 39, of Canton, Mich., is seeking $60 million from Zondervan and another $10 million from Thomas Nelson Publishing in lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the Grand Rapids Press reported. I'm sure if he goes judge-shopping long enough, Mr. Fowler the Barack Obama blogger may even find one who agrees with him that scholarly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Bradley LaShawn Fowler, Christian publishers, Grand Rapids Press, insanity, Moonbattery, politically correct victim culture, religious freedom, Right Wing News, Thomas Nelson, World Net Daily, Zondervan

7/9/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Betsy Markey Out of Touch on Big Labor Bill: Boon for Marilyn Musgrave?

Colorado's mega-rich liberals Tim Gill and Pat Stryker have it in for conservative Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who has represented northeastern Colorado since 2003. They have spent countless amounts of money trying to unseat her in the past two election cycles, and are committed to doing it again. This time they believe they have a winning candidate in Democrat Betsy Markey, someone to fulfill their obsession. But this video clip of Betsy Markey trying to explain her position on the poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act shows that Tim Gill and Pat Stryker still have some work to do with their out-of-touch candidate: As the Labor Pains blog points out, this is the same Betsy Markey who has sought to woo small businesses but struggles to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: Betsy Markey, Big Labor, Congress, Employee Free Choice Act, Labor Pains, Marilyn Musgrave, Pat Stryker, secret ballots, small business, Tim Gill

7/9/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Support for Congress Matches Belief that Astrology is “Very Scientific”

Public confidence in the U.S. Congress has never registered lower than it does today under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid:The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category. The level of cynicism is stunning across the board (only 13% support from Democrats, 8% from Republicans, 3% from unaffiliated voters). Based on what Townhall columnist Jon Sanders pointed out last year when Congress' approval rating was 14 percent, as many Americans believe that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: astrology, Congress, Democrats, Elvis Presley, Harry Reid, job approval, Jon Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, perceptions, public confidence, Rasmussen Reports, Republicans, Rossputin, Townhall, unaffiliated voters

7/8/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

Bill Ritter’s Fox News Stumble May Point to Bigger Problems Lurking

Rocky Mountain Right has posted a video from last night's Bill O'Reilly Show that demonstrates Colorado Governor Bill Ritter isn't ready for primetime:Bill Ritter recently was approached by a Fox News reporter asking a simple question about sex offender laws. Ritter proceeded to stammer, become visibly frustrated, and try to escape as soon as possible. Other Governors approached with the same question (Butch Otter of Idaho and Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming) performed far better and calmly responded. The observation is correct: Bill Ritter sure doesn't look ready for primetime in this video. But maybe there's another explanation, or some sort of mitigating circumstances that haven't been explored. The stresses and frustrations could … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: Bill O'Reilly, Bill Ritter, Brian Schweitzer, Butch Otter, campaign finance scandal, Colorado Supreme Court, Dave Freudenthal, Democrats, Denver Post, Fox News, legal defense fund victims, not ready for primetime, one-term governor, Property Tax Increase, Rocky Mountain Right

7/7/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

120 Days of Barack Obama Pandering Until Election Day 2008

Today marks 120 days until the November 4 general election - 120 days of obnoxious pandering by Presidential candidates, 120 days of campaign television and radio ads, 120 days for lovers of the Republic to hold their collective breath. Sigh. Speaking of candidate pandering, Barack Obama's recent whiplash-inducing rush away from his Leftist voting record and positions should give cause for concern. As one noted for his aptitude at quoting Scripture out of context, though, Barack Obama does have a ready-made passage he can abuse to justify his major switcheroos:I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. Of course, it goes without saying that I Corinthians 9:22 doesn't say anything of the sort … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Bible passages, election, pandering, presidential candidates, Scripture, summertime, switcheroo, whiplash

7/1/2008 By Ben 7 Comments

Baseball with Fred Barnes

It was my privilege to spend time with Fred Barnes - executive editor of Weekly Standard and co-host of Fox News Beltway Boys - at yesterday evening's Colorado Rockies game. Thanks to Tom Roche of Roche Constructors, Inc., for generously providing an extra seat in his guest suite (which included a nice spread of baseball-friendly food and fixings), and to my Independence Institute colleague Amy Oliver for inviting me along. It was the first time to Coors Field for Fred Barnes, an avid fan of baseball, most especially (and regrettably) of the Boston Red Sox. Fred Barnes has been a guest of the Independence Institute in the Denver area for the past several days - centered around his keynote speaking appearance at Saturday's ATF Party. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, National Politics, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Amy Oliver, ATF party, Baseball, Colorado Rockies, Coors Field, Fred Barnes, Greg Maddux, Hillsdale College, Independence Institute, politics, Roche Constructors, San Diego Padres, Tom Roche

7/1/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Barack Obama’s Colorado TV Ad Dressed Up with Clear Exaggerations

Barack Obama has a new television ad that's airing in 18 states, including here in Colorado. Marc Ambinder has the video and transcript:OBAMA: I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message. Announcer: He worked his way through college and Harvard Law. Turned down big money offers, and helped lift neighborhoods stung by job loss. Fought for workers’ rights. He passed a law to move people from welfare to work, slashed the rolls by eighty percent. Passed tax cuts for workers; health care for kids. As president, he’ll end tax breaks for companies that export jobs, reward those that create jobs in America. And never forget the dignity that comes from work. Very cleverly worded to exaggerate Barack Obama's role on each of the main points … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, exaggeration, fiscal irresponsibility, health insurance program, Illinois state legislator, Marc Ambinder, political TV ad, tax cuts, Washington Post, welfare reform

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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

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