Tectonic Shifting

As the disaster in Japan unfolds, I am constantly reminded of both the power of nature and the frailty of humans and our technological advances.  Sure, very few large buildings tumbled due to foundations designed to absorb earth's energy and sway with the shifting of the ground.  But these buildings were in Tokyo, a relatively long way from the epicenter.  Nearly all buildings close by were initially damaged and then swept away or, at the least, flooded by the 30' wall of tsunami water that followed.  The local nuclear reactors, a marvel of engineering in many ways, are trashed and resulted in unavoidable releases of radioactive gases.  There will be fall-out from this development (pun intended), but not even close to the carnage and death brought on by the tsunami.  I will delve into nuclear energy and the absurd hysteria gripping people and politicians alike in a future rant.  Suffice to say, I believe it's a colossal mistake to unilaterally declare all future reactors a menace and shelve the plans for these very clean and reliable sources of electrical power.   

But it was the earthquake.  Japan lies near the Pacific ring-o-fire, an area where the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates constantly shift, grind, and, occasionally, release destructive amounts of energy to add to the misery of mankind (CAUTION:  analogy ahead!).   Sounds a lot like Washington D.C.  Here, the destructive shift has been RIGHT, and man has it resulted in a lot of misery.  The examples are endless, but allow me to list just a few:  1)  "Obamacare" is much less socialist than the plan offered by the Nixon white house in the 70's; 2) Ronald Reagan, speaking about the Polish unions fighting the communists in an '80's speech stated "where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost"; 3) Eisenhower warning of the power of the military-industrial complex in the 50's and the US Supreme Court ruling in 2010 that private companies have the same rights as citizens and can provide unlimited campaign funds to candidates.  I offer as additional proof the continuing growth of registered independents who were once Republicans but can no longer take the far-right bullshit spewing from Repube politicians - guns on college campuses, investigation of representatives who's patriotism is suspect (Michelle Bachman, please take a bow), criminal laws for simply being in the country illegally, and on and on.  Current centrists views used to be Republican.  Obama is a far-left loon when viewed from the right fringes.  Anyone with a fucking brain can clearly see he's a centrist and just trying to get along.

And what about the Democrats and the far-left shift of their types in this country!  Well, did single-payer healthcare happen?  Did the Bush tax cuts get axed?   Is abortion still as accessible and hassle-free as it was in the 30 years ago?  Have ANY far-left policies been shoved down the collective throats of the citizens of this country in the last decade or two?   Oh, yes, there is one - the socialist take-over of a company that was once the largest in the world and instead of letting hundreds of thousands of working people lose their jobs, that commie Obama saved General Motors only to have it rise from the ashes, turn a profit and start paying back the taxpayers of America - with interest.  Damn left-wing loons!!