If you will forgive me for not going on and on about a single subject, today I want to go on and on about three stories in Colorado Politics that caught my eye, and I think should catch your eye as well.

Over the years, I’ve written about the reintroduction of wolves to Colorado on several occasions. I support the program, in part because in addition to working out the details of how to bring the wolves back, the legislation also includes restitution payments to farmers and ranchers who (inevitably) lose livestock to wolf predation.

Well, in a CoPo story this week, we learned a rancher in Grand County lost a calf to a wolf (or wolves). The rancher contacted the proper state agency, which did a field investigation, and determined a wolf did indeed kill the calf. The rancher will, presumably, now file for reimbursement from the state for the loss of the calf.

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This first test case will be an important test of whether the new system works properly, both in protecting wolves and protecting the ranchers and farmers from financial loss due to predation. I have my fingers crossed, and I think this will work out well, which is good for the ranchers and farmers, good for the wolves and good for the state.

The second story I want to make sure you see involves a fellow named Mike Pence. If that name kind of rings a bell, it’s because he was vice president of the United States under a certain former president. You may recall after four years of parroting Trump’s ongoing lies and delusions, Pence, on a day in early January 2021, turned honest. He was at the U.S. Capitol doing his constitutional duty of certifying the election when an insurrection was attempted by right-wing radicals urged on by former President Donald Trump. Earlier, Trump publicly called upon Pence to cheat and pretend Trump won. I’m sure it was a special moment for Pence, who, after doing the right thing, saw the mob raise a scaffold and chant “hang Mike Pence” over and over, as one does, I guess, when you are one of Trump’s “tourists.”

Well, Mr. Pence has a new activity to keep him busy, and now he has apparently created a policy group lobbying the U.S. Senate, to the tune of $2 million, to pass a ban on the popular social media platform TikTok. Now, as I have recently seen my 66th birthday recede into the fuzzy past, I’m not on TikTok. I am only on Facebook, where, I am told, my fellow baby boomers hang out. That could explain why most of the ads I see there have to do with thinning hair and reverse mortgages.

Anyway, Pence and his group, in a recent ad, call TikTok “digital fentanyl,” which is a tad over the top, I think. But it is clear TikTok is problematic, because, to at least some degree, it is owned and operated by the Chinese government. Certainly, there are layers of “ownership” that make that connection a bit fuzzy, but ultimately, the data gathered on the folks who download the app might well end up in some government database in Beijing. So, I basically agree with Pence, although without as much manufactured passion, TikTok should be dealt with.

I do differ from Pence in an important way. He would like the app to be banned. I think such a ban is ultimately unenforceable. With millions and millions of copies already downloaded, the software cannot be simply willed to disappear. Regulation of the app is far more likely to result in meaningful results. Based on the mood in Washington, I suspect a new law will be passed that compels formal divestiture from the Chinese government, and may include some oversight, but will fall short of an outright ban.

Lastly, I want to say just a couple words about some silly kids in Fort Lupton.

Earlier this week, Colorado’s second-highest court, the Colorado Court of Appeals, planned to hold a remarkable event at Fort Lupton High School. They were to hear oral arguments on a real case, and then after the actual court’s work was done, the three judges would hold a Q-and-A with the students about what they had seen, and then a special lunch with the judges and some students.

Back when I was teaching at the Air Force Academy, we had federal courts come visit a couple of times, and it was fascinating to watch the judges and hear what questions they asked the lawyers. So, great opportunity for the Fort Lupton kiddos, right?

Well…

It turns out that some of the kids were playing an ongoing version of the old game “assassin.” In my youth, this was a game played around the dinner table at night (usually) with playing cards dealt to the folks around the table. Whomever got the face card was the “assassin” and he or she had to wink at other people to “kill” them, without other players catching you wink. Wink out everyone and you are a winner – a fun game.

Now, it appears the rules have changed. In Fort Lupton High School’s version of the game, you carry actual toy guns and try to squirt liquid (water, I hope) on your targets, and the last person left dry wins. OK, a fun summer game outdoors? Maybe. A game in a Colorado school where kids carry toy guns that may well look real? Not so much…

I assume when the school administration found out, they immediately stopped the game. Again, not so much. Apparently, the school knew the game was going on, was OK with it and didn’t think to pause it while the Colorado Appeals Court was there.

As reported in the story, after a couple of kids were spotted with “guns,” a brief lockdown took place. Apparently, one of the court staff was in the parking lot and spotted two students with what looked like a long gun. He told the cops, the cops responded. Not surprisingly, the judges cancelled the planned lunch with some students and headed back to Denver.

In a state where the mention of a single word – Columbine – brings forth a surge of emotion, the idea of holding a school-wide game of “assassin” seems silly at best, and risky at worst. I suspect the game will not be repeated at Fort Lupton and hopefully at any school.

So, an interesting week of divergent follow-ups and news.

Stay tuned!

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.