Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

Precinct analysis: At Large #1

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race Harris Health bond referendum We have four runoffs in the At Large races, and they’re all basically D versus R affairs. The HCDP and the Harris County GOP have taken their sides. Let’s look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Precinct analysis: At Large #1

Fifth Circuit has its book rating lawsuit hearing

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It looks like it might have…gone well? I am cautiously hopeful. Federal appellate judges Wednesday questioned a new Texas law requiring book sellers to rate the explicitness and relevance of sexual references in materials they sell to schools, though it … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rhonda Hart for CD14

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I wish her very well. Rhonda Hart, who lost her daughter in the 2018 mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, is launching a bid for Congress. Hart, a Democrat, plans to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Rhonda Hart for CD14

Saturday video break: The boys of the NYPD Choir still singing “Galway Bay”

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I will have a note on his passing in the Sunday linkdump, but for obvious reasons the first thing I thought about upon hearing of Shane MacGowan’s passing was this: As a part-Irishman, I’m an absolute sucker for a sad … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: 2023 Harris Health proposition

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race Controller’s race The nice thing about analyzing Harris County Proposition A is that I can use the precinct/district guide I got and used for the 2022 election, which is nice and clean and gives me totals that … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Apparently there’s a lawsuit challenging the 2023 constitutional amendment elections

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I’m running out of synonyms for “deranged” and “absurd”. Lawsuits based on false claims about voting equipment could delay millions of dollars in cost of living increases for retired teachers expected to arrive in January. The lawsuits … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Dodo update

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Everyone needs a home. After years of working on bringing back one of the most popular extinct animals — the dodo — Colossal Biosciences has found a home for its bird in Mauritius in a new partnership with the Mauritian … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paxton sues Pfizer for not ending the COVID pandemic quickly enough

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

What the actual fuck? Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused drugmaker Pfizer of fear-mongering and lies about the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, which the company insinuated would end the pandemic, according to a lawsuit Paxton announced Thursday. “In a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

HISD’s continued enrollment decline

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not great. Houston ISD saw its steepest enrollment decline this year since the first full school year of the pandemic, losing roughly 6,000 students, according to preliminary data obtained by the Houston Landing. Some 183,884 students now attend HISD … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

DPS ordered again to release Uvalde public records

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good, though I’m a bit confused about the timing. A Travis County state district judge has ordered the Department of Public safety to release law enforcement records related to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, more than a year after … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on DPS ordered again to release Uvalde public records

Precinct analysis: 2023 Controller’s race

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: Mayor’s race I got in a groove and took what I learned from mucking around with the Mayor’s race data and was able to clean up the same for the Controller’s race in relatively short order. As you’ll see, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cruise and Houston

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting overview of the currently-on-pause driverless taxi service in our town. The nationwide pause included Houston and Austin. However, no Texas or local entity required Cruise to take its vehicles off the road because they legally could not. Senate … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Cruise and Houston

Crime continues to decline in Houston

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Don’t let it get in the way of any campaigns. Houston was part of a nationwide decline in most crime statistics in major cities, leading one crime data analyst to say the trend shows that it … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of November 27

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes everyone has recovered from their tryptophan naps as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of November 27

SCOTx has its abortion case hearing

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The Supreme Court of Texas heard arguments Tuesday in a landmark case that could impact how the state’s abortion laws apply to medically complicated pregnancies. In August, state District Judge Jessica Mangrum ruled that the near-total abortion … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Whitmire and SJL on the HISD mess

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the Mayor has basically no direct influence on HISD, but it’s an issue people care about and the Mayor can certainly make it a point of focus. So what do our two Mayoral runoff candidates have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2023 runoff early voting Day Two totals

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s get to it: Year Mail Early Total =============================== 2015 20,233 22,964 43,197 2019 6,024 29,180 35,204 2023 946 28,113 29,059 Again, the early in person totals look normal. The mail, I have no idea. I just now noticed that … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SurveyUSA Mayoral runoff poll: Whitmire 42, SJL 35

