Mount Virtus

"Happy to come back to Michigan, but I miss the mountains!"

Ben on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About Ben
  • Mount Virtus?
  • Writer / Editor For Hire
  • What I’m Thankful For
  • Colorado Ballot Reviews
    • Colorado Ballot 2008
    • Colorado Ballot 2010
    • Colorado Ballot 2012
  • Archives
  • Passion and Purpose:
    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
  • Mary and Jacob: From the Forgotten Dust
  • The Westfield Gardener
Home Archives for liberty

7/2/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

Bizarre Self-Parody: Michael Bennet Hiding from Denver Post on Card-Check

The chronic inability of Colorado's appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet to take a position on the union card check bill (also known as EFCA) has moved deep into the realm of bizarre self-parody. It's a political joke that has lasted so long that the label of "Both Ways Bennet" has been branded permanently on his (hopefully brief) career. A member of the Denver Post editorial board, Chuck Plunkett observes that the long-awaited seating of Al Franken as Minnesota's U.S. Senator has once again ratcheted up the pressure that EFCA could come to a vote and force Michael Bennet into the uncomfortable position of, well, having to take one:I’ve asked Bennet’s office whether he wants to come on with his position on card check. (We oppose … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, liberty, National Politics, PPC

7/1/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Beltway Buzz Growing over “Part Obama, Part Reagan” Ryan Frazier

The Ryan Frazier for U.S. Senate campaign is drawing more attention inside the Beltway -- this time as noted on the "Washington Whispers" blog of U.S. News and World Report's Paul Bedard:We're hearing lots of buzz about another Republican who plans to challenge Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, named just this year to replace Ken Salazar, who was plucked from the Senate by President Obama to run the Interior Department. The word is that this potential candidate, Aurora City Councilman Ryan Frazier, is part Obama, part Reagan. That would be the charisma of Obama, the philosophy of Reagan. Not a bad combination. As Bedard goes on to point out, Frazier's "New Way Forward" video is helping to introduce more Coloradans to this rising political … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC

6/30/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Supreme Court Rebukes Sotomayor’s Dismissive Approach to Basic Fairness

More important than the fact that Obama Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's appellate ruling simply was overturned yesterday was that her ruling was that she treated the meritorious (and ultimately victorious) claims of the New Haven fire fighters so dismissively. It seems that in Sotomayor's world race-neutral, merit-based promotion systems are scarcely even worthy of consideration as legal and legitimate. For her, a subjective standard of judicial "empathy" trumps not only basic fairness but also the need to give basic fairness any serious consideration. Below the fold is a video response from the Colorado Judicial Network: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Cultural Conservatism, General, Judiciary, liberty, National Politics, PPC

6/29/2009 By Ryan Leave a Comment

UNCRC – Imminent Threat

Susan Rice, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, declared last week that the Obama administration is looking for ways to ratify the UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child). The Obama administration's operational strategy is to appeal to peer pressure.  We are embarrassed to be the only nation besides Somalia that hasn't ratified the treaty, aren't we?  No. The mistaken focus is on the means, rather than the end.  If there are facts about how American and Somalian children are poorly treated due to the countries not ratifying this treaty, please come out with them. Otherwise, this argument doesn't explain why we should ratify this treaty.  (And by the way, ParentalRights.org explains that Somalia doesn't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cultural Conservatism, General, liberty, National Politics, World Events

6/25/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Wrong, Ed Perlmutter: Waxman-Markey Would Harm 7th District Jobs, Economy

Earlier today Representative Ed Perlmutter responded to my letter urging him to vote against the Waxman-Markey massive energy "cap and tax" (no doubt with boilerplate language):As you may know, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 is important legislation to help build a new clean energy economy. This bill will create millions of clean energy jobs, put America on a path to energy independence, and help limit carbon emissions which contribute to global warming. As a supporter of green energy initiatives, I am fortunate for the opportunity to represent Colorado's 7th Congressional District, which is home to the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) located in Golden. I am a proponent of wind and solar energy as well as other … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC

6/25/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

New Video: The Raw Deal of Barack Obama Health Care Mandates

Watch the one-minute animated explanation why the mandates in Barack Obama's health care plan are bad for so many Americans, especially the young and healthy: Viewer warning: Exposure to pictures of Justin Longo in spandex may be harmful to your health. But, of course, exposure to Obamacare would be much worse. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Health Care, liberty, PPC Tagged With: Americans, animated, Barack Obama, explanation, exposure, far worse, harmful, health, Health Care, healthy, Justin Longo, mandates, Obamacare, plan, promises, spandex, viewer, warning, young

6/24/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Tell Your Representative to Sink the Bad Idea Known as Waxman-Markey

