Author: Hal Bidlack
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Rounding up a year that mostly won’t be missed | BIDLACK
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As I sat down to write this, my last column of 2025, I reflected back on a year that was, well, interesting from an old political science professor’s perspective, but which contained a lot of pain for a lot of people. And as is pretty much always the case, I found Colorado Politics to be…
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Seed corn stupidity from the Trump administration | BIDLACK
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No one knows the exact dates when various ancient civilizations figured out the importance of seed corn. The idea that you do not eat the entire crop of a food plant, but rather save some to plant in the spring, was discovered over the centuries by many cultures. In the Americas, evidence of saving seed…
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Academy freshmen know the rules better than Trump, and other beefs | BIDLACK
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I wanted to start this essay with a reference to my regular reader, but as it happens, he and his wife are overseas as I type these words. Their trip’s purpose is to scout possible retirement locations outside the United States, should the current imperial Trumpism continue beyond the coming election cycles. I personally am…
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Real leadership requires long-term thinking | BIDLACK
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I make no secret of my fidelity to the University of Michigan. I grew up in Ann Arbor, the son of a UM school dean, and all three of my degrees, BA, MA, and Ph.D., are from that lovely campus. I choose to mostly ignore the recently past football season, and instead will brag on…
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Shall future military leaders be mere ideological drones? | BIDLACK
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As my regular reader will recall (Hi, Jeff!) from my mentioning it here dozens of times, I spent the largest part of my 25-plus years as an active-duty Air Force officer teaching at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Though I taught a wide range of courses during the 15 years I spent there…
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Illegal means illegal | BIDLACK
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Before I get to the core of today’s column, my outrage at a president calling for the execution of sitting members of Congress, I’d like to tell you a little bit about how we go about launching intercontinental ballistic missiles, you know, ICBMs, nukes, the big bombs (Editor: really?). Having sat nuclear alert during my…
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Squabbles, drill baby drill, and rare GOP integrity | BIDLACK
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Once again, the great writers at Colorado Politics have made my job more difficult by providing a wide range of stories I’m sure you are waiting with bated breath to hear my comments thereupon (useless knowledge tip of the day, “bated breath” comes from the old term “abated breath,” meaning held, lessened, or reduced. I…
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When science illiteracy proves dangerous | BIDLACK
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It is not common for me to be able to tie together my now more than seven years of writing 750-plus columns for Colorado Politics and another large part of my life, my work in scientific skepticism. For many years, in addition to being a political junkie, I’ve been interested in how people think about…
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Joe Neguse — not your Average Joe | BIDLACK
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If you are of a certain age, that is to say, old, you have likely heard the expression “an Average Joe” to describe someone who is, well, average. A recent Colorado Politics article highlighted a certain Joe who is very much not your average Joe, a fellow named Joe Neguse. Neguse, for those of you…
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How the Crow flies, and more | BIDLACK
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This week, I want to draw your attention to several very interesting stories appearing in Colorado Politics, just in case you missed them. First, I want you to go read the story that reports on a recent speech by Colorado U.S. Rep. Jason Crow (Editor: ah, hence the “cute” title). Crow gave a great speech…