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We finally have a second pollster. State Sen. John Whitmire maintains a 7 percentage point lead over U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral race, with a fifth of likely voters having yet to make up their minds … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Idaho appeals EMTALA injunction to SCOTUS

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves. Idaho asked the Supreme Court Monday to stay a lower court injunction, or to take up its case directly, as it attempts to fend off the Biden administration’s challenge of the state’s abortion ban. The government filed suit … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Idaho appeals EMTALA injunction to SCOTUS

2023 runoff early voting Day One totals

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting for the 2023 runoff elections is underway. Here’s the news you can use from Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudpseth: As early voting begins for the December 9 Joint Runoff Election, Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth urges voters to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Precinct analysis: 2023 Mayor’s race

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The November 2023 election has been officially canvassed and certified, and that means that there’s precinct data available for me to analyze. I’ve been working on it over the weekend, and I will tell you it’s a bit more of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Musk and Paxton versus freedom of speech

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. It didn’t quite happen the moment court was open, as Elon Musk the billionaire owner of X/Twitter had promised, but at the end of Monday, the social media platform did file its “thermonuclear” lawsuit against media … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Chron covers The MOB

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Obviously, I am going to make note of this. A spectacle on the Rice Stadium football field: A college student wearing a suit and fedora hands a giant check for $0 to a man in a rubber horse helmet. Scoffs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Music | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Chron covers The MOB

Weekend link dump for November 26

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

RIP, Rosalynn Carter, passionate champion of mental health, caregiving, and women’s rights, former First Lady, all around excellent person. “Companies worth billions of dollars are, without permission, training generative AI models on creators’ works, which are then being used to … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | Comments Off on Weekend link dump for November 26

Candidate filing update

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still more than two weeks to go until the filing deadline for the 2024 primaries, so there are still a lot of people who haven’t filed or haven’t made their surprise announcement that they’re not filing yet. So if … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Prop A gets its first customers

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this: Council Members Carolyn Evans-Shabazz (District D) and Mary Nan Huffman (District G) joined Council Member Amy Peck (District A) to submit notice to the City’s Agenda Office to place an item on the City Council Agenda. … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We could get an Amtrak connection from Atlanta to Fort Worth

Posted on November 26, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Or it could all be killed by the Freedom Caucus nihilists. That’s just how these things go these days. A passenger rail line project touted as a major connectivity and economic boost to the Fort Worth region and beyond could … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Harris County drops its lawsuit over the law banning its Elections Administrator

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The right move at this time, though the whole thing still rankles. Harris County dropped its lawsuit against the state on Wednesday, ending its challenge to a law that went into effect weeks ago eliminating the county’s elections office. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Anti-porn law un-blocked

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. Texas can again enforce its new law requiring people to prove they are 18 or older to access online porn. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the state’s request last week to lift a temporary injunction that … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Anti-porn law un-blocked

Woolly mammoth de-extinctioning

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. In a historic building in Deep Ellum, a colossal effort is underway to bring some of the most famously extinct animals back to life. The wild mission comes from a Dallas-based company called Colossal Biosciences which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math, The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Paxton whistleblowers demand depositions

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As always, I am rooting for them. Lawyers for the Ken Paxton whistleblowers are moving forward with their lawsuit in Travis County after another judge cleared the way, asking the Austin-based court to force the attorney general and his top … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Paxton whistleblowers demand depositions

PragerU videos? Seriously?

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Once again I have to ask, what the hell is going on at HISD? A Friday lesson intended to teach students at dozens of Houston ISD schools how to think objectively included a video that mocked the idea of human-caused … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

The business brief against the state abortion ban

Posted on November 24, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Would like to see a lot more co-signers on this. Forty Texas companies and business leaders are entering the fight against Texas’ abortion ban, filing a brief with the Texas Supreme Court that argues the “ambiguity” in the law’s medical … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Thanksgiving video break: It’s about Alice

Posted on November 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have many traditions here but we like the ones we have. I am as always thankful for my family and friends, my health, the fact that I still get enjoyment from things I’ve done for a long time … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 7 Comments