the Bastrop (Texas) wildfire
2011-Sep-09, Friday 08:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtigger
There is a wildfire raging in Texas near Austin at a town called Bastrop. I remember Bastrop as having an area called "Lost Pines", heavily forested with tall pine trees for inexplicable reasons. I camped there several times at the property of a fellow Radical Faerie. That's me (2nd from left, with traditional long dark hair) in the photo on his grounds. I think that campout was during Labor Day weekend back in 1996. The photograph is cut "above the waist" for obvious reasons on my blog. I do try to keep a PG-13 rating here. *laugh*The area is very sandy and contains lots of old pine needles on the ground. All that loose tinder may have something to do with the fierce nature of this particular fire.
My mother mentioned the Bastrop fire in a recent email, and it's starting to reach blog sites now. Here is a photograph of unknown source posted by someone on Livejournal. Other photographs can be found here, among other places.
This incident is yet another example of the "slash and burn" economic policies of some Republicans who want to cut government spending everywhere for any reason. Rick Perry previously cut volunteer firefighter budgets in Texas by 75%. And now wildfires rage across the state, where those firefighters could have helped save lives and homes that are now lost. Government serves a function, and I happen to like the services that it provides.I intend to write in the future about Baumol's cost disease and why it contradicts the "cut government taxation and spending, always" ideology. For now, though, I have less depressing things to do... like play more computer games.
I may be going out to the local Renaissance Festival on Sunday for their kilt weekend. I may have photos to post, if I decide to wear my own kilt too.
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Date: 2019-Nov-03, Sunday 05:25 pm (UTC)