We are in the midst of a freeze, so, I guess that means I should end my one-month break from blogging. The reality is that I needed the break so that I could collect myself for what is to come in the new year. Politics isn’t very exciting lately, and public policy seems to suck even more when the President you voted for tries to pawn off immigration reform for genocide and war cash. Anyway, this freeze reminds one that we need to also think of the now.
Warming Centers
If one finds themselves freezing and in need of warmth, the City of Houston and Harris County are providing warming centers. One thing they won’t tell you to do is to MASK UP! I haven’t seen so many sickly, cough-y, sneez-y people in so long. Whether it’s COVID, RSV, Flu or some other respiratory ailment, they spread through the air and an infection can cause damage to one’s lungs. Masking up is the least one can do to make sure there isn’t a community spread in this emergency situation.
- Acres Homes Multi-Service Center
- 6719 W. Montgomery Rd.
- Houston, TX 77091
- METRO: 44 – Acres Homes stop @ W. Montgomery & Wilburforce
- Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center
- 6402 Market St.
- Houston, TX 77020
- METRO: 48 Market stop @ Market & Rouse
- Downtown Recovery Center
- 150 Chenevert St.
- Houston, TX 77002
- METRO: 48 Market stop @ Runnels & East Dr.
- Fonde Community Center
- 110 Sabine St.
- Houston, TX 77007
- METRO: 30 Clinton/Ella stop @ Memorial & Houston
- Metropolitan Multi-Service Center at W. Gray
- 1745 W. Gray St.
- Houston TX 77019
- METRO: 32 Renwick/San Felipe stop @ W. Gray & Waugh
- Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center
- 4410 Reed Rd.
- Houston, TX 77051
- METRO: 29 Cullen/Hirsch stop @ Cullen & Wilmington
- ADDITIONAL WARMING CENTERS
- Alief Family YMCA – 7850 Howell Sugar Land Rd., Houston, TX 77083
- Lakewood Church – 3700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77027
And I’ve heard of one at Bayland Park at 6400 Bissonnet run by the good folks at Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones’ office. Thanks to my Commish and her staff for those efforts.
Again, be safe and wear a mask.
The COVID Report
At last check, the holiday COVID surge had blasted the viral load in the wastewater above 330%. If one considers that one year ago the load was at 999%, well, we really haven’t made much progress in containing the disease.
We know what causes it, and it is not a lack of a vaccine. Vaccines help protect one from the worst of the disease in normal health conditions, but if one is immunocompromised in any way, then the result of an infection could be worse. Diseases that end up in one’s lungs could cause long-term damage. That’s why masks are so important to help stop transmission, whether it’s COVID, flu, RSV, or some other airborne disease. Do they cramp your style? Tough shit! If you don’t kill yourself, you may kill a loved one who is elderly or immunocompromised! MASK UP!
STAY HOME!
The roads are awful today in the area, including I-10 just outside of Katy (see photo above). Corporations who didn’t give their employees a break on MLK Day should let them work from home these next few days. They’ll still make a profit–Employee safety is good for profits, right?
MLK Quote of the Day
I’m not one for the feel-good quotes. I think moderates use them to make themselves feel better or accomplished. Or worse, “woke”! Here’s a good MLK quote to consider:
“Whites, it must frankly be said, are not putting in a similar mass effort to reeducate themselves out of their racial ignorance. It is an aspect of their sense of superiority that the white people of America believe they have so little to learn.”
-Martin Luther King Jr., Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)
Something for white liberals to think about when they push for moderate policies and politics as a means of maintaining an untenable status quo.Reminder: Abbott’s Grid Still Sucks
Make sure you check ERCOT periodically for power warnings. It’ll be much colder and for a longer period tonight through Tuesday morning. So, there will be energy consumption by families of all income levels trying to stay warm.