Conservative Refocus

By Barry Secrest

Well, the Messianic Duffer takes a week and a half off and all hell breaks loose back on the mainland. Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, you name it-- something either happened or was rumored to be happening somewhere across the fruited plain--when the cats away, the mice will play--one supposes. But, with all of the nonsense spewing out of DC like a malfunctioning bowel, most recently, our thoughts had turned to something a bit more intriguing indeed....and for me, it began under a tree.

I had parked my vehicle under a sheltering midday Oak, clearing my head of the myriad workday urgencies, to enjoy just a few moments away from the pressures of business. As I closed my eyes,  but for a few minutes, very soon thereafter a gentle but persistent swaying motion caught my attention. I was being gently rocked back and forth in my seat, a feeling that was not unlike my days on a Destroyer dutifully cruising about the Atlantic.

I opened my eyes, thinking that the wind must have pitched up mightily around my vehicle, only to note a dead stillness in the air. I then, after having witnessed countless videos on the ravages of an earthquake pillaged Japan, looked over towards the nearby power lines to my right to see if what I had suspected was actually happening.

The lines were not swaying, but I immediately surmised that quake vibrations would have had to be of a  considerable amplitude to cause power-poles to sway.  A few minutes later, thinking that maybe my perceptions were uncharacteristically flagging on this particular day, I clicked on the radio only to hear a flash news report of an earthquake having  just shaken the entire east coast of the US. "So, that's what they feel like," I immediately thought. You see, in almost half a century of living on the East Coast, I had never felt an earthquake tremor before.

Therefore, my next thought spoke to a certain bewilderment: "Since when does the entire East Coast of the US, situated on a comparatively stable tectonic plate, suffer an earthquake of this far-reaching a magnitude, and of almost a minute in duration, no less, in a seismically inactive Virginia?" Sure, a large number of people along the East Coast have felt isolated tremors before, but almost the entire East Coast?

The news reports written after the quake would use words such as "Scientists surprised,"  "Unusual, unlike anything scientists would expect in this area," and my personal favorite, "the last time we had a six on the East Coast was in the 19th century."

The outrageous answer to these questions, albeit extraordinarily far-fetched, was not long in coming, but it would challenge most of us that had read the report to only laugh in extreme derision and stubbornly exclaim, "No Way!"

Having One of those Unexpected X-File Moments?

The news report from NBC-17, a very credible source, had stated that there was indeed an earthquake; however, the quake was unnatural in its origins.  Huh? I ruefully thought.  Now, how could that be?

Well, according to the report, some few seismologists had indicated that the seismic signature of the quake itself was natural enough, but it was what had precipitated the quake, that had caught their eye. Apparently, there was a triggering and significantly powerful seismic event where the epicenter was located--very near Mineral,Virginia--not far, at all, from Washington DC.  This event's seismic signature bespoke of a powerful, localized, underground nuclear detonation, which had then caused the earthquake felt along most of the eastern seaboard. I know, I know, beyond unbelievable, but at some point we simply must  wonder:  Which of these dreadfully outrageous conspiracy theories will eventually become unfortunate fact?

Could this be one of those times? We may never know, but to say that the internet conspiracy theory centered sites went absolutely nuts, on this particular day, would have been the understatement of the decade. Granted, we have heard all manner of beyond-ludicrous news items of late, from a top US Liberal economist who appears to be hoping for an extra-terrestrial attack in order to boost the economy (which is probably what it will take with the current President, come to think of it), to a NASA study article, published in the UK Guardian, in which the journalists, pining at the phantom effects of man-made global warming, stated that "Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilizations," like they would really care about the survivability of the greater horseshoe bat, at this point....(Read More)

A Conspiracy Theory Goes Nuclear: Of Earthquakes and Questionable Origins