A brief history of eminent domain

"Texas has a higher level of concern because roots to the land are deeper... You're entering the land of the unhappy people."
A King's Divine Right

A brief history of eminent domain

10/14/04

By Michael Cary
San Antonio Current
Copyright 2004

Domingo Castelo had served five years in the Presidio of San Luis de Las Amarillas by June 21, 1762. He sent a letter to the governor and captain general of the Province of Texas and the New Philippines, continuing to plead for a "single lot on which to earn my living," in the City of San Fernando.

Governor Angel De Martos y Navarrete granted a lot 80 varas square in the vicinity of San Pedro Creek, near his mother in law's property. "He must plant trees and vegetables and occupy the land within the fixed period, with the understanding that if he does not comply," the governor wrote, "the land will be declared unoccupied and uncultivated and may be granted to any other deserving person who may present a petition for it."

This was colonial Spain's version of eminent domain. The school of thought was that God gave the right of eminent domain to the king, and the king gave it to the viceroy, who gave it to the Spanish governor, who parceled it out to settlers. Yet, the king always had the right to reclaim his land for the public good.

Castelo was dead by 1770, and the property was reallocated to a succession of settlers. But Castelo's wife, María Ejeciaca Rodriguez petitioned to reclaim the land, and in 1778, Alcalde Phelix Menchaca restored her title after determining that she had made improvements with a fence and a water conduit for irrigation on the property.

María won her case in a time when rebellious British colonists had yet to pen the U.S. Constitution, and include the last line in the Fifth Amendment which reads: "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

Note two key words, "public use" and "just compensation."

"Eminent domain is the exclusive right of the state, county and the city to exercise discretion in taking private property," says Suzette Berry, a senior analyst in the Bexar County Clerk's office, which oversees the collection and storage of public records. "But it has to be for a HemisFair or to build expressways, with a purpose to serve all of the citizens."

The first eminent domain case on record in the courthouse (from the Republic of Texas era) was dated June 11, 1885, and pitted the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway Co. against property owner George Witte. The railroad had its heart set on a 600-foot wide swath of land between the San Antonio River and Probandt Street for a railroad right of way. The railroad won the first of a series of cases, and Witte was paid $125 for his property.

"Eminent domain removes your right to property, and the rights to water and minerals under that property - you can kiss that oil well goodbye, too," says Berry.

Jump ahead to November 1964, when the Texas Attorney General conducted a seminar for attorneys who had worked, or were about to work, on eminent domain cases. "While the concept of eminent domain stretches back in time to almost the beginning of law ... the development of this area of law, as we know it today, has taken place almost entirely within the past 15 years," explained Assistant Attorney General Hawthorne Phillips.

The Texas Highway Department had only three attorneys working condemnation cases in 1958, but by 1964, there were 30 attorneys involved with condemnations for interstate highway rights of way.

San Antonio residents were getting a taste of it from the north, south, and downtown. Families were displaced in the 1960s to make way for HemisFair and the convention center, as urban renewal programs opted to demolish neighborhoods instead of rebuilding them.

And the highways were indeed coming. City Council in August 1963 approved a "schematic" for the North Expressway, known today as Highway 281 and Interstate 37. The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word didn't have to consult an oracle to see what would happen to them. The highway plan published in local newspapers showed the project's first route would cut through the Incarnate Word High School Campus.

The sisters hired attorney Pat Maloney and filed suit. The state attorney general's office was prepared to use taxpayer money to condemn the property. Other lawsuits followed, and the newspapers reported that City Hall had hinted at following a strategy to get a court to "stop legal bushwhacking of the freeway program." Maloney promised "a decade of court action."

But Incarnate Word was not only concerned about the taking of property. There was the integrity of Olmos Dam, the San Antonio Zoo, the Japanese/Chinese Sunken Gardens and the theater. The Conservation Society, led by Wanda Ford, sued to protect Brackenridge Park. Ford faced the prospect of losing her home to the project.

It was the first time the nation would build a highway through a school campus. Another irksome fact was that an alternate route would have followed Devine Road through the "walled city" of Olmos Park, but political pressure convinced the state to avoid building a highway through a municipality that did not want a highway. "A nun and a college administrator have to stand up here today to defend themselves against bricks, mortar and asphalt taking precedence over an educational institution which has given outstanding service to the city for some 100 years," said Sister Thomas Greenberg, president of Incarnate Word.

The nuns settled with the City for $972,000, and a walkway over the highway that twists and turns wildly on its route from Corpus Christi to Wichita Falls. Legal strategy and political clout delayed its opening until 1978. Ultimately, the City has benefited from the highway project, says former mayor Howard Peak IV, whose father had joined a lawsuit as an individual in the 1960s against building the expressway. "The net result was a roadway realigned to minimize the taking of the park, and so while it was long and involved, and expensive, some good did come out of it," says Peak. "In the end, the City would be in a bit of a mess if we didn't have the freeway."

Although eminent domain is used throughout the U.S., in Texas the stakes are higher, says County Clerk Gerry Rickhoff. "Texas has a higher level of concern because roots to the land are deeper. Land is 98 percent privately owned. You're entering the land of the unhappy people."

Just ask Elizabeth Small, whose grandfather was Edward Patrick Walsh. The Walsh Ranch along the Medina River had been in the family since the Spanish granted the land to them in 1794. Then in the late 1980s, the City decided it wanted a large piece of Walsh property to build a giant mosquito bog, the Applewhite Reservoir. Edward Walsh encountered then-mayor Henry Cisneros in an elevator in a local hospital and was told, "We're gonna get your ranch."

Small contends that the Walsh Ranch was chosen for political reasons. She says the City left the nearby Strauss Ranch alone, since that family carries more political clout. And today, the Walsh Ranch is under construction as Toyota Acres.

"In 1991, the condemnation was very rough on the family," says Small, who grew up on the ranch. "We were told the only thing the land was good for was for tire recycling or trailer parks. Then suddenly it was too valuable to sell back to us, and they were using taxes to condemn our property." "They weren't too sensitive to the family," says Rickhoff, referring to the City's tactic in the Applewhite episode.

The Small family has located another ranch farther south, near Pleasanton, and Elizabeth has graduated from UTSA with a degree in marketing and is moving on with her life, although it still hurts to think about losing 5,000 acres and a family homestead. "It's hard to drive by there, very hard. It was a unique place."

There were 67 condemnation cases before two probate courts in Bexar County in 2002. There were 35 in 2003, and 39 so far in 2004. Various public entities, including the City, the State, school districts, and even Canyon Regional Water Authority, have filed the cases, and the public rarely gets a glimpse of them. On the City side, condemnation proceedings are listed under the "Consent" portion of the City Council Agenda, and rarely get a mention in public.

But the results can be seen everywhere, in drainage or utility easements, or property taken for a road project. There is one substantial example on the City's North Side, along Babcock Road, between De Zavala and Hausman roads. The City condemned property owned by the Bertetti Family Trust, paid more than $600,000 for the property, and built a new bridge over Leon Creek.

Owning a piece of property and a home has for decades been the American Dream, but if the Kingdom of Government wants its property back, there's nothing to do but jump out of the way of the legal bulldozer known as eminent domain.

Toll roads dead?

There was a room full of angry cattle ranchers in the room when the Texas highway department rolled out its Trans Texas Corridor, which showed routes across their property lines in Wilson County. I know because I squeezed among them to look at the highway plans.
Texas already has lots of great farm to market roads that are well paved and can get the motorist to just about anywhere in the state, so I really didn't agree with the need to widen every rural highway to 16 lanes in each direction.
Of course there are plenty of other reasons I will not be voting in the "red" column in the November 2010 election.

Life in Coastal Bend

My ancestors did not observe property lines. Maps and other man made delineations of the planet for the purposes of marking territory have resulted in senseless wars, starvation, human slavery, etcetera. Will the rising ocean waters create a new world order, where there are not any more "no trespassing signs?

What I'm Certain of--I think??!!??

