The Texana Review

The buck stops, where?

As I continue my study of the history of our founding fathers, Jefferson at the moment, I was stricken by a comment made as an Editor's note by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. in Joyce Appleby's offering on Thomas Jefferson, echoing a mantra I've been chanting for the better part of four years now...

"Truman's famous sign - 'The buck stops here' - tells only half the story. Citizens cannot escape the ultimate responsibility. It is in the voting booth, not on the presidential desk, that the buck finally stops."

 

© Copyright 2012 Edward Blackburn. All rights reserved.

Kinda discouraged...no, closer to dismayed

(Again, Facebook friends asked that I post this to the Texana Review, so here ‘tis)

Kinda discouraged...no, closer to dismayed.

Spent much of the day running errands here in San Angelo - grocery, hardware, recycle store, water bottle store, cleaners, cafe, etc.

Decided to continue my "highly scientific survey" at each merchant with the question:  "Are you going to Vote?"

I have to admit, my technique is a little lopsided since I tend to put the question more to young people than I do to the middle-aged or the elderly.

Why?

Well...in the short time I've been running this little experiment, I've noticed a troubling trend and am wanting to delve into it a bit further.

So...here's how it went:

At the grocery -  "Are you going to Vote?"

Gretchen - "No." "Why not?" "Doesn't make any difference." "How old are you?" "22"

Aaron - "No." "Why not?" "Obama is going to win anyway." "How old are you?" "24"

Samantha - "No." "Why not?" "I dunno; don't care." "How old are you?" "29"

Monica - "Don't know...when are we supposed to vote?"  "November."  "Oh...I'll think about it."  "How old are you?"  "27"

Renaldo - "Yes." "Good! How old are you?" "29; wait... don't you want to know who I'm gonna vote for?" "No, not today."

John - "No." "Why not?" "I haven't voted in years."  "Why not?"  "My vote makes no difference."  "How old are you?"  "42"

At the hardware store -  "Are you going to Vote?"

Bruce - "No." "why not?"  "Doesn't make any difference."  "How old are you?"  "22"

Perry (who stood next to Bruce) - "No." "Why not?"  "Like he said (nodding at Bruce), it doesn't make any difference."  "How old are you?"  "27"

Tish - "Probably not."  "Why not?"  "I haven't voted since the 60s."  "May I ask how old you are?"  "Sure, I'm 65"

John & Dedra - "You betcha!"  "Good, how old are you?"  "I'm 55 and Dedra here is 54. Wait...don't you want to know WHO we're gonna vote for?"  "I think I know already."

Latisha - "No."  "Why not?" "Dunno really; doesn't make any difference."  "How old are you?"  "23"

At the cleaners -  "Are you going to Vote?"

Maria (the clerk) - "No."  "Why not?"  "Both candidates suck!"  "How old are you?"  "29"

Un-named customer (now this was a piece of work) - "NO! a**hole! Who are you anyway...some kinda far-right, snaggle-tooth idiot that watches FOX News all day long!"  "No...but maybe.  I'm a writer and I ask questions."  "Well, you mother-f***ing, right-wing, a**wipe, Nazi writer, who gives a sh** about voting...don't make any difference anyway!"  "Really? Are you armed?" (I slipped my hand into my pant's pocket) I glanced at Maria who, in spite of being a dark complected Hispanic, was fully flushed in her face.  "F**k you!" he said, and headed for the glass doors. "Oh, by the way, are you always so articulate? And how old are you?"  "I'm 19, motherf***er...f*** off!"

(Maria and I chatted for a few moments before I headed to the cafe for lunch)

At the cafe -  "Are you going to Vote?"

Jessica - "No."  "Why not?" "My vote doesn't make any difference."  "How old are you?"  "25"

Cafe manager - "No." "Why not?" "Dunno." "How old are you?" "35"

Waitress - "Yes." "Good! How old are you?" "22"

At the general store -  "Are you going to Vote?"

Clerk (oldish, slight gray at the temples) - "No. Who's running anyway?" (he winked at me...he had lied)

"Why not?" I asked. "Not much to choose from, is there?" (first intelligent response I'd gotten all day, and a true comment it was)

"Your're not going to vote?" I asked again.

"No...maybe...perhaps...who's asking?"

"Me," I said.

"And so, who might you be?"

"A writer of sorts."

"Ahh... and a curious one at that, huh?"

"Yes...wait a minute...I was asking the questions."

"Never mind...that'll be $19.95, Edward, with tax."

"You know my name?" (astonished)

"Yes."

"And yours?" I asked.

"John",” he said...and extended his hand.  “John Galt. Pleased to know you."

 

© Copyright 2012 Edward Blackburn. All rights reserved.

Wildcat wildfire visits Butterfield Canyon Ranch, Coke County, Texas - April 2011

In a previous post, I reported on the Wildcat Fire and included photos and a short video of the devastation the fire caused. Here, I've finally compiled some video I took of the event from April 14 and April 15 showing what I saw while the fire raged and firefighters did what they could to contain the conflagration.

On April 14, 2011, the infamous Wildcat wildfire roared into Coke County, Texas from the north and northwest and then into Tom Green County threatening the City of San Angelo. Then, the next day, winds shifted and blew the fire back from the south. Winds gusted 30-40 mph.

The Butterfield Canyon Ranch, belonging to my family, was in the middle of it all.

Here are some scenes I caught on video.

And many thanks to the Texas Forest Service firefighters and all other volunteer firefighters who fought this devastating wildfire.

