Nevada/Arizona Earthquakes Increasing Recently

Several small towns near the Nevada and Arizona border have been suffering minor Earthquakes the past few days leaving some experts and speculators wondering if the big one might be on the way? Over the centuries, areas around modern day Nevada and Arizona were hit on a regular basis by Earthquakes and that is one of the reasons why there are so many deep valley's and mountain ranges in this area of the United States. Some old small towns near the Nevada and Arizona border have been damaged badly as these small but frequent Earthquakes have continued to shake the area.

My biggest concern is what would happen to the Hoover Dam if a major Earthquake hit that dam at ground zero? More than likely the dam would survive because of the huge base that makes up the Hoover Dam's foundation. On two different occasions I have visited this dam and took a tour on both occasions. The massive workmanship and the dangers that faced the thousands of workers that built the Hoover Dam before the days of computers and modern construction equipment is amazing to look at first hand. I even purchased a VHS video of workers building this dam long before I was born back in the late 1950's.

It's not just the Hoover Dam that could be at risk if a major Earthquake hits along the Nevada and Arizona border, but Las Vegas could also be at risk. Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States and it plays host to millions of visitors each year that spend their time in hundreds of hotels and casinos that line the Las Vegas Strip. In recent years, there have been several minor Earthquakes in this area of the country and to date little damage has been reported until the past few days. One of the things that is scary to me about Earthquakes is that they cannot be predicted with any amount of certainty and if a major Earthquake were to hit the Las Vegas area, the loss of live and property damage would be on a massive scale.

I'm sure people that study Earthquakes for a living are keeping a close eye on these almost daily Earthquakes that are striking the Nevada and Arizona border and while they cannot predict when the big one will hit, they are increasing their knowledge of why and how severe the next Earthquake might be. One thing is for sure and that is I do not want to be staying on the 40th floor of a Las Vegas hotel when the next major Earthquake strikes in that area.

Read more about Earthquakes:

SCA Earthquake Predictions - The 'Big One' Is Overdue
Looking Forward To 'Armageddon' 10.5 Movie Weekend
Bay Area Earthquake Strikes San Francisco
Tunnel Through Fault Line In Southern California
Earthquake Death Toll Rises To 40,000 - Pakistan/India

February 22, 2008 Archives

NYT Smears McCain, Mainstream Media Goes Tabloid

With almost one voice today, members of the mainstream media and regular readers of The New York Times (NYT) are speaking words of anger toward that newspaper after they ran a story yesterday on the front page about the possibility that John McCain had been romantically involved with a lobbyist, eight years ago, and also that he did favors for that same person while serving in the US Senate. Today in an on line chat between NYT editors and newspaper subscribers, New York Times officials said they were surprised at the level of outrage about their story. Apparently, the powers that be at the NYT do not get out that much because if they traveled outside of the New York City liberal-plex they would have discover that their credibility was already shot with most of the rest of the country.

Even most liberals found this NYT story a bunch of BS that should have never made it into the paper much less have a banner headline on the front page. The facts are these, not one person either on the record or as an informant said that they knew for certain that John McCain and this lobbyist were having an affair, not one person. However, the NYT went to press with this story anyway based on a bunch of rumors and innuendo that had no facts to sturdy the stories foundation. The National Enquirer has been known to run stories like this one in the past about celebrities, but when a major newspaper like the NYT lowers it's standards of reporting this badly, then everyone that cares about the truth should stand up and say, you did the wrong thing.

McCain denies that an affair ever took place and his wife believes him. That proclamation of his innocents carries more weight with me than a half baked story cooked up in the newsroom at the New York Times. There is a certain air of arrogance by people that work at the NYT. Maybe that arrogance has been caused by people always referring to the Times as the best newspaper in America. All I have to say to that is, the newspaper business in America is in a sad state of affairs if the New York Times is the best this country has to offer in a major city newspaper. It is morally wrong to accuse someone of having an affair if you have no evidence.

Almost anyone could be accused of having an affair based on how the NYT defines it for John McCain. I believe the NYT owes it's readers an apology for dumbing down it's content to the level of a side street tabloid magazine and when it comes to future stories written about John McCain in the NYT the best thing the rest of us could do is just ignore anything they have to say.

Read more about the Media:

New York Times Hit Piece On John McCain's Fidelity
CNN Beats Fox News In Election Night Coverage
Critics Slam Dr. Laura Over Harsh Caller Treatment
Dr. Laura Caller - Extreme Emotional Reaction
Is It Time For MSNBC To Be Shut Down?

Victor Lozada-Tirado Killed In The Line Of Duty

Senator Hillary Clinton was noticeable move today when she announced that a Dallas, Texas police officer was killed in an accident while guarding her motorcade this morning. I also had a deep sense of sadness when I heard the news that Senior Corporal Victor Lozada-Tirado had lost his life. As Senator Clinton said last night in a CNN debate from Austin, Texas – her life has been bless when compared to the hard and difficult times faced by soldier families and I am sure her heart was filled with sadness when Officer Lozada-Tirado lost his life while protecting hers. Officer Lozada-Tirado is survived by his wife and four children, two boys and two girls.

Usually when most of us think about the people that protect politicians in the United States we think of the US Secret Service. While the Secret Service does take the primary role of protecting presidential candidates like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, local police departments around the country add most of the manpower necessary to make sure that motorcades keep running and no dangerous vehicles are allow to get too close to the presidential candidates as they travel. Today, it appears that Officer Lozada-Tirado's motorcycle got to close to the side of a bridge as he made his way in the front of Hillary Clinton's motorcade and when he struck that concrete bridge at a high rate of speed his body was thrown 30 to 50 feet down the road.

