We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Dr. Robert Michels discusses the future of Psychiatry in an interview. A quote:
Psychiatry begins at the end of the 18th century with the medicalization of a group of people who were seen as strange by the rest of the citizens in the world. And that medicalization led to many things. One is it lead to their humane treatment. Previously, it wasn’t uncommon to see people that today we consider psychiatry patients, who’d be chained in institutions to keep them away from society.
It led to an attempt to study what was the nature of their problems, to describe them. It led to people talking to them instead of jeering at them or reviling them.
And it led to the development of more knowledge about the cause, the course and what factors might influence their disturbances. So it led to treatments. Within a 100 years those treatments were beginning to be…quite effective. We learned that some of them suffered from diseases we could cure.
At the turn of the century before this one…in nineteen hundred … a third of the patients in mental hospitals in this country suffered from the complications of infectious diseases. We largely cure those now so you don’t see them these days. We have some new infectious diseases. But we’ve pretty much cured the old ones that causes psychiatric problems...
We lose our power fairly often in late fall and winter storms. Besides flashlights and candles, I have a good supply of oil lamps around the place. I don't have a generator, and don't plan on getting one like the yuppies do.
When we bought this house, we found a couple of old Victorian oil lamps in the attic, similar to this blue one. Perfect for a whorehouse, we feel. This site sells repro oil lamps.
My favorites are a few 50 year-old Dietz wagon lanterns that I keep in the garage and down in the barn. They still make them, but in China now, and are distributed by Kirkman, which has tons of lamps and lanterns of all sorts.
When I was a kid in CT, we kept a spouted barrel of kerosene in the garage. It had many uses (including for burning the garbage in the garbage pit - think Hell - Gehenna).
As expected, both sides are already drawing up battle plans in the event of a loss. From what I've seen, most on the Republican side are being fairly pragmatic about it. Basically, "Well, we just didn't get enough votes, dang it — better luck next time." The Dems, however, are already testing out a panorama of excuses. There's a good article on it here.
Observation #2:
The closer the race has gotten, the more we've heard the phrase "too close to call" come out of the media.
Observation #3:
In the 2000 election, Al Gore won the popular vote but George Bush won the electoral vote and the office. Afterward, there was a plethora of articles arguing that the Electoral College should be scrapped. There was also a bunch in 2004 and we saw a small flurry of them this time around.
The irony is that it's the close elections that argue against their case. Only in an election controlled by electoral votes would we see such minor states (no offense) as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Minnesota making headlines:
With November just around the bend, senior adviser to the Obama campaign David Axelrod made a hairy wager on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday: he will shave off his four-decade-old mustache on national television if Obama loses Minnesota, Michigan or Pennsylvania on Election Day.
Obama press secretary Jennifer Psaki doubled down on the wager later in the day, telling MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell: "I'll dye my hair black and wear a mustache" if Obama loses those states.
The American Mustache Institute isn't pleased with the wagers, especially the bet by Axe. "It's incredibly irresponsible for Axelrod to be playing games with such an exceptionally powerful mustache," institute chairman Dr. Aaron Perlut tells Whispers.
If the election was based on the popular vote, we'd be hearing nothing but who currently has the lead in California, Texas, Florida and New York. If a member of the media was reminded that people in Michigan also vote, his initial response might be, Why would they bother?
Observation #4:
Despite our best efforts to prevent it, apparently my political posts here have achieved recognition on a national level.
The other day, I dared the Maggie's Valued Readers™ to put it all on the line and issue their election predictions. I noted that I'd post them here, in broad daylight, so that their possible fall from grace would be as publicly humiliating as possible. Even so, a hearty band of readers took up this mighty challenge and spat spake forth the following prognostications.
I also asked you to weigh in on local & state races, so a few of the predictions are only in regards to that. Lengthier replies have been reduced to their summation.
And this is ongoing until Tuesday. Slap your guess in the comments and I'll add it to the list so that you, too, can be publicly mocked, scorned and degraded for the rest of your life should Obama win in a landslide. After the final election results are in, I'll do another post and announce the no-doubt embarrassed winner. The prize will be they get to write an article on any subject they like, which I'll then post here for possibly even more mockification, scornalization and degradationalism.