Taxes, death; change.
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As a 62 + year-old skeptic and agnostic, and as a biologist/ecologist who was (somewhat) educated in the sciences and scientific method, ecological principles and processes--I recognize the uncertainty of dynamic earth systems. I am humbled by virtue of my/our ignorance, by the virtues of ignorance www.landinstitute.org/pages/Virtues-of-Ignorance-Order-Form.pdf , and my/our extremely limited capacity to learn. ... I know that I/we know so very little when consideration is given to what there is to know--and to the complex and fluid processes of the earth/the universe.

Therefore I strongly believe a tenet for resilience and sustainability for sociological/ecological systems is that of possessing caution and tentativeness--and the necessity of adherence to the precautionary principle www.sehn.org/precaution.html .

For these (and other) reasons I strongly believe:

• Might doesn't make right. ... And there should be mechanisms to reduce individual and collective "power and might" and to move toward a more equitable situation.
• Power should be diffused to the point that we all realize our right to sustainable livelihoods, good nutrition and exercise, and preventative and curative health care.
• Salary/income caps need to be implemented.
• War is never the answer!
• "Killing to fix" is (generally) not the answer. Give the system (body, community, agricultural system, ecosystem, country, world) a chance to "Naturally" heal. ... Don't play God.
• Unilateral disarmament is needed--and right now!
• Capital punishment is wrong.
• Rampant artificial change though capitalism, consumerism, industrialism, informationism (or any other "ism") should be strongly/tightly regulated.
• Economic growth, consumption by humans and population growth must be controlled.
• Monotheistic (Catholic, Protestant Christian, Muslim, Jewish) God's Will is very dangerous.
• Small, decentralized, participatory systems are beautiful. www.ecobooks.com/books/smbeaut.htm

Theater celebrates Banned Books Week

RIALTO THEATER, ARANSAS PASS, TX
Performances Friday and Saturday, October 2-3, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.; Tickets: $12.00
The words of Mark Twain, Harper Lee, John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, Judy Blume- all great and inspirational American literature- ALL BANNED at some point in American history. In this Readers Theater, a small cast of actors will revive some of the most memorable moments in literature. From the great American novel to Where's Waldo?, audiences will find that no work is immune to censorship on some social, political, and/or religious level. As tribute to Banned Book Week and in celebration of our democratic freedom to read, this performance was organized by Jerry Halpin.

This special performance runs Friday and Saturday, October 2-3 at 7:30 p.m.; tickets are $12.00. Rialto Theater, 327 S. Commercial Street, Aransas Pass. For more information, call 361-758-0383.

Find Winston here

Have moved to the Coastal Bend, New Philippines. See updated into about Winston at above web site.

Ecological Economics: Beyond the Growth Paradigm/or Beyond the Mindless Conversion of Nature/the Land to "Artificial"

Ethically practicing applied biology involves respect and protection of other peoples/cultures, species, topsoil, water, the atmosphere ... which are essential for quality life.


Neoclassical economics and conventional business systems involve consumption, resource extraction and pollution as if: other peoples/cultures aren't important, "topsoil doesn't exist", and quality water and air can endlessly be available for their fallacious economic engines. These systems, including myopic religious "fundamentalists" and addicted frivilous consumers, involve a pervasive ignoring of the need to realize and maintain low input/throughput/output energy flux in order to realize sustainable quality life throughout the earth ecosystems.

The latest issue of Adbusters magazine, Thought Control in Economics, does an excellent job of succinctly but thoroughly making these and related points. https://www.adbusters.org/magazine/85

Natural Spirituality

Creation is the Creator!

Global Climate Change, Etc.

I support:

carbon taxing (including taxing gasoline/other fossil fuels to rapidly get them to $8++/gallon);

conservation, efficiency; ecological economics/pricing schemes to reduce electrical usage;

policy/practices to increase Natural stable soil organic matter (increase the fixing of carbon/carbon dioxide into living organisms/complex organic compounds);

policy/practices to increase the Natural health of worldwide bays, estuaries,and other rich biotic areas of the ocean (and hopefully to increase fixing carbon/carbon dioxide into calcium carbonate and related compounds);

biodiversity;

small (homes, work places, farms, ...) and slow (buses, trains, ...);

weaning ourselves from conventional hot water heaters, clothes dryers, air-conditioning, lighting;

Nature, rural and small towns vs. urban/suburban;

policy-programs to move toward more walking/bicycling/mass transport and ridding the world of automobiles;

moving to an ecologically-sound steady-state economy; an anti-stimulus package; much of what is in the Green Party platform;

policies/actions that redistribute wealth/power toward the poor/powerless of the world;

policies for retrofitting the homes of the poor toward efficiency and conservation of energy;

small local neighborhood/rural schools that develop local and global ecological literacy in a holistic/transdisciplinary; hands-on fashion;

policies/programs for local food/fiber/shelter production/processing;

universal health care;

not dwelling on how much better others are than we are (because we are truly "the same");

a diversity of robust scientific endeavors/policy approaches that attempt to deal with the complexity of what we need to know for good socio-political/economic (ecological) decisions (because we know so little);

scientific research results, policy proposals, opinions that are written succinctly and well, and that are published in referred journals;

local community action, collaboration and "stick-to-itness";

critical thinking that is holistically based on ecological principles/processes;

my spouse, my kids, my extended family, many cultural traditions/customs, sense of place and community, Natural spirituality;

prudence;

caution and tentativeness;

humility.

kilocalories = Calories (w/ a capital "C"): Response to a Brother

"Kilocalorie" is the "Calorie-term" (big "C") the public generally uses when dealing with measurements of energy.
(We can convert kilocalories to joules--used by physicists and other scientists; or to BTUs--used in the energy industry, etc. ... However, I believe most folk can most easily think in "Calories".)

o We need ca. 2000 kilocalories (or Calories) of food intake per day for body maintenance depending on weight, activities, metabolism/metabolic rate, etc..

Folk who make <$2 per day make it on 1500-5000-10,000 Kilocalories per day*.

We in the U.S. (and in many other parts of the "developed" world--or the Haves in "less developed") make it on 200,000 to 400,000+ kilocalories per day*. [We need to bring the 3 billion or so folk making it on 10,000 kilocalories up to 10-50,000 kilocalories per capita per day (for "quality life")--and we need to come down to that (or risk serious species destruction).] ...
One can do a little playing round with the numbers--and do a little thought-experimenting and modeling-- and see that if we did that, we'd solve many of our problems: energy "needs", energy-greed impacts on other species, etc.
Of course the daunting challenge is: coming up with the socio-political/economic system redesign to make this happen--and making a smooth transition to truly sustainable community. It is obvious that a free-enterprise, libertarian, capitalistic, trickle-down/deregulated economic system will not get us there!

o There is quite a bit of carpooling in this south central Texas region (though not percent-wise)--and plenty of websites dealing with car-pooling. (In the 80s/90s I "carpooled" to Austin from San Marcos in a van.) ... But this is a "band aid" approach.


o Increased efficient use of home insulation (and other means of effectively maintaining a comfortable home in a sustainable way) is needed--and penalty/incentive strategies/tactics should be employed to increase cost-effective, ecologically-sound home insulation. (A major energy "leakage" is in rent & owned homes of the poor--and some in the environmental community in San Antonio, and other communities, are attempting to address this in a comprehensive and long-term way).


Communication in a face-paced chaotic world of ca. 7 billion humans is really difficult!**
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*[Of course this includes all our food, fiber, shelter, transport, recreation, luxury, ... "needs".]

**What is written herein includes basic vocabulary and concepts of fundamentals of biology/ecology that every citizen should develop--through public schooling, continuing education from public institutions, public service announcements communication/shortcourses, etc. and reading--in order to develop and realize critical thinking skills.

