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....

7/9/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

Make Your Opinions Known, Help Reveal Colorado’s Political Temperature

It's the middle of the summer. The limelight surrounding Colorado politics is hazy. Blogs like this one experience a yawn in their already modest traffic. It's time for something new to talk about. And if you can't report the news or comment the news, it's time to make a little news. And time to take the online temperature of Colorado political activists about the leading issues and candidates of the day -- in our state and nationwide. El Presidente and I have commissioned and fashioned a survey that we hope you will take 10 minutes or so to complete -- especially if you're from Colorado. We didn't want to make another run-of-the-mill quick-hit poll. We want to take it a little more in-depth. Click here to take the July 2009 Colorado … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, My Life, National Politics, PPC

7/8/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

SS GOP: New Captain, not Jump Ship

Let me be the first to welcome Michael at Best Destiny back to the blogosphere following his hiatus. It seems he is rather despondent about the Grand Old Party, and not without good reason. As a result of the lack of national leadership, he writes:The Republican Party is dead. It must either be reborn in a Reagan/originalist image, or it must be stashed and have dirt heaped on it's grave. I'm open to the latter. I'm not sure what you would have to call it, but let me throw this out: the Independence Party. We stand for originalist ideas of limited central government, states' rights; we stand for a strong national defense with limited and clearly defined international responsibilities; we stand for open markets and economic freedom; we … [Read more...]

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

7/7/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

New Gallup Poll Provides Clear Road Map for Republican Themes in 2010

Gallup yesterday posted the results of a very interesting poll that shows far more Americans self-identifying in a conservative direction than in a liberal direction. Brian Faughnan at Red State has it about right concerning the broad message of the poll:I think it’s a growing distrust of what they view as the liberal agenda of this Congress and this president. At the same time, when you break down the poll on an issue-by-issue basis, Rossputin makes a great case that on most issues Americans are tending to move in a libertarian direction. It's hard to say how much the broad shift against environmental policies that harm the economy and against restrictive immigration policies are the result of our current economic situation versus a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General, Health Care, liberty, National Politics, PPC

7/6/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Really Wanting to Know More About Why Mr. Curtis Left the Colorado GOP

Congratulations appear to be in order for Jeremy Pelzer, who has landed some sort of gig at the new online Rocky Mountain Independent. Jeremy's fairly long feature today is the latest Colorado GOP postmortem piece, with the standard news hook of a lifelong moderate Republican switching parties in disgust:The Colorado Republican Party has had few supporters more loyal than Brandon Curtis. The 32-year-old sales marketer from Denver had voted straight Republican in every election since he first cast a ballot in 1996. Last year, he was a delegate for John McCain in the Republican presidential caucus. But in the general election last November, Curtis voted Democratic for the first time in his life, picking Barack Obama and Mark Udall for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Cultural Conservatism, Fiscal Policy, General, Journalism, liberty, PPC

7/4/2009 By Ben 5 Comments

Happy Independence Day, 233 Years

Other days leave us to ponder and fight for the future of personal and economic liberty. Other days leave us to dwell on the financial challenges that face so many Americans. Today we celebrate and commemorate the blessings of liberty enshrined in sacred words of our nation's founding, ratified 233 years ago during a remarkable time that tried the souls of patriots: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Commemorative, General, liberty, PPC

7/3/2009 By Ben 3 Comments

Sarah Palin Stepping Down as Alaska Governor … The Speculation Begins

I wasn't planning to blog on politics at all over the long weekend, but the very recent news emerging that Alaska governor Sarah Palin not only won't run for re-election in 2010 but also is stepping down later this month has changed my mind. Right now, speculation is running rampant why Palin has chosen to take this course of action. John Hawkins at Right Wing News has taken a break from his vacation to offer up four likely scenarios: … [Read more...]

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

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 Ben 1 Comment

Mark Steyn: Burst Bubbles of Big Government and Political Soap Operas

With his usual eloquence and wit, the venerable Mark Steyn on National Review Online makes a terrific point about the connection between centralized state spending & power and bizarre behavior by politicians:The real bubble is a consequence of big government. The more the citizenry expect from the state, the more our political class will depend on ever more swollen Gulf Emir–sized retinues of staffers hovering at the elbow to steer you from one corner of the fishbowl to another 24/7. “Why are politicians so weird?” a reader asked me after the Sanford press conference. But the majority of people willing to live like this will, almost by definition, be deeply weird. So big government more or less guarantees rule by creeps and misfits. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Cultural Conservatism, General, National Politics, PPC, Random and Miscellaneous

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • …
  • 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