Mount Virtus

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Mount Virtus?

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

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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....

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Time for Ted Stevens To Go

News came yesterday that Alaska Senator Ted Stevens is indicted. If Republicans should have learned anything from the 2006 election, it's to purge the pork and corruption from their ranks. This story reminds us that neither major party has anything approaching a monopoly on sleazy politicians, but also gives the GOP an opportunity to distinguish itself by valuing integrity over seniority. Speaking of seniority, no Republican has served longer. It's time for that tenure to come to an end. At The Next Right, Patrick Ruffini wisely calls for Ted Stevens to step down, but points out he can't do so until after Alaska's August 26 primary. Of course, actual guilt or innocence has yet to be determined in the Stevens case. But politically … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, General, National Politics Tagged With: Alaska, corruption, GOP, indictment, Patrick Ruffini, pork, primary election, Ted Stevens, The Next Right, U.S. Senator

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Endorsements Likely Key Factor in Lifting Wil Armstrong into Close Race

I've written very little about the 6th Congressional District primary since my endorsement of Wil Armstrong nearly four months ago. Since then, many prominent Republicans have followed suit with their public endorsements, including Senator Wayne Allard, former Governor Bill Owens, Attorney General John Suthers, former state senate leader Mark Hillman, former Secretary of State Gigi Dennis, and even former Massachusetts governor and possible vice-presidential candidate Mitt Romney. For the longest time, Secretary of State Mike Coffman has been viewed as the prohibitive frontrunner in this four-way race, which also features state senators Ted Harvey and Steve Ward. But then today comes interesting news from the campaign - also reported at … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: 6th Congressional District, Bill Owens, campaign, dead heat, endorsements, frontrunner, Gigi Dennis, John Suthers, Mark Hillman, Mike Coffman, Mitt Romney, name recognition, poll, primary election, Republicans, Secretary of State, Steve Ward, Ted Harvey, Wayne Allard, Wil Armstrong

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Mt. Virtus Update

A significant and very exciting change came to the Virtus household yesterday. Needless to say, blogging will be sporadic, at best, for awhile. More important things are going on! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, My Life

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Live-Blogging First Campaign Debate between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall

Today I'm taking a few personal hours from work to go cover the first debate of Colorado's 2008 U.S. Senate campaign. Hopefully, El Presidente and I will be live-blogging the event between Bob Schaffer and Mark Udall over at the Schaffer v Udall blog. Doors open to the public at 9:30 AM local time, with the debate scheduled to take place from 10:00 to 11:00 AM. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics Tagged With: Bob Schaffer, Colorado, debate, El Presidente, live blogging, Mark Udall, Schaffer v Udall, U.S. Senate

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Rest in Peace, Tony Snow

Sad news today about a man with integrity, decency, and affability uncommon to contemporary public life, who finally succumbed in his long bout with colon cancer. Via American Thinker, here is quotable wisdom Tony Snow shared in a May 2007 commencement speech, advice to "live boldly, to live a whole life": 1. Think; use your brains. 2. Take risks; don't be content with what you know. 3. Commit to God. Faith is as natural as the air we breathe. Religion is the introduction to the ultimate extreme sport. 4. Get out and experience life. Get your fingernails dirty... and laugh, a lot, at yourselves. ..the pain, the poignancy, the aches are essential; they bring us together. 5. Love. It is everything...to love is to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, Commemorative, General, National Politics Tagged With: American Thinker, colon cancer, commencement speech, faith, Fox News, obituary, Tony Snow

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

AFL-CIO Tells IRS with a Straight Face It Spends No Money on Politics

Do you ever wonder why there's such skepticism about Big Labor's support of legislation that attacks workers' ballot privacy, not to mention Big Labor's opposition to legislation that gives workers more freedom over their earnings? Underreported news like this from the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF) would give a satisfactory answer. Here's the letter from AWF to the Internal Revenue Service:On behalf of the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF), and rank-and-file working Americans, I urge you to investigate the apparent incongruence contained within the 2005-2006 tax filings by the AFL-CIO. According to their annual LM-2 financial disclosure form filed with the Department of Labor, the AFL-CIO spent $41,620,583 on political activities … [Read more...]