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What a Real Maverick, Maury Jr., Called Succotash

Communication Toward Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology. If we can view local community from the inside and from the outside in a holistic way, it helps in doing what’s "right" and making constructive change toward quality life for all for a long period of time. … And there are many ways (knowledgeable, courageous leadership; grassroots community organizing; good investigative journalism; petitions; op-eds/letters to editors; etc.; etc.) to effect such appropriate change, i.e., change to:

o Respect the need for scientific knowledge of ecological principles and processes, which includes socio-economic/political actions of what is now the dominant species (humans).
o Target the poor with power and resources.
o Curb consumption and increase ethical transformation of energy. (This must include fewer automobiles, low square-footage of home space and built capital per capita, local production of food, fiber and shelter, small neighborhood and rural schools promoting “Lands On” ecological literacy, and local community-directed preventative-health care and healthy living.)
o Give the nations of the world—and people of the world—the courage and means to lay down all arms and armaments.
o Establish holistic, dynamic and sustainable decision-making processes in manageable wholes, and involving goals (of desired quality life, landscape, and needed production), policies, strategic and tactical plans, monitoring, analysis, evaluation and replanning.
o Redesign our current socio-economic, political systems in a holistic way toward sustainability.

Efforts to Turn Around Global Climate Change and Other Ecological Disasters Must Lead to Sustainable Livelihoods for All. Those who worry about losing jobs because of concerted efforts to deal with global climate change have reason for concern if they plan to continue doing “business as usual”.

o Consumption and lack of conservation, growth, rampant conversion of natural capital to human financial and built capital, use of GDP as a measure of sustainability and quality life are major aspects of “the problem”, and we who have undue power need to come off of our consumption levels of up to 400, 000 kilocalories per capita per day, and help billions of others to increase their levels from a few thousand kilocalories per day to 5-10 times those current levels.
o Present ways of “living” involving conventional consumerism and capitalism are very problematic. … We need to move from such systems of bio-destructive livelihoods toward sustainable livelihoods www.livelihoods.org/ .
o We must begin to make the transition from our currently very broken systems dependent on economic growth to systems involving ecological economics proposed by Herman Daly, H.T.Odum, David Pimentel, Robert Costanza, Gus Speth, et al.

Learning About “Ecological Economics”, “Sustainable Livelihoods”, “Conservation and Development of Sustainable Community”, and “Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology”. There is much really good educational scientific information on conservation and sustainable community coming out, and I hope we all will become more knowledgeable in these areas and truly begin to work together for PEACE. (I’ll try to list some of the really great books, scientific journal and magazine articles, film, pieces “on-line” and in newsletters, etc. that have come out recently.

But in the meantime, … “Google on!”)

Doing What’s Right in Seguin (and Other Communities). I do hope our community leaders (Mayor & City Council--and associated governmental entities, County Commissioners Court, School Board, etc.) will have the courage to do what is right, and-- through creative and critical thinking and courageous/prudent risk-taking--

o Move us toward a system of small neighborhood & rural schools providing holistic ecological literacy.
o Promote local agricultural food (fiber and shelter) production, community gardens, farmers markets, etc.
o Encourage conservation and develop creative curbside trash and recycling pickups that are fair for the poor, and involve sliding-scale fees--that encourage a reduction of disposables and decrease in consumption.
o Facilitate a transition to intra- and inter-city transport/people-moving systems involving walking, bicycling, and mass transport.
o Curb growth and protect and enhance green space and biodiversity.
o Develop a healthy, relatively drug-free community of citizens among all ethnicities and economic levels.

We (Seguin/Seguinities) could be a model for President Barack Obama, other communities, and the world, rather than always cautiously following in the footsteps of others—oftentimes not thinking about whether the direction is “right” or wrong.

Gadfly, Thorn in the Side, Pain in the Butt, Fly in the Oinment, Quixotic

(The title indicates some of the nicer things I've been called through the years.)

o If the poor in a community aren't using "Green" technologies, projects, and programs, and these poor aren't being "Green", then these technologies, projects, and programs aren't Green. ...

Moreover, the community isn't Green (or sustainable)!

o If the poor of the world aren't significantly benefiting in a healthy way from "Green" technologies and programs, etc.--and "Green" technologies, etc., etc. aren't helping the poor to move toward quality life, sustainable livelihoods, equity and equality, then "Green" really ain't Green! ...

And it definitely isn't sustainable.

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o Sustainable systems involve deliberate, empowering human labor (sustainable livelihoods involving less than a 40-hour week of labor, good health care with an emphasis on prevention, and time for community and celebration), low-input technologies, and ethical use of energy.

Systems involving high input technologies, including most internal combustion engines, and emphasis on pseudo-efficiency and speed, are not healthy, Green or sustainable.

HOPE expressed in the Nov 2008 Dr. Bill Martin TX MONTHLY article on the COVENANT CHURCH

I really appreciated a number of my cousin Bill Martin's phrases in this Texas Monthly article (Covenant Church, Faith Base: Reviews of Place of Worship, Nov. 2008) he sent me in response to some of my comments in my previous post:

"I am also an amateur worshipper with a 'church home' of my own, one that I attend simply for the love of it."

"Fittingly a metal cross that sits atop the communion table usually tilts slightly to the left."

"'Pray to whomever you kneel down to' ... (Jesus, Buddha, Adonai, Allah, and Mary, ... ) ... ."

"The unison prayer of confession recalled Jesus' observations in the Sermon on the Mount about humility, meekness, hunger, purity of heart, peacemaking, and persecution, contrasting them with arrogance, false independence, gluttony, aggression, half-hearted commitment, and failure to take a stand."

"Jeremy [the Covenant Church's current minister] compared [controversial Jesuit priest Daniel] Berrigan's actions to those of the priest and prophet Jeremiah, who had mocked the illusionary idols of Israel. He depicted American military might as just such a false god, unable to deliver the security it promises. Though he conceded that reasonable spending on defense is warranted, he said that when the outlay for tanks and missiles requires the neglect of hunger, health care, and the education of children [of the world], we have laid our money at the wrong altar."

"... congregants gathered to visit, drink fair-trade coffee, eat healthy snacks, and sign up for various projects, such as marching in the gay pride parade to support our gay and lesbian members. At another table people wrote letters to their representatives in Congress ... ."

Hypocrisy

This was in an email sent from a brother today:

"It is sad that Israel is bombing Gaza City. It is sad that the children were killed in the last Afghan bombing.

You know I went to church ... yesterday, and the preacher never mentioned the plight that so many areas and people of the world are in today.

It is so sad that such a venue is not used to solve the problems of the world. Never once did he say - 'Wow, can you believe the problems global warming is causing.' ... 'We need to lobby for alternate means of transportation so we can all sell our gas guzzling cars.' Or, 'Can you believe what happened in Gaza City? We need to unite and work to put an end to such action.' He didn't even say - 'Wow, can you believe the killing going on in the Gaza Strip and Afghanistan? Let's take a moment and pray for those people.'"


I responded to my dear brother (somewhat indirectly and off-topic):

"A wonderful friend from Brazil, was giving me hell during this trip over Christmas to Rio--for being a hypocrite:

Despite my being an agnostic from about my Junior High School days-- I have gone to Mass fairly regularly/irregularly through the years, have been a Parish Council President (Father Rayner Dray in Tifton asked me to run for this office during a church-building period, despite his knowledge of my "agnosticism") and I taught Middle School CCD ("conservation and development of sustainable community") here at at Our Lady of Guadalupe for 15+ years, etc., etc.. (I am a "Catholic"; it is a part of my software--since Mom, with Dad's support, saw to it that we were produced in that cultural tradition; and I feel comfortable participating as a "sinner" and "lost soul" in my church ... at our local Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, and in the larger sense of "Church".)

I do recognize that I can be/am very hypocritical--but I also recognize the hypocrisy of others ('Christians' who support War and Capital Punishment; 'environmentalists'/'Greenies' with big homes and automobiles--and conventional-air-conditioning; 'conservatives' who don't really support conservation; folk who de facto don't seek real solutions to poverty, problems in our educational systems, and the serious troubles we've been in since the advent of capitalism and the industrial revolution; those who 'Hope/hope' only through prayer and not through scientific knowledge, critical/creative thinking and action; etc.; etc..

I do think it is important to discuss this hypocrisy ... ours and that of others!"

Cuba

[This is something from several years ago which Robert Cruz--a friend since childhood--asked me to send him ... after discussion of a multitude of things during a long phone visit yesterday. It is summary of a 20-page report and related thoughts, which I might post herein later (after a bit of editing).]