To wit:
While I expect it to be decisively in Romney's favor, I think there will enough Democratic shenanigans going on to keep it from being a 'landslide'. I'm thinking 50% Romney, 48% Obama, with the usual couple of percent devoted to write-ins. Electoral votes-wise, I'm putting it in the 'barely squeaks by' column. — me
Romney 51% Obama 49% — Lady Tex
A Romney win that will probably be close — Garry
315/223 — Pajak
42% of the vote going to O, rest of the vote to R— BillH
I predict Colorado will go for Romney. — Colorado
I predict an old fashioned thumping, with Romney topping 400 Electoral Votes. — Tom Armstrong
My hunch is that Romney wins big time and captures a huge majority of both the popular vote and the Electoral College. — Tom Francis
Romney 53 - Obama 47, Pubbies get the Senate but only 51-49. Pubbies gain +2 in the House. Waxman gets axed in CA! — Bob in VA
Obama gets his ass kicked up around his collar bone. Romney wins Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, and my beloved New Hampshire. Oh yeah, Virginia and Florida too. Not quite 1984, but it is gonna be a rough one for the Dems. — Anthony L.
I predict Romney 53% - Obama 46% - 330 EC votes for Mitt. Senate 52 Republicans - 48 Democrats. +3 for the GOP in the House. — altered states
My prediction is that though Romney may have the majority of popular vote nationwide and enough support in the battleground States to win close fights and their electoral votes, I don't think he has enough of a margin to overcome the Democratic cheating and outright theft I've seen too many times to forget. — John
I think Romney will get it but will be a Pyrrhic victory. — chasmatic
Romney 52%, 0bama 47% — Vichris
Romney - 322, Obama - 216 — Chuckles
Romney landslide to a degree that surprises just about everybody. — ahem
I'll go with R 315, O 223 (a la Barone) -- but I say this more in hope than in confidence. — Texan99
...picked R 319 many months back. — Texan99's husband
Election is close…and it comes down to enthusiastic R voters vs D fraud. I think the D fraud loses…this time. — Daedalus Mugged
270-268 Romney - NH, VA, NC, FL, & OH puts him over the top. — Dave
It would be fun to join the Romneyfest here but I checked Intrade today to read the internet's tea leaves. It doesn't look like good news for Team Red, at least as far as the presidential election goes. Intrade doesn't always get it right, of course. But I believe it's right more often than not. — jhc
While that last one isn't an official 'prediction', we now have four presidential elections under our belt since the Internet Age began, so it's interesting to see who's starting to emerge as the predictive leader.
Carolina Panthers fans are likely pretty pleased with their team's ability to win for the first time since Week 2, but one man is likely even happier.
History dictates that the Panthers 21-13 victory over the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field bodes well for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. In the 18 presidential elections that have taken place since the Redskins moved to Washington in 1937, 17 have been predicted by the team's performance in its final home game prior to the election.
Your editor remains off the intertunnels except via the public library, the FedEx office, or my pal with a DSL line. Cannot download fresh photos effectively with any of those.
Difficult to run a business this way, but many obstacles can be overcome in time.
Do not feel sorry for us in the Northeast - except for those whose homes were washed away. We can cope with things, and challenge builds character. Or so we believe. Storms must be expected, like all of the other bad things in life.
In early November around here, you don't really need central heating if you have a wife and a dog to sleep with. Plus friends with generators like to feed you and provide nice adult beverages.
Yesterday, down our road we saw utility truck convoys from Missouri, Quebec, Iowa, and Minnesota. Guy on one of the Minnesota trucks said he just arrived last night (that was yesterday). Mind you, government doesn't do that - only private industry can do that.
One has to appreciate the logistics involved. The local utility calls their sister utlilities for a hand, and designs a plan of attack based on priorities. It would be insane for a local utility to own enough resources to cope with major storms.
