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Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

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

8/11/2007 By Ben 1 Comment

Romney First, but Huckabee Biggest Winner from Straw Poll

Cyclone Conservatives has all the on-the-scene coverage of today's Republican Presidential candidate straw poll in Ames, Iowa. Here are the results as reported on Jonathan Martin's Politico blog: 1. Mitt Romney, 4516, 31.5% 2. Mike Huckabee, 2587, 18.1 3. Sen. Sam Brownback, 2192, 15.3 4. Tom Tancredo, 1,961, 13.7 5. Ron Paul, 1305, 9.1 6. Tommy Thompson, 1039, 7.3 7. Fred Thompson, 203, 1.4 8. Rudy Giuliani, 183, 1.3 9. Duncan Hunter, 174, 1.2 10. John McCain, 101, 1 11. John Cox, 41, .1 Total Votes 14,302 To the absolute surprise of no one paying attention, Mitt Romney won. But my first glance at the results tells me that his win isn't impressive enough to give him the clear edge he's hoping for. But if … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics

8/9/2007 By Ben 2 Comments

Write a U.S. Marine in Iraq

Let me encourage you to join in Project "Letters from Home," sponsored by fellow RMA blogger Jim of Thinking Right: I’m working with the 1st Battalion 1st Marine Regiment to get every one of their soldiers a letter of support from home. This is where you, my readers, come in to the picture; I need you to write these men and women, and then spread the word about the project to everyone you can. We need about 1000 emails in order to get one to every Marine. Please put letters from home in the subject line. Update: The address I’ve set up for project Letters From Home is letters@thinking-right.com I would encourage you to join me in participating in this easy-to-do, yet very tangible, means of support for some of the brave men and women … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General

8/9/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Waiting Too Long for Thompson?

With news of the GOP presidential primary non-candidate Fred Thompson's hiring of a trusted campaign manager comes this insight (maybe it's appeared elsewhere previously, but I haven't seen it): Thompson is expected to officially enter the race Labor Day week... Having watched previous rumors of entries in May and July gone by, I am truly in a "wait and see" stance. This Republican primary voter and activist remains firmly undecided. Politico's Jonathan Martin reports the former U.S. Senator and erstwhile "Law and Order" TV star is planning his first campaign-related visit to Iowa on August 17. As Martin suggests, this might signal a shift from earlier talk that he was planning to bypass the January caucuses. I'm guessing Mitt Romney's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics

8/8/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Post Eyes Tancredo in Saturday Iowa Straw Poll

Iowa's Ames straw poll is this Saturday, and the suspense is not in who is going to win. Since most of the top-tier candidates have chosen not to participate, Mitt Romney will walk away with it. Politico's Jonathan Martin highlights the Romney campaign's intense battle against high expectations. Meanwhile, the Denver Post spotlights Colorado's own Tom Tancredo - they may be cheering for him to beat out the slew of other also-rans for second place. Not necessarily from partisan or philosophical motives, but more from the desire to extend news coverage of the Congressman's campaign as long as possible before its inevitable demise. Without any special inside information from Iowa, but as one who follows the political news fairly closely, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics

8/6/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Drive, Don’t Walk

Rev up your engines, my friends! The careful research of one Brit has turned conventional environmental wisdom on its head: Walking does more than driving to cause global warming, a leading environmentalist has calculated. Food production is now so energy-intensive that more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shops than a car would emit over the same distance. The climate could benefit if people avoided exercise, ate less and became couch potatoes. Provided, of course, they remembered to switch off the TV rather than leaving it on standby. So one is left to ask: why isn't this guy considered an environmentalist icon? If you have a devout Green religionist in your life, you may not want to share … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Random and Miscellaneous

8/6/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Liberal Bloggers’ Union: Contemplate the Benefits

Conservative bloggers who have observed our side lagging a bit in the world of Internet political opinion should consider encouraging this trend: In a move that might make some people scratch their heads, a loosely formed coalition of left-leaning bloggers is trying to band together to form a labor union it hopes will help members receive health insurance, conduct collective bargaining or even set professional standards. Not much could do more to slow the productivity of Lefty blogging and to raise costs for its wealthy benefactors than cyber-unionization. I'm waiting for the first Colorado union blog shop to open up and to expel non-union writers or to extract fees from them. Or what about this tantalizing possibility as a future … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Random and Miscellaneous

8/3/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Friday Tiger Fan Ramblings

Baseball seasons are long for a reason, but these are the times that try Detroit Tigers' fans souls. For a group of fans used to years of futility, the sudden rise to dominance can bring us to a state of insecurity in the wake of their recent 3-8 road trip. Injuries have taken their toll on an overworked, underprepared bullpen, while nearly all of the normally potent lineup has gone cold at once. Somehow, though, they cling to the narrowest of leads in the American League Central division. After a day off, they have their opportunity to turn things around by coming home to play their next 3 series at Comerica Park. It's easy to get impatient when things aren't going your team's way during the long baseball season. But perspective … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Sports and Leisure

8/3/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Slapping Down the Dems on Tuition Privileges for Illegals

El Presidente brings us a Friday reminder of the cost of having Democrats in charge of our state. He highlights a Rocky Mountain News article that tells us how Colorado's Democrat Commissioner on Higher Education David Skaggs wants to extend in-state tuition privileges to illegal aliens. Is this the Democrat solution to the higher education funding shortfall? Meanwhile, Governor Ritter ignores a potential energy revenue windfall to fund our state's colleges and universities. Why? Apparently, Democrats would rather tax hard-working Colorado citizens and spend the excess on privileges for illegal aliens. El Presidente also makes a clear and strong point on an issue to which he has given repeated attention: No Mr. Skaggs, the disconnect … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General

8/3/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Col. (Sen.) Ward Bound for Iraq

Godspeed and Semper Fi to Marine Colonel (and state senator) Steve Ward, whom the Denver Post reports today is being deployed to Iraq for a short-term assignment: Ward expects to be in Iraq - probably Anbar province in the western part of the country - by late August or early September. "I'm assuming Anbar," Ward said when asked where he will be stationed. "I go where they send me." The short-term assignment to help Iraqis set up a democratic government is scheduled to end in time for Ward to fill his state Senate seat when the assembly reconvenes in January. Ward was appointed to the state Senate to replace Sen. Jim Dyer, who resigned after he was elected in November to the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners. I met … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, World Events

8/2/2007 By Ben Leave a Comment

Ritter out of Touch on Iraq

Phil Mella at Clear Commentary draws our attention to a story in the Colorado Springs Gazette about Gov. Bill Ritter's encounter with a group of Iraqi teenagers. As usual, Phil has a lucid grasp of events and provides keen insights that put Ritter's "veneer-thin understanding of events on the ground in Iraq" into a broader and deeper context. His conclusion is worth quoting: Politics has a way of infecting collective thought in ways that create a kind of lemming-like group think which effectively relieves us of the charge of thinking for ourselves. Let's hope that as real progress continues in Iraq our arm chair strategists such as Ritter begin digging a bit deeper into the situation so that they can rise above the din of the mainstream … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics

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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
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