I seem to have a lot more to say about OT issues that about quakes and such, but I have to respond here like I did on the socialized medicine issue. Forgive me in advance if I upset anyone and let me be clear that none of what I say is meant as an ad-hominem attack.

I respect Glen's service in Vietnam and I recognize that gives him a perspective and a right to speak that I will never share. What it doesn't seem to have given him is an understanding of the current situation in Iraq or what federal spending should be about. (I attribute that not to any lack of intelligence, but rather a passion about his chosen field - which I admire.)

Undoubdtedly, the Parkfield project COULD have yeilded results on the SAF and given us a predictive model about the next rupture. We may have been able to prepare for something that might in our lifetime, or might happen in 100 years. We know enough to knmow that its coming and have been told about earthquake preparedness for decades now. Most of us are still not ready and wouldn't be even if you could predict the day and date.

Even considering the seriouness of an SAF rupture, it still doesn't even come close to the very real threat of a nuclear strike on our homeland. Lives will be lost in both cases, but can you even imagine the federal government refocusing its efforts on Parkfield while turning its back on the more immediate threat posed by Islamic Radicalism?

("Well, yes...Los Angeles is wiped off the map, completley uninhabibitable, and lethal doses of radiation are being pushed eastward by the jet stream...but we have scientists monitoring Parkfield 'round the clock to protect you from an earthquake. Rest easy America.")

The war in Iraq is a horrible necessity. Nobody WANTS to be at war, but the Jihadists who would slit your throat as quickly as they did Daniel Pearl's will not stop until they get what they want or until we bury them. We can afford to cut back on EQ research. We cannot afford to cut back on putting a stop to radical Islam.

Defense of the country is the main responsiblity of the US Government under our constitution. Not the welfare state, not the illegal alien benefits, not the entitlement programs. Generations of people have looked to the federal government to solve all kinds of problems it should NEVER have been involved in to begin with. FDR started this mess and Johnson exacerbated it dramatically. We now live in a country where the population believes it is their birthright to have everything paid for.

Its gotten so bad that when we spend money and effort on the constitutionaly mandated defense of the country, certain leaders who are supported by the welfare class will even cry out for our failure so they can get their hands on the power and the purse strings once more. Outrageous.

Quit worrying about Parkfield and start worrying about the clear and present danger. When the enemy is defeated, we can all come back together and debate the merits of spending money on Parkfield or any other pet project.

(As an aside...Does anyone know why Qdafi suddenly threw his doors wide open to the US and UN? Why he dismantled his nuclear weapons programs? Its because there is a widely held belief in the Arab world that we WILL be hit with a nuclear weapon and he didn't want to be the first on the list of people to hit back. Parkfield can wait.)

With all due respect,

Russell