Lovers of liberty, it's not time to be resigned or downtrodden. It's time to stand up and be heard. This week the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the massive energy tax sometimes known as the Waxman-Markey bill or "Cap and Trade". FreedomWorks not only tells you why this bill is bad but provides easy links for you to take action and contact your representative. I already contacted Rep. Ed Perlmutter's office. (Of course, we also have the problem of an already very long piece of legislation that has suddenly added several hundred pages. Unlike the stimulus bill, will our Congressman be able to read it all in time? Consider me skeptical.) As it turns out, the timing of the House vote is proving to be quite … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Climate Hysteria, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: American Thinker, Australia, bad, be heard, cap-and-trade, climate change, consider, contact, conveniently, covered up, devastating, downtrodden, economy, Ed Perlmutter, Emission Trading Scheme, Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, evidence, explains, FreedomWorks, global warming, Ian Plimer, ironic, Larrey Anderson, legislation, links, lovers of liberty, mantra, massive, mythology, office, problem, proposed, Real Clear Politics, representative, resigned, Robert Tracisnki, scientific, skeptical, stand up, stimulus bill, tax, tide, Tom Minchin, turned, U.S. House of Representatives, very long, vote, Waxman-Markey, work

6/23/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

New Ryan Frazier Video Effectively Sells “A New Way Forward” Message

El Presidente has posted the slick new video from the Ryan Frazier for U.S. Senate campaign. Check it out. It's really worth the 2+ minutes to view. Kudos both to the person(s) who recorded the raw video footage of Ryan's speech and to the person(s) who edited it into a high-quality product. It looks like "A New Way Forward" is going to be the theme for the Frazier campaign, and if continued to be presented as in this video, it will be effective. After all, who can deny that the Republican Party needs to forge a new way forward? On a side note, this afternoon only 20 minutes after I received the Frazier campaign email announcing the release of the video I received a fundraising "personal message" from another Republican U.S. Senate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, liberty, National Politics, PPC

6/23/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Democrats Trying to Spare Unions from Massive National Health Care Tax

Say what? The Washington Examiner reports that Democrats are proposing to exempt unionized workers from the massive tax hike needed to fund government health care:With cost estimates already as high as $1.6 trillion, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., has proposed paying for the bill in part by taxing health care benefits for workers who earn more than $100,000, or $200,000 for married couples, according to those familiar with the discussions. Baucus is also weighing a tax based on the value of health care benefits that exceed a yet-to-be determined cap. A tax on benefits that exceed the cap by a mere $3,000 could amount to $750 in taxes annually for a worker who earns as little as $34,000, say experts. But those … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, Labor, liberty, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: Barack Obama, Big Labor, Cato Institute, Collective Bargaining, Congress, Constitutional, Democrats, Health Care, John Fund, Jon Henke, legislation, Max Baucus, Montana, Obama, Obamacare, oblivion, Patient Power, payback, political diary, reform, senator, statists, tax, taxpayers, The Next Right, Unions, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, We Stand Firm

6/22/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Come Meet Daniel Hannan, British Voice for Liberty, Friday in Denver

That's MEP Daniel Hannan, a breath of fresh political air from the other side of the pond. And he'll be in our Rocky Mountain backyard at the end of this week. Hannan will be the guest of honor and speaker at a Denver reception sponsored by the Independence Institute. You're invited! Stirring oratory ... a voice for liberty and fiscal sanity ... with a British accent. Sounds like a winning trifecta to me. Hope to see you there. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, liberty, PPC, World Events Tagged With: British accent, Daniel Hannan, Denver, fiscal sanity, Independence Institute, liberty, MEP, oratory, reception, Rocky Mountain, stirring, trifecta, winning, YouTube

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • …
  • 71
  • Next Page »

Inside

  • About Ben
  • Archives
  • Colorado Ballot Reviews
    • Colorado Ballot 2008
    • Colorado Ballot 2010
    • Colorado Ballot 2012
    • Colorado Ballot 2014
  • Mary and Jacob: From the Forgotten Dust
  • Mount Virtus?
  • Passion and Purpose:
    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
  • The Westfield Gardener
  • 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

  • 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

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
  • Right Wing Nuthouse
  • 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
  • Colorado Republican Study Committee
  • Dennis Prager
  • Denver Metro Young Republicans
  • Free Republic
  • Heritage Foundation
  • Jefferson County Republican Party
  • Mackinac Center for Public Policy
  • Mark Steyn
  • Michael Medved
  • Rush Limbaugh

Colorado Blogs

  • American Kestrel
  • Bob Agard
  • Colorado Charter Schools
  • Colorado Peak Politics
  • Colorado Pols
  • Colorado Right
  • Conservative Libertarian Outpost
  • Coyote Gulch
  • Ed Is Watching
  • Free Colorado
  • Jeff Crank Show
  • Mark Hillman
  • Patient Power
  • PirateBallerina
  • Protein Wisdom
  • Reagan Girl
  • Rocky Mountain Alliance 1.0 (Archive)
  • Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0 (Archive)
  • 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

Copyright © 2025 RSS Feed · WordPress · Log in