Mount Virtus

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

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Home Archives for My Life

4/15/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Typically White Merchandise

If you're like me, you may identify closely with the famous Barack Obama phrase: "typical white person." But I was never moved by the entrepreneurial spirit like a couple friends of mine who created the Typically White website, where you can go to order "Typically White" shirts and bags. Who knows? You might find a great present to one of your conservative - or any typically white - friend or family member. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, National Politics, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Barack Obama, Typically White

4/15/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Can’t Blame Tax Day

Tax Day. The Ides of April. The anniversaries of two epic tragedies: the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the sinking of the Titanic. Monday / Tuesday. All very compelling reasons - but none actually bear the responsibility - for the sparse blogging in the last day or so. I hope to get a substantive post or two up tonight. We'll see. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous

4/11/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Revising and Extending My Remarks on State Government Unionization

Today, two Colorado newspapers ran stories about growing unionization in state government. I was quoted in both articles, as the issue is one I've researched and have an Independence Institute publication being formatted for official release on Monday. There's only so much space in a news article. But that's what makes a blog a wonderful venue for revising and extending my remarks, as a way to press the debate forward. First, Chris Barge in the Rocky Mountain News introduces the issue:The unions that pushed the hardest for Gov. Bill Ritter's executive order granting them a larger voice in state government could soon see a nearly fourfold increase in membership.... The unions, which had fewer than 6,000 dues-paying state workers on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Labor, My Life Tagged With: Colorado Springs Gazette, Executive Order, Gov. Bill Ritter, Independence Institute, Rocky Mountain News, unionization

4/9/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Inspiration for Center-Right Bloggers

Yesterday I wrote about the positive experience of meeting RedState's Erick Erickson. What I forgot to post was a mention of the speech he gave at Samsphere. It's good food for thought for those of us who blog on the conservative, pro-freedom side. Better yet, here's the link to a written version of the speech, with an excerpt to tease your interest:Too many of us are frozen by inaction today because of our visions of tomorrow. I can’t tell you how many friends I see sitting around, plotting web strategy and how to crush the left online only to sit on their hands or twiddle their thumbs and give up hope because they don’t have the funding or the knowledge or the connections or the skill set or the message hammered out — great ideas … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Christianity and Faith, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: C.S. Lewis, Erick Erickson, RedState, Samsphere

4/8/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Meeting Erick Erickson and a Little Colorado Blogging Reciprocation

Not so long ago, when I attended Samsphere in Chicago, I made quite a few new good blogging acquaintances. Most of them I only became aware of their blog through the Sam Adams Alliance's introduction of the list of participants. But one of a few who I already knew by reputation was Erick Erickson, the managing editor at RedState - one of the most well-trafficked and successful conservative websites around. I was glad for the opportunity to meet Erick and to discover that he wasn't a self-absorbed self-promoter, but rather a very down-to-earth guy with a passion for building the conservative, limited government cause. He talked to the crew about applying the spirit of servant leadership to blogging, and it's something he clearly believes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life Tagged With: Erick Erickson, Joshua Sharf, Red State, Rima Barakat Sinclair, Samsphere

4/7/2008 By Ben 4 Comments

Wil Armstrong for Congress

Having accepted an invitation, today I met with Wil Armstrong - Republican candidate for Colorado's 6th Congressional District. Nationally-known Congressman Tom Tancredo has stepped down after five terms in office, and four candidates are vying to replace him for the safe Republican seat. The other candidates are Secretary of State Mike Coffman, State Senator Ted Harvey, and State Senator Steve Ward. Unlike the other three, Wil Armstrong has never held elected office. But in a time when many Republican voters are frustrated with the fiscal irresponsibility of their own elected officials and are clamoring for change, he considers the lack of experience a strength. Instead, Armstrong has been a successful entrepreneur and a dedicated … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: 6th Congressional District, endorsement, Mike Coffman, Steve Ward, Ted Harvey, Tom Tancredo, Wil Armstrong

4/6/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Nope. Sorry.

I don't want to talk about the Detroit Tigers ... or the Colorado Rockies. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Baseball

4/4/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

For All the Latest on Colorado’s Bob Schaffer-Mark Udall Senate Race

For the latest in Colorado's U.S. Senate race between Republican Bob Schaffer and Democrat Mark Udall, head on over to Schaffer v Udall, a blog project on which I collaborate. Why is this a great time to visit if you have never been, or haven't in awhile? Just in the last day, you'll find posts up on these intriguing topics: - How a Democrat attack ad on Bob Schaffer is backfiring - Terrific analysis by my colleague El Presidente showing the problems with the "latest" poll in the race - Udall's ongoing difficult dilemma as a superdelegate - Udall's questionable earmarks ethics and his questionable pledge to swear off earmarks (temporarily) If you're interested in Colorado politics or the 2008 campaign for the U.S. Senate, you'll … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Bob Schaffer, Democrats, earmarks, Mark Udall, polls, Schaffer v Udall, superdelegate

4/2/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Samsphere Reminder

As a reminder of the opportunity to sign up for Samsphere Denver, I've put up a permanently-linked button on the sidebar where you can go to register for the April 19 event. I put out the call for help to someone who could create an attractive and usable Web button for this purpose, and Jenn Sierra at Fort Hard Knox came through. Thanks, Jenn! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Fort Hard Knox, Samsphere Denver

4/1/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Calling All Colorado Pro-Freedom Bloggers: Samsphere Comes to Denver

The details are out... Samsphere is coming to Denver on Saturday, April 19, sponsored by the Sam Adams Alliance. Are you a new pro-freedom center-right blogger who wants to meet up and learn the tools of the trade? An experienced blogger who wants to sharpen your skills? Maybe you've thought about blogging, or your friends have said you should start, but weren't quite sure how to get it going and make it work? Whatever the case, come and check it out. I've met the Sam Adams Alliance crew personally: They have a passion about building a successful blogging community on our side and the skills and experience to get you connected. Go here to check out the agenda and register. I'll see you there. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous Tagged With: Colorado blogging community, Sam Adams Alliance, Samsphere

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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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