Disturbing

Motorcycles:

It wasn’t just the number of emergency vehicles responding to an accident by Crested Butte South Saturday night that foretold the seriousness of the situation. When I asked around about details to possibly post something on our website over the weekend, no one wanted to talk about it. It was ugly and as I write this, I am still disturbed by what happened.

A motorcycle travelling up valley on the highway struck a car. A husband and wife from Colorado Springs were killed instantly. Crested Butte Fire Protection District EMS coordinator Mike Scott said that while the local EMTs knew what they were signing up for by being Emergency Medical Technicians, this accident was particularly bad.

As a guy who loves the freedom that comes with riding motorcycles and has ridden from here to Mexico and the Midwest, the details of this accident shook me up. There are few things better than riding the open road on a motorcycle and I will encourage everyone to do it—even though I took a break when the kids got to middle school. But be aware that it is not as safe as driving a Hummer on Maroon Avenue with airbags ready to pop.

I encourage those riding motorcycles to drive extra defensively and I ask those driving cars to be extra careful during motorcycle season—which will last a few more months up here. And a big thanks to all the emergency responders, volunteer and paid, who show up in such situations. You are doing the good work that not everyone can. Thank you.

Law:

It is disturbing that people running as serious candidates for president of the United States, in this case Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, are encouraging a county clerk in Kentucky to pick and choose what U.S. laws she should follow.

In this case, Kim Davis is saying her religious beliefs prohibit her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But the U.S. Supreme Court, not exactly a bastion of liberal communism at the moment, ruled that such licenses were legal between gay couples. It is the law of the land and if she cannot follow the laws because of her religious beliefs, she has an obligation to step down from that political office.

The Supreme Court did not say her church had to marry gay couples or she had to go to a gay wedding. But as a political officer, she cannot choose which laws to follow. That would lead to complete anarchy in this country that is based on the rule of law. And for these weasels running for president to make it a “freedom of religion” issue is disturbing.

Iran:

So, former Bush vice president Dick Cheney conveniently forgets that Iran had no nuclear centrifuges before the United States under Bush and Cheney invaded Iraq. And then he blames Obama for current tension in the Middle East. But he gets called out by Fox News and still blames Obama and then trashes the proposed nuclear deal saying that the current government is bringing us all closer to nuclear war. It is disturbing that someone living in a nefarious fantasy world can still influence people…

—Mark Reaman