Without William H. Seward, Sarah Palin May Have Been Unknown to the World October 18, 2010

Want To See the $7.2 Million Dollar Check For Alaska Purchase?

Gov. Palin Owes Career To William H Seward?

Governor Palin’s Path is Set: Had it not been for the dogged determination of Secretary of State William H. Seward, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin may not have been the Vice-Presidential nominee of the Republican Party in 2008.  It was not an easy task, but, ultimately, Seward got Congress to simply write a big’ol check to the Russians and America had gained the final frontier.

In the 19th Century, Russia laid claim to the Alaskan territory with the establishment of the fur-trading Russian-American Company. The company was quite profitable for awhile but by the 1860′s, business wasn’t too good. In order for the company to remain viable, the Tsar would have to heavily subsidize operations.  But, only a few hundred Russians had emigrated to Alaska and the Russians had no way of defending the vast region. The Tsar and his ministers thought it was in their best interest to sell the land to the Americans rather than lose it in battle to one of the world powers, like Great Britain.

Thanks Bill! Monty Hall Would Be Proud!

In 1867. Secretary of State William H. Seward began negotiations to acquire the territory. Now, Seward was a hold-over from the Lincoln administration and was serving under President Andrew Johnson at the time. Johnson became quite unpopular due to his Reconstruction policies and some in the public derisively called the plan “Seward’s Folly”, “Seward’s Ice Box” or “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden.” There were also facticious calls for the opening of the “Polar Bear Bureau” and the establishment of the “Superintendent of Walruses.” At the time, it was seen as a vast, empty wilderness opposed by many public figures such as Horace Greeley. But, some histories now suggest that most of the general public thought it was a shrewd deal. Political opponents in Congress who were trying to figure out how to impeach Johnson delayed approval of the $7.2 million needed to complete the deal.  Perhaps because public opposition wasn’t as great as has been advertised because Congress ratified the deal on April 9, 1867, though it did by just one vote.   The Senate’s approval opened the door for the United States to acquire an area about twice the size of Texas for the purchase price of $7.2 million, or about 2 cents an acre. Funny thing is, Congress didn’t appropriate the money until July 1868.  I’m guessing that, while the Senate is charged with approving treaties, the House of Representatives has a say in the approval of funding and I suspect that opponents in the House hoped to halt the purchase by keeping the purse strings tight.  If you notice the check above is dated August 1868 so there must have been some politicking and horse trading. Guess the Tsar didn’t care too much about the slow payment but I suppose any Americans  who were in Alaska before the check cleared could have been considered considered to be squatters. 

Bill Had a Great Catch for the US

In any event, the deal got done and the public remained generally non-plussed about the whole thing until gold was discovered in 1896 the territory’s Klondike region and suddenly the acquisition wasn’t such a folly after all. As time went on, the deal became to be on par with buying Manhattan for $24.  Today, 20% of America’s oil is found in Alaska and about half of the seafood. It also produces a huge amount of natural gas, timber and other natural resources.   Pokiness seems to be part of Alaska’s history because, after Congress delayed cutting the check, it took until 1912 to establish the Alaska Territory.  And statehood wasn’t exactly around the corner from there.

Andrew Johnson's Polar Bear Swimming Pool?

Today, it has produced “Sarah Barracuda”, the first female Republican nominee for Vice-President. Alaska became a state in 1959 which seems kinda odd when one considers that California gained statehood very shortly after it’s gold rush broke out.  Alaska is too big for just one day of recognition so there are two state holidays marking its heritage. One is “Seward’s Day” which is in March every year to mark the day that William Seward signed the treaty (Mar 30, 1867) and the other is “Alaska Day,” which commemorates this date in History when on October 18, 1867, the United States formally took possession of the 586, 412 square miles of Alaska. If this Global Warming caper goes the way that Mr. Gore suggests, then “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden” will have to find a new name…perhaps “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Swimming Pool” would be more appropriate.

Weather Bottom Line:   We need rain.  Count yourself lucky if you get it this week. Officially, Louisville has gotten .56 inches of rain since Sept 1.  Now, climatologically, Sept and Oct are the driest month in Louisville but his is a bit out of hand.  A boundary snuck through yesterday but its not too far to the south.  The previous thinking was that a wave of energy would run along that front and bring us some light rain on Tuesday.  But, the front appears to be inching farther south so when the wave goes by, the rain will be mainly in Tennessee.  That’s okay because they could use it too but…anyway, maybe a slight shot on Monday night or Tuesday but probably only if you do a rain dance in your backyard.  Cooler air filters in beginning Tuesday and we will at least be pleasant with highs in the upper 60′s Tuesday and lower 70′s the rest of the week.

Congress Does Something Right April 10, 2009

Russian Version of Treaty

On This Date In History:  On this date in 1867, Secretary of State William Seward basked while his detractors fumed.  The day before,  Congress showed a nose for looking to the future instead of votes for the day as it approved what was known as “Seward’s Folly”.  That’s what they called his negotiated purchase of the Alaskan Terrirtory from Russia for $7 million.  That was less than half of what Thomas Jefferson paid for Louisiana.   Alaska became the 49th state in the 1950′s and has been proved to be anything but a folly.  It has provided billions of barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of natural gas.  It is a strategic location for national defense, has great commercial fishing and has a vast frontier like wilderness.

