One of the challenges of writing a weekly column is deciding what not to talk about, even though it seems really compelling. I’ll like to write, for example, about a certain orange-colored president who just issued an order to expel 500,000 migrants who were here in the U.S. legally under a program to bring folks from dangerous places like Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The goal was to bring them to the U.S. for protection. They came legally, are doing the work needed to see their cases through to the end, and President Donald Trump just ordered all 500,000 our of the country by April 24. This from the same man who oft hoped for increased immigration from rich, white countries rather than his famously labelled “s***hole countries.” Outrageous and unfair, but I’m not going to talk about that (Editor: good).

I’d also like to write about President Trump’s decision to break with decades and decades of tradition and to let private companies buy sponsorships for the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House grounds. For only $200,000 you can get your corporate logo on the White House grounds, along with other “branding opportunities.” Outrageous, and from the same guy who refused to divest his own corporate holdings upon assuming office and who has pocketed millions of dollars (along with other members of his crime family) from people wanting to influence and shape the policies that impact their businesses. Remember the Trump crypto coin (“World Liberty Financial Crypto”) as well as other crypto investments, made just as President Trump is now getting an order ready for the national financial reserves of this country to start including crypto as well as gold? No conflict of interest there, right? But I’m not going to talk about that (Ed: also good).

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Oh, and let’s not forget about President Trump shutting down of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, for decades the only source of non-government issued news in repressive countries like, I dunno, Russia? I wonder if Vladimir Putin directly issued Trump the order to shut down the only free and fair media in Russia, or if he just hinted and Trump kissed the ring, again. But you guessed it, I’m not going to talk about that (Ed: extra good).

For some reason, my kindly editors here at Colorado Politics prefer that, at least from time to time, I talk about Colorado politics (Ed: yes, please). And so, I will.

You may recall from earlier columns that contain my ongoing jousting at the windmill of governmental efficiency, arguing that most of the time, at the lower levels of government especially, the day-to-day operation of government is pretty well run.

So, let’s talk about some examples in the past week or so of government getting it right, and making things better or perhaps even safer for us here in the Centennial State. For example, let’s take a moment to admire HB25-1053. This bill creates landowner immunity (from civil liability) to people who allow firefighters, police and other rescue personnel to cross property lines to get where they need to be to fight the fire or other emergency, without worrying about getting sued. This bipartisan bill became a law after both houses passed it unanimously. A good bill for our public safety and it likely got very little attention as it rolled through the legislature.

And as an individual who has faced mental challenges for years (to include PTSD from my being in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001), I am very pleased to see another bipartisan, if not quite unanimous, bill passed into law, in this case HB25-1002, which clarifies how health benefits for behavioral, mental health and substance use disorders must not be less than the coverage provided for any physical illness.

This is a biggie. I told you above about my own challenges, because I believe I should not be embarrassed or feel humiliated by the lasting symptoms and effects of what I had to see and do that long ago day in Virginia. But many (including myself, I admit, from time to time) often seek to hide our psychological trials out of a concern of being seen as weak or judged as somehow personally flawed. This bill will help folks fighting such challenges and importantly declares that behavior and mental health illnesses are not a sign of weakness but are just another of the many ailments that affect our lives. So good job, legislature.

And while all that was going on, we saw Colorado jump six spots on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s scorecard, now placing seventh overall in terms of energy efficiency, expanding clean transportation and improving building standards to make construction more sustainable — also good work.

I guess the bottom line here is though much — heck, nearly all — the attention people pay to politics these days revolves around a White House-based narcissistic buffoon who cares deeply about billionaires and very little about the rest of us, there are good things happening elsewhere.

(Oh, and did you note one of President Trump’s most passionate lackeys, Joe Rogan, split with Trump, calling his trade war with Canada “stupid” and “ridiculous.” But I digress.)

Here in Colorado, governance continues to work well, if not always what each of us would like to see as the outcome. We have multiple examples of bipartisan cooperation and a governor who works with everyone. So, dear readers, as we feel our blood boil in coming days over the latest outrage at the national level, please do take some solace in the efficiency and cooperation found at the state level.

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.