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

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Home Archives for My Life

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 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 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

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Colorado Spring Blizzard of the Century of the Week: Central Arvada Report

Update, 5:00 PM: Snowfall has lightened up, visibility has improved to nearly normal, heavy gusts of wind are far less frequent. We have just under a feet of snow, which indicates that the heaviest precipitation occurred this morning. But it hasn't stopped. And with a layer of ice under much of the snow, it will be awhile before travel is back to normal. Today is suitable for a little random weather blogging here in central Arvada ... Snow started falling at sometime around 6 AM. I've spent the morning working inside, but ventured outside at high noon. Observations: Blowing snow (heavy at times), visibility is about 100 feet or so (occasionally much less than that), the nearby side streets are barely passable for standard 2-wheel … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Arvada, blizzard, blowing, drifts, inevitable comparisons, morning, snow, storm, traffic, visibility, weather blogging

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Mount Virtus Welcomes Guest-Blogger

After more than five years at Mount Virtus, I've finally grown secure enough to include the occasional postings of a guest-blogger on my site. I just wanted to give my regular readers the heads-up, and to let you know: The guest-blogger's first posting should occur very soon The thoughts, opinions, and observations of the posts on this site belong to their respective authors If unsure, you can find the identity of the author on the second line under the post heading where it says "Written by..." I will let the new guest-blogger identify himself, and leave you in suspense until then I believe we can only benefit by having more thoughtful conservative voices in the Colorado blogosphere. A new era begins? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

What a Weekend: Human Achievement Hour, “Green” Energy Taxes, & You

My big regret from a low-key weekend? That I somehow forgot to celebrate Human Achievement Hour. Kudos to all those who did, and made a statement for liberty. It's most interesting to me that this weekend's events closely follow the discovery that the infamous solar panels on the Denver Museum of Nature and Science likely won't come close to paying for themselves while state lawmakers seek to induce school districts into installing cost-inefficient "new" "green" energy. Speaking of higher taxes and energy prices for consumers like you and me, Paul Chesser takes on the cap-and-trade folly in the new American Spectator. At least here in the Denver area our big snow has all but melted away ... for now. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, My Life, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: American Spectator, cap-and-trade, celebrate, consumers, cost-inefficient, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, discovery, energy prices, folly, Human Achievement Hour, installing, kudos, liberty, melted away, Paul Chesser, school districts, snow, solar panels, state lawmakers, statement, taxes, weekend

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 Leave a Comment

NCAA Tourney Picks: Day 1

I've decided to do something a little different with this year's NCAA Tournament and the blog. I'll be posting my picks on a day-by-day basis. Below are a list of tomorrow's scheduled first round games with my projected winners in bold: … [Read more...]

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

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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

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