Palin Was A Bonus Baby For Seward's Folly

The only folly was the pinhead shortsightedness of the members of Congress who opposed  the purchase.  So…when you get upset at elected officials who seemed more concerned about the next election rather than the future of the nation…when its easier to just go along with public sentament than to struggle to educate the electorate to support what is in the long term best interests of the country, our children and grandchildren…don’t feel too bad…Congress has been that way for a long time and we’ve managed to survive.  Though this time, they seemed to have spent way more than $7 million….more like $7 Trillion and who knows where that will leave our children and grandchildren…or even us in a few years.  But let us not cast stones…let us celebrate that on this date in 1867, Congress actually had something to celebrate, whether they knew it or not.  And look at it this way…if it weren’t for Alaska, we wouldn’t have Sarah Palin!

Skyline Club: Unlucky For Williams and Horton

But, the man who inexplicably adorns the top of this section did not.  See, it’s Johnny Horton who was a rising rockabilly star in the 1950′s.  He was influenced by Elvis and Hank Williams.  Horton’s connection to Alaska is that he had a hit song called North to Alaska.  Who can forget it?  His connection to Hank Williams was even more interesting or even eerie.   See, Williams had been married to the former Billie Jean Jones.  Williams was killed in a car accident at the age of 29 after performing in Austin, Texas at the Skyline Club.  A few months later, Billie Jean married Johnny Horton.  For the second time, Billie Jean became a widow as Johnny was killed at the age of 31 at the hands of a drunk driver after performing in Austin, Texas at the Skyline Club. 

Fri 8am to Sat 8am

Weather Bottom Line:  Forecast still looks on track.  Perhaps some early morning showers or maybe a t’storm or two as a warm front

SPC Outlook Monday

lifts through on Friday morning.  Then the cold front comes in Friday afternoon which will provide our best chance for strong storms.  Guess here is that we’d be looking at high winds and possibly hail, though maybe a small chance for an isolated tornado.  I’m thinking the the best twister chance will be to our south or southeast.  Still worth watching.  Cooler air slips in for the weekend but not terribly cold.  Easter Sunday looks good…high perhaps in the low 60′s.  Then on Monday another system comes through and I had thought previously that the main short would generate some action.  Then the last couple of model runs did not show any evidence of that.  I had speculated that it was worth seeing what really happened and now the SPC is putting us in the suspect area as there may be enough time to reload sufficiently to support some action as the short is really very strong and probably doesn’t need as much extra stuff.  Still, probably won’t be too major but since the situation is in flux, it’s wise to keep an eye out.    Generally seasonal temperatures it would appear for much of the week ahead if not a tad cooler for a day or so.

 DAY 1 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK 
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   0746 AM CDT FRI APR 10 2009
  
   VALID 101300Z – 111200Z
  
   …THERE IS A MDT RISK OF SVR TSTMS OVER PARTS OF THE TN VLY/GULF
   CST STATES/SRN APPALACHIANS…
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS SURROUNDING THE MDT RISK AREA
   FROM MS AND THE LWR OH VLYS TO THE S ATLANTIC CST…
  
   …SYNOPSIS…
   AMPLIFIED BUT PROGRESSIVE PATTERN WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE LWR 48
   THIS PERIOD.  MAIN FEATURE OF NOTE…POTENT UPR LOW NOW OVER SRN MO
   …WILL CONTINUE E ACROSS SRN KY TODAY AND GRADUALLY DEVOLVE INTO AN
   OPEN WAVE.  THE SYSTEM SHOULD REACH SE VA BY 12Z SAT AS 80 KT MID
   LVL SPEED MAX NOW ON ITS SW PERIPHERY /OVER THE ARKLATEX/ MOVES OFF
   THE S ATLANTIC CST.
  
   AT LWR LEVELS…SFC LOW NOW OVER SE MO SHOULD TRACK E ACROSS KY
   TODAY/EARLY TONIGHT AS TRAILING COLD FRONT PROGRESSES STEADILY SE
   ACROSS THE TN/LWR MS VLYS.  AHEAD OF THE FRONT…SFC AND VWP DATA
   SUGGEST PRESENCE OF A PRE-FRONTAL LOW LVL CONFLUENCE AXIS…POSSIBLY
   RELATED TO SQLN OVER E TN/N GA…EXTENDING NE/SW FROM NRN AL INTO
   SRN MS.  FARTHER E…CURRENT OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT WARM FRONT
   OVER THE SRN APPALACHIANS/CAROLINAS WILL REMAIN DIFFUSE THROUGH MUCH
   OF THE PERIOD.  BUT SIGNIFICANT LOW LVL WARMING/MOISTENING SHOULD
   SPREAD NE ALONG THE CAROLINA PIEDMONT/CSTL PLN WITH TIME AS SFC LOW
   REACHES SRN VA EARLY SATURDAY.
    