 

 

The Wildcat wildfire burned for weeks and destroyed an estimated 159,000+ acres.

 

(Music by Rob Costlow)

After The Wildcat Fire in Coke County, Texas

As many of you know, my family owns some west Texas property near the town of Robert Lee, Texas.  Last week, a wildfire started on 66 acres northwest of the property as a result of a lightning strike during a whiff of a thunderstorm.  The Texas Forest Service and local firefighters thought they had the fire contained.  Unfortunately, they didn’t.

Thursday night, April 14, strong northwest winds whipped the wildfire and, given the extreme drought conditions the state has endured for many, many months, it bolted southeastward toward us and our neighbors.

This is butte and mesa territory which makes fighting a wildfire like this one near impossible and very dangerous.

Firefighters from as far as California showed up to to help local firefighters fight the burgeoning blaze through Thursday night and Friday morning when the wind suddenly dropped to a lazy breeze.

However, the wildfire overtook the family property and the properties of surrounding neighbors burning everything in its path and spreading to tens of thousands of acres.

Firefighters barely had time to catch their breath when winds shifted to the south and southwest turning the wildfire (now dubbed The Wildcat Fire by the Texas Forest Service) back on itself.  Winds gusted to 40 miles-per-hour and The Wildcat Fire came back to burn all that that it hadn’t burned before.

The family property got it twice, as did our neighbors.

Last report was that The Wildcat Fire was moving northeasterly and had consumed upwards of 130,000 acres.

Here are a couple of links to some amateur photos and video of The Wildcat Fire damage to my family property.

Photos –> HERE

Short video –> HERE

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,Texas,fire,wildfire,Wildcat Fire

Remembrance Day 2009

Here's a small tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that you and I can enjoy a Memorial Day holiday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A tea party in San Angelo, Texas...

I've been curious about the divisiveness that this nation has been experiencing since the election last year.

A divisiveness, I have observed, that began during the previous Administration.

On April 15th last week, people organized "tea parties" across the nation to express their concern over the direction the new Administration is taking on spending, taxation and a slew of other issues. 

I live in San Angelo, Texas.

We had a "tea party" here.

Attendees seemed to be divided along the two traditional party lines - Republican and Democrat (although there was at least one avowed Libertarian in the group).

I took some pictures of the gathering.

Here they are.

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,tea party,taxes

Wildcatting for Wind - Part Two of Four

Here's Part Two of Wildcatting for Wind, sponsored by Texana Talk and Higginbotham Brothers.

Watch ...

Seven minutes, thirty-five seconds

in Quicktime...

(two minutes-ish to start streaming)

in Windows Media Player...

(30 seconds-ish to start streaming)

 

Excerpt taken from:

“Wildcatting for Wind: The Texas Experience from Turbine to Market”
Produced by The University of Texas School of Law
Full DVD can be purchased at www.utcle.org

 

next years’ conference: 

2010 Wind Energy Institute
February 2-4, 2010
Austin Convention Center

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Ed Blackburn,Texas,alternative energy,Wind energy,wind power

 

Wind Energy's Impact on Land Value: an interview with Jim Blackburn

Jim Blackburn is an environmental lawyer who lives in the Houston area.

Deep down, he has a dedication and commitment to the environment that started at an early age.

Educationally, he started out in History, taking a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas in that subject.

He then followed up with a law degree from the same institution and then a Masters of Science in Environmental Science from Rice University, where he is now a professor and lecturer in Environmental Law.

He’s the recipient of a goodly number of awards and recognition for his work as an environmental advocate, and when I asked him to participate in this series, he said:

"I’m just an environmental lawyer!"

I replied, "Yes, that’s true but your opinion matters to my listeners on this subject."

Listen...

17 minutes

Music by Torchmatic under Creative Commons License Podshow Podsafe Music Network

 

Sponsored by

and

 

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,Texas,Wind Energy,Ed Blackburn,Rural Texas,Rural Living,Alternative Energy

Will Howard: becoming a less well-kept secret on Texana

Will Howard is the former overseer of the Texas Room at the Houston Public Library.

Beside being a librarian, he's also a preacher and a teacher, but mostly he's a Texas bibliographer, of immense proportion.

These days, he produces Will’s Texana Monthly, an email newsletter meticulously cataloged and jam-packed with Texana, and the Texas Parlor, a weblog about various persons, books, weblogs, events and media of all sorts and anything else that smacks of Texas.

Not only has he a voice of rich timbre and resonance, he also has a deep passion and reverence for things of Texas.

If you don’t know about his work yet, listen to our chat and learn what you’ve been missing.

 

Listen...
20:00 minutes
Music by Ken Tucker & James Swafford under Creative Commons License
Subscribe to Will's Texana Monthly -> HERE

T. Boone Pickens is back ...and he has a Plan

T. Boone Pickens is a smart entrepreneur.

Beyond that, he's one smart cookie, and he doesn't shy away from controversy

He says he has an energy plan for America; a plan with heavy emphasis on wind energy.

And he's started a very aggressive media campaign.  What he has to say makes a lot of sense.

Watch what he has to say in this segment...

4:49 minutes

Watch...

(depending on your computer equipment and Internet connection, this video may load more or less rapidly, but it will load)

 

For more video podcast entries (they're three prior ones), visit PickensPlan, Boone's Video Blog

 

Technorati Tags: Texana Review,TexanaTV,Ed Blackburn,T. Boone Pickens,energy,alternative energy,wind energy