On Saturday, most of the downed trees on our stretch of road were finally removed by town tree guys. Down our road yesterday, a utility crane from Missouri was carefully lowering destroyed transformers from broken poles. This afternoon, a pole truck from God-knows where was delivering new poles. Wonderful to see. This week, we'll expect to see those pole-installing trucks, after which cross pieces, insulators, cables,and new transformers will be attached before the final linemen can string new lines.
I expect home electric power (and heat) sometime next week. However, I do not expect our internet service (plus TV and home phone which is all via cable) to be restrung any time next week. Cable has to wait its turn.
All of our neighbors without big home generators are recharging their cells in the car. I'll say it again: We don't have it bad at all (except for no doggone internet service other than stupid iPhone which must be designed for women's or children's fingers because mu tjumba akwys hor tah wring vuttom.). We have it very easy compared with much of the world, and with our recent ancestors.
Are there major elections coming up? That might be interesting. I will vote, despite my vote being meaningless in Blue New England.
I heard on the radio that residents of Bridgeport, CT were pelting utility workers with sticks and eggs (where did they get those eggs?) to "express" their disgruntlement about having no power two days after a powerful Nor'easter his their town. (It was a Nor'easter at that point, more or less, or a hybrid but not a genuine hurricane.)
It was necessary to assign police to escort the utility repairmen, who had come there from all over the country and from Canada to repair their lines.
My rhetorical question is this: Where do people get it into their heads that bad things, and bad consequences, should never happen and, if they do, that there is someone to blame? It seems like the height of immaturity to me. Who taught people that this is what life is like?
‘Totally MAD’ celebrates 60 years of satire - I wish i still had my collection. But, I still have recollection of many. MAD helped shape a generation or two, for the better, to question and laugh at hollow pieties of all types.
A security breakdown in Benghazi - The light begins to peek under the covers at WaPo -- coming next?: "Exclusive: Emails Show Media Cover-Up With White House
GOP Senators to White House: Stop Leaking National Security Secrets : "A group of Republican senators is demanding to know why the White House continues to leak to the press highly classified information that “stands in direct contradiction to the information briefed to congressional oversight committees,” according to a letter sent Friday to President Barack Obama....The senators demand to know if the leaks were authorized by a White House clambering to salvage the president’s image....“Appointing a Special Prosecutor would remove even the appearance of political influence,” the lawmakers write."
12:28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?"
12:29 Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one;
12:30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
12:31 The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
12:32 Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there is no other';
12:33 and 'to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself,' --this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
12:34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to ask him any question.
A man on his Harley was riding along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, God said, 'because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.'
The biker pulled over and said, 'Build a bridge toHawaii so I can ride over anytime I want.'
God replied, 'Your request is materialistic; think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking; the supports required reaching the bottom of the Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take! I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help mankind.'
The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally, he said, 'God, I wish that I, and all men, could understand women; I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing's wrong, why she snaps and complains when I try to help, and how I can make a woman truly happy.
God replied: ‘You want two lanes or four on that bridge....?"
- LBJ's federal flood insurance is a perfect example of unintended consequences. The perverse incentive was to encourage people to build on flood plains and coastal areas. Yes, flood insurance is subsidized by you.
- Said by Newt on the radio today: "Barack Obama is a show horse, not a work horse."
- Threw out everything in both fridges and freezers today. Bummer. However, I cooked the bacon hoping for the best, and made bacon and tomato sandwiches. Delicious. I even used the warm mayo from the fridge. And I am still fine.
- Pupette evacuated from NYC decided that living in the cold and dark was getting old, so finagled a trip to San Francisco.
- None of the computer systems I have had access to can do what my own can. Quite annoying to be off all the grids.
- Received this email today from our occasional contributor Bulldog in New Jersey. It begins here, more below the fold with some of my comments:
I'm sure my problems are minor compared to the Doc's Big C - or even compared to the hundreds of thousands who have lost loved ones, friends, homes, etc. It's clear this storm has been devastating. And I agree with my governor that this is not a political situation - however, the night before the storm I did see Obama functionaries commenting on Romney's stance regarding FEMA, so as far as I'm concerned, he drew first blood in the politicization of the storm.
