READY OR NOT....10/11/23

The relatively modest earthquake in Washington last Sunday night was just a reminder - “The Big One” is coming.

When the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a 700 mile long fault which runs from Northern California to British Columbia slips again, the result is expected to be one of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters in North American history.

Another 9.0+ seismic event will cause a 40-50 wall of water to surge on to the lower coastline, taking everything with it until it subsides.

The last one to occur in this region was in 1700 and experts say we’re overdue for another one. According to lore, many coastal Native Americans were victims.

The Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan that killed 18,000 people and caused $220 billion in damage in 2011 may look like quaint compared to what we could be in for.

For a long time we've maintained a reasonably good supply of emergency food and survival gear, which has long been recommended by those who study earthquakes.

Hopefully we'll never have to use it.

OH BOY, THAT'S A LOT....10/10/23

We're living in perilous times.

- Our chief ally in the Middle East was brutally attacked by a terrorist organization and although the planning took months, our intelligence community is apparently so flawed that no one saw it coming

- Elected officials are divided more than ever (what's new) over Israeli / Palestinian allegiance

- The House of Representatives is in a shambles with no permanent Speaker after the former one was tossed out because of a personal grudge.

- Government funding runs out in about 5 weeks

- A single senator is still holding up over 300 military promotions because of a policy dispute, which is now jeopardizing readiness

- The freedom of Ukraine hangs in the balance because of growing nationalism in WADC with the virtual certainty that Russia becomes emboldened if it declares victory

- The leading candidate for the GOP nomination for president is under multiple indictments

- And finally, it seems that most people feel like the current president, and leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, is too old to serve.

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BOUND FOR GLORY....10/9/23

I'm certainly no expert on Israeli / Palestinian affairs and am not taking sides, but it seems to me that had a "two state solution" been found a long time ago, the attack on Saturday would have been avoided.

On the surface, it's quite simple. Hardliners claim most of the land and don't want to share it with their neighbors. Not only that, each of the adversaries claim they have "god on their side", which is a no-win situation. "God is good!", each side shouts as they shoot at the other.

Palestinians in Gaza describe their environment as an open air prison where suffering is the norm.

Meanwhile Israel keeps building homes and developments in disputed areas, making it even more difficult to carve out a separate state.

All the while the rage becomes more fierce on the other side of the wall, and with no hope for the future, the result was inevitable.

At this point, going to be with their god is now the most appealing.