   …TN VLY INTO CNTRL GULF STATES…SRN APLCNS/CAROLINAS/SRN VA…
   LATEST SFC OBSERVATIONS AND SATELLITE/GPS PW DATA SHOW FAIRLY
   SUBSTANTIAL MOISTURE /WITH PW AOA 1 INCH/ IN PLACE FROM THE
   WRN/CNTRL GULF CST NE INTO THE TN VLY AND SRN KY.  A TONGUE OF DRIER
   AIR REMAINS PRESENT FROM FL NWD INTO THE WRN CAROLINAS…BUT A
   SECONDARY AREA OF ENHANCED MOISTURE LIES OFF THE NC CST.  MOISTURE
   SHOULD CONTINUE TO SPREAD NE ACROSS THE CNTRL/ERN GULF CST STATES
   AND GA TODAY AS 40+ KT SWLY LLJ PERSISTS IN WARM SECTOR OF
   PROGRESSIVE SFC LOW.  SFC DEWPOINTS IN THE LOW/MID 60S F SHOULD
   EXTEND FROM SRN LA INTO MUCH OF AL AND GA BY LATE TODAY. 
  
   COMBINATION OF INCREASING LOW LVL MOISTURE WITH COOL MID LVL
   TEMPERATURES AND ASCENT ON SRN FRINGE OF UPR LOW SHOULD SUPPORT
   INTENSE TSTM DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS AFTN
   IN WEAKLY CAPPED ENVIRONMENT ALONG/AHEAD OF COLD FRONT FROM WRN
   KY/TN SSW INTO MS.  OTHER INTENSE STORMS SHOULD FORM NEARLY
   SIMULTANEOUSLY…OR PERHAPS SLIGHTLY LATER…INVOF AFOREMENTIONED
   CONFLUENCE ZONE OVER ERN MS/AL/GA.
  
   ALONG THE COLD FRONT…STRONG…LARGELY UNIDIRECTIONAL DEEP FLOW
   EXPECTED TO SUPPORT BROKEN BANDS OF SUSTAINED STORMS/SUPERCELLS WITH
   HIGH WIND/LARGE HAIL AND ISOLD TORNADOES.  FARTHER ESE…
   WEAKLY CONFLUENT LOW LVL FLOW AND LONG…CLOCKWISE-TURNING
   HODOGRAPHS WITH 60-70 KT WLY MID LVL FLOW COULD FOSTER NUMEROUS
   DISCRETE OR SEMI-DISCRETE SUPERCELLS…ESPECIALLY IN AREAS WHERE
   HEATING BOOSTS SFC TEMPERATURES TO NEAR 80 F.  THESE STORMS COULD
   YIELD A FEW STRONG TORNADOES…IN ADDITION TO VERY LARGE HAIL AND
   HIGH WIND.  THIS THREAT APPEARS GREATEST FROM CNTRL/NRN AL INTO
   CNTRL/NRN GA…PERHAPS AS FAR E AS WARM FRONTAL SEGMENT INVOF THE
   SAVANNAH RVR VLY THIS EVE. 
  
   LARGE SCALE UVV AHEAD OF UPR VORT SHOULD STRENGTHEN E OF THE SRN
   APPALACHIANS AND THE REMAINDER OF THE CAROLINAS/SRN VA BY LATER
   TONIGHT.  BUT…WEAKER DESTABILIZATION…ASSOCIATED WITH A MORE
   LIMITED LOW-LVL MOISTURE RETURN AND ONSET OF DIURNAL COOLING…MAY
   MITIGATE SVR POTENTIAL.  A LIMITED SVR THREAT
   COULD…HOWEVER…LINGER THROUGH EARLY SAT…ESPECIALLY ALONG THE NC
   CST.
  
   ..CORFIDI/JEWELL.. 04/10/2009

alphainventions

Big Storm in Britain-London Devastated November 28, 2008

Did CNBC Provide All of the Facts?

I love this story because it illustrates one of my peeves with the press. I just want facts. During the recent campaign, it was widely reported on that Gov. Palin got some super wardrobe from the Republican Party. It struck me as odd that we never heard of what the political parties spent on wardrobes for Senators Obama, McCain and Biden. Couldn’t be because of her sex, eh? Well, this is one I did not expect, but does not surprise me. Turns out that one of Ms. Palin’s biggest critics, CNBC provided here with $300 worth of clothes for an appearance. They didn’t report it voluntarily either and certainly not during the campaign….no…it took a Freedom of Information Act request to find out the whole truth. The network thought nothing of it but the Governor reported it, following the law regarding gifts.

Fri. PM Last Day of 50

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Regular reader Rick shared a view of his latest grandson. Congratulations sir. It was a fine day for showing off new grandkids and sharing time with family and I certainly hope that you took the opportunity to do so. Friday looks pretty good but not as warm and clouds will be rolling in. Saturday will be cooler still and more cloudy. Sunday, a system moves through that will bring rain late and it will be chilly. Really not a great weekend. Been warning you all week to enjoy Thanksgiving…anyway, I’m having a tough time finding evidence to support a good snow. We should change over to snow showers Sunday night that will carry into Monday. But, the ground temperatures will be above freezing and it may get tough to chill them to the point that we can get some decent accumulations. At this point, some accumulations on grassy areas perhaps on Monday but most of the data even indicates Monday temps above freezing here at the surface. There are still several days to go before this guy really shows itself but at this point, snow boards are probably not going to be needed.