I won't go too political. No need to, and it's not worth it. Christie's stance so far has been correct, at least pre-storm, though post-storm I think he's gotten a bit soft.
But I'm at a disadvantage. I have no power or heat. I haven't had much in the way of news for 4 days, at least not more than I can get on an iPhone. I have been out of work for a week, and may miss more. Since I just took a new position (hence my lack of posting lately), missing work is a bit of a problem. But the company is good about my situation.
The largest assemblage of retired senior military officers ever assembled to support a presidential candidate, almost 500, will appear in an ad on Monday in the Washington Times. There are far more who would have signed if approached. I know two former top Admirals who wanted to sign but were not reached, perhaps because they live in Hawaii now. Below are just the As through the first D. -- Oh, by the way, Obama has endorsements from five former generals and admirals.
“We, the undersigned, proudly support Governor Mitt Romney as our nation’s next President and Commander-in-Chief.”
Brigadier General Arthur Abercrombie, (USA-ret)Lieutenant General James Abrahmson, (USAF-ret)Major General Chris Adams, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral William V. Alord, Jr., (USN-ret)Brigadier General John R. Allen, (USAF-ret)Lieutenant General Teddy Allen, (USA-ret)Rear Admiral Henry C. “Cub” Amos, (USN-ret)Lieutenant General Marcus A. Anderson, (USAF-ret)Major General Joseph T. Anderson, (USMC-ret)Lieutenant General Edward G. Anderson III, (USA-ret)Lieutenant General Edgar Ratclie “Andy” Anderson, Jr., (USAF-ret)Major General Joe Arbuckle, (USA-ret)Brigadier General John C. Arick, (USMC-ret)Major General Nora Alice Astaan, (USAF-ret)Brigadier General Loring R. Astrorino, (USAF-ret)Brigadier General Richard Averitt, (USA-ret)Vice Admiral Albert Baciocco, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Garry S. Bahling, (USANG-ret)Major General Bowen Ballard, (USAF-ret)Major General James D. Bankers, (USAF-ret)Major General James F. Barnette, (USAF-ret)Brigadier General Donald E. Barnhart, (USAF-ret)Major General Robert W. Barrow, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral John R. “Jack” Batzler, (USN-ret)Rear Admiral John W. Bayless, (USN-ret)Lieutenant General Buck Bedard, (USMC-ret)Vice Admiral A. Bruce Beran, (USCG-ret)Major General John E. Bianchi, (USA-ret)Major General David F. Bice, (USMC-ret)Vice Admiral Lyle Bien, (USN-ret)Rear Admiral Linda J. Bird, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Charles L. Bishop, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral James H. Black, (USN-ret)Brigadier General William A. Bloomer, (USMC-ret)Lieutenant General Harold Blot, (USMC-ret)Lieutenant General Steve Blum, (USA-ret)General Billy J. Boles, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral Peter A. Bondi, (USN-ret)Rear Admiral Pete Booth, (USN-ret)Major General John Borling, (USAF-ret)Vice Admiral Mike Bowman III, (USN-ret)Major General Thomas Braaten, (USMC-ret)Major General Edward R. Bracken, (USAF-ret)Major General Robert J. Brandt, (USA-ret)Rear Admiral Jerry C. Breast, (USN-ret)Rear Admiral Bruce B. Bremner, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Clayton “Gary” Bridges, (USAF-ret)Vice Admiral Edward S. Briggs, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Jeremiah J. Brophy, (USA-ret)Lieutenant General Richard “Tex” Brown III, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral Thomas F. Brown III, (USN-ret)Brigadier General R. Thomas Browning, (USAF-ret)Brigadier General David A. Brubaker, (USAF-ret)Vice Admiral Mike Bucchi, (USN-ret)Lieutenant General Walter E. Buchanan III, (USAF-ret)Major General Dave Burord, (USA-ret)Lieutenant General Richard A. Burpee, (USAF-ret)Admiral James B. Busey, (USN-ret)Lieutenant General Kevin P. Byrnes, (USA-ret)Lieutenant General Kevin P. Byrnes, (USA-ret)Rear