¿Es Cuba?* ¿¿O …, Es el Mundo?

(Pavel Martinka’s draft of an essay written after his "recent" 2006 visit to Cuba: Stories for his children and theirs—and for others who might significantly help to change the world in which they live)

Major Impressions

A Model for Realizing Sustainable Community?? Cubans are living a very low input life-style that is peaceful and relatively crime free, and that has a great foundation of holistic education and adequate health care for all--and that is developing urban and organic agriculture. It is of course highly significant that their premier politician has gained the honor and respect through the Revolution of most of the Cuban population, and he does govern as a dictator and the system is totalitarian http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=424 . Therefore, there are well-enforced limits to consumption, movement and development by humans. As I listened to my primary host (Dr. Rafael Ojeda) in Cuba in June of 2006, walked the streets of La Habana, watched the Cuban television channels, and participated in the meeting on Desarrollo Local, I could not help but think that this is perhaps a type of system much of the world may have to utilize to curb consumption, population growth, and anarchy in order to achieve maximum protection of our essential natural resource base and relative equity and justice for all, i.e. what might be called Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology (PEACE).

Respect for Fidel and the Revolution. Cubans-- … like Brazilians, Mexicans, Nicaraguans, Poles, Ukrainians, and US citizens, ... --are beautiful and imperfect people using a functional but imperfect socio-political/economic (ecological) system in an attempt to achieve quality life. A huge majority of those over fifty who were the have-nots during the Fulgencio Batista years and previous years of U.S. colonization (the have-nots were by far the majority) have a tremendous respect and loyalty to Fidel for all his wonderful efforts. Younger Cubans may have respect for and loyalty to Fidel, but are more likely to overtly complain, to want considerably more, and even to attempt to flee Cuba. (For instance, I recently had a young Cuban student, Lisette, in my biology class who is probably in her early 20s. She credibly painted a very dark and deprived picture of her starving childhood in Cuba.)

What Right Does the U.S. Have to Decide for and Punish Others?!! It really is a
“ mortal sin” (or part of our/U.S. children’s “original sin”) to exert power over nations with economic/trade sanctions, embargos ,http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2001/cr072601.htm , attempted assassinations and invasions, and trumped up-charges against alleged terrorists http://www.freethefive.org/ --all of which stifle charitable assistance and serve to “ostracize” the government and people of Cuba—truly creating a tremendous hurt to the flesh and stomachs--and hearts and souls--of millions of innocent people. We should work hard at lifting economic sanctions against Cuba and at serving up justice to all the Cuban people, including the Cuban Five.

What We Might Do That Would Be Positive for Both Cuba and the U.S.? We could learn from Cuba a considerable amount about education, health care, organic and urban agriculture, living a low-input, energy-conserving lifestyle, and dealing with crime and terrorism. And since they are a nation with a biocapacity – ecological footprint deficit, they could certain benefit from some of the 33% of the world’s resources we (the U.S.) exploit and utilize (greedily--as 5% of the world’s population).

LBJ

LBJ said "The only thing worth being is a teacher, a preacher, or a politician!"

We are all ... all of these.

I would hope that we do them ethically and well (which I suppose is redundant).

Ipanema

We're off to Rio, and will be a couple blocks from Ipanema Beach.

I'll try hard not to stare at "the girl":

"Olha que coisa mais linda
mais cheia de graça
É ela menina que vem
e que passa nun doce balanço,
caminho do mar...
Moça do corpo dourado,
do sol de Ipanema
O seu balançado é mais que un poema
é a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar...Ah!
Porque estou tão sozinho Ah!
Porque tudo é tão triste Ah!
A beleza que existe
A beleza que não é só minha
que também passa sozinha Ah!
Se ela soubesse que quando ela passao
mundo sorrindo
se enche de graçae fica mais lindo
por causa do amor
por causa do amor
por causa do amor ... ." http://sprezzatura.editthispage.com/garota

"Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah
When she walks, she's like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes goes - ooh(ooh)
but I watch her so sadly
How can I tell her I love her
Yes I would give my heart gladly
But each day, when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead, not at me
Tall, (and) tan, (and) young, (and) lovely
The girl from ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, I smile -
but she doesn't see (doesn't see)
(she just doesn't see, she never sees me, ...)." www.lyricsfreak.com/f/frank+sinatra/girl+from+ipanema_20055905.html

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2008 was one of my best years.

Wonder what 2009 will bring?

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HAVE A GOOD CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

Have some great days these last two plus weeks of December 2008

I'd like to wish Winston and Woodlandpixie et al. some fantastic last days for the wonderful year of 2008!

Thanks for the invite in this year of 2008--to contribute to BBC. [I'll try and spend some time doing a bit of writing tomorrow; however, we will be traveling to the other Rio (de Janeiro! ... We do also spend quite a bit of time in my wife's old homeplace, Rio Medina.) next week, and stay for 10 days. Therefore, my postings will continue to be relatively "few and far between".]
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I especially appreciate all of you who voted for Barack Obama, ... as well as you who didn't but are now supportive of him in his tough challenge as a world leader. His/our work is really cut out for him/us, especially after the fix previous world leaders (and particularly George W. Bush) have gotten us into as a result of inattention to ecological principles and processes, and the resultant incapacity to think critically.

We all need to help in an effort toward Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology, or Conservation and Development of Sustainable Community.
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Everyone be careful during your days off. And we'll meet down the road.

Working Toward Community Gardens (Local Food/Holistic Education) in the Seguin Area

1. We will continue to develop the grounds at Sample Society, 607 Jefferson Ave., Seguin in collaboration with the owners/directors:

· We have the small garden which was planted last year, which will be better planned and replanted in the early spring. (This might become a perennial herb and perennial flower area.)
· I've plowed another area (hard and with lots of caliche) around the back fence using an organic grower's tractor and turning-plow, and will have some chicken manure/"compost" delivered this winter for building up the fertility of this soil--at the poultry producer's convenience. (Also, we hope to get some organic matter from the "local" fish hatcheries next week.)
· Tentative plans are to disk the manure in and broadcast a late winter/early spring garden of turnips & mustard greens--and some chard, spinach and lettuce.
· I'll ask the city to deliver some more chipped mulch--and we'll do lots of mulching and employ use of plastic for soil solarization weed control.
· Around the inside perimeter of the garden (area not plowed) and other areas of Sample Society land, we'll plant some perennial fruit and ornamental trees, bushes and vines--into a weed-guard mesh.
· We'll attempt to get folk involved in assigned/first come-first served raised-bed plots on the west side of the plowed area. (Folk might use their production in their home, or sell at the Downtown Farmers Market.)
· In the east area, I plan to plant calabacitas (easy to grow and produce from early spring 'til late in the fall, and in demand by Mexican-Americans), okra (easy to grow; harvest is the problem), tomatoes, and chiles, etc. (I might plant some poppies also. Grew them years ago down at the Farm in Stockdale, and they're not hard to grow and harvest. ... And I love poppy-seed kolaches and pie--and cake!)
· And perhaps we'll get a small shade house built for raising transplants.

2. I do realize that we need to work hard on getting Master Gardeners and/or other organizations and governmental entities--and more volunteers--involved. ... I've been enjoying myself kind of piddling around, but realize we need to collectively plan and work together to make this concept of community gardens to really work here in Seguin.

(If properly organized, and if appropriate energy and critical thinking were invested, this effort could take off:

· A family et al. actively involved in community service ministry has a plot of land they are targeting for a garden area in Seguin near where they collaborate to distribute food to the needy (in addition to the garden they are developing in Stockdale),
· Pedro Schambon, Marvel Maddox (Siempre Sustainable Network), Tim Barr (TLU) et al. are working with the Guadalupe County Ministerial Association on "Faith Community Plots on Pedro's My Father's Farm".
· The pastor at Mosaic Community Church has a long-term interest for possible garden plots near the church and Seguin Community Health Center.
· There are plenty of "vacant lots" around Seguin (on school grounds*, near Christian Cupboard, etc.) that could be used for local food production and holistic outdoor/hands-on education.)
. Various other organic and conventional growers of produce in the Seguin areas should be a part of the planning and development of this effort.

