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2/17/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Liberty on the Rocks Responds to Obama’s Final Stimulus Package

Tired of all the government bailouts? Then watch the great new video from my friends at Liberty on the Rocks: Should Amanda's fame continue to grow as a result of this video, it's going to become difficult to avoid the inevitable comparisons with this comic legend. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Amanda, bailouts, comic legend, fame, friends, government, Liberty on the Rocks, video, YouTube

1/22/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Remembering the Clarion Call for Life After 36 Years of Roe v Wade

Update II: El Presidente has posted an excellent video produced by Catholic Votes, which makes the case against abortion using Barack Obama's own story. Updates: Gateway Pundit notes that Obama is using the occasion to expand American taxpayer funding of abortions overseas. Kyle-Anne Shiver appreciates taking on intellectually honest, pro-abortion atheists in debates. And LaShawn Barber points us to a sad account of a woman who deeply regrets her abortion. Lest all the pomp and circumstance accompanying the 44th President's bold new Leftward agenda drown it out, we should pause to remember that today is the 36th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision. The devastating consequences of this terribly rendered Supreme Court ruling rest … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, Labor, My Life, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: 36th anniversary, Alternatives Pregnancy Center, Americans United for Life, Barack Obama, belongs, births, Blogs for Life conference, circumstance, Colorado, conservative, daughters, decision, demoralizing, Denver, disagree, emotionally, establishment media, fantastic work, friends, intellectually, Leftward agenda, March for Life, middle, nation's capital, neglected, occupant, overturning, personal, persuade, poignant, policy differences, pomp, pray, pregnancy, President, private groups, pro-life, ranking, Roe v Wade, speak out, spectrum, spiritually, state lawmakers, states, support, theoretical, U.S. Supreme Court, unborn child, Washington DC, White House

12/26/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Christmas Roundup, Light Blogging Here at Mount Virtus Until 2009

It was nice to take a couple days off blogging to celebrate Christmas. Around the house we have a 2-year-old who definitely was interested in getting "more" presents but also who is just beginning to see that Christmas is mainly about the Savior's birth. She sat still to hear one of us read a version of the biblical Christmas story 5 different times over the 2 days. Good times. Memorable times. Around here we hear a lot of the toddler rendition of "Away in a Manger". She also has a fairly decent grasp on "Joy to the World." Other songs she doesn't sing but likes to request: Jingle Bells and Happy Birthday to Jesus. Last night, after we baked the cake for Jesus' birthday (a first-time tradition for our family), we had to explain that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: 2-year-old, 2009, Away in a Manger, biblical, birth, blogging, Blue Ribbon Committee, cake, Christmas, Christmas story, eating, Family, football, friends, girl, good times, governor's office, Happy Birthday, hard to grasp, House, interview, Jesus, Jingle Bells, Joy to the World, Ken Salazar, logic, out of the box, presents, reading, recommendations, rumor, Savior, sleeping, songs, tradition, U.S. Senate, usual sense, version, writing project

12/22/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

This is Christmas: Our 2-Year-Old Serenades Us with “Away in a Manger”

Okay, we're light on the politics here for a little while. It's too close to the sacred celebration of Christmas, and most people are completely tuned out anyway. Last night, the older Virtus girl (still nearly 2 months shy of her 3rd birthday) gave us a remarkably clear and *almost completely accurate rendition of "Away in a Manger"--the first verse lyrics with a little melody, anyway. Little things like that show the spirit of Christmas is growing in our household. So much to be thankful for (yes, we ARE rich), and many extra blessings beside. Fancy presents are nice (but overrated--if I see one more of those annoying Lexus commercials, I think I'll scream), though there aren't as many of them this year. Baked goodies I can rarely … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Away in a Manger, baked goodies, blessings, Christmas, Family, fancy presents, friends, household, Lexus, price tag, rich, spirit, thankful

11/18/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

What I’m Thankful for #11: Loyal Friends Over Long Distances

This is one 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. Just in case you wondered, the topics introduced are not necessarily in any particular order. I hope the series is of some small encouragement to you, even as my site traffic takes a dive. Don't worry. The purpose of this post is not to attempt to seek a definition of "Friendship" or to categorize the different varieties and permutations of friends I have, as Joseph Epstein sought to do. Instead, I just wanted to briefly and publicly state my gratitude for the friends I have gained … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Commemorative, General, My Life Tagged With: college, conversation, deep kinship, definition, edify, email, enhance, friends, friendship, gratitude, high school, humorous, Iron sharpens iron, Joseph Epstein, letter, life, long distances, loyal, omission, permutations, phone, Proverbs, separations, serious, short list, spices and flavors, thankfulness, varieties

10/26/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

My Young Free Market Friends Showcase New Online Political Activism

The Saturday edition of the Rocky Mountain News featured the proverbial quadrennial story about the energized youth vote. Do we have reason to believe that more young voters will cast their ballots this year? I don't know. But one of my young free market friends astutely suggests that the state of the economy has re-engaged many of them:Wesley Dickinson, a 30-year-old Denver engineer, thinks the economy is forcing people near his age to confront politics more so than at any time since the 1970s economic downturn created a generation of Reagan Republicans. Since then, people have been able to live relatively comfortably and didn't care so much about what the government did; that no longer is true, he said. "They haven't had to worry … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: activism, Amanda Teresi, ballots, blog, campaign event, co-workers, computer, Denver, donate money, economy, engineer, free market, friends, Independence Institute, Justin Longo, Liberty on the Rocks, politics, Presidential debate, Reagan Republicans, Rocky Mountain News, technology, Web monkey, Wesley Dickinson, youth vote

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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
  • Weekly Standard
  • World Magazine

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
  • Mullings
  • Professor Bainbridge
  • Right Thinking
  • Right Wing News
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  • Shot in the Dark
  • Talking Points Memo
  • Virginia Postrel
  • Volokh Conspiracy

Christian Commentary et al.

  • Kevin Pierpont
  • Sharper Iron

Conservative and GOP Sites

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

  • American Kestrel
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  • Rocky Mountain Alliance 1.0 (Archive)
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  • Rossputin
  • Stop the ACLU Blog
  • The Spot (Denver Post)
  • We Stand Firm

Other Sites

  • Technorati
  • Word Press

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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