Admiral John F. “Jack” Calvert, (USN-ret)Lieutenant General William J. Campbell, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral Jay A. “Rabbit” Campbell, (USN-ret)Lieutenant General Mike Canavan, (USA-ret)Major General Henry Canterbury, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral James J. Carey, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Chalmers R. “Hap” Carr, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral Nevin Carr, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Paul Carroll, (USANG-ret)Brigadier General Fred Castle, (USAFR-ret)Rear Admiral Stephen K. Chadwick, (USN-ret)Lieutenant General James E. “Bear” Chambers, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral Lawrence C. “Larry” Chambers, (USN-ret)Rear Admiral W. Lewis “Lew” Chatham, (USN-ret)Rear Admiral Geo Chesbrough, (USN-ret)Major General Carroll D. Childers, P.E., (USARNG-ret)Rear Admiral Ronald L. Christenson, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Cliton C. “Tip” Clark, (USAF-ret)Brigadier General Robert V. Clements, (USAF-ret)Vice Admiral Edward W. Clexton, Jr., (USN-ret)Brigadier General Christopher T. Cline, (USAR-ret)Major General Je Cliver, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral Casey Coane, (USN-ret)Brigadier General Maralin K. Cofnger, (USAF-ret)Rear Admiral Ike Cole, (USN-ret)Brigadier General George Peyton Cole, Jr., (USAF-ret)Brigadier General Richard A. Coleman, (USAF-ret)Brigadier General John W. “Rip” Collins, (USA-ret)Lieutenant General John B. Conaway, (USAF-ret)Major General Stephen “Pat” Condon, (USAF-ret)General James T. Conway, (USMC-ret)Major General Richard M. Cooke, (USMC-ret)Major General R. Craig Cosgrave, (USANG-ret)Lieutenant General Marvin Covault, (USA-ret)Rear Admiral Bob Cowley, (USN-ret)Major General J.T. “Mike” Coyne, (USMC-ret)Rear Admiral Robert C. Crates, (USN-ret)Major General Tommy F. Craword, (USAF-ret)Vice Admiral Terry M. Cross, (USCG-ret)Brigadier General Mike Cushman, (USAF-ret)Major General John R. D’Araujo, Jr., (USA-ret)General Terrence R.
Washington Free Beacon adds: "The list comes as a Military Times survey revealed that active duty, National Guard, and military reserve members support Romney over Obama by a two to one margin."
The founder and Chairman of GoDaddy.com pledges $1-million to match your donations to the Semper Fi Fund, which aids wounded warriors. He is a proud former Marine Lance Corporal who takes the opportunity of celebrating our 237th Anniversary on November 10th and Veterans Day on November 11th to go beyond us Marines' usual pride in leading on land, sea and air to salute members of all our armed forces. They have all proved themselves worthy as proud warriors over the past decade, and the wounded need your support to rejoin and enrich us civilians with their unmatchable spirit and values.
They gave a lot. You can, at least, give a little. Thanks.
Remarkable that an ordinary storm could have such impact on the greatest city in the world.
My car was flooded in an underground parking garage, and we had 9' of water in my building's basement. All from flooding. There was very little rain. We still have no power downtown, and the subways down here have not resumed. It's called "urban hiking," and it is enjoyable.
I am back to buying newspapers. The NY Post, The NY Times, the NY Daily News. It's a pleasant, familiar old feeling to read a paper newspaper in a pub or coffee shop.
Instead of irritated, people seem quite cheerful and helpful. Maybe people welcome an excuse to take off their tough NYC game faces.
My final pre-election post, set for Monday, is currently at 1,175 words. And counting.
Since Monday will be our last chance to either (1) sound incredibly precognitive or (2) look like complete bozos, I'm inviting you, the Maggie's Valued Readers™, to publicly have a say. Along with my article, I'll also post an article with any predictions you leave here in the comments.
