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If I had five more writers just like him, I think my job would be the easiest in journalism....

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Stevens, Jefferson Down: Very Small but Promising Signs of Health

First, corrupt Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was narrowly taken out in his umpteenth re-election bid. More recently, corrupt Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson was ousted in Saturday's run-off election. Let me say these are both very small but genuinely promising signs for the health of the Republic - as it were. A first-generation Vietnamese-American lawyer and political novice, Republican Anh "Joseph" Cao, defeated lifetime pol and Democrat incumbent Jefferson in a heavily Democratic district. Michelle Malkin has more. Cheery thoughts for a Monday in December, in which the world of politics further drifts into the background, though hopefully not beneath too much snow here on Colorado's Front Range. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: Alaska, Anh Cao, corruption, December, Democratic district, drifting, lawyer, Louisiana, Michelle Malkin, Monday, ousted, political novice, promising signs, re-election bid, Republic, Republican, run-off election, senator, small signs, snow, Ted Stevens, Vietnamese-American, William Jefferson

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

What I Want to See for the United States, Conservatism, and the GOP

Looking ahead to 2010 and beyond, this is what I want to see in the United States of America: A biblical, spiritual revival ... something for which I pray to God The revitalization of conservatism (a shared value in the Founders' "constrained vision") in American public life ... something of which I seek to persuade others A Republican Party more informed by conservative, limited government principles ... also something of which I seek to persuade others A governing Republican Party majority ...something for which I volunteer and vote Where incompatibilities between the above priorities can be proven with a reasonable degree of likelihood, the higher priority wins. (And no, I can't think of any situation where voting for or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Christianity and Faith, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, History, My Life Tagged With: 2010, aborition, agenda, belittle, biblical, boundaries, broader principles, clarification, Colorado, common opponent, compatible, Conservatism, conservative coalition, Constitution, constrained vision, debate, demonize, disagreements, discrepancy, educate, effective, electoral success, eschewed, exhaustive, falter, federal legislation, fidelity, fiscally conservative, Founders, governing majority, healthy, History, hollow badge, incompabitilities, incremental, lasting changes, limited government, Mark Hillman, national level, nostalgia, obsess, persuade, political illusion, political sphere, pragmatic issues, pray, pre-emption, principled humility, principles, priorities, productive conversation, promises, public life, purity, Reagan Republican, reasonable degree, religious aspiration, religious speech, Republican Party, respectful, restrictions, revitalization, revival, Right, Ronald Reagan, school choice, slash-and-burn politics, smile, social conservatism, social moderates, socialism, strong dose, taxpayer funding, tested, thoughts, throw under the bus, unaffiliated voter, United States, United States of America, vocal minority, volunteer, vote

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Questions Linger as Colorado Supremes Sit on Ritter Tax Hike Decision

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) and Governor Bill Ritter are defendants in a case filed by the Independence Institute (disclosure: where I work) and numerous aggrieved taxpayers over a 2007 law that raised property taxes without a proper vote of the people, as required by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. Denver District Court Judge Christine Habas came down on the side of the people nearly seven months ago, but the Colorado Supreme Court has been silent since - despite reasonable expectations that critical tax revenue issues be addressed in a timely manner. As Face The State reports, CDE needs the Supreme Court to "hurry up":In June, Ritter, a defendant alongside CDE, appealed the decision to the state's highest court. Oral … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, property rights Tagged With: aggrieved taxpayers, attorney, Bill Ritter, CASE, chaos, Christine Habas, cockiness, Colorado Department of Education, Colorado Supreme Court, decision, defendants, Denver, Denver District Court, Evan Gluckman, exact science, Face the State, gamble, Governor, hurry up, Independence Institute, Jason Dunn, judge, landmine, Main Street Cafe, oral arguments, owner, plaintiffs, political insiders, property taxes, questions, reasonable expectations, revenue, Richard Westfall, Rocky Mountain Right, taxpayer dollars, Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, timely manner

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

3rd Edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio Tonight at 9 PM

Tune in at 9 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the third edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio. Confirmed hosts are Joshua Sharf and yours truly, with the guest tentatively scheduled as Todd Bensman of the San Antonio Express-News, author of the well-acclaimed series "Breaching America: Examining Illegal Immigration from the Muslim World". Bensman's observations on the recent vicious Islamist terrorist attacks in India should be very interesting to hear. Tune in tonight for the introduction of some new segments, to hear Todd Bensman, and to find out if any other Rocky Mountain Alliance blogger joins us as co-host. And don't forget. If you miss the live broadcast of tonight’s show, you can go back and download … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life, World Events Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, blogger, Breaching America, download, guest, hosts, India, Islamist terrorist attacks, Joshua Sharf, live broadcast, Mount Virtus, observations, podcast, Rocky Mountain Alliance, San Antonio Express-News, segments, Todd Bensman

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Please Accept My Apologies for the Detroit Lions…Who Make Me Laugh

When people learn that I grew up in Michigan, occasionally I hear the question of whether my sports fan loyalties still lie in the land of my childhood. "That depends," I say. "Detroit Tigers? Detroit Red Wings? Yes." "What about the Lions?" "Uh, check please...." I'm pretty sure I've been cured of that disease. How do I know? Well, reading through DJ Gallo's ESPN Page 2 column this evening, I found myself laughing out loud at this segment: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: 0-16, Barry Sanders, childhood, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, DJ Gallo, ESPN, fast track, futility, holidays, Humor, Michigan, NFL Championship, playoff victory, sports, Thanksgiving Day

