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Home Archives for General

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Walker Stapleton Announcement Makes First GOP Treasurer Candidate

The Denver Business Journal reports that Colorado Republicans have their first official candidate for State Treasurer (H/T Rocky Mountain Right):Denver businessman Walker Stapleton , president of real estate company SonomaWest Holdings, Tuesday became the first Republican to announce that he will run for Colorado state treasurer. Democrat Cary Kennedy now holds the office and has filed to run for re-election in 2010. Three GOP businessmen, including Stapleton, have said they are eyeing the race. Stapleton, 34, unveiled a list of 30 business backers with his announcement, including El Pomar Foundation CEO Bill Hybl, Gallagher Enterprises CEO Charles Gallagher and former U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson. One of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, businessman, Cary Kennedy, Colorado Republicans, debate, Democrat, Denver, Denver Business Journal, guest, impressive, J.J. Ament, official candidate, press release, primary, re-election, real estate, Republican, Rocky Mountain Alliance, SonomaWest Holdings, state treasurer, taxpayer-friendly, Walker Stapleton

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

RMA Blog Talk Radio Solo Hosting Stint: Helpful and Humorous Links

Last night I was honored to host Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio by myself. I was blessed to have three great conversations - including an update on the Fort Collins city council elections with Randy Ketner, a discussion on a range of fiscal issues with prospective state treasurer candidate J.J. Ament, and 12 minutes with my wife and Independence Institute colleague, the lovely Mrs. Virtus, to talk about parental rights and homeschooling freedoms. A rank amateur flying solo by the seat of my pants, I filled in the rest of the time with a monologue referencing several stories. Here are the links for anyone who is interested: Vince Carroll's excellent "Blowing the lid off TABOR" column in yesterday's Denver Post -- which Ament … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: adoptable, apostates, apostles, Arne Duncan, Blog Talk Radio, BYU, candidate, city council, colleague, column, Complete Colorado, conversations, Denver Post, Education News Colorado, Education Secretary, elections, flying solo, Fort Collins, freedoms, great sources, homeschooling, Independence Institute, J.J. Ament, links, lovely, monologue, Mrs. Virtus, parental rights, PETA, pets, photo caption, podcast, Randy Ketner, rank amateur, Rocky Mountain Alliance, state treasurer, stint, student newspaper, TABOR, Vince Carroll, vouchers, Washington DC, wife

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Is It Time to Step Up Advertising on Colorado Conservative Blogs?

Over at RedState, Erick Erickson makes a great point about rebuilding the conservative movement that can be applied to Colorado:In the past few years, SEIU, AFL-CIO, NEA, DCCC, and a host of other left-wing organizations have been buying ads on left of center blogs keeping those blogs going — allowing the bloggers on the left some financial incentive to keep blogging for the left.... In addition to all of that, you’ve got the Soros gang and SEIU engaging in a host of left-wing activities online that recruit and fund online writers — bloggers, journalists, etc.... Every day in Washington, there is some right-wing group somewhere bemoaning the efforts of the right online. Sadly, for them and the rest of the right, their first … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, General, Labor, liberty, My Life, PPC Tagged With: advertisers, bloggers, businesses, Colorado, conservative movement, Erick Erickson, existing talent, George Soros, great point, ineffectiveness, journalists, labor unions, left-wing organizations, members, modest rate, operators, owners, Peoples Press Collective, rebuilding, RedState, Rocky Mountain Alliance, SEIU, take heed

2/7/2026 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

2/7/2026 By Ben 7 Comments

Leondray Gholston Brings Fresh Blood Beside Experienced Dick Wadhams in Colorado GOP Leadership

Update: El Presidente has more of the details surrounding what went down at today's state party officer elections. I was not able to attend today's Colorado Republican state central committee meeting in Castle Rock, but I've had a chance to follow developments remotely. As reported at Rocky Mountain Right, Dick Wadhams was comfortably re-elected to the chairman's position. The more competitive race was for vice-chair, in which DougCo GOP reports on Twitter that Leondray Gholston beat out Nathan Chambers on the 3rd round of voting. For many conservative grassroots supporters, Gholston's election represents a new and exciting direction for the state party. Let's hope their optimism is justified. Certainly, Gholston's passion, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, PPC Tagged With: archived, attendance, Blog Talk Radio, candidate recruitment, Castle Rock, central committee meeting, chairman, Colorado, competitive, conservative, dedication, developments, Dick Wadhams, direction, DougCo GOP, elected officials, enthusiasm, episodes, exciting, fundraising, gentlemen, grassroots, high-tech communications, justified, Leondray Gholston, limited government, Nathan Chambers, national defense, new, office, optimism, passion, personal responsibility, plans, proceedings, re-elected, reports, Republican, Republican Party, Rocky Mountain Alliance, Rocky Mountain Right, state, strength, strong, supporters, Twitter, unify, vice-chair, voter registration, work together

