Greater Nashville area blogger JD documents tornado damage at his high school.
According to The Tennessean, the damage from Friday’s storms includes:

• 12 people killed
• At least 167 people injured
• At least 2,300 to 3,000 homes, businesses and farms damaged or destroyed
• At least 20 counties affected
• At least 12,200 homes and businesses lost power
• Buildings damaged included Centennial Medical Center in Ashland City, buildings on the campus of Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin and Metro Baptist Church in Goodlettsville

Fortunately, this week’s weather looks much better.

Oh, that Fourth Amendment, how quaint:

Attorney General Al Gonzales on Thursday left open the possibility that President Bush could order no-warrant wiretaps on telephone calls occurring solely within the U.S., thus expanding the potential reach of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance program. In response to a question from Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., during an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, Mr. Gonzales said the government would have to determine if a conversation was related to al-Qaeda and crucial to fighting terrorism before listening in without court supervision. “I’m not going to rule it out,” Mr. Gonzales said of the possibility of monitoring purely domestic communications.

I guess it’s another sign of the progress of human evolution: humans are getting bigger and stronger, and their government leaders are simply getting wiser. We no longer need the restrictions from an archaic, two-century-old document to impede their good deeds. Those obsolete civil liberties are so 18th century.

President Bush, Sept. 30, 2003:

Yes. Let me just say something about leaks in Washington. There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. There’s leaks at the executive branch; there’s leaks in the legislative branch. There’s just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of.

Yes, we really should get tough on those in the executive branch who leak classified information, shouldn’t we?

It’s a big mystery why Americans are always on top of what’s going on in the world. Here’s what’s broadcasting on the “news” channels as I type (prime time):
MSNBC: EXCLUSIVE: Did Natalee buy drugs?
CNN: Inside the real world of polygamy
FOX: Investigating McKinney

Ouch:

“The most classic case of the Peter Principle I’ve ever seen in American politics,” Mr. [Charlie] Cook said, in an uncharacteristically brutal assessment. “In a business where eloquence and rhetoric is important, he is a man of no talent whatsoever.”

Are people starting to pile on as lame duckhood draws neigh?