*[I spent some considerable amount of time with various aspects of the political campaigns in 2008.

In 2009, I hope to spend a considerable amount of time working with teachers/activists, at local school board meetings, with folk at Texas State University, and with TEA, etc. in Austin, etc.--trying to develop a critical mass of folk doing some critical thinking and taking action towards realizing networks of small neighborhood schools with a holistic ecologically-based curricula.]

3. We'd love to get CLEAN leaves (preferably unbagged, but if you must bag them we'll take them) delivered to the spot marked "Compost/Abono" at Sample Society, 607 Jefferson Ave.

If this becomes overwhelming for us at the Sample Society location, Pedro Schambon at My Father's Farm, 14400 FM 725 (a couple of miles west of Johnny's Barbeque) will take all the leaves we can provide him.

[Rodney Burton, Siempre Sustainable Network, has suggested Pedro and I get on KWED to request delivery of leaves to our compost piles rather than let these nutrient laden beauties go to the landfill. ... We'll get around to this.

Also, I generally go around and pick up what bagged leaves I can in my neighborhood. Nevertheless, my family will be traveling to Rio for a wedding and be gone ca. 10 days around Christmas. Perhaps some of you in Seguin might search the streets and capture these jewels before they head to the landfill during this period?]

4. Pedro and I will work with Tim Barr and other appropriate contacts at TLU to obtain use of their cafeteria scraps for composting.

5. We'll need to work to get water lines to various parts of the garden area at Sample Society, and get ready to lay out systems of more efficient drip lines.

Thanks for indulging me in this outpouring of ideas for "community" gardens in Seguin.

(And we would appreciate your precious leaves--if you don't want them!)

paul martin
Siempre Sustainable Network

What I'd Like for Christmas This Year

I have lots of stuff from living for most of my 62 years as a “have” in an Empire with considerable power. I never care for any gifts, because I think we all--kids and adults in most countries North of the Equator, and the "haves" in other areas of the world--consume way too much in a very unethical/"sinful" manner. ...

Moreover, I don't really care to give much to other than the truly poor in the world--and I wish that Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, Yule, Kwanzaa, Umoja, … might be that type of Holiday for all folk (i.e., a time for giving to the truly poor, mostly South of the Equator, and time for truly achieving Peace--and weaning ourselves from the 200,000-400,000+ kilocalories many of us each consume per day).

For Peace and the sustaining of Nature and the Land, I hope that we might all consider giving--this Holiday season, in the name of our loved ones--to an organization like Oxfam International, ... .

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!! (LET'S CURB CONSUMPTION AND GROWTH, AND DEVELOP ECOLOGICALLY-BASED SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES WORLD-WIDE!!!)

We've heard (repeatedly) George W. Bush's "empty" request after the 9/11 destruction and death, ... for us to go out and shop.
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To our political leaders and their policy-makers and advisors, I have to say, "There you go again!"

These are times of crisis in our classical/conventional economic structure, but they are also opportune times.

Nevertheless, instead of calling for real change and for a transition to a Nature- and Land-conserving world-system based on ecological economics (involving ethical use of renewable energy), my perception (my reality--and that of most folks) is that leaders in all areas of the political arena are doing little thinking that is truly critical and creative ( ... thinking that is based on ecological principles and processes for moving toward sustainable community and livelihoods).

These conventionalists are crying for us to shop and consume, to continue to crudely rip through our natural resource base, and to keep on (unethically) rampantly releasing and transforming energy. They want the economies of nations of "haves" to grow!?!

These conventional economic attitudes and actions will continue to tear at the sustainable sociological and ecological fabric we might have remaining from past hunter-gatherer/sustainable agriculture-based cultures--and will rip away what is left of any real dignity we might still have.

Some Reflections on Sustainability from Jan 2007 (After My 62nd)

Is sustainability necessarily of importance to the people of Seguin?

I think it is important to current Seguinites and to future Seguinites—and this includes all people and other species. Diversity makes life “interesting” and really worth living for all life forms. Without sufficient quality water, rich top soils, and effective capture of daily solar energy by photosynthesizers—diversity is limited. And diversity is a basic tenet of sustainability.

The Renaissance, the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment have long since taken place, and many decision-makers realize we have the knowledge, power and responsibility to change the human and world condition toward enhancing rather than destroying biotic diversity, toward sustainability, and toward quality life for all. In addition, we know that asphalt and concrete and glass and steel and plastic--and other components of artificially built structures and environment (which are spreading over or indirectly extracting from climax ecological communities)--do not sustainably grow food, fiber or shelter—and do not produce the oxygen needed for many life forms, but rather produce excessive amounts of carbon dioxide and pollutants. Science, common sense, and intuition tell us we need to make some drastic changes away from built and financial capital ... to natural, and social capital. And that important change must begin locally—and right now!

Of course a major problem is that a significant percent of humans in the world do feel that at some level, they do have quality life—and they are satisfied, even addicted to the fossil-fuel dependent built-environment, and current political, social, cultural, and financial systems. They get more than their share of abundant calories and have the potential to select appropriate nutrients. They live, work, travel and exercise in a relatively comfortable temperature year-round. They have the muscle and power of wheels with more than one hundred horses (and some artificial horses can even be employed to give them needed exercise with a moving road or water stream). Entertainment and “education” is electronic and remotely controlled with their fingertips. Moreover, under these artificial conditions, they tend to forget and distance themselves more and more from Darfur, Afghanistan and Iraq; favelas, slum and ghettos; the horrific (non)living conditions of other cultures and ethnicities; eroded Land, air and water pollution, species extinction, desertification, Global Climate Change; or even the spiritually empty Mother, Father or Child next door. This is despite the fact and because of the fact--that it is right there on the radio or TV screen in their own little isolated and falsely “secure” industrialized home.

And it is these satisfied people with the power … that have The Power.
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Nevertheless change toward more equity and humaneness for all humans and other species must begin locally and globally—and in the very immediate future. Perhaps it won’t be easy. However, it is doable--and can be fun.

Therefore, deep down, intuitively, using our common-sense and critical and creative thinking capacities and involving science, we know we need to change, and that we must start immediately. I (and many others) have some sound ideas for short-term and longer-term actions in Seguin (and for south central Texas, the U.S., the world).

These proposed actions (mostly attempts at getting us to conserve as a local and world community--and to make certain that "'ours' are sustainable livelihoods"!) are really nothing new. However, I do hope to personally work harder at realizing them myself until I pass away. And I hope others will really join in, and help to spread active lifestyles of “Conservation and Development of Sustainable Community” or “Positively Ethical Applied Community Ecology” long after I and they pass.

Buy Nothing Day

Remember that November 28th is "Buy Nothing Day" (November 29th internationally)! www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd

Why not work toward extending it to "Buy Nothing Weekend" and "Buy Nothing Week", etc., etc.?
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We've got to curb consumption in order to protect the natural resource base and Nature (and Homo sapiens et al. within it).

George Bush should walk home (to Connecticut)

When I got in touch with someone I went through navy boot camp with, I thought it would be a good thing.

I even invited this person to contribute to this blog.

But "Salem" mistakenly figured I was in here as (nom de plume) a cigarette brand, obviously missing the fact that I was taking on the character in George Orwell's "1984," a banned book in some countries that is essentially about banned lives.

So he chose the name, "Salem."

No problem ... I get the joke.

Salem declined to contribute posts, instead sending me emails that are "baits" about why I should become a member of the absent-minded conservative party in the United States.

I tried to call this person a while ago, and he didn't have time to talk to me.

But the emails continued, and one recent missive was a reference to an article about how World Criminal and U.S. President (the worst) George Bush was being unfairly treated.

Here is a copy of my reply, and his subsequent analysis of my personal philosophy, of which he knows nothing.

RE: The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace

"Salem.

I couldn't read all of this story, will have to try later at home.

But I couldn't disagree more with the headline.

As far as I'm concerned, George Bush should have to pay for his own Secret Service protection after he leaves the office he has disgraced for eight years.

And he should be forced to walk home from the White House.