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

President Obama, Please Spare Us from Further Diplomatic Embarrassments

From Gateway Pundit, more evidence of the kind of "change" in diplomacy we voted for: Barack Obama writes to FORMER president of France Jacques Chirac saying he looks forward to working together "in the coming four years" -- while altogether snubbing current president Nicolas Sarkozy. More at EuroPumas. (Here's the original Le Figaro story, in case you're interested. It's not every day I get to link to something en Francais.) Way to go. Just one more in a string of diplomatic embarrassments emanating from the Oval Office. But keep on laughing, Mr. President. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous, World Events Tagged With: Barack Obama, change, current president, diplomacy, diplomatic, embarrassments, en Francais, EuroPumas, evidence, former president, France, Gateway Pundit, Jacques Chirac, laughing, Le Figaro, link, Nicolas Sarkozy, Oval Office

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Card Check Bill’s Fading Prospects a Relief for Colorado’s Michael Bennet

Big Labor is really bummed out today with the news that U.S. Senator Arlen Specter won't be backing their Orwellian-named Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) (you can watch his floor speech here) -- at least for this year. No Republican votes (and many shaky Democrats) means union officials won't be able to invoke the 60 votes needed for cloture to take away workers' rights to the secret ballot and impose costly binding arbitration. This has got to spell a little relief for Colorado's newly selected U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. EFCA has put Bennet in a bind, but if the political signals are clear that the legislation won't pass he might have the cover he needs. At this point, my guess is Bennet will take the path of least resistance within … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: actual damage, Arlen Specter, Big Labor, binding arbitration, Bob Beauprez, boondoggle, business leaders, card-check, challengers, clear, cloture, Colorado, costly, EFCA, Employee Free Choice Act, floor speech, high-profile, invoke, least resistance, legislation, likely result, Michael Bennet, moderate, newly-selected, Orwellian, political campaign, political signals, preclude, primary, relief, Republican, rights, Ryan Frazier, secret ballot, shaky Democrats, slate, target, U.S. Senator, union officials, votes, workers

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Don’t Miss Latest RMA Blog Talk Radio with Scott Starin, Dave Williams

A day late, hopefully not too many dollars short ... If you missed last night's edition (the 19th) of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio, go check it out. Guests for this week are Scott Starin - former Congressional candidate and current chairman of the Boulder County Republican Party - and Dave Williams - co-founder of the Gadsden Society. 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, Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: Blog Talk Radio, Boulder County Republican Party, candidate, chairman, co-founder, Congressional, Dave Williams, Gadsden Society, guests, Mount Virtus, podcast, Rocky Mountain Alliance, Scott Starin, sidebar, widget

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Join Me in Shining Light on Democrat Attempts to Destroy Electoral College

Starting sometime after 2 PM this afternoon (pending a preceding hearing on another bill) I will be keeping tabs on the vital state senate committee testimony on HB 1299 - which statehouse Democrats are proposing to destroy the electoral college and render Colorado politically impotent. You can follow me on Twitter. You also can listen online here (click on Senate Committee Room 353). … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, liberty, My Life, PPC Tagged With: afternoon, Colorado, committee, Democrats, destroy, electoral college, follow, keeping tabs, listen, online, politically impotent, proposing, state senate, statehouse, testimony, Twitter

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Michigan Minor League Baseball Just Got a Little More Fattening…and Tasty?

I was looking forward to visiting my parents this summer near Grand Rapids, Michigan -- maybe catching some minor league baseball action. Now I know there's a genuinely tempting challenge involved, I'll have to make a point of going to Fifth Third Ballpark. 4,800 calories? Methinks it's not on the Weight Watchers plan. But a reason to miss the state of my birth? Perhaps. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous, Sports and Leisure

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Inside

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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

  • 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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National News and Politics

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  • Reason
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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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  • E!! The True Conservative Story
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  • Instapundit
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Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
  • Black Five
  • Blogs of War
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  • Flypaper
  • Fraters Libertas
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  • IMAO
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Christian Commentary et al.

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Other Sites

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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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