Diane Keaton
The Chron E-Board put out a take today calling for H-Town Mayor John Whitmire to push back against Donald Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott on how our streets should look. See this part of the E-Board take:
Let’s be honest. This attack on Houston’s rainbow crosswalk is just part of the White House’s continuing mission to expand political control over every little nook and cranny — and urban intersection — in our big, proud, diverse nation. While the LGBT community is the obvious target, cities are also compelled to remove any colorful political expression, such as Blue Lives Matter paint. Cities don’t get to pick what their crosswalks look like. The White House does.
Anyone hoping to see Mayor Whitmire stand up to Trump and Abbott’s bureaucratic game of smear the queer will be disappointed. Metro, whose board is largely controlled by the mayor, quickly acquiesced to Abbott’s demand and said they’ll remove the rainbow crosswalk. Now that’s wasteful government spending: Metro just replaced the crosswalk after completing road work.
Meanwhile, San Antonio’s mayor, Gina Ortiz Jones, is pushing back.
“There are no immediate plans to make changes to any roadways, and any future changes will occur with City Council input,” her office told Axios.
If our mayor can’t be as courageous as San Antonio’s, he can at least be clever. How about installing a colorful, pro-safety, crosswalk that just so happens to look like a rainbow? No politics here, Trump and Abbott, just high-visibility pedestrian infrastructure. Perhaps the city could allow volunteer paint jobs along the surrounding sidewalks. Or maybe the mayor could put a Texas-sized Pride flag at City Hall and encourage community members to do the same to show that Houstonians will always stand up for our neighbors.
Here is the entire E-Board take: Houston’s Pride crosswalk is under attack but John Whitmire is silent.
I have not talked to the mayor about this. I will say this about the mayor. I am sure he is paying attention and scoreboard watching. Democrats are not putting up very many points on the scoreboard these days. The mayor is busy trying to figure out where to find the resources to keep our city running.
In case folks haven’t noticed, we are getting assaulted on our voting and civil rights. Due process has been quashed for many. The military is being deployed to cities over the objections of those who run those cities. There are no checks and balances within our federal government. The last thing I would like to see is the federal government put a big bull’s eye on H-Town because we got into a fight we can’t win today. I know folks will not agree with my take, but that is where we are. Don’t think the feds won’t mess with how we operate our airports and port.
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On “What’s Your Point” yesterday, the 2nd Congressional District race in the MAGA primary was discussed and panelist Gary Polland described CD 2 race challenger MAGA State Rep. Steve Toth as outside of “mainstream of conservative Republicans.” I won’t argue with Gary about this. I will say that “mainstream of conservative Republicans” are outside of MAGA.
On the show yesterday, Gary also called MAGA Cong. Marjorie Taylor Greene a “joke.” We all know that MAGA loves MTG.
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We lost a great actor this past weekend. I am talking about Diane Keaton. She was one of my favorites. An Oscar winner and multiple Oscar nominee. An integral part of the “The Godfather” movie franchise. She won the Best Actress Oscar for “Annie Hall.” I loved her in “Looking for Mr. Goodbar,” “Reds,” the “Father of the Bride” flicks, “Something’s Gotta Give,” “The First Wives Club,” and “Baby Boom,” among others.
My Best Friend and I were texting about Diane Keaton Saturday night and he mentioned that Keaton, Al Pacino, and Talia Shire were the only actors to star in all three “The Godfather” flicks. Technically he was right about starring. I let him know that Sofia Coppola played Connie’s and Carlo’s baby in the baptism scene in “The Godfather” and as a young immigrant on the ship that young Vito was on, on his way to America in “The Godfather II,” both uncredited roles. She was also Mary Corleone, Kay and Michael’s daughter, in “The Godfather III.”
In “The Godfather,” Keaton’s Kay is the last character we see after she asks Michael “is it true? Is it?” and he says “no.” Then she walks out of the room and the door shuts. A great movie scene ending to the best flick of all time.
The featured photo is from the opening scenes of “The Godfather” where most of us were introduced to Diane Keaton through her Kay Adams character.
La-de-da, la-de-da, la-la.
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I am always learning stuff. Dylan Dreyer of “Today” doesn’t like mascots, like the team mascots. Last Friday in Tulsa, she was surrounded by around a half dozen or so Oklahoma local mascots. This morning Dylan admitted she suffers from “masklophobia,” yep. masklophobia, or the fear of folks in masks or costumes. I didn’t know this term existed.
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Who’s at second? The Chron sports section has a piece today on the second base position for the Astros these days. According to the Chron, it is a big question mark heading into 2026.