Ice is so Not Cool

I'm sure anyone out that's reading this is aware of the recent ice storm that blew through Kentucky. My hometown of Madisonville was in the midst of the devastation. My parents are currently without power and have been since Tuesday morning. I'd post pictures but don't have any to show. ABC News was in Mad'ville on Thursday doing a report and may have pictures/video there to see the destruction. The pictures I've seen posted on Facebook posted by friends have been beautiful but portray quite the devastated area. My parents' house didn't have any trees land on it thankfully.

I've heard anywhere from two weeks to a month in some parts of the county before power is restored. At least one of my high school friends is reporting it could be mid-March before power is restored for his house. Please remember this area right now as coverage in the national media is minimal and the government's attention is focused elsewhere. There's not a whole lot that can be done as the weather right is prohibiting a lot of progress made. Water availability is also becoming an issue. As far as I know the death toll is nil in Mad'ville. Mad'ville may be living up to its nickname (self-proclaimed) of "Best Town on Earth" as the F4 tornado a few years ago before Thanksgiving didn't result in any deaths either.

I'll post some more in the next few weeks about some recent exploits and travels.

Interesting Tidbits from a Patriot's History

A Patriot's History of the United States is far too long for a review like the previous books I've read. However, I will say that the authors (Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen) do about as good a job of staying unbiased as possible with presenting the history of the U.S. from the discovery by Columbus until the 2004 presidential election. It's certainly not as dry a read as some history texts are with the authors forming a good narrative that doesn't get bogged down in too many places. They do gush a bit too much about the Reagan era however. I learned a lot of intriguing facts that I had never known from reading other history books in school. Of course this book is not a text in the grade school sense, but does get into the history far more than some books probably do. In doing so, this shatters some commonly held views on American history. Some interesting tidbits:

• Most know the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 was fought after an armistice had been signed. But what intrigued me, the British general, Edward Packenham, was killed in the battle, only for his body to be stored in a keg of rum to be returned to Britain for burial.
• Davy Crockett was not killed during the assault on the Alamo, but actually by a Mexican firing squad after the assault had concluded.
• The Democratic Party was initially started by Martin Van Buren prior to his run for the presidency (Jackson was the first candidate to run as a Democrat in 1824). Van Buren's aim was to create a party that would not only reward supporters with jobs upon the party's victory, but also use the political machine to avoid discussion of slavery. The parallels with today's Democratic Party are too eerie to ignore (from the standpoint of using the machinery to avoid a debate/issue). Van Buren's creation ultimately set the country on the path to war.
• Where Schweikart and Allen excel is the laying out of the situation that drove the U.S. to the Civil War. These two chapters (starting with the Jacksonian Age) plus the chapter dealing with the Civil War are fantastic, and worth reading even if you don't read the entire book. The authors smash the notion of 'states rights' and make a strong case that slavery would never have been phased out by the South. The path to WWI, WWII, and Vietnam are well laid out as well in subsequent chapters.
  
• Most know about Sgt. Alvin York's exploits in WWI. What's even more phenomenal is the story of Dan Edwards. His arm was crushed by a tree felled by artillery fire. He then proceeded to shoot four Germans with a revolver and took an additional four prisoner. Despite the dangling arm, he herded the POWs back to the American lines with one hand only for another explosion to break his leg at which point he forced the Germans to carry him to safety.
• Harry Truman was a commander of a field artillery unit who may have fired one of the last shots of WWI as well indirectly fired the last shot of WWII by issuing the order for the dropping of the atomic bombs.
• Wilson's Fourteen Points led to much confusion among the Central Powers who thought agreeing to those stipulations would ensure an armistice in WWI's final months, when Wilson kept adding additional items. Never mind the fact, that was what America wanted, not France and Great Britain. I like what then French Premier Georges Clemenceau said about the plan for peace, "The Fourteen Points bore me ... God Almighty only has ten!"
• Great story about Coca-Cola in the book. At one time, Coca-Cola had one thirtieth of a grain of cocaine (not enough for any adverse effects unless drank in large amounts), but a process of cooking and distilling would completely remove the cocaine. The FDA would bring a case against Coca-Cola because of concerns over cocaine in Coke. However, government tests proved no trace elements of cocaine in Coke which led the government to then switch strategies to one of fraudulent advertising since there was no cocaine.
  
• FDR is to blame for federal taxes being withheld on paychecks instead of persons being forced to save for their tax bill each year. While this may sound nice, it does obscure the total tax burden of the individual. Thus, the federal bureaucracy can grow in a hidden manner according to the authors.
  
• When G. W. Bush made his case for the war in Iraq before the U.N., he didn't present any new allegations, just violations stemming from sanctions resulting from previous U.N. resolutions. This forced the U.N.'s hand to either jump on board or be ruled impotent (which it is in terms of military power). Additionally, most of the intelligence agencies from leading countries were convinced that Iraq had WMDs. But you'll never hear that in the media. Additionally, a group of senators including Ted Kennedy, Carl Levin, and John Kerry urged the Clinton administration to do something about Iraq's WMDs in the 90s. Yet, were some of the most vocal critics of Bush.
  
• Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, rejected a bid (at no cost) to remove cars in favor of a company that would do so for $1 million.