Great Storm of 1703 By J.S. Miller

Eddystone Lighthouse Before 1703 Storm

On This Date in History: On this date in 1703, an unusual and powerful storm finally ended in England. In it’s wake, some 10,000 to 30,000 were dead, including about 8,000 sailors aboard part of the English fleet anchored just offshore the island nation. Winds were well over hurricane force and apparently the storm stuck around for about two weeks. Claims were that the Thames river had 6 foot waves and 5000 homes were destroyed along the river on which London is built. The author of Robinson Crusoe,

Last Glimpse of Eddystone Lighthouse 1703

Daniel Defoe, reported a tornado that “snapped the body of an oak.” Henry Winstanley had designed and built the first Eddystone Lighthouse at Plymouth in 1696. Just a few weeks before the storm he expressed his desire that he be in his creation during the greatest storm of all time so he could see the effect on his tower. In the be-careful-what-you-wish-for department, he and those who resided there went down with the lighthouse when it was smashed to bits.

The details of the storm are varied. Some say the death toll was just 15,000 other 9000. The date can’t even be totally ascertained because of something about the switch between the Julian and Gregorian calenders. Either way, it was a huge storm; hurricane force winds, thousands dead, thousands of livestock dead, tornadoes, reports of a ship being lifted 800 feet inland by a waterspout and a cow getting lifted into a tree. Thousands of trees down across the country, monstrous waves….it was a doosey. Here is an account from The Weather Doctor Almanac. Seems just as reliable as other sources.

Can you imagine if that happened today? It happened 300 years ago, so it’s happened before. But, you can

Great Storm of 1987 Was Not Anything New For England

bet that Global Warming would get the blame this time around. Never mind that this wild storm happened all by itself during what was called the “mini-ice age” which was a 300-400 year period of extremely cold global temperatures that was partly the primer for the emigration to the New World. Nope, you know that Global Warming would be the culprit. Why do I know this with a certainty? Because the press has already reported it. On the 300th anniversary in 2003, the BBC put out this report, pointing to a storm that was not as strong but still devastating in 1987 as proof. Proof as what? That a storm reported in 1703 was still possible today?

So Cal 1938 Storms...Would A Such A Storm Today Be Blamed on Global Warming Even Though Such an Event Occured 70 Years Ago?

This is the type of nonsense that really hacks me as a meteorologist and historian. I think the anthropogenic global warming issue should be studied closely but, when the press and proponents put out this type of nonsense, it really hurts their credibility. Hurricane Katrina comes to mind. After that storm someone actually said that it was due to Global Warming. Never did the press point out that New Orleans did not get hit by a hurricane, Mississippi did. They did not point out that it was a strong 130 mph hurricane that had a huge storm surge but followed almost the exact same path as the incredibly powerful Hurricane Camille in 1969 with 200 mph winds. It was not unprecedented and, if one were to be basic and silly, one could draw the juvenile conclusion that Global Warming was making hurricanes weaker because Camille was was stronger than Katrina, followe the same path and was 36 years earlier. That is just as foolish a statement as claiming that Katrina was caused by Global Warming.

So, what does the Great 1703 Storm teach us? That large, powerful storms and unusual weather has been happening on the earth for a long, long time. Unexpectedly strong and severe situations will occur again, Global Warming or not. Beware of sources and media reports that try to offer such limited and simple evidence for climate changes of any kind and forever one should hold any reports from those sources with skepticism.

Did Bill Ayers Write Obama’s Book? Is Palin Really a Tax Raiser? Did Mars Attack? October 30, 2008

A MARTIAN INVASION!!!!

The weather turned out as expected. The winds were sufficient to keep the mercury from falling too far on Wednesday morning. The low in Louisville at the airport was 34 and the NWS office was 32. Other areas were similar with many around the freezing mark, a few in the uper 20′s and the cooperative observer at Bradfordsville in the extreme Southeastern part of the viewing area getting down to 24, which seems rather odd but other nearby places around Campbellsviille being 26. I guess the wind wasn’t as strong there. A frosty start Thursday will mark the end of the chilly conditions. We’ll have an inversion over us on Thursday afternoon so the highs will be in the low 60′s but we jump to the upper 60′s and low 70′s for Halloween and that type of regime will continue through the weekend. No rain in sight until the middle of next week.

Louisville's Christina Fougnie Stars in Clancy

Shot In Metro Louisville

Local Movie of Note: Snow White and I had dinner with Jefferson and Kelly Moore the other night. Jefferson Moore is a local actor who, with his wife, have formed a production company. They have made two films that have done quite well world-wide on video and it was adapted into a tv series. It’s called The Perfect Stranger and the two movies are available in Blockbuster or directly from Kellyfilmworks. The movies and series were shot in the Louisville Metro Area with much of the cast being local talent. Coming next is Clancy which is a very heartwarming story. It too was filmed in the Louisville Metro Area and you may recognize some of the cast, including the star, 12-year-old Christina Fougnie. They are working on distribution and it may be in a theatre near you or on TV in the near future. But, if you CLICK HERE you can get a sneak preview. It’s a good flick for the whole family and, while it is quite uplifting, it’s not something that will send the community into hair-raising pandemonium like

Orson Welles did On This Date In History:

A Vicious Invader?