Not back to Texas, but to Connecticut where he originally is from.

George Bush is no Texan."

SALEM'S REPLY:

"I must assume you consider yourself to be liberal. I know of no other group so unforgiving. I think of you as a smart person and believe that if you herd another person as firmly anti anything as it appears you are you would wonder how and why. I would like to get together when we both have time and talk at length. I don’t expect to convert you to anything but would like to truly understand."
Salem"

This is me, WINSTON, again with my "LIBERAL viewpoint.

I apologize (not really) if this is confusing ... but I am incensed that someone from the same country, even the same state, wants to brand me a Liberal because I want George Bush to walk home, to the state where he is actually borne FROM: CONNECTICUT ... not TEXAS.

I am a TEXAN ... George Bush is not.

Don't brand me a Liberal until you get to know me.

Until then, I'll proudly call myself a liberal, if you must attach a label to me.

And yes, I voted for Barack HUSSEIN Obama, and I'm proud of it.

Understand that.

GOMEZ AND MAMA

Here we are at THE END of the 7 weeks of a painting a day- 5 days a week. Thank you all for the encouragement and advice you've given and for following along with this blog. I hope you've enjoyed the artwork and that it's encouraged you to pick up a pencil, paint brush,or something, and go create your own works of art. For me, it's been a great learning experience, and an exciting, exhilarating, grit your teeth, nerve tingling, challenge that makes me both sad and relieved to see it come to an end. Several times, in these past 7 weeks, when life was rushing too fast, I thought I was going to have to bail out on my goal, but, somehow kept putting one brush stroke after another until the difficult times passed. I've gained a good bit of speed since this series started, I'm proud of myself for sticking with it, and have 35 more paintings than I did before we started!
I'll be (leisurely) working on the 4 unfinished paintings (the Alamo, The Riverwalk, Gateway to the West, and Strutting his Stuff) Monday and Tuesday and will post them as soon as they're completed. The kids will be out of school for the Thanksgiving holiday and I'm going to spend some time with them. After that, maybe I'll start a new goal?
For all you artist's out there, Austin is having a tour of studios this weekend. I don't have the details on it - google it if you want to go too. My youngest daughter and I are going to go check it out.

Today's painting, Gomez and Mama, are some adorable donkeys that my husband's friend has and she sent a photo for me to paint them. Thanks so much for sharing the photos, Teresa!
I'm grateful to all of you for joining me in this part of my journey. BBC writers, Only Grrrl, mayahuel, Winston, paul bain martin, Enrique, pineapple, and Salem, thank you most of all. Now you've "got the ball"!
Have a great weekend everyone!

SEASON'S BOUNTY

Season's Bounty is something for the upcoming holidays. It's a 6"x6" acrylic. I aranged the pumpkin, gourd, and corn on the desk beside me to paint this still life.
How time flies! We're almost at the end of our 7 weeks of "a painting a day" series with only tomorrow left. BBC writers, are your fingers ready to dance on those keyboards??? I'm going to take next week off and spend some time with my kids and grandkids. My son has been telling me he misses me, because I've spent too many evenings painting straight through. Then it'll be back to work (fun) as usual, although the artwork will be larger in size and they probably won't be completed in a day. Hopefully this fast paced painting has been like a speed drill for a typist. Now it's time to focus again on details and getting everything just right.

JOHNNY

I took a chance today and did a 1 day portrait. Didn't know how it would turn out, but figured I didn't have to show the picture that it came from if it wasn't similar enough. My son had been in one of his guitar lessons and I was sitting around waiting from it to end when another instructor, Johnny, picked up his guitar and started playing. His music was awesome and while I listened it occured to me that he'd make a great painting subject and,I happened to have my camera with me. Johnny let me take his photo and gave his consent to let me paint his portrait. I showed it to him today, before it was finished, and he seemed to like it. Here's both the photo and the painting.

Latest Adbusters: Growth, "Socialism" and Redistribution of Wealth

Check out the latest edition of Adbusters www.adbusters.org/magazine/81 , especially the piece on Herman Daly (born in Houston and graduate of Rice University before he moved on to "bigger and better")--


"Big Idea: A Steady-State Economy
The growth economy is failing and we have to attempt a steady-state economy. The steady state answer is that the rich should reduce their throughput growth to free up resources and ecological space for use by the poor, while focusing their domestic efforts on development, technical and social improvements, that can be freely shared with poor countries. "

Ms. Sarah

I received a letter from Sarah Palin today, ... inviting me to come visit Alaska!?! (I never receive anything from Alaska!)

I'm certain this mailout from the governor of the nation's largest state had the sole intent of helping her tourism constituency in Alaska. Surely this letter wouldn't have anything to do with Ms. Sarah's political ambitions and current attempts to maintain visibility and continue to capture limelight?
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Ms. Palin will probably fizzle out.

But perhaps not! This is a strange country with some crazy voters. ... A bunch of them voted a couple of times or more for George W. Bush!??!
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(I used to think about visiting Alaska. Palin's damped those thoughts.)

STRUTTING HIS STUFF

Mr. Turkey is back for the holidays and strutting his stuff in this stylized oil painting. I like this one, but am going to rework his tail feathers and then replace the picture here with the reworked one in a couple of days. I've already wiped the entire tail off once this evening and repainted it but, don't like the second one either, so it's getting wiped it off again as well and will be "fixed" in a couple of days. In case you're wondering, I cut that part of the photo out. :D Couldn't stand to show it.

THE FLAVORS OF COLOR - #31

A fellow artist and his wife invited us to attend a reception, talk, and display on Chocolate, with them at the Sand Antonio Museum of Art last night, and it was as DELICIOUS as it was interesting! There was lots of wine and luscious, decadent, incredible, chocolate samples there for us to enjoy. The company and the reception was wonderful! So, with thoughts of the discussion(s) , the enjoyable art, and the lingering taste of sweets on my mind, comes today's painting The Flavors of Color.

BLONDIE

This painting is an 8"x10" acrylic of a blond maned horse up at my neighbor's ranch. She's such a beautiful animal that I slow down and take a good look each time we pass by. She doesn't especially like being stared at though and too often turns her back to me when the camera comes into sight. Well, it's Friday night and hope you all have a great weekend!

DEEP IN THOUGHT

This is painting #29 and it's an 8"x 10" acrylic of a cat we used to have. His name was Butterscotch and he was an incredibly loving, beautiful cat inside and out. Today was a great day to paint his portrait and now he's immortalized. Tomorrow's painting will be another surprise. Hope you like surprises!

CHILDHOOD PRANKS #27

This scene is a micro sized cityscape from Santiago Chile and was inspired by my husband who, with his childhood buddy, used to swipe tomatoes from the old shop keeper not far from his home. I'm still having a hard time picturing my husband stealing anything since he's Mr. Honesty, but I guess we all have our moments of doing something we shouldn't have at one point or another. :) Anyway,he CLAIMS they were never caught but told me that after I had already started the painting and I left it as is. It's more interesting like this. My hubby's dad told us the old man is still there and took a photo of him and his shop and sent it to us.
This is it for the Cityscapes for this week. I've run out of good photos and don't have the time to go take some better ones at the moment. The rest of this week and all of next week will be surprises.

GATEWAY TO THE WEST

The St. Louis Gateway is a huge, stainless steel, arch that stands by the Mississippi river at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial park in St. Louis, Missouri and represents St. Louis’ role as the gateway to the West. It stands 630 ft. tall by 630 ft. wide at the base and is supposed to be the largest monument in the U.S. I just found out that there is a tram system in the hollow insides that carries people to an observation deck on top of the arch. I've driven by that arch at least 6 times and never knew that you could go inside it! Thank you, Internet! This is an 8"x10" oil painting for the "painting a day" series.

