Sunday, November 01, 2009

Is California Ready For "The Big One"

All of my life, I have heard stories about huge Earthquakes that have raddled the State of California in the past and most experts agree that within the next 10 to 20 years - residents there will once again experience mother nature at her very worst. A TV commentator said once that there is a price for living in paradise when describing California and the ever present threat of the "Big One" striking is the price millions of California resident face as the biggest draw back to living in an almost otherwise perfect climate. Almost every month, small Earthquake rumble the ground under some parts of California - but the "Big One" will be nothing like any other Earthquake people alive in the United States have ever witnessed.

Over the past several month, CDC officials have predicted a death toll of millions if a massive pandemic hits the United States. In the same way a pandemic could killed millions of people, more than likely just as many people could die if the predicted "Big One" Earthquake occurs directly under the ground of Los Angeles or San Francisco. A category 9 or 10 Earthquake centered directly under downtown Los Angeles or San Francisco would likely kill one million people and injure millions more. Even though the U.S. federal government and State of California officials have worked hard over the decades to reinforce tall buildings in these two cities. A massive category 9 or 10 Earthquake that lasted for more than a few seconds might have the effect of crumbling many tall skyscrapers to the ground.

Tall buildings are not the only things that would crumble like dust during the "Big One". California's massive freeway system would collapse to the ground under the tremendous shaking and shifting of the soil it is attached to when the "Big One" strikes again. Decades ago, I remember watching a movie that depicted a huge Earthquake that was centered under downtown Los Angeles. In that movie, the late Charlton Heston showed the world exactly what might happen in modern day Los Angeles if and when a huge Earthquake occurs directly under this nations second largest city. From my point of view, it appears that all that can be done - has been done to protect California residents. The as yet unanswered question is, could Los Angeles or San Francisco survive a category 9 or 10 Earthquake today?

Honestly, I do not believe that mankind has the knowledge yet to protect huge cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco from the "Big One" - which could exceed even category 10 strength on the rictor scale. That means that when the next massive Earthquake shakes the ground under LA or San Francisco, hundreds of thousands or more than a million people could be killed within the span of one minute and scores more would die of the injuries they suffered over the next couple of days. The rugged landscape that is modern day California was carved out by previous large Earthquakes and it is very likely that the way we see California today will be much different than what future generations will see after the "Big One" occurs again.

Posted by Mark Hutcherson at 11:10 AM 0 comments

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Is Glenn Beck A Threat To America?

When it comes to TV personality Glenn Beck, I am coming late to the party in commenting on his strange and scary show that runs nightly on the Fox News Channel. At first look, it appears that Glenn Beck is just another right wing conservative media hack that finds no good in President Barack Obama. However, if you dig deeper into the political views of Glenn Beck, you will discover that he does not like conservatism that much either. Glenn Beck reminds me of the Mel Gibson character in the movie "Conspiracy Theory". Every time I watch Glenn Beck on Fox News I come away with a strange feeling inside not only about the man, but also about what he is trying to sell the American people.

For Fox News, Glenn Beck was just what the doctor ordered to offer a huge lead in audience to their already strong prime-time line up. It appears that at least a few million people in the United States are eager to hear what Glenn Beck thinks each late afternoon when his show comes on Fox News. The liberal media establishment have been quick to brand Glenn Beck as some kind of crazy "chicken little" nut job who has the ability to convince weak minded Americans that the sky is falling. Most members of the conservative news media really don't have that much to say about Glenn Beck's daily program - probably because they don't know if he is really a fan of their conservative ideas or just a closet paranoid schizophrenic that will turn of them at the first sign of trouble.

While I personally think that Glenn Beck's view of what is happening in the United States is twisted at best, that does not mean that there are not millions of Americans who are mentally wired to see a conspiracy theory behind every move President Obama makes. Both extreme politically thinking Democrats and Republicans have in their midst small groups of citizens that are absolutely convinced that the other political extreme is evil and up to no good. With so many people already convinced that members of the U.S. federal government wake up every morning with their sights set on taking away the freedoms of America citizens, Glenn Beck's classroom style television format is perfect for continuing to feed the fears and prejudices of some people that just don't know how to play well with others.

To me, there is a world of difference between Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Limbaugh entertains his audience of millions each day with not only political commentary, but he also uses political satire to keep the audience laughing and coming back for more. To the contrary, Glenn Becks' daily program on Fox News is more dark and evil than Rush Limbaugh's radio show and I have a feeling that within a short period of time - most of today's Glenn Beck fans will start to fade away as his conspiracy theory's start to even make them feel uneasy about his mental stability. Always remember that the United States of America is a great country and throughout our history we have had to deal with radio the TV commentators that are well beyond the mainstream when it comes to their political thinking. Right now, Glenn Beck's biggest enemy is himself - because sooner or later he will carry his U.S. conspiracy theory's too far and self destruct just like Morton Downey Jr. did before him.

Posted by Mark Hutcherson at 12:05 AM 0 comments

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Posted by Mark Hutcherson at 12:01 AM

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