Filed Under: General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: AFL-CIO, Alliance for Worker Freedom, Big Labor, corruption, Department of Labor, fair elections, Internal Revenue Service, LM-2, National Education Association, political activities, political expenditures, tax evasion, workers' funds

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter’s Property Tax Hike May Work Against Funding Aurora Schools

The Denver Post reports good news from Aurora - with a catch:The Aurora school district and its teachers union have reached an agreement on a new contract that calls for a 2 percent increase in pay for all employees this coming school year. But there's a hitch: The school board must agree to put a property-tax hike on the November ballot to fund it and voters must approve it or else there will be no raises. Aurora Public Schools hasn't asked for a mill levy increase since 1990 but feels that is the only way it can fund salary increases for the 2008-09 school year, said chief personnel officer Kari Allen. The timing isn't good. School property taxes for Aurora homeowners and business owners already increased about 6 percent this … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Aurora Public Schools, Bill Ritter, business owners, Democrats, Denver Post, homeowners, Kari Allen, property tax hike, school board, school property tax, teachers union

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Majority of Coloradans Don’t Think Bill Ritter is Doing a Terrible Job

The times sure have changed for Gov. Bill Ritter. Back in September 2007, two separate polls placed the governor's approval ratings -- in one case, those who believed he was doing an "excellent" or "good" job -- around 70 percent:Ritter's spokesman said the governor has earned his high approval ratings by taking on renewable energy, transportation, health care and education. "I think the kind of partisan attacks that have come from a few state house Republicans don't resonate, because the issues that people care about are the issues that Gov. Ritter is addressing," Evan Dreyer said. This week, it's Bill Ritter's sinking poll numbers that are in the headlines. From today's Denver Post (including a chance to express your own view in an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: agenda, approval rating, Bill Ritter, Colorado, Denver Post, Evan Dreyer, fair, leadership, polls, poor, report card

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Pollster Floyd Ciruli Rehashes Reasons for Bill Ritter’s Sinking Popularity

In today's Rocky Mountain News, Colorado Democrat pollster Floyd Ciruli takes a cold, analytical look at Gov. Bill Ritter's approval ratings -- boiled down, the picture isn't pretty for the potential one-term governor:Surprisingly, new Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter may be in trouble. When compared with his Montana counterpart, Gov. Brian Schweitzer, in recent Rasmussen polls, Ritter's job rating lags behind Schweitzer by 19 points. Only 45 percent of Colorado voters gave Ritter an excellent or good job rating, whereas 64 percent of Montanans rated Schweitzer as doing an excellent or good job. Floyd Ciruli cites a litany of reasons for Bill Ritter's sagging popularity, reasons that have been regular themes of this and other local new media … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Climate Hysteria, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Education, Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, Labor Tagged With: bathroom bill, Bill Ritter, blue-ribbon panels, Brian Schweitzer, campaign finance violation, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Executive Order, Face the State, Floyd Ciruli, Human Events, Montana, oil and gas drilling, Property Tax Increase, Rasmussen poll, Rocky Mountain News, Senate Bill 200, severance tax, state government, TV commercials

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Colorado Officials Can Act Wisely to Quash Anti-Taxpayer Rumors

A watcher writes:I heard a rumor that some (unnamed) someone had offered the State Supreme Court a promise of a new building if only the Court would find the illegal property tax imposed by Governor Ritter and his Democrat legislature was constitutional. That would explain why Bill Ritter seems so confident that the State Supreme Court will rule his way. If the Court is dumb enough to appear to be bought and if the legislature is dumb enough to send a hundred million their way immediately after the ruling, Colorado will have a black eye for years to come. Again, this is a rumor, but a rumor that might have some substance. I've seen this one come through the grapevine, too. Gov. Bill Ritter's actions have only made the rumor more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Bill Ritter, Colorado General Assembly, Colorado Supreme Court, grapevine, Property Tax Increase, rumor, The Colorado Index

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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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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
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Colorado Blogs

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Other Sites

  • Technorati
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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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  • View from a Height

To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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