Great article, Canie. Thanks for the link. Reading about the potential megaquake and tsunami spawned by a rupture along the CSZ was actually lighter fare than reading my daily Wall Street Journal about this economy and this administration.

John, after your comment above enumerating your concerns, I must share with you the following quote in yesterday's WSJ, which first appeared in Politico. Like it or not, I think this quote is 100% correct.

"[Rick] Perry panic has spread...with the realization that the conservative Texan could conceivably become the 45th president of the U.S., a wave of alarm centering around Perry's drawling, small-town affect and stands on core cultural issues such as women's rights, gun control, the death penalty, and the separation of church and state. The epidemic of lefty angst isn't just a matter of specific Perry policies though; it goes to the heart of the liberal worldview. HIS SMASHING DEBUT ON THE PRESIDENTIAL STAGE SUGGESTS THAT THE VICTORY OF AN URBAN LIBERAL DEMOCRAT, BARACK OBAMA, WASN'T A STEP TOWARD A MORE PROGRESSIVE NATION, BUT JUST A LEFTWARD SWING OF AN INCREASINGLY WILD PENDULUM, NOW POISED TO ROCKET TO THE RIGHT." (Caps added for emphasis)

Barbara