The Martians Invaded on this date in 1938…at least that’s what millions of Americans thought. A young 23 year old radio man named Orson Welles presented a show on CBS radio. He began by saying it was an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. It began at 8 pm. But a whole bunch of people were listening to Edgar Bergen and his dummy, Charlie McCarthy on NBC. Bergen’s routine ended at 8:12 and many switched to CBS. By then the radio-play was already going so they missed the opening disclaimer. Welles’ production had some sort of regular sounding broadcast with a weather report followed by some cheesy music that went on for some time before a reporter broke in with a report (I don’t think they called it “breaking news” then) and he said there were explosions on Mars. Then more music followed by another break in with a hysterical “reporter” describing ugly Martians getting into large machines that rose out of the ground with long tentacles. It reported that the machines fired heat rays and destroyed a national guard unit, dropped deadly gas bombs and they were destroying everything.

People thought it was real. Some went bananas and jammed the highways looking to get out of

Orson So Good He Caused Mayhem

town. CBS had Welles break in and remind everyone it was fiction, but no one listened. The panic was on. Reports of suicides came in but there was no confirmation. Congress naturally had to investigate and found nothing was wrong. Welles thought his career was over. Instead, he got a cinematic contract which led to his production of Citizen Kane which has regularly topped the list as the best movie ever made.

Like Welles, sometimes we create the worst in our mind when, in fact, the best is just around the corner. If you are discouraged or feeling that you’ve made a terrible mistake, keep your head up. You don’t know what the future holds and today’s set back may just be the foundation for tomorrow’s success.

Political Tidbits worth reading:

Used a Ghost Writer?

The weather is quiet so I’m taking the opportunity to bring up a couple of questions posed by some writers of such things. Just some items to consider.

Senator Obama wrote a memoir Dreams From My Father. It has been well received by critics. However, this writer raises the question of who wrote Dreams From My Father? He presents evidence and a point of view that Senator Obama could not have written it and suggests that none other than Bill Ayers wrote it.

Here is the article-decide if the writer Jack Cashill makes his case.

Governor Sarah Palin has run on a record of standing up to the oil companies. She is

Raised Taxes and Cut Hockey?

running on a platform of cutting taxes. The top part of her ticket, Senator McCain, has been charged with wanting to cut corporate taxes. Yet, Governor Palin raised taxes on oil production in her state. This writer raises the question is Sarah Palin a tax cutter? The article suggests that not only did she raise taxes, but did so when the state was running a budget surplus of over a billion dollars and that, in spite of the budget surplus and projected overwhelming growth of tax revenue, she cut some programs…including funding for a local hockey association…by a “hockey mom.”

Here is the article by Alison Fitzgerald-decide if she made her case

I put these types of things in here from time to time because it seems to me that we hear all of these things on TV in commercials and speeches but really don’t get the details or in depth analysis. It makes it difficult to figure out what is truth, what is spin and what is total fabrication. I short, it is my view that the media has done a poor job in providing information to the public concerning this election. These two articles just seem to touch on some issues that may provide some things to consider.

A Gay Race Horse? Shaft Gives the Shaft? Who’s Dancing with the Stars? When Did World War II Really End? October 25, 2008

NAM Surface Tue Oct 28 12Z

Cat In The Hat Had Good Rain Day Solution

Told you it would be a Lousy Friday: I had remarked on the air last Tuesday that perhaps parents may want to invest in Dr. Suess’s Thing 1 and Thing 2 like the Cat in the Hat for today to keep the kids busy on a rainy day. Well, we got our rain. It would appear that Jefferson County had between 1 and 1.5 inches county-wide. The rain came to an end by the afternoon and the sun made an appearance. So, the rain ended a little sooner than I had been calling for but it was a lousy day nonetheless. Now, this system is a winter-like system in that it will have wrap around clouds that in January might bring snow flakes. In this case, we will have a risk of a return of some very light showers through the early morning and then we will have variable cloudiness and chilly conditions on Saturday. Now, a very strong system will be diving down here on Monday so, in advance of that, sunshine will break out and winds with a southerly component will help us get back to the upper 60′s or even low 70′s on Sunday. Light showers Monday will be followed by cold weather, perhaps the first areawide freeze early Wednesday. Tuesday morning will have a chance but data suggests upper 30′s for part of the area with freezing conditions probable for the northern and eastern outlying areas.

I lounged like my cats, Nit and Wit

Boring Day: I couldn’t find much to interest me on this date in history. So, I snooped about my mailbag for a couple of items that may be of interest…or maybe not…as you will find below.

Letter to the Editor Concerning Dancing with the Stars: I received the sneak-preview photo of the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars. The sender somehow has access to prospective performers practicing for the big show. I don’t know how they come by these pictures but this one is certainly worth a thousand words, though I’ll let you come up with the proper prose. Me? I’ve never watched the show nor have I ever desired to do so.

Gay Horse Racing? I received this little video clip from a colleague who will go un-mentioned to protect the innocent…well, not so innocent…but protected he will be. It is a story from The Onion (note the source when you plant tongue in cheek) about a openly gay racehorse. Be sure to look at the crawl running along the bottom of the “news broadcast” when you CLICK HERE.

Isaac Hayes

Ike Gives The Shaft? Singer, actor, song-writer Isaac Hayes died not long ago at age 65. Hayes burst on to the scene in the early 1970′s with his theme for the movie Shaft. I think it was the Academy Awards that I recall seeing him perform his song wearing all sorts of gold chains with smoke machines all around. It was a classic moment. For the next several years I think every high school band in Texas played that tune during halftime performances. I really like him as “The Duke” in Escape from New York. More recently, he was the voice of “Chef” in Southpark but he left that show when he disagreed with the show’s lampooning of the Church of Scientology, of which he was a follower. Well, it seems that his support for that organization only went so far. Seems that the writer of the Theme From Shaft gave the shaft to the Church in his last will and testament, leaving the Church of Scientology with nothing. Here’s the story(click here). One must keep in mind, however, that the writer of this story does not tell us how much he gave to the church when he was alive.

