Springtime

This is from the hard copy of today’s Chron:

A group of pro-Palestine demonstrators protested Mayor John Whitmire‘s appearance at the annual Houston Iftar dinner Sunday, calling for the mayor to support a cease-fire in Gaza after his refusal to do so prompted some Muslim leaders and organizations to boycott the city’s premier iftar event.

Sporting red latex gloves to symbolize the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Israel’s monthslong bombardment of Gaza, dozens of protesters, led by the group Houston for Palestinian Liberation, stood up at the beginning of Whitmire’s keynote address Sunday evening at the Bayou City Event Center. They unfurled a banner that read “No ceasefire, no iftar,” as they chanted pro-Palestine slogans. The group has become heavily involved in organizing pro-Palestine protests around Houston, and its members have regularly addressed local officials at recent City Council meetings.

Whitmire drew the ire of the protest group and prominent Muslim organizations in Houston after a meeting with Muslim community leaders earlier this month in which he reportedly refused to support a cease-fire in Gaza. Organizations, including the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, Al Noor Masjid, Muslims United Political Action Committee and the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Houston chapter, boycotted Sunday’s iftar event, saying in an open letter that they would not attend unless Whitmire and other Houston-area officials who “failed to call for a ceasefire” were uninvited.

Whitmire began by thanking the organizers and attendees for inviting him. 

“I will be a better mayor when I leave here tonight than the mayor who got here because of your kindness, because of your success,” Whitmire said.

Shortly after he began speaking, protesters started to reiterate their calls for a cease-fire. Whitmire endeavored to speak over them. 

He said that despite its many challenges, Houston has become a more diverse city, more welcoming of the Muslim community, than it was when he first became a state senator in the 1970s. But he acknowledged there was still work to be done to make it more inclusive.

His words did little to silence the protesters, whose shouts grew louder over the course of his speech.

“Death on both sides is a terrible thing,” Whitmire said to the crowd of 2,000 as the demonstrators were eventually escorted out of the building by Houston Police Department officers. “You think I don’t see the pictures of starving young people, children that have done nothing? Of course, they’re in my thoughts.”

Here is the entire read: Demonstrators interrupt Mayor John Whitmire at boycotted Houston Iftar (houstonchronicle.com).

Commentary supports a ceasefire. Too many innocent folks have been killed and people are starving over there. I get the politics on this.  I get why folks are putting pressure on the mayor, even though the mayor can’t do anything about what’s going on in Gaza.

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Speaking of the Chron, right now they are doing a thorough and detailed series of articles on our Harris County constables – their duties and their powers. Check it out.

The thing about Harris County constables is that their precincts have never been redistricted. That is why they vary in population. That is also why some have larger budgets and staff. We got to eight constables in the early 1970s and their precinct boundaries have remained the same since.

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Commentary is making the time to get rid of a bunch of stuff. I purchased a shredder last week to dispose of personal stuff I don’t want to just toss in the garbage can or green bin. I have learned how to navigate the neighborhood recycling and solid waste facility on North Main Street. The featured photo is the shredder I bought.

Why do I still have this is a thought that is recurring during this process.

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March Madness gets underway this evening. We also officially welcome springtime late this evening.