We find ourselves in the doldrums of August with a complete dearth of political news. Yeah, right.

These days, that train never stops moving. It is a 24/7/365 express amplified by 24/7/365 media. Let me respond with one of my occasional catch-all columns touching on a handful of topics worthy of comment but without the full, extended treatment.

Time’s a-wasting, so here we go.

1. Whom we pick as heroes says a lot about us. If you accept that premise, it follows that elements of our society are rather diseased with pliable values and utterly situational ethics.

In some precincts of the aggrieved left, Luigi Mangione is regarded as an idol. He pled guilty to federal charges of stalking resulting in death. We can stop referring to him as an alleged killer as that has now been admitted. A state trial on various charges, including second-degree murder, remains on the books. Which begs the question of what constitutes first-degree homicide.

Mangione killed United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, shooting him three times in the back. Still, he has been lauded by many and gained folk-hero status. Marriage proposals flow in. Merchandise sales are robust. Energized crowds of self-described “Mangionistas” swarm his court hearings.

Whatever the ills of America’s healthcare system, cold-blooded assassination cannot be the remedy. Yet, for many, it was an act of heroism to be applauded.

On the flip side, too many MAGA-types and implacable election deniers have conferred hero rank on Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt who was shot by Capitol Police while trying to force her way into the lobby through a broken window.

Any death is a loss. But Babbitt brought her demise on herself through her own actions and choices. Heroism lies with those who defended the Capitol that fateful day, not with the law-defying ransackers and insurrectionists.

• President Donald Trump seems always happier in opposition. He requires a foil like Microsoft needs Google or like the Dodgers need the world.

Which raises the question of whether Trump really cares that much about the results of the November election and is even actively trying to throw it away.

Forget the grandiose ballroom. How else do you explain his grin-and-bear-it dismissals of concerns over high gas prices?

Or, for that matter, his recent air kiss to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and the order to dial back on military exercises with our ally South Korea? Or his newfound fixation with reverting to an antiquated design and launch system on aircraft carriers? None of it makes sense by any conventional metric.

• News is that national Democrats have added Colorado congressional districts 3 and 4 to their list of targets that already included districts 5 and 8.

The goal is a clean sweep. That is a tall order. It is plausible only in the most extreme scenario of Trump’s floor completely collapsing and Democrats winning marginal seats all over the country. Here is my read on the order in which Colorado seats may flip.

CD8 will be the first to go. Democratic challenger Manny Rutinel wants to make the election about Trump. GOP incumbent Gabe Evans will seek to make it about Manny Rutinel. This could tip to the Democrats with just a gentle tail wind.

CD5 could be the sleeper race of the year. At the heart of the district, Colorado Springs is undergoing political change. Democrat Jessica Killin enjoys superior campaign funding. Republican Congressman Jeff Crank has chosen to put no air between himself and Trump.

CD3 in Western and Southern Colorado is a heavier lift for Democrats even if the numbers are similar to CD5. Democrat Dwayne Romero is an attractive candidate. Though so is Jeff Hurd, the Republican officeholder.

Trump defeated Kamala Harris in Lauren Boebert’s CD4 by over 18 points. Boebert has her liabilities and Democrats have a star recruit in retired Navy Admiral Eileen Laubacher. But it will take a fierce wind to get her near the finish line.

• Secretary of State and Attorney General in waiting Jena Griswold continues to play fast and loose with the public trust. Excellent reporting by CBS Colorado’s Shaun Boyd showed that in 2021 Griswold used $25,000 in tax funds for a consultant to provide leadership development and make “findings, conclusions and recommendations.”

Apparently, those findings were highly critical of Griswold’s management. So, what did Griswold do with the report? She refused to accept custody of it to keep it from being subject to open records requirements. This comes under the heading of “See no evil; hear no evil.”

Conveniently, the consultant seems to have recently retired and is also unable to locate the report.

One more time, Griswold has managed to dodge any semblance of accountability and transparency. The Democratic Party was so outraged by Gov. Polis’s pardon of Tina Peters that they issued a formal censure. However misguided that pardon, there is no question that it was within the governor’s legal prerogatives.

Colorado Dems, what say you about Griswold? Is such abuse of power acceptable? Are you prepared to defend it for another eight years as she arrogantly, incompetently trudges up the political ladder? Censure, anyone? Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann