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
Red Mountain View

Mount Virtus?

Every day is seeking to rise to the challenge, 'neath the shadow of the mighty Rockies.

Colorado Capitol

Colorado Ballot Reviews

Sometimes the choices are daunting or confusing, sometimes they're as clear as a Mile High view.

Writer / Editor For Hire

If I had five more writers just like him, I think my job would be the easiest in journalism....

1/31/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

Obligatory Super Bowl Prediction Error

Following up on last year's colossal mistake, here is my pick for tomorrow's big game: Super Bowl XLIII (Feb 1, 2009 - Tampa, FL): Pittsburgh Steelers (15-4) 21 Arizona Cardinals (12-8) 17 MVP: Troy Polamalu Here's hoping I'm colossally wrong again, and not just because of the President's leanings. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, National Politics, Sports and Leisure Tagged With: Arizona Cardinals, colossal error, Pittsburgh Steelers, prediction, President, Super Bowl, Troy Polamalu, wrong

1/30/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

If You Don’t Like Your Animated Character Identity, Just Wait a Minute…

Anyone out there with kids who has run across this animated series of books and videos? With the highly active imagination of a nearly 3-year-old in our house, members of our household rapidly assume and change identities to fit the characters in the Spot series. This morning I went from being a dog to a hippo to an alligator to a monkey in less than 90 seconds. No dull moments in my life. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life, Random and Miscellaneous

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

1/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Democrat Pollsters Hedge Bets on Ritter Re-Election…Wouldn’t You Right Now?

Democrat pollsters are hedging their bets over the re-election chances of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter. The well known, respected local election analyst Floyd Ciruli says:Although Bill Ritter works hard and cares about Colorado, he fails to inspire confidence among the most attentive publics. Of course, Colorado governors tend to be re-elected, and the Republicans are still on the defense after a half a decade of election losses, but Ritter faces a difficult re-election.... Ritter and his party know he is vulnerable. Expect a strong effort to survive. [emphasis added] On the other hand, the Democrat survey firm Public Policy Polling (PPP) observes something different from its new survey results: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC Tagged With: articulate, Bill Ritter, Bob Beauprez, candidate, challenge, Colorado, competent, competitive race, confidence, Dean Debnam, Democrat, demographic, difficult, election losses, fiscally conservative, Floyd Ciruli, Governor, hedging their bets, Hispanic voters, incumbent, local election analyst, pollsters, President, professional pollster, Public Policy Polling, reelection, Republicans, results, revert, Senate candidate, sign up, strong effort, strong favorite, survey firm, survive, Tom Tancredo, trend, unbeatable, vulnerable, white voters

1/29/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Colorado Senate Democrats Flee from True School Financial Transparency

Last night I told you about the inspiring testimony of citizens in support of financial transparency for Colorado schools. Today, it was the legislators' turn to do the damage. And damage they did:Senator Bob Bacon introduced an amendment that establishes a “voluntary pilot program” for transparency. It passed and is now on its way to the full floor of the Senate. Senator [Ted] Harvey asked to open up the bill for additional testimony since it had been altered dramatically. Bacon, chair of the committee, said no. Senator Harvey also tried to kill his own bill. Harvey did say he would bring the bill back next year. Bacon, a former educator, used words like “cruel” and “fear” to describe how school districts may respond to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, General, PPC Tagged With: amendment, bill, bill sponsor, Bob Bacon, Chris Romer, citizens, Colorado schools, cruel, damage, Evie Hudak, fear, financial transparency, floor, former educator, grassroots army, hide, inspiring testimony, legislators, obligatory quote, online, passed, Peter Groff, respond, Rollie Heath, school districts, searchable format, senator, students, taxpayers, teaching, Ted Harvey, trend, voluntary pilot program

1/29/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Etch Yesterday in Stone as Rare Proud Moment for Congressional GOP

It's not often that I can say Congressional Republicans make me proud by their actions. So let's etch January 28, 2009, in stone as one of those momentous occasions. Hats off to the House GOP yesterday for standing 100 percent united against the Obama-Democrat trillion dollar pork bill that promises to mount piles of debt on my generation and future generations. Of course, this is small consolation as there aren't enough Republicans - with or without backbone - to stop the socialist steamroller "stimulus" from gliding through. But at least if the GOP hangs tough and united, rather than set us up for disappointment, the Democrats will own this economic disaster. (Will Senate Republicans follow their House brethren?) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: backbone, Barack Obama, basic sanity, Beltway, Best Destiny, Colorado, Congress, conservative, conservative leaders, creativity, delegation, Democrats, disappointment, economic disaster, energized, fiscal conservatism, free market, generations, gloomy news, grassroots, hand-wringing, hard work, House GOP, impact, late, limited government, memo, Michael, momentous occasions, necessary, never, party-line vote, piles of debt, political, pork bill, proud, realization, Republicans, rock bottom, Rocky Mountain Right, Senate, small consolation, small rays of hope, Socialist, solidarity, steamroller, stimulus, struggles, tough, trillion dollar, united, waiting, Washington

