I received the following report from the Mayor of Jackson, Tennessee office late yesterday afternoon in regards to damage to life and property. Please remember these are just quick assessments of the property damage.

"Beginning at 6:00 a.m. on the morning after the storm that hit Tuesday evening, the City of Jackson Building Department staff members set out to estimate the damage. Their assessment of the damage was completed by approximately 11:00 a.m.

The Building Department has determined that 578 structures were damaged:

10% damage to 392 structures;
25% damage to 95 structures;
50% damage to 28 structures; and
100% damage to 72 structures.

The county-wide residential monetary damage is estimated at $21.6 million with the commercial monetary damage estimated at $56 million. Please note, however, the commercial value will probably increase since the damage at Union University was estimated at only $22 million. These values were determined at structures with over 50% damage, so the actual values are somewhat deflated. We hope that these damage reports will warrant a FEMA declaration. Governor Bredesen will work with our Washington delegation to seek a declaration from the President.

There are 11 victims hospitalized - one critical, one guarded, two serious and seven in fair condition. Five are Union University students.

The City of Jackson Fire and Police Departments deployed full staff complements the night and day after the storm conducting search and rescue, protecting home owners, and extrication procedures at Union University. No accounts of looting activity took place.

The first night of the storm, 85 police officers were active. Police are allowing residents to enter the areas affected by the storm and then leave. To protect home owners, everyone entering these areas must show proof of residence.

Two fire fighters were injured. Also, two firefighters’ homes sustained damage and yet these two dedicated servants continued with storm recovery duties.

Dement Construction has already begun removing debris. I sent a press release encouraging people in the storm areas to move debris to the curb in order to speed up pick up. A burn site has been selected, and we hope to obtain approval by TDEC today.

The Red Cross shelter at Liberty Magnet School had over 100 stay overnight. The Civic Center was used as a temporary shelter. The shelter has now been closed since all have found more permanent shelter.

People who need assistance and those wishing to offer assistance should call 425-8362. The hotline is set up the EMA headquarters.

The street light at Channing Way should be repaired by this afternoon.

The Fire Department will set up barrier tapes in the potentially dangerous areas at Union University. Personnel will be removed once demolition begins to allow more room for equipment. Fire personnel will be on call when automobile removal begins in the event of gas leaks.

The City of Jackson Street Department is sending out five, two-men crews who will begin street clean-up. They will start on the boundary and work toward Union University."

I will be working the crews in clean up this morning so my report will be short.

I received this from a friend of mine and I couldn't watch it for more than 5 minutes without tears swelling in my eyes. I must have been much tougher when I was younger than I am now or maybe in living through the event it insulates you from damage. I know I considered it a job.  I felt that God walked me, helped me meet aggression with aggression, helped steady my hand when I needed it most. I know God gave me the strength to walk out of each mission alive. I didn't know that underneath it all I would be so changed.

Dear America, Letters Home from Vietnam.....

On January 31, House Commerce Committee Chairman, Charles Curtiss, and Senator Tim Burchett introduced SB 4021/HB 3959, which allows cable and video service providers to obtain a state cable and video franchise; creates a fifteen-member authority comprised of three state officials, 6 municipal officials and 6 county officials; and requires the authority to develop the terms, conditions and requirements of the state cable and video franchise.

ChristianBusinessDaily.com Endorses Ron Paul for President - Christian Business Daily has long stood for policy that is rooted in solid Biblical principles – sound stewardship of financial and other resources, rewards for fruitfulness and productivity, and environments that allow for enterprise to flourish without undue taxation or public theft masquerading as compassion. This is why our editorial team has chosen to support a presidential candidate in the Republican primaries, Ron Paul.

The reasons for our selection of Congressman Paul are numerous, but can be summarized by what we esteem in his personal character, ethics, integrity, consistent sound economic and monetary policy record, and his grasp of foundational concepts that promote the freedoms that were hard-won by the Founders and codified by the framers of the U.S. Constitution.

Goodbye to Mitt.... personally I was surprised..

Mitt Romney is made it official yesterday and ended his campaign for the Republican nomination for president. Romney won several caucus and primary states but failed to match John McCain and couldn't overcome the support Mike Huckabee developed in southern states.

Romney announced his plan to depart from the race in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. He said he would get out of the race to ensure the eventual nominee has an easier time pulling the GOP together behind his campaign in the face of a battle against pro-abortion Democrats Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. "If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I'd be making it easier for Senator Clinton or [Barack] Obama to win," Romney said. "If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country," he added.

"Mitt Romney's greatest shortcoming as a presidential candidate was his lack of passion. "I love data," he told The Wall Street Journal in November. "You may ask me questions about topics that I haven't studied in depth. I'll be happy to give you my assessment of what I think at this point. But before I would actually make a decision on a very important topic, I would really study it in depth."

Romney has been faulted for lacking "authenticity," but this is probably unfair. He is--authentically--a cool technocrat, a management consultant at heart. But a leader, as opposed to a manager, needs not just analytical skills but also intuition and emotion, not just information but also conviction. He needs to be able to consult his gut as well as the data when deciding how to proceed."

Romney, in the end, failed to inspire.

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