My only request is that you put your official prediction in quotes, to differentiate it from anything else in the comment you'd care to blather on about. If no quotes are used, I'll post the whole thing. Management reserves the right to correct any blatant typos. I'll collate them Sunday evening.
There are actually a handful of predictions in play. In regards to the presidential race, you could predict the outcome by states, by Electoral votes, or just wimp out and resort to safe phrases like "landslide" or "barely squeak by".
There's also the question of the congressional races, both locally and in Washington. We presume we'll keep the House, but the pundits say we won't have enough to take back the Senate. Is this true? Could the much-anticipated October Surprise turn into a November surprise?
Do you remember what happened in 2010?
Then there's the side issue of Obama's so-called 'firewall' states; states that are so heavily 'blue' that there's no sense even campaigning there. Or is there? Are Pennsylvania (Obama 54% in 2008), Michigan (57%) and Minnesota (54%) actually in play? We'll discount California (60%) and New York (62%) outright, but it all adds up.
And then there's my current home state of Florida. While Ohio has gotten the most press as the official 'swing state' this time around, of the four states with the most Electoral votes, Florida is the only one in play. It was 50.9% for Obama in 2008 compared to McCain's 48.4%, which is damn close. The fourth state is Texas, which went 55.5% for McCain, so we'll figure that one's already in our column. Florida will be the one to watch this Tuesday.
So have it, Maggie's Valued Readers™. This could be your 15 minutes! I've seen some fairly opinionated, vociferous comments in Bruce's and my political posts, so here's your chance to prove to everybody how right you were.
State Department to review its own Benghazi review : "Without mentioning Benghazi specifically, Geisel [State Dept. Inspector General] mentioned that the IG office has been recommending ways to increase security and crisis-response capability at diplomatic posts for some time."
Do I presume we have some bi-cyclists (that is, cyclists who go both ways) in the audience? Is there any merit to this? The video's kind of lame, article is here.
Thanks to all for keeping good content flowing here. Some of us are in the land of no news and no real internet. But that's OK, because nothing is really happening in the world anyway, is it?
I am posting from a Fed Ex office.
Storms are exciting and dangerous, but they are to be expected. People make too much of it. A few interesting observations:
You can only buy $20 of gas at a time around here. Huge demand for gas for generators and power equipment.
No ATMs are working, no power to banks, thus no cash.
Our supermarket has no power, just emergency lights. But they're open to sell non-perishables. They have plenty of those on hand.
It's a great time to stock up on free firewood. A chainsaw is a wonderful tool.
My father-in-law put a new roof on his house, job was finished 2 weeks ago. Big old oak landed on his roof in the storm, puncturing his kitchen and wrecking the new roof. He is not happy.
In our town, clearing of fallen trees on roads and power lines is moving slowly. Why? Because here, the town union contract forbids subcontracting of tree work on roads and public land. Has to be done by town employees no matter how long it takes. Insane.
People have already mentioned to me that global warming caused the hurricane. One just doesn't know what to say in response to such ignorance. I suppose they never heard of hurricane Hazel, or Gloria, or all the rest. Hurricanes routinely hit the northestern US, but just not many in the past 2 decades. Perhaps we're in for a new cycle of them.
It was cool seeing CVS open through the storm and afterwards without power, staff in there with flashlights helping customers. Cash only, of course.
I feel badly for all the people who were subject to flooding. It's even more disheartening than a burglary in disrupting ordinary dependable reality. My advice is not to build or live near sea level.
We lose our power fairly often in late fall and winter storms. Besides flashlights and candles, I have a good supply of oil lamps around the place. I don't have a generator, and don't plan on getting one like the yuppies do.
My favorites are a few 50 year-old Dietz wagon lanterns that I keep in the garage and down in the barn. They still make them, but in China now, and are distributed by 
Observation #1:
The other day, I 
Your editor remains off the intertunnels except via the public library, the FedEx office, or my pal with a DSL line. Cannot download fresh photos effectively with any of those.
Nothing Gold Can Stay