Author Archives: Greg Wythe

Saturday Video Break: This is a test

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Greg Wythe

Howdy folks. Greg here. Charles and I have just been rooting around WordPress to look into some possible tech issues the site has been having lately. The video below is not a function of those issues. Instead, its just my … Continue reading →

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Nightly News Update: One Last Time

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Greg Wythe

Kuff will be return soon enough after camping out with Sasquatch, Jason Voorhees, and the wild Basselope of Bloom County. If he were here, these might be things he’d be tempted to remark on. Since he’s not, here’s me running … Continue reading →

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Nightly News Update: Monday Edition

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Greg Wythe

More up-to-date linkage while Kuff sings Kumbaya in the wood goes on a snipe hunt. » Chron: Kids’ failure is adult’s ‘success’ (Rick Casey) Maybe it’s just me, but the immediacy of this column seems a bit like an afterthought … Continue reading →

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Nightly News Update: This Guest Aggrepost Just In!

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Greg Wythe

While Kuff is getting in touch with Mother Nature, I’ll add an occasional aggregation of other stories that might be somewhere close to the sort of thing Kuff might add to the blog in order to keep things a tad … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Nightly News Update: This Guest Aggrepost Just In!

Coup? What coup?

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The rumor of a list of legislators looking to oust House Speaker Joe Straus turns out to be, well, a rumor. The Statesman’s Gardner Selby started hearing chatter late last week that Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, was circulating … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Reminder: GHDC District H candidate forum

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The Greater Heights Democratic Club is holding a candidate forum for District H this Thursday. Please join the Greater Heights Democratic Club for a Candidate Forum for the upcoming City of Houston, District H, Special Election. Place: Reagan High School … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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No open carry

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The “Open Carry” movement, which was advocating for a change to Texas’ concealed carry law to allow guns to be worn in plain view, appears to have failed as no bill was filed to achieve this end. [A]fter months lobbying … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 3 Comments

Dems seek repeal of new DPS rules

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Greg Wythe

We didn’t have any voter ID action yesterday, but we did have this. Some Democratic lawmakers joined by Texas residents who have had trouble getting drivers’ licenses under new Department of Public Safety rules pushed Monday for legislation that would … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of March 16

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Spring is in the air, and the Texas Progressive Alliance has a spring in its step. Click on to see what we’re animated about. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of March 16

Union Bar reaches resolution with GLBT community

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Via press release from the HGLBT Political Caucus, it looks like we have a resolution to the incident at the Union Bar: Representatives from Union Bar and Lounge met with leaders from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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No voter ID today

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The Senate was supposed to finish doing its dirty work on voter ID today, but a clerical error has put things off for another day. Including all previously scheduled committee meetings, because nothing else can get done till the single … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Is there a revolt brewing against Straus?

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Texas Insider passes along what is probably a rumor. Word around the Texas House of Representatives is that a phantom list of nearly 76 signatures is circulating that will take out Speaker Joe Straus when the time is right. A … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 1 Comment

Candidate interview: Rick Rodriguez

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Greg Wythe

As you know, there is a special election coming up in City Council District H to fill the seat that was vacated by now-Sheriff Adrian Garcia. There are nine candidates running for this seat, and as has been my custom … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Why it really is about suppressing the vote

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Once the voter ID debate shifts over to the House, there will be several bills there for them to consider as companions to SB362. One such bill is HB1414 by Rep. Dwayne Bohac, which is as far as I can … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 2 Comments

A better idea for the Grand Parkway

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Greg Wythe

If we must build the Grand Parkway Segment E, then this would be a far more preferable way to do it. Probably less expensive, too. Continue reading →

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More on the end of the sixty-five percent rule

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Here’s an updated story on the end of the sixty-five percent rule. Gov. Rick Perry’s 4-year-old mandate that schools spend at least 65 percent of their money on classroom instruction is under fire from key lawmakers in Perry’s own party. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for March 15

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Beware The Ides Of March… Why we immunize. The post is from last month, but there’s no bad time to be reading that. Don’t click on some of the photo links if you have a weak constitution. Giant armadillos! When … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Weekend link dump for March 15

More on the Union Bar

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Greg Wythe

KHOU has a story on the incident at Union Bar on Friday. [T]he bar’s owner said it was all a big misunderstanding, and apologized for the incident. He said since the bar opened late last fall, it has been booked … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

The World Cup in Houston?

