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Home Archives for Hillsdale College

6/16/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Looking for a Good Summer Fantasy Read? Try The Way of Shadows

Are you looking for a good summertime fiction read? A fresh story in the fantasy/action genre that is simultaneously fast-paced and in-depth? Then I urge you to buy a copy of The Way of Shadows, the first in the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks. I love to read, but the fantasy/action genre -- nor fiction in general -- is typically not my cup of tea. Then again seldom do I know the author personally, as in this case. Brent and I went to Hillsdale College together, are fellow Sinfonians. Having that sort of a personal connection with the author made it easy to pick up the book. But once I did, the crisp and colorful storytelling, the unpredictable plot, and the compelling characters were what kept the pages and chapters quickly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Book Reviews, My Life, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: 2008, action, addressed, audience, author, best seller, Brent Weeks, career, chapters, characters, colorful, compelling, copy, courage, crisp, cup of tea, dark, disappointed, enjoyable, ensues, excellent, fantasy, fiction, frankly, fresh, geared, genre, graphic, gratuitous, gritty, Hillsdale College, hope, interest, Job, language, late, list, mature, New York Times, Night Angel, notice, onset, overindulged, pages, personal connection, personally, piqued, plot, promising, read, redemption, second, seldom, sexual themes, Sinfonians, start, story, storytelling, success, summertime, The Way of Shadows, themes, third, thrives, today, trilogy, unpredictable, utterly, very well done, violence, volumes, wortwhile

6/2/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

‘Noble Pride’ Lives On: A Principled Lesson for the ‘Hillsdale of the East’

Unbelievably, a few weeks ago I passed the 10th anniversary of my graduation from Hillsdale College with a bachelors degree. But the spirit of school pride lives on, and my heart smiled when today I read William McGurn's Wall Street Journal column "How Hillsdale Beats Harvard". After explaining how Hillsdale's principled stand of not accepting any federal funds fits right in with the school's warm welcome of military recruiters on campus, McGurn concludes:If Harvard believes that our Armed Forces are inconsistent with its values, surely the honest thing to do is to stand on principle and accept the funding consequences. The folks at Hillsdale would be glad to show the way. Back in the good old college days, there was a running quip … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, Education, General, liberty, My Life, PPC Tagged With: accepting, alma mater, Armed Forces, bachelors degree, campus, column, consequences, East, federal funds, graduation, Harvard, heart, Hillsdale College, honest thing, inconsistent, lives on, Midwest, military recruiters, noble pride, principled stand, quip, right reasons, running, school pride, smiles, spirit, values, Wall Street Journal, warm welcome, William McGurn

5/11/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

The Evidence Mounts Against EFCA, and Michael Bennet Still Can’t Decide

James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation (and a proud fellow Hillsdale College alumnus) breaks down the evidence to debunk the "Employer Advantage" myth at the heart of Big Labor's argument for the card-check bill before Congress:The law stacks the deck against employers in union drives. And – contrary to union assertions – the overwhelming majority of employers obey the law. Which is why unions rack up that impressive 2-1 win rate. The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace is right to say that the government should not tilt the playing field even more heavily in union organizer’s favor. That would hurt workers ability to make a free choice. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: alumnus, American jobs, argument, assertions, Big Labor, bill, binding arbitration, card-check, Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, Colorado, Congress, debunk, economic, EFCA, effective, Employee Free Choice Act, Employer Advantage, evidence, explained, free choice, George McGovern, harmful, Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, icon, imposition, impressive, influence, James Sherk, liberal, Michael Bennet, myth, newly-selected, opinion, playing field, political money, poorly-named, removal, represent, research, secret ballot, thousands, tilt, U.S. Senate, U.S. Senator, union organizers

3/6/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Farewell, Paul Harvey

As the weekend in which the late great news commentator Paul Harvey will be memorialized and laid in his final resting place, I wanted to offer a tiny tribute. Like anyone who turned on an AM radio in recent decades, Paul Harvey's news and "Rest of the Story" segments were almost always irresistible. I didn't get to see him speak in person until he delivered the commencement address at Hillsdale College in 2000, when I watched some of my friends graduate. About that same time, he began singing the praises of my alma mater on his radio program. Subscriptions to Hillsdale's free speech digest Imprimis have soared. Many people I've met in recent years, people of various ages and backgrounds, the only connection they have to Hillsdale … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, Journalism, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: accounts, alma mater, AM radio, commencement address, condolences, connection, down to earth, example, Family, figures, final resting place, folksy charm, friendly voice, genial, Hillsdale College, Imprimis, influence, irresistible, loved ones, memorialized, microphone, missed, news, news commentator, Paul Harvey, people, praises, public statuture, quintessentially American, radio program, reassuring, rest in peace, rest of the story, subscriptions, tiny tribute, trademark, tremendous reach, vocal delivery, warm personality, weekend, widespread appreciation, work