On This Date in History: The war in Europe ended on this date in 1951 when a treaty was finally signed with Germany. Proclamation 2950 was put in force on October 25, 1951 stating that a cessation of hostilities had gone into effect Oct 19, 1951 ending the war with that nation that was declared on Dec. 11, 1945. See, Germany surrendered in May 1945 but the country was divided by the allies. Then there was the tug-o-war between the Soviets and the West over Germany and Berlin. No treaty could be signed until all of that was settled and President Truman wanted to wait to sign a treaty with a free and democratic Germany, which was finally possible some 6 years following the end of hostilities. People forget that after an invasion and defeat of a country, creating a new country and government from scratch takes time.

Turn Out the Lights, Turn Up the Heat and Viva Alaska! October 18, 2008

In the 30s on Saturday Night

Hope Your Heater Works: As expected we had a much cooler day than we’ve seen in quite some time. An upper low will work its way through overnight bringing some light showers and clouds but the showers will probably not be that signficant and will end shortly after sunrise. The clouds won’t stick around long thereafter and the sun will be dominant by Saturday afternoon but area highs won’t get out of the low 60′s. Saturday night, the mercury will fall to the 30′s area wide with some places in the low 30′s. Hope your heaters work and be careful if you haven’t used yours yet this year. Check it out prior to use. Then get ready for your bill. I had figured that my gas rate had increased by 39%. LG & E corrected me. They claim its 65%!! Apparently I missed an interim increase. Natural gas prices have fallen quite a bit since they adjusted the rates in July. Hopefully when they readjust in November, they will come back down because I don’t want to have heating bills this winter like I had a few years ago…nor do you.

Tropical Storm Omar Satellite Image 1018 0245Z

Tropical Storm Omar Forecast Track 1017 11pm

Tropical Storm Omar is useless but if you want to read about it, check out below. But, at least you can find it now on the satellite imagery and is certainly much better looking that it was. It is moving over much colder water and as it continues northeast it will run into frontal zones. In short, Omar’s days are numbered. I think its still going to be interesting to see if it eventually affects Europe in whatever shape or form it is in. Remember, the role of tropical cyclones in nature is to transport heat and moisture from the tropical regions to the polar regions. They are not trying to melt the polar ice caps, they are just doing what they are supposed to do and this year, in the Atlantic Basin, they have done a very good job with several storms making it into the northern latitudes.

Want To See the $7.2 Million Dollar Check For Alaska Purchase?

Gov. Palin Owes Career To William H Seward?

Governor Palin’s Path is Set: Had it not been for the dogged determination of Secretary of State William H. Seward, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin may be be the Vice-Presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

In the 19th Century, Russia laid claim to the Alaskan territory with the establishment of the fur-trading Russian-American Company. The company was quite profitable for awhile but by the 1860′s, business wasn’t too good. In order for the company to remain viable, the Tsar would have to heavily subsidize operations. Only a few hundred Russians had emigrated to Alaska and the Russians had no way of defending the vast region. The Tsar and his ministers thought it was in their best interest to sell the land to the Americans rather than lose it in battle to one of the world powers, like Great Britain.

Thanks Bill! Monty Hall Would Be Proud!

In 1867. Secretary of State William Seward began negotiations to acquire the territory. Now, Seward was a hold-over from the Lincoln administration and was serving under President Andrew Johnson at the time. Johnson became quite unpopular due to his Reconstruction policies and some in the public derisively called the plan “Seward’s Folly”, “Seward’s Ice Box” or “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden.” There were also facticious calls for the opening of the “Polar Bear Bureau” and the establishment of the “Superintendent of Walruses.” At the time, it was seen as a vast, empty wilderness. But, some histories now suggest that most of the general public thought it was a shrewd deal. Political opponents in Congress who were trying to figure out how to impeach Johnson delayed approval of the $7.2 million needed to complete the deal. But, perhaps because public opposition wasn’t as great as has been advertised, Congress ratified the deal on April 9, 1867 to acquire an area about twice the size of Texas being purchased for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents an acre. Funny thing is, Congress didn’t appropriate the money until July 1868. If you notice the Check above is dated August 1868. Guess the Tsar didn’t care too much about the slow payment but I suppose any Americans in Alaska before the check cleared could be considered to be squatters. Anyway, the public

Bill Had a Great Catch for the US

remained generally non-plussed about the deal until gold was discovered in 1896 and suddenly the acquisition wasn’t such a folly after all. As time went on, the deal became to be on par with buying Manhattan for $24.

Today, 25% of America’s oil comes from Alaska and about half of the seafood. It also produces a huge amount of natural gas, timber and other natural resources. Today, it has produced “Sarah Barracuda”, the first female Republican nominee for Vice-President. Alaska became a state in 1959 and there are two state

Andrew Johnson's Polar Bear Swimming Pool?

holidays marking its heritage. One is “Seward’s Day” which is in March every year to mark the day that William Seward signed the treaty (Mar 30, 1867) and the other is on October 18, which commemorates This date in History when on October 18, 1867, the United States formally took possession of the 586, 412 square miles of Alaska. If this Global Warming caper goes the way that Mr. Gore suggests, then “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden” will have to find a new name…perhaps “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Swimming Pool” would be more appropriate.