Reporters that were traveling in a bus at the back of the Hillary Clinton motorcade said that when they passed Officer Lozada-Tirado he was not moving and lying in a pool of blood. Senator Clinton quickly canceled a campaign event in near by Fort Worth, Tx upon hearing the news that Victor Lozada-Tirado had died from the injuries he sustained in that accident. After announcing to a large Fort Worth crowd that there would be no rally today because it was not approprate after Officer Lozada-Tirado's death, Senator Clinton traveled back to Dallas to try and offer comfort to Victor Lozada-Tirado's grieving wife and children.

While most police officers face danger every single day while they are on duty, I doubt if most of them think about losing their life in a motor vehicle accident. Today's loss of life proves that anytime there are a bunch of security personnel in one location guarding an important person like Hillary Clinton, there is always the potential for something to go wrong and for a person to lose their life in a tragic way. My thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Lozada-Tirado's family and coworkers at the Dallas Police Department. My he rest in peace.

Read more about 2008 Elections:

Obama/Hillary Both Did Well In Austin, Tx Debate
Obama Defeats Hillary Then McCain In November
Congressman Chet Edwards Endorses Obama For President
Michigan/Florida Caucus Likely To Seat Delegates
Will Superdelegates Decide The Democratic Nomination?

Dogs Improve Health In Sick/Disabled Patients

I was watching a television show the other day where dogs from an animal shelter were being used to help patients that were severely sick or suffering from some kind of disability. Dog lovers like myself have known for a long time about the medicinal benefits of dog ownership. I cannot image coming home from work at night without seeing my two dogs meeting me at the door with their happy faces and wagging tails. It only makes sense that since dogs bring happiness to regular people, that the same benefit might seen in sick or disabled patients as well.

Not only have researchers shown that dogs help the mood of sick patients, they also seem to help the healing process as well. In my opinion, modern medicine overlooks to their own detriment the benefits of a positive attitude on the healing process of patients. There is something about petting and taking care of a dog that causes sick people to think about the needs of something else rather than continually worrying about their own ailments. Dogs have often been referred to as 'man's best friend' and that saying has withstood the test of time because it is true.

Not far from my home there is a disability rehab facility where a local animal shelter places dogs that have become homeless. The mood and rate of physical and emotion healing at this rehab facility has improved dramatically since these dog have been integrated into the patients care. When I see stories about some people mistreating and/or fighting dogs for money or pleasure – I know down deep inside that the people who are committing those crime are in many ways sub human when it comes to compassion and common sense.

There is even preliminary research into the ability of dogs to be able to sniff out cancer in patients that otherwise seem healthy. It doesn't seem like there is much dogs can't do when they are properly motivated and trained. I believe that 'man's best friend' might be of more use to mankind than just a pet to come home to at the end of the day. Dogs are smart and their instincts are better than we humans. In fact, I believe most dogs can instinctively tell if a human being is good or bad within a few seconds of meeting a person. On many occasions I have discovered that when people have a real dislike for dogs, many times they are also are up to no good when it comes to other interactive human relationships.

Read more about Health Research:

Mandatory Health Insurance Coming To America
Is It Safe To Eat Red Meat After Recall?
Nancy Reagan Falls At California Home
Flu Cases Rise During 2008 Winter Season
Research Scientist Look Crazy With Dysfunctional Studies

Terri Schiavo Easter Reflections, Three Years Later

When I think back to the first time I knew the GOP was falling apart, it was Easter of 2005 as Tom DeLay and President Bush rushed through the Terri Schiavo Law. That law was written and passed for one reason only and that reason was to pander to religious right voters by circumventing the Florida court system. While there are many clear cut differences between Republicans and Democrats, the Terri Schiavo Law did more to break apart the Republican Party than any other single event I can think of. While most Republicans are anti-abortion, when it comes to an adult having the right to die - both conservatives and liberals are on the same page in believing that it is none of the governments business what an individual choses to do.

Until Tom DeLay and President Bush decided to interfere in the private affairs of the Schiavo family in Florida, I almost never even considered voting for a Democrat at election time. However, that one decision by GOP lawmakers and President Bush destroyed decades worth of Republican loyalty inside of me and for the first time I started listening to and voting for Democrats. What I could not understand back in Easter of 2005 is how the party I had always supported because it believed in keeping the government out of our lives, would step in and insert itself in one of the most important personal decisions a family has to make?

As time went by after the Terri Schiavo Law was passed, I began to look at the Republican Party from a more skeptical point of view and noticed that while party leaders continued to talk a good game at election time – in reality many of them were just hypocrites. From the days of Ronald Reagan, the GOP had been built on fiscal conservatism, a strong national defense and keeping the government out of our lives as much as possible. However, as I began to see how current GOP leaders like Tom DeLay and President Bush were leading the party it became clear that neither man was a fiscal conservative nor did they believe in keeping the government out of the private lives of Americans.

The Terri Schiavo Law opened my eyes to the fact that fiscal conservatives and small government Republicans no longer had a place at the table in the new Republican Party. Before Republicans lost control of the Congress in 2006, they were spending money like there was no tomorrow while President Bush was looking for more ways to expand the government and take away our personal liberties by using September 11th, 2001 as his justification.

Read more about 2008 Elections:

Obama/Hillary Both Did Well In Austin, Tx Debate
Obama Defeats Hillary Then McCain In November
Congressman Chet Edwards Endorses Obama For President
Michigan/Florida Caucus Likely To Seat Delegates
Will Superdelegates Decide The Democratic Nomination?