SAN ANTONIO RIVERWALK

This week's painting subject is cityscapes and todays' is of the San Antonio Riverwalk. It's such a beautiful place with so many sites just begging to be painted. I'm not sure if I'll do another San Antonio scene this week or not yet. This one isn't quite finished and, although I painted all weekend long, the Grand Canyon and the Alamo from last week are still waiting for me. The one of the Grand Canyon is getting close though. Tomorrow I'll be painting the St. Louis Arch and a part of the river along side of it. We only have 2 weeks left now of the 7 weeks of "a painting a day". Last Monday I was begining to think that I wouldn't be able to make it all the way through the series. Now I'm confident that I can paint the last 9 paintings and then I'm going to really enjoy taking a break. :)

ALBUQUERQUE'S BALLOON FESTIVAL #25

One of my aunts and a bunch of cousins live over in Albuquerque and we've gone to visit them many times, but we have only seen the Balloon Festival once - eight years ago - and it was a sight to see! We got lucky that time because some guy was giving tethered balloon rides to kids of all sizes. All my family got a ride in it except me, and, I was too embarrassed to go take the space that an actual kid could have had, and passed it up. The rest of them raved about it. I'd really like to see it again but with a better camera than the one I had then. My family has been watching the progress on this painting and the younger ones are saying they can barely remember it - if at all. Mark your calendars for September if you enjoy big balloons. Old town Albuquerque is a neat place to visit too and, if you can, plan a little extra time to drop down south a bit and see Karlsbad Caverns while you're in New Mexico. I saw the caverns when I was a kid but all I remember of it now is that it was also an incredible sight. If you go, take a few extra pictures for me. :D

NA POLI COAST, KAUAI - #24

This was an awesome sight that I probably didn't quite do justice to. We were there 18 years ago, paid for a motorized raft ride around the coast line and, this fantastic sight was waiting for us. We moved along the coast and also saw some nude bathers, but, I didn't think you'd want to see that. :)

IN MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Today's painting is the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln memorial, and, since it's election day, thought it would be a fitting subject since he was the one who did away with slavery so that all men could be equal. Too bad it wasn't for the women at that time as well. Way back when I was a kid of 12, my brother, Mom, and I went and saw this site and I remember standing at the base of the statue, looking way, way, up to into the face of that colossal man and thinking he must have been the greatest man ever to have such a towering monument made of him. This morning I read that the sculpture, Daniel Chester French, positioned Lincoln's fingers to form the letters L and A - possibly because he signed a federal legislation giving Gallaudet University, a university for the deaf, the authority to grant college degrees and the sculpture had a son who was deaf. The National Park service claims that is just an urban legend though. Henry Bacon designed the statue and Daniel French and two other men did the actual chiseling. What an amazing job!
This painting is (basically) finished. After the paint dries I'll touch up the face and make it look a little more like Lincoln's and then ad the words, "In this Temple, as in the hearts of the people, for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever", on the wall behind his head, as it is in the monument.

San Andrés Semetabaj and San Juan La Laguna--and Other Spots Around Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Excerpts from--Toward Integrated Pest Management and Sustainable Livelihoods in the Sololá Department, Guatemala: Report on Workshops During the Week of 10/12/08

Summary. Sustainable livelihoods and quality life in sustainable communities are a desired goal for the Sololá Department of Guatemala--or any region of the world. Production and the marketing externally of high value organic vegetables and oil crops using integrated pest management in a sustainable agroecosystem, and agriculture education and other cultural exchange is a means of increasing income and quality life. However, it does seem that for both the short and long-term, … robust and healthy agrotourism—and associated cultural exchanges--have more potential for introducing hard cash into the local Sololá economies. (Of course there are always risks of tourist-related social ills if wealth in local economy is not regulated and is not distributed equitably. Moreover, I do have concerns that agro- and eco-tourism are not really appropriate for developing truly long-term sustainable livelihoods and communities, i.e., ones that are ecologically sound, socially just and humane—and “forever”.) ...

Objectives. Encourage Guatemalan campesinos and associated collaborators to focus on the relative importance of insects in local community, … and then branch out to introduce processes of integrated pest management, sustainable agriculture and holistic management. Then in a facilitated participatory, site-specific, hands-on (and hopefully empowering) manner, explore means of realizing sustainable livelihoods/communites for all (including other species) for a long period of time. ...

Field Activities. ... In the workshops given over four days, a PowerPoint presentation was used (primarily as a handout to all of the audience members) in a participatory manner with the following captions, points and questions (translated and paraphrased herein) included along with various illustrative photos and illustrations:

# Name five types of living organisms. (Illustrating that we humans commonly focus on mammals, rather than bacteria, protists, plants and/or fungi—or even insects?)
# What is the dominate form of life on this planet? (Humans) Where do the most dominate of these humans live? (“The North.”)

# What do we mean by a “sustainable livelihood?” (“A livelihood comprises people, their capabilities and their means of living, including food, income and assets. Tangible assets are resources and stores, and intangible assets are claims and access. A livelihood is environmentally sustainable when it maintains or enhances the local and global assets in which livelihoods depend, and has net beneficial effects on other livelihoods. A livelihood is socially sustainable which can cope with and recover from stress and shocks, and provide for future generations.” www.livelihoods.org/SLdefn.html . “ The sustainable livelihoods approach … is a way to improve understanding of the livelihoods of poor people. It draws on the main factors that affect poor people's livelihoods and the typical relationships between these factors. It can be used in planning new development activities and in assessing the contribution that existing activities have made to sustaining livelihoods.” www.ifad.org/sla/

# What are the major challenges in your life? What are major “pest” “problems” with which you have to deal? How do you manage these challenges?
# Some integrated pest management strategies.
# Certain insect ”pests” are edible, and various human cultures, (including just north of Guatemala in Oaxaca) do eat them. [They can be a good source of lipids and protein—and Nelson Diarte (Project Coordinator, Guatemala Food For Progress) and I demonstrated the "enjoyable" eating of worms found in high numbers on broccoli foliage. … They actually tasted like broccoli.]
# Major edaphic, hydrological, energetic and biotic community components of agroecosystems which affect “pests”.
# Techniques for sampling for “pests” and their natural enemies in crops. (We went to the field at every workshop and demonstrated egg collecting, the use of sweep nets, and the use of hand lens and microscopes. Moreover, we made general insect identifications and discussed the fact that most insect are not pests—and that many are beneficial in various ways.)
# Examples of insects and insect life stages found in samples. Examples of insect parasitoids and predators.

# Basic integrated pest management of pests: Prevention; monitoring; action thresholds; cultural, physical, mechanical, biological, genetic/plant resistance, chemical, and legal control; evaluation, analysis, replanning, … .
# Holistic and ecological approach to integrated pest management. (The focus is not on the pest(s), but the ecological whole.)
# Sustainable agriculture. (Long-term protection of the natural resource base for quality life for all humans and other life forms.)
# Sustainable livelihoods and sustainable community. [Targeting the poor with education and socio-political/economic (and ecological) power over resources/capitals--in a participatory, site-based manner, with short and long-term strategies and tactics which yield real and sustainable results.]

# Ecology: A simple food web.
# Ecology: The energy pyramid and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
# Managing ecological succession sustainably and for sustainable livelihoods and community.
# Ecology: The nitrogen cycle and other mineral cycles (conventional vs. sustainable agriculture).
# Ecological knowledge must be used to modify human social systems toward sustainable livelihoods and quality life for all—including other species.

# The area around Lake Atitlan is a beautiful and agriculturally rich area of the world! Consider agrotourism, especially for the “short” term. (Sololans can sell their cultural and ecological knowledge, and help their own community--and tourists--to better live with “pest problems” … in concert with Nature. … The mission of the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M is "to employ agricultural science to feed the world's hungry, and to support equity, economic growth, quality of life and mutual respect among peoples." www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=30044 Therefore, I propose(d) that Sololans might do well in to improving quality life and achieve sustainable livelihoods, by selling their agricultural knowledge—both traditional and newly- acquired ecological, including knowledge of the beautiful morphology/physiology and life histories/ecology of regional insects.)

# Although it can be precarious to introduce numerous domesticated animals into an area, do consider some increased home use of chickens, pigs, sheep and goats, and cattle, etc. in your agroecosystems of the Solola Department. ...

