That was yesterday (Dec 19) between Cheyenne and Laramie with winds in excess of 144 mph

There's a place west of Denver where the old Denver & Rio Grande RR (now Union Pacific) heads up into the mountains. Anyone that's been there knows that "The Mile High City" sits in a valley and the mountains form a north-south wall about 10 miles west of the city.

Just west of Highway 93, midway between Golden and Boulder, is a place on the railroad known as "Big 10 Curve" where trains pass through a tight switchback.

The trains need to gain over 300 feet in elevation in less than 1 mile; trains can't climb a 10% grade - a 2% grade is considered steep.

The Front Range is a wide, almost uniform wall of grade; winds often exceeding 100+ mph can come roaring down that grade and can easily derail a train - especially if empty or high profile (those winds can disrupt traffic on CO93 as well).

This route was originally constructed in 1902. After a couple of wind-blown incidents, the D&RGW built a track along the curve, placed a string of 2 dozen hopper cars along it, welded the cars in place and loaded them down with concrete and dirt to act as a windbreak.

The hoppers were built in 1952 and used for maintenance service until placed as a windbreak in 1972 after a train derailment in late 1971.

This is the line Amtrak's California Zephyr uses as well as the Ski Train from Denver to Winter Park. It passes through Moffat Tunnel which is the highest point (9200ft) on Amtrak's lines.

Here's one where I may differ from "right-wing". Less government is best government.

I see Trump reclassified marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug to Schedule 3, the same status as Tylenol 3 (with codeine) and testosterone as having "moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence."

I favor legalization. Not because I'm a user (the 70s were long ago) but because I don't believe the government should have the powers to criminalize such. I do favor penalties for abuse and consequences of use - same as for drunk driving (but I favor getting rid of "open container" laws as well). I think marijuana (and cocaine for that matter) should be classified the same as tobacco and alcohol ... for which an argument could be made for decriminalizing those as well (yes, I know they're "legal" but ...)

Same argument for guns.

So what if they may be bad for you? That's your choice, not some karen goody-two-shoes.

I tend to think there are medical uses for marijuana - nausea treatment during chemo for example but I don't believe it's a miracle cure-all. More honest research should be performed; the government has suppressed or politicized such efforts for almost 100 years. Recall that marijuana was not illegal until after prohibition ended (1937 as I recall) and I believe at least part of the reason it was made illegal is to give the prohibition agents something to do rather than have to find honest work.

I won't go into all the arguments for - or against; I won't change anyone's mind, such discussions won't change my mind - but if you use, that use is not an excuse for truly criminal behaviour. You ARE responsible for your actions - or lack of action, even if, especially if, you're voluntarily discombobulated at the time.