Oh my. I can’t wait to see the unintended consequences of Harris County Judge Ed Emmett’s latest idea to preserve the Astrodome (i.e., preserve Ed’s “legacy”). From his favorite stenographer, Kiah Collier of the Houston Chronicle:
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday proposed turning the Astrodome into “the world’s largest indoor park” and recreation area, a concept he said would preserve a taxpayer-funded asset and honor the reason his predecessor built the iconic stadium nearly 50 years ago: “To provide a place for traditional outdoor activities in a climate-controlled space, a space like none other in the world.”
And the Houston Chronicle editorial board quickly jumped on the the idea:
County Judge Ed Emmett has been a stoic warrior for the Astrodome, fighting to keep the Dome’s destiny firmly in the hands of its true owners – the people of Harris County. Private groups like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Houston Texans have attempted to circumvent our elected government with calls for premature demolition and other plans.
Where to start? Stoic warrior? Ed Emmett? I’ve seen a lot of descriptions of Ed through the years but “stoic warrior” doesn’t seem to apply at this point in his career as Harris County Judge. Where are the transportation solutions that is his expertise? Saving the Astrodome to protect his legacy can hardly be called warrior material. If you ask me.
A funny thing happened along the way to his positive press though. He called in to the boys on Sports Radio 610 this morning to push his idea. I was taking my wife to the airport and totally wish I hadn’t had the radio tuned to 610. By the time those guys got through with him, I thought I was going to get a divorce. That’s how mad my wife of 34 years was at me for me supporting Emmett through the years. I still support him overall but this is one of those areas we are just going to have to agree to disagree on. Tear the thing down already.
Unlike his favorite stenographer, Sports Radio 610’s John Lopez and Nick Wright asked real questions. It’s sort of funny when a politician used to getting his way with the press doesn’t. Click here to listen to an interview that you really, really need to listen to if you are a Harris County voter.
Somehow Ed has figured out a way to make everything free!!! Air conditioning, no problem. New roof, no problem. Developing a park? No problem because parks “evolve”. Security? No problem, we already have constables. Parking at NRG? No problem, FREE!
Are you kidding me? The guys on Sports Radio 610 In the Loop deserve major kudos for this one.
Let’s think about this for a minute. What do people use parks for? Hmm?
I can’t wait for the first July 4th in the Ed Emmett park. Imagine 5,000 families heading to EEP and firing up their grills for burgers and dogs! We’re going to create the world’s largest grease cloud!
But wait – Ed Emmett could single handedly revive the Occupy movement. No more worries about heat, cold, rain, or snow! Ed’s going to provide them a climate controlled environment to “protest” capitalism! No more worrying about charging their laptops and phones, we’ll provide outlets! How awesome. They’ll create a monument to Ed for his “legacy”.
Another thing. Those sky boxes? Remember those? Which gang do you think is going to rule the “park” from those suites in the sky?
And think about this. Ed’s favorite local politician seems to be Houston’s failed mayor, Annise Parker.
Now, we know that Mayor Parker can’t stand homeless folks. Along comes Ed with the perfect solution – a climate controlled park that belongs to the county, not the city! Imagine her relief to know that citizens no longer have to worry about those icky, smelly homeless folks on the streets of downtown Houston. Instead, they now have a climate controlled park to live in! Heck, I bet that their daily panhandling take will increase because they won’t be so darn smelly! Hey Ed, how about putting showers in? You know, for the “joggers”, wink, wink.
Let’s all sing along now, okay?
Where o’where has my Eddie gone? O’where, o’where can he be?
With his fiscal sense and his vision gone, o’where, o’where can he be?