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I have traveled in a number of areas of Latin America, including in Nicaragua, Oaxaca and Tabasco and other areas in Mexico, Bolivia, and Brazil. Nevertheless, Guatemala was particularly striking and novel to me in many positive and some negative ways. In this area around Lake Atitlan the volcanic soils are beautifully deep and rich; the lake and volcanic mountains, and diversity of agricultural crops including coffee are fantastically scenic; women’s blouses (huipilles)and skirts (cortes) are beautifully colored and patterned, woven and embroidered; kids' kites are creatively made out of recycled materials; and folk work hard at cutting and back-carrying wood up steep inclines, or carrying other products/materials on their wonderfully erect feminine heads, or in getting around the mountain roads by bicycle or foot. The mixture of indigenous Mayan languages and Spanish (by the same person in the same phrase) is interesting, very different and enjoyable to hear. And everyone graciously greets you wherever you meet them! … Finally, it was refreshing to look over Lake Atitlan and environs during the evenings at Hotel Pa Muelle, San Juan La Laguna, while eating Nelson Diarte’s homemade vegetable salad made from ingredients from an adjacent public market (and having some enjoyable verbal exchanges with Don Alvino, the hotel manager, and watching his grandkids and young empregada play futbol).

On the other hand, the villages of Sololá are far from my desired goal of Zero-waste www.ecocycle.org/zerowaste/ for my home of Seguin, Texas. Trash is prevalent of the streets of villages--and mounds of waste are dumped on mountainsides, and pollutants are leached out and washed down into the lake. Buses and trucks spew black fossil fuel pollutants into the local atmosphere. And wood-burning fires are used by all, with the air above the villages (and homes) commonly filled with smoke. This practice has also resulted in substantial deforestation. … Finally, during the evening I was packing for the trip back to Texas, I became mesmerized with a televised interview of Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú, winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize. This wonderfully-thorough interview made me much more aware of the deep scars from past, and the socio-political/economic challenges (and holistic ecological challenges) Guatemala and the Sololá Department face. (Subsequently, I listened to some music/a video of Enrique Franco about Rigoberta Mencha http://es.truveo.com/Enrique-Franco-Rigoberta-Menchu/id/1444371911 —and it made me think a bit more about our North-Central American connections, and especially Texas/Mexico-Guatemalan connections.) ...

Some Concluding "Soft-Suggestions".
1. Local indigenous people should be more and more involved in coordinating the TAMU Borlaug Institute programs and decision-making in the future.
2. Continue to primarily target poor women and children (including with microenterprise loan programs?) .
3. Continue to research activities of previous Farming Systems Research-Extension work www.ncrcrd.iastate.edu/pubs/presentations/flora/pres.html , efforts of CLADES www.cnr.berkeley.edu/~agroeco3/clades.html , Sustainable Livelihoods and Local Development www.polis.org.br/download/53.ppt programs, Holistic Resource Management www.holisticmanagement.org/ , and Natural Systems Agriculture www.landinstitute.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2000/08/05/377bbbe53 , etc., and attempt to apply the appropriate components of these works--in a grassroots, site-specific, participatory, hands-on, and empowering fashion--in the Borlaug Institute’s Guatemalan programs toward quality life for all.
4. Consider attempts at facilitating more cultural and socio-economic (sustainability) exchanges of Spanish-speaking Mexican-American small farmers/entrepreneurs from Texas and indigenous campesinos from Guatemala. … Use these complexes of farmers to investigate processes for making robust, economically-viable, and socially-just and ecologically-sound agrotourism develop in the Sololá Department of Guatemala.

Perception Is Reality

The world isn't really any better today than it was yesterday.
...................................
But I feel it is!!!!!!!!! It is really great to be alive! ... It is a better world than it was yesterday.

(Sorry. But--as a U.S. citizen--I do feel considerably better today than yesterday. ... And aren't these paintings herein BBC absolutely wonderful!!??!!)

THE ALAMO - also unfinished!

Well, I was thinking yesterday must have been some kind of fluke or something (me not getting the painting completed) because I really felt like Super Woman then and did again today. So, I painted another 11"x14" today - and didn't get it finished either! The Subject is the Alamo and it seems to be much simpler than yesterday's Grand Canyon so maybe the size difference is the make or break factor. I'm packing it in for the night. The lines on everything in the painting still need to be straightened, colors deepened, the trees are still missing and so are the people. I'm going back to the 8"x10" or smaller sizes from here on out until the 21st. Too bad. I don't like painting small. This is going to be one very busy week getting them all finished!

The Alamo is something that every Texas painter must do at least once or their status of Texan is seriously questioned. This is my first one. Since it stands for independence and fighting for what one believes in, It seems fitting for today - voting day. Did you go make your vote count? I voted for the first time in my life today because of an e-mail that went around a few weeks ago about the suffragists fighting for women's rights back in my grandma's time. Reading about what few rights women had back then was sickening and shamed me into going to vote - even though I'm not too sure just how much our votes count these days. I did it for my grandma, myself, and for all women.

Winston, glad you're enjoying yourself down there. Can't drive by the newspaper office here without thinking of you and wondering how you're doing.

Election Day: Hope You Voted

I took the Yahama out and revved it up and down the highway here for awhile. Wind coming off the Gulf of Mexico was a bit too cool for Hawaiian shirts, but that's the risk I'm willing to take.
Stopped in at the Gaff for a Killian's red, and eavesdropped on a conversation among fishing boat deckhands who helped a client land a 350-lb Mako shark. Every other word was effing this and effing that.
Hit the local VFW and watched a 3-ball pool tourney, where the winner walked away with a grand total of three dollars and some quarters.
Then we walked across the parking lot - I left my bike where it could collect some more salt air - and listened to a local folk singer.
I was amazed when she asked for requests.
I asked her if she could play a Uriah Heep tune.
Sure enough she came up with "The Wizard."
She must have been reading my mind.
She found it in some old scribbled notes.
I then asked her to play something from Ten Years After.
Again, she came up with what I was thinking: I'd Love To Change the World.
Third time around, I asked for something by Melanie.
She didn't have a song sheet handy, but she tuned in one on her computer.
Amazing.
She told me about a pirate who lives on the beach.
After this election is over (I'm covering it locally) I'm going to find Blackbeard.

Keep up the great works, Terrie.

Vote as many times as you can, everyone else would, if they could.

In fact, I voted via absentee ballot, and would have no qualms about doing it again.

They say that if the Washington Redskins won Monday Night Football, John McCain would win.
And if they lose, Barack Obama would take the prize.

Does anybody know the final score?

I was too busy listening to a rendition of "The Night They Took Old Dixie Down."

Can you hear them singing?

La, la la la...

GRAND CANYON - UNFINISHED

Today's adventure is an oil painting of the Grand Canyon. Apparently I bit off more than I could do in a one day sitting though and will have to work on completing it in between the other paintings I'll be doing this week. That's right, it's not a one day painting. :O I should have taken a hint from some of those other "painting a day" painters and made a little 3"x4" of an orange or an egg, or something else very simple, but I felt like Super Woman today. So what happened??? Famous landscapes will be the painting subject of this 5 day set. Next week's topic is cityscapes.

PLAY WITH ME! - # 20

This little guy is actually a girl. Her name was Leia - after the princess in Star Wars (only spelled differently)- and she was our dog for 13 years. She was part Corgie mix and part Australian Shepherd and sure was a beauty! She was also incredibly ornery. After someone asked me to paint a puppy I started looking through our old photo books and that sure take me back a ways! I would post the original pictures to share with you, but, we had a lousy camera back then and the photos are too hard to see -or is that just that I need new glasses? We had 7 fat, fluffy, rolly polly pups then and wanted to keep them all. We found homes for 4 and kept 3 of them. :O
I've spent the afternoon working on ideas for this weeks paintings. If you have anything you'd like to see me paint in particular, please let me know.

MOUSE ATTACK! - painting #19

I've spent the last few days making room for a couple of family members to move (back) in with us and nursing a 3 day splitting headache. I did paint, but couldn't stand looking at the computer screen long enough to get them posted. Sorry.

This puppy is modeled after one of our dogs when he was little. There's a wind up mouse that's driving him crazy and he's loving it. Someone asked me to paint this little guy, so, here he is!