1/30/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Friday Satire>>The Sacred Word of Obama and Other Experts Questioned

The true-believing capital-L Liberals are the unquestioned experts on your life, the universe, and all that. Supposed experts who appear to disagree? Well, they are just a delusion of Right-wing fantasy. When it comes to the great all-encompassing theory of climate change, pay no attention to these highly-respected international scientists (or the scientist formerly in charge of many NASA climate projects). When the great Barack Obama speaks ex cathedra, we must listen. Not only on climate change, but also on the economic recession. Recently he told us: "There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy." The President's glorious speech supersedes the more than 200 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: action, all-encompassing, Barack Obama, Barry Poulson, climate change, delusion, disagreement, economic recession, economists, ex cathedra, experts, full-page advertisement, George Mason University, glorious speech, government, highly-respected, Hillsdale College, liberals, listen, NASA, President, question, recovery plan, regularly scheduled, Right-wing fantasy, sacred word, scientists, supersedes, theory

12/4/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Finding the Common Ties that Bind the Conservative Movement

The Next Right has posted a thoughtful essay that seeks to put the current intra-conservative debates into perspective. The whole thing is a worthwhile read, but the conclusion especially is interesting:Conservatives, thankfully, are nowhere near as afflicted by tunnel-vision, as the current debates on the Right show. However, it is essential that, being conservative, we remember that these debates were not settled in 1964 or 1980 and are not going to be settled in 2008, 2012 or any other year. These debates are timeless elements of the American conservative tradition, and will probably never be resolved completely. However, another timeless element which we must also be careful not to forget is the fact that these debates have always ended … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cultural Conservatism, General, My Life Tagged With: academic, affirmation, belittle, brass figures, co-exist, common, common interests, conservative, dark corners, debates, educate, essay, fiscal conservatism, futile effort, Hillsdale College, humility, icons, intra-conservative, Leo Strauss, libertarian, limited government, listen, Ludwig von Mises, movement, neoconservative, paleoconservative, personal responsibility, poli sci geek, political coalition, purge, renewed commitment, ridicule, Right, Russell Kirk, social conservatives, statues, tent, The Next Right, timeless, tradition, unlikelihood

11/26/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

What I’m Thankful for #19: Baseball and the Legendary Ernie Harwell

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. America's pastime. Come November, the crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd seem distant memories. But hope springs eternal in the heart of the baseball fan. For the 19th and penultimate edition of this thankfulness series, I want to express my gratitude for a game - yes, but not just any game. And … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: alma mater days, backyard, Baseball, baseball cards, baseball fan, baseball initiates, bat, board game, character, cheating, collecting, college, color, Colorado Rockies, column, creed, democracy, Detroit, diehard fans, disease, enjoyment, Ernie Harwell, excerpts, faith, family room, game, Game 3, gratitude, group outing, Hillsdale College, Hillsdale Daily News, hope springs eternal, local league, memorable, memories, nostalgia, November, organized, pennants, penultimate, race, radio, roar of the crowd, Rockpile, scoreboard, series, Sherco, special, special impressions, thankfulness, Thanksgiving, The Game for All America, Tiger Stadium, Tigers, top row, trading, World Series

11/14/2008 By Ben 2 Comments

What I’m Thankful For #8: A Liberal Arts College Education

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. If my mission in life were to go forth and make as much money as possible, I'd have to be considered a fool and a failure by now (some think the same of me, anyway). One of my first missteps would have been choosing to be a history major at a small liberal arts college of somewhat unique renown. But I have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, My Life Tagged With: answers, cafeteria, debates, discussions, dorms, dull, grateful, Hillsdale College, history major, humble, lectures, liberal arts education, life, lifelong learning, listless moments, mission, money, professors, questions, scholarships, thankfulness, the beautiful, the good, the true, thirst for knowledge

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

2/27/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Bill Buckley (1925-2008)

Via K.J. Lopez at the Corner, news comes today that the great William F. Buckley, Jr., has passed away. While very few writers and speakers have ever had a greater facility with the English language than Buckley did, there was much more to him than the elegance of his prose. He was an intellectual champion for conservatism long before there was any popularity to be gained by it. From his seminal book God and Man at Yale to his great legacy in the founding of National Review, he did as much as any American in the 20th century to advance the conservative cause through logical, forceful, and passionate argument, as well as through refined wit and good humor. To get a glimpse of the man - his ideas and his rhetoric - you can search a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, Cultural Conservatism, General Tagged With: Conservatism, God and Man at Yale, Hillsdale College, National Review, obituary, William F. Buckley

Inside

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    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
  • What I’m Thankful For
  • Writer / Editor For Hire

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

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National News and Politics

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Blogs Extraordinaire

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Completing the Blogroll

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Christian Commentary et al.

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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