A No Doubt About It Genius

Turn Out the Lights For Edison

Turn out the Lights: On this date in 1931, perhaps the greatest single inventor in the history of the world died. Thomas Alva Edison died in West Orange, New Jersey at the age of 84. Upon his death, President Hoover asked all americans to turn out the lights for one minute. He had considered having all power plants across the nation be shut down but his advisors reminded him that electricity had become such a part of the American fabric that doing so would place many people at extreme risk. So, Hoover took the Republican approach of asking for a volunteer effort. Too bad he didn’t take a Republican view of taxes as, in the wake of the stock market crash, Hoover raised taxes and most economic historians point to his raising of taxes and tariffs that led to the Great Depression, not the stock market crash….anyway….

Thomas Edison’s 1093 US patents is a record that will probably never be even remotely challenged. There are a couple of links of Edison to Louisville. For a brief period of time when he was young, Edison lived in a small house in Louisville near Butchertown. (you can visit the home) One of his most famous inventions was the first practical incandescent light

Benefactor to the World

bulb in 1879. In 1883, the Southern Exposition opened in Louisville with a display of 20,000 incandescent lights making it the largest display in this history of the world at that time. The number of lights in Louisville at that time was more than the entire city of New York. Please take the time to READ THIS EDISON BIOGRAPHY as it does a far better justice than I could do to bring to the attention one of the most influential people in the history of the United States, and even the world, not just in the 19th and 20th century and far beyond. While it was not patented, Edison actually invented the modern method of invention…a footnote that is often lost in most history lessons.

TROPICAL STORM OMAR DISCUSSION NUMBER 19

NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL152008

1100 PM EDT FRI OCT 17 2008

THE CONVECTION ASSOCIATED WITH OMAR HAS DECREASED AGAIN THIS EVENING…WITH THE REMAINING CONVECTION IN A RAGGED BAND WELL SOUTHEAST OF THE CENTER. HOWEVER…AN AMSU OVERPASS NEAR 20Z SHOWS THAT THE CYCLONE HAS A DEEP-LAYER WARM CORE…WHICH SSM/I IMAGERY SHOWS IS SURROUNDED BY MID/UPPER-LEVEL DRY/COOL AIR. A QUIKSCAT OVERPASS NEAR 22Z SHOWS A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE WINDS FROM THE EARLIER OVERPASS…WITH NO RELIABLE-LOOKING VECTORS SHOWING WINDS OF MORE THAN 45 TO 50 KT. AMSU INTENSITY ESTIMATES AT 20Z WERE 55 TO 60 KT…WHILE REGULAR SATELLITE INTENSITY ESTIMATES WERE TROPICAL 65 KT FROM TAFB AND SUBTROPICAL 35-40 KT FROM SAB. THE INITIAL INTENSITY IS DECREASED TO 55 KT BASED ON AN AVERAGE OF THESE ESTIMATES…AND THIS MIGHT BE A BIT GENEROUS. THE INITIAL WIND RADII HAVE BEEN REVISED BASED ON THE QUIKSCAT DATA. OMAR HAS SLOWED ITS FORWARD MOTION DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS AND THE INITIAL MOTION IS NOW 040/14. IN THE SHORT TERM…OMAR SHOULD CONTINUE A GENERAL NORTHEASTWARD MOTION BETWEEN A DEEP-LAYER RIDGE OVER THE EAST CENTRAL ATLANTIC AND THE MID-LATITUDE WESTERLIES TO THE NORTH. THE FIRST 48 HR OF THE FORECAST IS DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE FAIRLY TIGHTLY CLUSTERED GUIDANCE. AFTER 48 HR…THE GFS… ECMWF…UKMET..AND HWRF SHOW OMAR BEING ABSORBED INTO A BAROCLINIC LOW MOVING EASTWARD FROM THE WESTERN ATLANTIC…THIS AFTER OMAR TURNS MORE NORTHWARD IN ADVANCE OF THE LOW. THE NOGAPS…THE BAMD…THE BAMM…AND THE LBAR FORECAST OMAR TO TURN EASTWARD AND EVENTUALLY SOUTHWARD AROUND THE EASTERN ATLANTIC RIDGE. THE NEW FORECAST TRACK WILL LEAN MORE TOWARD THE GFS/UKMET/ECMWF/HWRF SOLUTION…CALLING FOR OMAR TO TURN MORE NORTHWARD AFTER 72 HR. HOWEVER…OUT OF DEFERENCE TO THE OTHER MODELS AND THE PREVIOUS FORECAST…THE NEW FORECAST IS NOT AS FAR NORTH AS THAT OF THOSE MODELS. OMAR IS MOVING OVER SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES OF LESS THAN 26C…AND IS LIKELY TO ENCOUNTER INCREASING WESTERLY VERTICAL WIND SHEAR AFTER 24 HR. WHILE ANOTHER CONVECTIVE FLARE-UP CANNOT BE RULED OUT…THESE CONDITIONS INDICATE THE STORM SHOULD GENERALLY WEAKEN THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD. THIS IS SUPPORTED BY ALL THE INTENSITY GUIDANCE. OMAR SHOULD BECOME EXTRATROPICAL IN 48-72 HR AS IT MERGES WITH A FRONTAL SYSTEM OVER THE NORTH ATLANTIC. IF THE GFS/UKMET/ECMWF/HWRF SCENARIO VERIFIES…OMAR WILL BE ABSORBED BY THE WARM FRONT OF THE ONCOMING BAROCLINIC LOW…WITH THE FORMER TROPICAL CYCLONE SHOWING LITTLE RE-INTENSIFICATION AS AN EXTRATROPICAL LOW. THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE 48-96 HR PORTION OF THE INTENSITY FORECAST.

FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS

INITIAL 18/0300Z 31.5N 52.8W 55 KT

12HR VT 18/1200Z 33.3N 51.1W 50 KT

24HR VT 19/0000Z 35.1N 48.7W 45 KT

36HR VT 19/1200Z 36.7N 46.2W 40 KT

48HR VT 20/0000Z 38.3N 43.2W 35 KT…BECOMING EXTRATROPICAL

72HR VT 21/0000Z 39.5N 39.0W 35 KT…EXTRATROPICAL

96HR VT 22/0000Z 42.0N 36.0W 35 KT…EXTRATROPICAL

120HR VT 23/0000Z…ABSORBED BY FRONTAL SYSTEM

$$ FORECASTER BEVEN

Nasty Politics and Nice Weather October 10, 2008

TR Heads to Vacation During Crisis

Tis the Fall Season: A year ago we were experiencing record heat in the 90′s. It’s not going to be that hot but its also not much of a fall so far. We’ve had a couple of cool days but generally we’ve had cool nights and warm afternoons in the 80′s and that trend will continue through the weekend. It will be fabulous.

Tis the Political Season: So much for George H. W. Bush’s attempt in 1992 to become “kinder and gentler.” Our political discourse on the surface seems to have gone down the tubes.

There is the story of the Sheriff in Florida who got on stage and referred to Senator Obama by his legal full name. That sheriff is now under Federal Investigation for violation of the Hatch Act which prohibits public officials from using their position to influence an election. Seems the Feds are reacting to a bunch of negative phone calls. He could lose his job and the county could lose up to $300,000 in funding.

Here’s the story of the Federal Investigation with video

There is the story that Governor Palin accusing her of using racist verbiage in her stump speeches.

Palin’s Words Carry Racial Tinge-AP

Then there is the story of children allegedly being “indoctrinated” into the Obama camp by a teacher who had the kids line up in t’shirts and camouflaged pants while chanting words that allegedly sing the praises of Senator Obama. The teacher has been suspended.

Teacher Suspended Over Video of Students’ Obama Chants-with video

Jefferson Constitution Destroyer?

All of this might make one think that this is unprecedented. Well, it’s not. In the cartoon to the left, Thomas Jefferson is portrayed as attempting to burn the Constitution in fire fed “by the flames of radical writings” before the altar of Gallic despotism. The American eagle and God are attempting to prevent him from doing so. Abraham Lincoln was often referred to as a “Baboon” as he was seen by his rivals as a simpleton and also they made reference to his long and lanky physical appearance. In an event that may bring to mind current circumstance, President Tyler vetoed a measure to re-establish the Bank of the United States and on August 16, 1841, President Tyler was burned in effigy outside the White House….and it was mostly members of his own party who did the burning! Of course, who can forget my old buddy Grover Cleveland? As part of the campaign against him, the charge was that he fathered an illegitimate child and that too made it into the cartoon pages. A topic of lampooning is always the subject of presidential vacations. Teddy Roosevelt (at top) was mocked for going on vacaton to Pine Knot, Virginia during a big coal strike. The list goes on all the way through President Clinton to President GW Bush. The point here is that this type of harsh political discourse is not new. It’s just that now, instead of pamphlets and drawings or actual effigy burnings, we have the internet and video to do the job.

Daddy Grover?

We also hear about lack of voter turn out. Well, in the 1824 election, only 16% of eligible voters turned out to vote for President. Election participation increased though after that. However, curiously, the 1860 presidential election only turned out 72% of the vote, which seems odd since it was an election that would determine secession. It was during Reconstruction that voter turn out topped the 80% mark and then declined thereafter to the 50% to 65% range In the 20th Century, it appears that several states did not have such a high turnout. Alabama, for instance, did not have a 50% turn out in the 1900′s until the 1980′s. Prior that it was often the case that turnout was way less. From 1904 to 1960, average turnout in Alabama averaged about 25% with a lowpoint in 1924 of 13.3%. There are other examples from other states that were similar. Here is a list of tables regarding voter turnout.

In this time of economic unrest and political electioneering turmoil, don’t fall into despair. It can be considered the American way. I told you before about a financial situation in 1907 that had some similarities to today. The market fell 40% over that year of turmoil and from the Dow Peak of Oct 9, 2007 to Oct 9, 2008 the Dow has fallen about 35%. We got the ship righted then and probably will again. There will be change. Back then the 1907 “bailout” led to the creation of the Federal Reserve. Who knows what will happen this time? But in all probability, we will emerge stronger. Politically, we are not hanging Presidents in effigy and the discourse is tough, but not really much different than the past. Hang in there, we will press on.