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Home Archives for Backbone America

6/1/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

In Condemnation of the Cold-Blooded Murder of Dr. George Tiller

Yesterday's news of the murder of Kansas abortionist Dr. George Tiller hit me hard. John Andrews at Backbone America captured my sentiments remarkably well: Dr. George Tiller’s murder in cold blood at a Wichita church today should shock the conscience and grieve the heart of every thinking person — especially persons of faith, and above all, those of us who defend the right to life. Wichita Eagle story here. This evil and lawless act deserves absolute condemnation. It is in no way excusable, regardless of the slain man’s inexcusable career as an abortionist. I hope you will join me in praying for Dr. Tiller, for his family and loved ones, for his killer, and for the quelling of passions on all sides that would threaten peace … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Cultural Conservatism, Education, General, National Politics Tagged With: abortionist, admonition, Apostle Paul, Backbone America, biblical, cold blood, condemnation, conscience, evil, George Tiller, good, grieve, heart, John Andrews, Kansas, lawless, murder, persons of faith, praying, Romans, struggled, Wichita

4/3/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Tune in Sunday to Hear the Lovely Mrs. Virtus Discuss Homeschooling

It's not often I get to sing the praises of the lovely Mrs. Virtus here on my blog. But hopefully this atones a bit for previous shortcomings. Tune in to Backbone America with John Andrews this Sunday, April 5, during the 5:00 PM (local Mountain Time) hour -- around 5:20, to be precise -- to hear an interview with the lovely Mrs. Virtus on homeschooling and parental rights. You can hear it live streaming on the 710 KNUS website. The lovely Mrs. Virtus (better known to many as Marya) will discuss her new in-depth report Colorado’s Homeschool Law Turns Twenty (PDF) - a true call to vigilance for homeschoolers and other supporters of educational freedom - as well as her experiences at Homeschool Day at the Capitol. If you can't wait … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, liberty, My Life Tagged With: 710 KNUS, audio, Backbone America, call, educational freedom, experiences, Homeschool Day at the Capitol, homeschooling, in-depth, interview, iVoices, John Andrews, live streaming, lobbyist, lovely, Marya, Mrs. Virtus, parental rights, podcast, praises, previous shortcomings, report, sing, Sunday, supporters, Treon Goossen, veteran, vigilance, volunteer

3/9/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Mark Hillman Elaborates on Democrat Shell Game at Colorado State Capitol

Yes, I pointed out to you the Democrat shell game (with your tax dollars, transportation projects, and social welfare spending) taking place at the State Capitol. But leave it to Mark Hillman to explain it more eloquently, and with greater depth and context. Here's the key section:If it sounds like Democrats are talking out of both sides of their mouths, it’s because they are - at least, so far. One day, they say our roads and bridges are unsafe and demand more money from Colorado drivers. The next day, they take a hatchet to transportation funding. Any sane person can be excused for wondering what they’re drinking or smoking at the state capitol. Sadly this is nothing new. Dating back to former Gov. Roy Romer, Democrats’ … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC, transportation Tagged With: Backbone America, Bill Owens, compromise, Democrats, fast and loose, general fund, golden dome, higher taxes, Mark Hillman, Monday, monopoly, one-party rule, Roy Romer, shell game, similar agreement, social welfare, State Capitol, tactic, tax dollars, taxpayer, transportation

1/31/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

He Wasn’t Their First Choice, But Wadhams and Hillman Both Pleased with Michael Steele as RNC Chair

Not exactly breaking news: former Maryland lieutenant governor Michael Steele is the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. Polipundit has a blow-by-blow account of the six rounds (and five hours) of yesterday's balloting to achieve a majority of support from the 168 delegates. Five candidates started the day. At the end it came down to Steele and South Carolina's Katon Dawson. Steele prevailed by a count of 91-77. I followed up with two of Colorado's three voting RNC members afterward to get their thoughts, and received very similar reactions to the results. "Michael Steele will be a great spokesperson for our party," said state GOP chairman Dick Wadhams. "Michael Steele is one of the Republican Party's most articulate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: account, actively engaged, activists, appealing message, articulate, audience, Backbone America, balancing, balloting, beginning, breaking news, candidacy, candidates, chairman, class act, collaborative, Colorado, communication, community, Congratulations, conservatives, conventional wisdom, conversation, convinced, core issues, core principles, delegates, desirable job, Dick Wadhams, Don'tGo movement, Douglas County, dynamic, effective, effective fundraising, emails, enthusiasm, Eric Odom, Facebook, force feed, former, forward-looking, from above, future, GOP, grassroots, Internet, inundated, involvement, John Andrews, Katon Dawson, Ken Blackwell, lieutenant governor, Lilly Nunez, limited government, listening, low taxes, majority, Mark Hillman, marketing, Maryland, Michael Steele, Michigan, Mike Duncan, misused, moderate, momentum, new energy, new face, Ohio, opportunity, opposition, organizational structure, overused, ownership, Party, phone calls, Polipundit, political, political action, political wilderness, Politics 3.0, prevailed, projects, Republican groups, Republican National Committee, results, rounds, Saul Anuzis, Secretary of State, selection process, sense of relief, similar reactions, social conservatives, social media, social network, South Carolina, spokesman, spokesperson, state chair, Steven Nielson, support, supported, surrogates, thoughts, tough choice, tough road, traditional values, Twitter, urgent plea, vocal supporters, voting members, web-based, wild word

