Greetings from the former Energy Capital of the world: Houston, Texas.
I know it's been a while since we've talked about local news on this blog. In my defense Washington DC has been absolutely bonkers lately (perhaps you've heard) and now our state lawmakers are back in Austin, Texas for another legislative session. So there's been plenty to distract us.
But if you've been following President Joe Biden's executive orders you already know Democrats are destroying jobs all across the country, including (and especially) here in the Lone Star State. And somehow Mayor Turner has managed to find a way to throw gas on the fire.
Yesterday we got a big announcement from the Houston Mayor's office. It seems our honorable Mayor Sylvester Turner has a new job.
Oh, you haven't heard? I received the following email from Sylvester yesterday:
Today, Climate Mayors of America announced that Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner will become the next Chair of the nationwide coalition.
Climate Mayors of America?! What the heck is that?!
In short, it's exactly what it sounds like: a group of mayors from all over America who are 100% liberal democrats have agreed we need to stop consuming petroleum products and get more solar panels and unicorn-fart powered bicycles (or something like that). Their main goal is to somehow control weather by discouraging you from using oil & gas products. It's printed all over their website and vividly explained in previous press releases.
In this role, Mayor Turner will help catalyze climate-forward actions taken at the local level, provide an example of climate action for leaders at all levels of government, and advocate for an economic recovery grounded in equity and environmental stewardship. Mayor Turner succeeds Mayor Martin J. Walsh of Boston, who President Joseph R. Biden nominated to serve as United States Secretary of Labor.
Equity! There's that word again. Democrats in 2021 just love saying "equity" because they know it sounds like equality but it's actually something else. I'm sure we all agree equality is great: with equality we each get the same chances in life. All men and women are created equal, right? But equity is different. Equity is an effort to give everyone the same outcome. Another word you might use to describe the concept is socialism or cultural Marxism.
So now Mayor Turner will be leading other mayors in a charge to use less of the thing that his city sells to the world: petroleum products. Liberals call them "Fossil fuels," and they supply the world with life saving energy and medicine, among other things.
Again, the products Mayor Turner is discouraging people from using are the lifeblood of Houston's economy. This is how we generate revenue. Good thinking, Sylvester! Who needs tax money when we've got unicorn farts and good intentions, right? People are losing jobs all over the place while crime spikes in the city and our mayor just became the leader of a group that's primary focus is to crush our local economy. Never mind the fact that Houston is still trying to avoid a budget crisis caused by last year's lockdown orders.
Mayor Sylvester Turner says, "I congratulate Mayor Walsh on his appointment and thank him for his work to prioritize climate change. It is an honor to succeed him as Chair of Climate Mayors... Cities are powerful drivers in the race against climate change. Mayors are investing in clean energy, greening our economies, and creating more sustainable and resilient communities across the U.S. The global pandemic has brought the connection between climate change and community health to the forefront of our cities and our society. With a new administration in the White House, Climate Mayors are prepared to lead swift, bold action on climate that will help our nation recover and build for a better future."
Oh, that's rich. Now we're suddenly shifting focus to the climate crisis because the Democrats no longer want us to worry about the plandemic. Liberal elected officials in places like New Orleans, California, and Chicago are unlocking their economies now (just as Biden is taking over in DC) despite COVID infection numbers being just as high as ever . That's gonna make Biden's economic growth look great! Even still, the Left still needs a way to scare us, which is why they're pivoting back to Climate Change rhetoric.
But wait, there's more!
Mayor Turner has been a long-standing climate champion for the City of Houston, having served as Mayor during Hurricane Harvey and enduring multiple 500-year storms in just four years.
I know what you're thinking. What does the hurricane have to do with anything Mayor Turner is mentioning in this press release? There's no conclusive evidence that carbon emissions cause hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes but they're hoping you're not smart enough to know better. We've had hurricanes in southeast Texas since centuries before we had the oil industry. But now people like Mayor Turner and national Climate Czar John Kerry are going to control the weather by taking away your jobs (and probably eventually raising taxes... we know it's coming).
As part of the City’s recovery efforts, Mayor Turner launched Resilient Houston on February 12th, 2020, and the Houston Climate Action Plan on Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary on April 22nd, 2020. These critically important initiatives are focused on transitioning the Energy Capital of the World to a clean energy future and increasing the resilience of communities across the City, prioritizing health, job creation, equity, and sustainability.
Critically important? I'm a member of the local news media and I assure you nobody thinks that stuff is critically important. If those things weren't being mentioned in this press release, nobody would know that Earth Day (a holiday created by Ira Einhorn, the Unicorn Killer) was about to celebrate it's 50th anniversary. This information affects almost nobody.
Under Mayor Turner's leadership, the City of Houston has committed to purchasing 100% renewable energy and is the largest municipal user of renewable energy in the nation.
In other words, we're going to stop giving money to the companies who do business in Houston.
As part of this effort, the City recently approved the Sunnyside Solar Project - a public-private partnership to convert a 240-acre closed landfill in one of Houston’s most vulnerable communities into the largest urban solar farm in the nation.
Oooh - a solar farm?! That sounds great! And it produces almost enough electricity to fuel a lightbulb, but at only 500 times the normal cost! Solar panels are great for helping to sustain a small rural community, but they aren't going to help a city as large as Houston which is probably the reason only rich people can afford to buy solar panels.
In conjunction with his Complete Communities Initiative, the project is a prime example of how cities can work with the community to address long-standing environmental justice concerns holistically, create green jobs and generate renewable energy in the process.
You have to take note of the timing of all of this. We just shutdown the Keystone pipeline. That's over 10,000 jobs (many previously held by Texans) that disappeared over night because of Joe Biden's executive orders. And Mayor Turner endorsed him. We also just banned fracking on Federal land: something Biden promised not to do as recently as last October. Remember the presidential debate? And let's not forget how Democrats also shut down the border wall construction project: more Texas contractor jobs gone to waste.
But now our mayor is the leader of a committee that's chief goal is to destroy Houston's economy.
Thanks, Sly!
Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner speaks onstage ahead of the third Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season hosted by ABC News in partnership with Univision at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas on September 12, 2019. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)