I think I stated in the OP how I was immensely enjoying the current state of US; it was a question asked out of curiosity.
As to the rudeness, perhaps obviously my reply to the 2nd poster sounded a bit harsh. I'm certainly not here to make people feed bad. But I had objections to the point of the 2nd post. I also disagree with TheKidWhoLikesSpace's statement that the 2nd post was actually an opinion.
This said, I'm somewhat quarrelsome by nature, not because I'm trying to be a jerk, but because have an urge to point out errors or misrepresentations wherever I see/suspect them. Perhaps I overstepped my boundries here. I am sorry that I expressed myself in a way suited to put someone down.
I can certainly see how the "I was trying to find a way to reply to this without sounding rude, but failed" comment probably came across as an insult to the previous poster. In reality I was resisting the urge to pick apart his argumentation and rag on it, which would be an outright insult. But I certainly could have made an effort to phrase the point without the sarcasm.
Sorry again. I will do my best to keep my negative issues private and avoid posts like the two snarky ones from this thread in the future.
BTT: I'm not referring to a system necessarily connected to the physics of clouds, but I'm picturing a collision model where. if an asteroid hits earth mid-ocean, it would splash and not automatically create a hot spot/crater like an impact of land. creating a tsunamis which, depending on size of impact, may reach land and cause temporary flooding of coast lines.