1/28/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Coloradans, You Can Make a Difference for School Financial Transparency

Update, 1/29: More coverage on Colorado Spending Transparency and Ed News Colorado, as well as a kind link from the Open Records blog. This morning the Colorado Senate Education Committee got a bit of a surprise, it might seem, with a slew of concerned citizens coming forward to testify in support of Senate Bill 57 (PDF) (sponsored by state senator Ted Harvey) - which would bring something akin to full-fledged financial transparency to Colorado public schools. It's unusual to see more than 15 average citizens come forward to testify for a piece of legislation - and rarer yet, to have many of them do so quite eloquently. Most were from the metro Denver area, a couple hailed from Weld County, and one of them drove three hours over the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life, PPC Tagged With: against, Arvada, bloggers, Bob Bacon, bureaucrat, centennial, Chris Romer, Colorado, Colorado Association of School Boards, Colorado Association of School Executives, Colorado Open Records Act, Colorado Press Association, Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs School District 11, concerned citizens, corporate executives, cost savings, cripples, David Williams, Denver, Eagle County, eloquently, employee support, everyday apathy, Evie Hudak, financial information, financial transparency, Fort Collins, golden dome, government books, grassroots, Jack Ott, Keith King, legislation, legislative audio, little victory, Littleton, lobbyists, local government officials, metro Denver, Mike Kopp, Nancy Spence, Natalie Menten, online spending database, open government, parents, Peter Groff, political activists, prolonged testimony, proud moment, public eyes, public schools, reconvene, reliable ally, requests, Rollie Heath, searchable database, Senate Bill 57, Senate Education Committee, slew, small business owners, support, surprise, Ted Harvey, testify, Tom Stone, vacation, Weld County

1/28/2009 By Ben 2 Comments

Will Democrats Try to Stiff Us with Another Arbitrary, Pointless Tax Hike?

Four years ago, a narrow majority of Coloradans bought the slick advertising of the Referendum C tax hike. Today, statehouse Democrats seem to have forgotten all their grandiose promises. (Or were they not telling us the truth in the first place?) A great catch by Face The State (go and listen to the brief audio clip for yourself):So we were shocked to hear JBC vice-chairman Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, assert during last week's discussion that “Ref C wasn’t designed to fix anything," and that "Ref C was an arbitrary amount of money.” … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC Tagged With: arbitrary, audio clip, Bill Ritter, blank check, Boulder, budget expert, cats and dogs, clarify, Coloradans, Colorado, Democrats, economics, Face the State, Governor, grandiose promises, Jack Pommer, Joint Budget Committee, majority, money, politicians, proposal, rainy day, Referendum C, Rossputin, slick advertising, state government, state legislature, state programs, statehouse, stiffed, surprised, tax hike, times of plenty, truth, vernacular, voters

1/28/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Rossputin: Bill Ritter’s Transparent Try to Set Stage for Another Tax Hike

When I recently pointed out Governor Bill Ritter's public proclamation in favor of transparency, this wasn't the kind of transparency I was talking about. Rossputin explains:There's a reason that the first thing Ritter is proposing to do is cut education and prison funding, and "temporarily" suspend the homestead exemption which lowers property tax for many senior citizens, and it's the oldest liberal trick in the book: He's setting the stage for a tax increase proposal "for the children" and with the specter of violent felons roaming the streets unless we go along. Well, it's time to just say no to more liberal government expansion. Yes, Bill Ritter's announcement should make it rather transparent that he and the Democrats are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, PPC Tagged With: alternative, Bill Ritter, budget proposal, Democrats, Education, enough, for the children, government expansion, Governor, homestead exemption, opportunity, ploys, prisons, proclamation, property tax, Republicans, responsible citizens, Rossputin, scare tactics, senior citizens, tax increase, Transparency, violent felons

1/28/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Democrats Kill Clean Government, Anti-Political Blackmail Bill

From the Denver Post:A bill that would have barred back-room ballot initiative deals got the heave-ho at the state Capitol Tuesday. House Bill 1069, from state Rep. Amy Stephens, R-Monument, would have made it illegal for anyone with a ballot initiative certified by the secretary of state to then withdraw that initiative because of a deal offering money, gifts or any “other valuable consideration.” A provision like that already exists in state law when it comes to candidates for office. It's official: your Democrats in charge at the Colorado statehouse once again come out against clean government. In voting down House Bill 1069, they have winked at the use of the citizens' ballot initiative process for political blackmail by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General, Labor, PPC Tagged With: Amy Stephens, backroom deals, ballot initiative, Beth McCann, bill, business, Chicago, citizens, clean government, Colorado, current majority, Democrats, Denver Post, House Bill 1069, illegal, kudos, Labor, lobbyists, moneyed, Monument, party line, political blackmail, protection, provision, public interest, Rod Blagojevich, special interests, State Capitol, state legislator, statehouse, unholy marriage, winked

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • …
  • 267
  • 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