Posted on 08/28/2002 9:40:37 AM PDT by weegee
Of course it was a disappointment that Houston's bid for the 2012 Olympics came to an end yesterday. To have gotten this far, and making the "Final Four" with three other such great cities, was itself a fine accomplishment. I salute our 2012 Committee for the thousands of hours of work they put into the effort. No question about it: This effort put Houston in the national spotlight -- and at a good time considering some negative events that made national news.
From the very beginning of our Olympic bid, I thought Houston was the appropriate city to host the Olympics. We have an international population, and Houston is involved in the world. We will not have the 2012 Olympic Village. But Houston will continue to be a Global Village.
In just a matter of days last week, I had the pleasure to attend events honoring the anniversary of independence for India, and for Pakistan. I attended a voter registration function for Asian-Americans. I met with two of the Mayor's Advisory Boards for International Affairs and Development, one representing the Americas and the other representing the Middle East and North Africa.
For a long time, Houston has been recognized as the Energy Capital of the world. Houston serves as the secretariat city for the World Energy Cities Partnership, a consortium of the world's leading energy producing cities. Annually, Houston hosts the World Offshore Technology Conference. In the last 20 years or so, however, Houston has become known for other worldwide endeavors. As home to the largest campus of health-care facilities, the Texas Medical Center, Houston attracts tens of thousands of patients and researchers from across the planet each year. As home to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Johnson Space Center, Houston was chosen to be home to the International Space Station project and to host the World Space Congress this year -- the largest gathering of space scientists ever held.
The Port of Houston is America's largest port in foreign tonnage, and the sixth-largest port in the world. Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport serves 50 cities in 23 countries around the world. Houston is America's gateway to Latin America.
Fully one-third of our work force directly benefits from Houston's international trade. With more than 3,000 firms doing business overseas, Houston is a powerhouse in the global economy -- and is recognized around the world as a great city in which to do business. And we are not slowing down. I have lead several trade missions to the Far East, Africa and Latin America. These have been very productive, with many trade agreements being signed and large construction projects formalized.
We want to go beyond our international business partnerships and establish academic, health-care, environmental and cultural partnerships around the globe.
Our city has a wonderful international "feel" to it. And no wonder. Houston has 76 consul general offices, 42 international chambers of commerce, 25 foreign banks with offices here. One in eight of our citizens was born in another country, with more than 380,000 foreign migrations during the 1990s. Houston has no racial or ethnic majority.
In other words, Houston is a pretty exciting place! Whether it's the Japan Festival and the WorldFest Film Festival in April, or the Greek Festival, Festa Italian and the International Quilt Festival in October, there always seems to be a cultural or ethnic celebration. And Houstonians love learning about other cultures.
There is no way we can avoid the events of this past year. The Sept. 11 attack on America had an immediate effect on our economy and continues to have a troubling effect on the minds of some investors. There is less confidence in our overseas investments, and there is less confidence in our overseas travel. We will probably see fewer visas.
But Houston, Texas, is about a sense of the possible. That is how our city has defined itself, and it is how we have defined our international activities. Only our imagination limits us. If there are those who would destroy and subvert economies around the globe, Houston's citizens, businesses and elected leaders will simply focus more sharply on the future.
It was Houston's sense of the possible that was the root of our Olympic Games bid.
In truth, because we live in a communications age, our world is smaller. Events overseas appear on our televisions within minutes. We talk with our business partners around the globe throughout the day.
It is vitally important that Houston continues to be a world leader in those things we do so well -- finding and refining energy, providing excellent health care, solving medical mysteries through advanced research, exploring space and pioneering the technological advances necessary for all these endeavors.
"Houston." I can tell you that the word has a magical, almost mythic quality when we say it in overseas capitals. People think there are some exciting things happening in Houston -- and, of course, they're right!
Brown is mayor of Houston.
New York City has to be the site of the 2012 Olympics, because the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn is going to be the venue for the newest Olympic event: the 100-yard Dash by a Hasidic Jew Being Chased Down and Killed by a Mob of Black Thugs.
Remember that one, Lee (former New York City Police Commissioner) Brown?
/sarcasm off/
Houston didn't do much for the K-Mart or Sonic economies the other night ... Hardly very sharp.
In person, Lee Brown is a nice guy, really. I have met him. But he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. And he is the typical African American in a leadership position in Houston/Harris county gov't. They seem to think that for some reason they are owed money. For what, I don't know. And other elected officials usually go along with them. No matter how silly the project or idea is (reparations being a recent example). Or they run the risk of being called racist. Which I doubt any of them are. Who cares about color? The only people that seem to are "colored"?
Everything aside, the sickening thing about this Houston/Olympic farce is how well it illustrates the absolute disrespect that elected officals have for money. It just grows on trees.
Prediction: Brown & Co. will soon start making a little noise about demolishing the Astrodome. This noise will get louder and louder until the Dome is torn down and the small group of people pulling Brown's strings make even more money.
They should have thought of that BEFORE they built in on that property. Rodeo could have continued in the dome and they wouldn't have needed the retractable roof on the new fooball field.
Just like they have tried to get the Main Street Express built so that people can park at the old dome to ride to the new Astrofield.
We are dealing with Mayorbob's cronies, Clinton's drug czar Mayor Leepy Brown, and the efforts of Ken "enron" Lay (who did a lot to get the new ballpark built even though the voter approval was by 1% margin).
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