Infinite Monkeys ask about whether the blackouts took out the Northern Alliance. In a word, no. Given it's 90 and very humid here (because the university is saving money by turning everything off on Fridays, the manuscript I'm reading is curled this morning), we are very grateful. On a discussion list I read a purported quote of Jacques Ellul, "Show me how electrical power is distributed in a society, and I'll show you how political power is distributed." (I'll note that the letter-writer could not find the source of the quote, and Google made no offering.) Does this mean political power in the US is held by Ohio?