10/30/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Krista Kafer’s New Face The State Column Brings Needed Perspective

My Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR) classmate, sometimes Backbone America radio co-host, and Independence Institute senior fellow Krista Kafer debuted a weekly Face The State column today. Here's the timely conclusion of this first installment:Special interests that have much to gain from the demise of Amendments 47 and 49 are funneling millions of dollars into the election. Slick campaigns from candidates and groups lure voters with the promise to “Protect Colorado’s Future.” The advocacy groups, leftist candidates, and sadly, even the media, are banking on the public’s fears for the economy to turn the election in their favor. Unfortunately, conservatives and libertarians have had trouble articulating what’s at stake. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, My Life, National Politics, property rights Tagged With: advocacy groups, Amendment 47, Amendment 49, Backbone America, Ben Franklin, conservatives, dark days, electorate, Face the State, fears, free stuff, freedom, Independence Institute, Krista Kafer, Leadership Program of the Rockies, leftist candidates, libertarians, media, Protect Colorado's Future, senior fellow, slick campaigns, special interests, warning, weekly column

8/30/2008 By Ben 14 Comments

Sarah Palin Really Captures the Attention of the Colorado Blogosphere

I must say I'm glad I initially had the wrong information about who John McCain's running mate would be. Sarah Palin was the best pick. What's everyone else saying? Well, it's rare to see such unanimous sentiment asserted. Here goes: Steven, the New Conservative, who long has been championing Palin to be McCain's running mate, now says her selection was a "bad idea" ... for the Left Michael at Best Destiny says it's brilliant political Jiu-Jitsu Bob Agard calls the selection of the Alaska Governor "sheer brilliance" Jim at Thinking Right says "Outstanding!" Kenneth Davenport, writing at Backbone America, asserts that the choice is "a political masterstroke" Rocky Mountain Right calls Sarah Palin "an excellent choice" The Denver … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: "inexperience", a watcher, Alaska, Andrew Boucher, awesome, Backbone America, backfire, bad idea, Barack Obama, Best Destiny, Bob Agard, brilliant, campaign contribution, center-right bloggers, Colorado delegates, corruption, David Harsanyi, David Thielen, Dead Governors, Democrats, Denver Post, excellent choice, Face the State, GOP National Convention, Governor, heartburn, ideological storyline, Joe Biden, John McCain, Kenneth Davenport, Lefty attacks, liberal friend, libertarian, New Conservative, out-of-touch, partisan, political Jiu-Jitsu, political masterstroke, predictable hypocrisy, reformer, Rocky Mountain Right, running mate, Sarah Palin, sheer brilliance, speech, story, strong defenses, The Daily Blogster, Thinking Right, unanimous sentiment, vice president, Western voters

3/4/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

Hillman Presents Reasonable Case for Conservatives to Back McCain

Former state senate Republican leader Mark Hillman, an indisputable and articulate conservative, as well as a respected friend, has written a piece for Backbone America titled "If Principles Matter, So Does McCain." Follow the link to follow his reasoning, but most notable is his conclusion:Conservatives generally recognize short-sighted self-indulgence when practiced by others. Now many conservatives are in danger of practicing a suicidal self-indulgence of their own. We must put aside self-pity and frustration and do what we always have done: choose the right and responsible course for our country. If instead we purposefully withhold our votes to gratify our personal pride and prejudice, the surrendered freedoms, suffocating tax … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, National Politics Tagged With: Backbone America, John McCain, Mark Hillman

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    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
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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

  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition
  • Sleep Deprivation and Parental Controls: How to Ensure Your Kids are Safe from Media Exposure
  • 8 Original Ways To Leverage Influencer Marketing
  • Why Every Single Business Needs A YouTube Channel

Colorado News

  • Colorado Senate News
  • Complete Colorado
  • Independence Institute
  • Loveland Politics
  • The Colorado Observer

National News and Politics

  • Drudge Report
  • Hot Air
  • National Review
  • Politico
  • Real Clear Politics
  • Reason
  • The Washington Times
  • TownHall
  • Wall Street Journal
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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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  • E!! The True Conservative Story
  • EIA Intercepts
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  • 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
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Christian Commentary et al.

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Conservative and GOP Sites

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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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