2/7/2026 By Ben 5 Comments

Finding “Salvation” from Government Debt and Hope for GOP Brand

A good decade ago, in a college political science class, we read this essay penned by Harry Jaffa, with a key memorable passage:The end of the Cold War has also brought an end to the remission of the disease of moral relativism that is corroding the life of western civilization. It would certainly seem that the salvation of the West must come, if it is to come, from the United States. The salvation of the United States, if it is to come, must come from the Republican Party. And the salvation of the Republican Party, if it is to come, must come from the conservative movement within it. And the salvation of the conservative movement, if it is to come, must come from the renewal and reaffirmation of the principles of the American Founding, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Abraham Lincoln, academic debates, alternative, American Founding, Claremont, Cold War, college, Colorado, conservative movement, constrained vision, cost-saving, Declaration of Independence, deficits, economic, environment, fiscal responsibility, fiscally conservative reforms, GOP, government debt, governments, Harry Jaffa, laboratories, mantle, moral relativism, New York Times, opportunities, party leaders, political, political science, Republican brand, Republican Party, Republicans, salvation, services, Soren Dayton, state governments, state level, statehouse, Straussian, The Next Right, tongue-in-cheek, United States, West, Western Civilization

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio Returns Tonight at 9 PM

Tune in at 9 PM local Mountain Time this evening for the second edition of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio, as Joshua, El Presidente, Night Twister, and I work to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump (also known as proving "you may be right, we (really) may be crazy.") Special guest is slated to be Red County's Michael Kerr from the great Pacific Northwest. Perhaps Michael can cite experiences from King County, Washington, to shed light on the current recount in Minnesota. 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. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, crazy, download, El Presidente, Joshua Sharf, King County, Michael Kerr, Minnesota, Night Twister, Pacific Northwest, podcast, recount, Red County, Right, Rocky Mountain Alliance, sidebar, sophomore slump, special guest, widget

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Hmmm…Will Al Franken Find His Winning Recount Votes in Time?

Powerline has the latest update on the Norm Coleman-Al Franken recount saga. Not exactly the grand Florida melodrama of eight years ago. Nor does the angry, foul-mouthed comedian seem to have much reason to be less angry than usual. As I write this, Coleman's pre-recount lead of 206 now stands at 210 with 77 percent of the ballots totaled. According to Powerline, though, many of the untallied votes will come from Minneapolis precincts. Stuart Smalley Al Franken has to hope that some of the Twin Cities' deceased cousins in Chicago, Philadelphia, or King County, Washington, might have made a last-minute trek there to cast a vote for him from beyond the grave. ("I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and darn it, dead people like me.") Maybe a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: Al Franken, angry, ballots, Barack Obama, bone up, box, brilliant, Chicago, comedian, Congress, dead, December 2, Democrats, dumpster, firewall, foul-mouthed, Georgia, impulses, King County, Left, Minneapolis, Nate Silver, Norm Coleman, Philadelphia, Powerline, precincts, President-elect, reading material, recount, regression analysis, runoff election, Saxby Chambliss, timely, Twin Cities, votes

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Democrat Leader Tapdances Around His Party’s Push to Kill Secret Ballot

After their impressive electoral victories, the Democrats on Capitol Hill are feeling their oats. Can you blame them? It's payback time to the Big Labor leaders who have bankrolled the campaigns of many a Congressional Democrat. Top of the list therefore? The unpopular and poorly-named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would take away workers' rights to a secret ballot in union elections. Watch how House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland), appearing on Fox News Sunday, tapdances around Chris Wallace's question contrasting the union bill with the House Democrats' own procedures for electing officers within the caucus: "Why is a secret ballot okay, and desirable, for Congress, but you want to take it away from workers?" (H/T … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: administration, bankroll, Betsy Markey, Big Labor, bon voyage, campaigns, Capitol Hill, caucus, Chris Wallace, Christmas, Colorado, Congress, Democrats, EFCA, elder statesman, elections, electoral victories, Employee Free Choice Act, employees, feeling their oats, fighting chance, filibuster, Fox News Sunday, George McGovern, Georgia, high priority, House Majority Leader, John Salazar, Kaiser, Karen Mayhew, Ken Salazar, leaders, Left, lottery jackpot, Mark Udall, Maryland, materials handler, Mike Ivey, Minnesota, Nancy Pelosi, Norm Coleman, payback, poorly-named, question, real workers, recount, Saxby Chambliss, secret ballot, Senate, Steny Hoyer, Strike One, trial lawyers, union bill, union elections, unpopular, video, workers' rights, Workplace Fairness Institute, YouTube

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

What I’m Thankful for #20: Vision

This is the last in a series of daily posts I conceived of writing many weeks ago while the election still raged on, as I looked for something to write about of more lasting value. The weeks leading up to Thanksgiving seemed perfectly appropriate for it, and now Thanksgiving Day is here. Just in case you wondered, the topics introduced have not necessarily been in any particular order. I hope the series has been of some small encouragement to you, even as my site traffic has taken a swan dive. It just occurred to me now that there is a small irony to this 20th and final post in this series. The topic being Vision. 20/20. Get it? Eh? Anyhow... Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.... I think a lot … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Commemorative, General, My Life Tagged With: 20 things, 20/20, affected, battles, bestowed, blessed, blinding handicap, computer screen, condition, Creator, desperate, distance, economic crisis, eyes, For the beauty of the earth, genetic inheritance, genetic testing, God, grandfather, gratitude, half-brother, humbly, installment, Jack Hutchings, Krista Kafer, macular degeneration, moment, perspective, physical foibles, pride, printed page, Proverbs, reads, reflect, remarkable story, remarkable vision, rich blessings, Savior, savor, small glimpses, spiritual vision, thankfulness, Thanksgiving, trivial things, vision

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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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