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Greg Wythe

This would be very cool. As they prepare to host CONCACAF Gold Cup matches at Reliant Stadium for a third consecutive tournament edition July 9, the folks at Lone Star Sports and Entertainment are busy thinking big — really big. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 2 Comments

“Strengths and weaknesses” rears its head again

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I know we thought that the current round of anti-evolutionism was in remission once the effort to change the science textbooks by the State Board of Education fell short. Sadly, these things never truly go away, and where the SBOE … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Green clean

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Greg Wythe

This is amazing. It’s a kitchen degreaser. It’s a window cleaner. It kills athlete’s foot. Oh, and you can drink it. Sounds like the old “Saturday Night Live” gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Your weekend moment of Zen

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Via Mark Evanier, the opening number from The Music Man as performed on a subway by students from Boston University. Try doing that on the Katy Freeway. And if you’re feeling a little bluesy instead of show-tunesy, here’s a bonus … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 1 Comment

No service for gays

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I’d heard bits about this last night on Twitter, but via an email from Carl Whitmarsh I’ve learned the details of a nasty little incident. The following is a press release from the Houston GLBT Political Caucus: Nearly 100 gay, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 4 Comments

Parker versus Perry

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I like this. Houston City Controller Annise Parker sharply criticized Texas Governor Rick Perry today for rejecting $555 million in federal stimulus money that would have funded unemployment benefits for out-of-work Texans. “In January alone, more than 65,000 Houstonians were … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 2 Comments

Them’s good eatin’

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack has an idea. Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack has a problem with hungry hogs. Houston has a problem with hungry people. If Radack gets his way, hundreds of pounds of pork soon could be hitting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food, Local politics | 1 Comment

The dentist in charge

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The Statesman has a profile of Don McLeroy, the young-earth creationist who is also the chair of the State Board of Education and who is currently leading the fight to cripple science education in Texas. I’m not going to get … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on The dentist in charge

Friday random ten: Special guest star edition

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Today’s Friday random ten comes courtesy of Alan Bernstein. Take it away, Alan! 1. 1985 — Bowling For Soup 2. Chain Reaction — Joe Sample 3. Autumn In New York — Harry Connick 4. Thrill Of It — Robert Randolph … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Who will be affected by voter ID?

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Let’s take a moment as we wait for the next round in the voter ID battle to consider who might actually have their right to vote affected by this unneeded piece of partisan legislation. Meet Bessie Jenkins Foster. The 98-year-old … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | 3 Comments

On DNA testing and innocence

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Greg Wythe

I’m glad to hear that District Attorney Pat Lykos is going to examine cases of wrongful conviction in Harris County. I’m sure there are plenty more than the five she plans to highlight, but the fact that she wants to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

For the money, I sure hope so

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Greg Wythe

News flash: Travel times on the newly-expanded Katy Freeway have improved. The expansion of 23 miles of roadway along the Katy was completed in October. The $2.8 billion project took five years to complete and added 18 lanes between the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 1 Comment

Lege versus Gov on unemployment funds

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Showdown time. The House committee charged with recommending how to use the federal stimulus money does not see eye to eye with Gov. Rick Perry on the $555 million for unemployment insurance. In a 5 to 1 vote, the committee … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Once more with the stimulus and unemployment insurance

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

By the way, the money that the state has in reserve for unemployment insurance is rapidly being depleted. Just so you know. [Tuesday], the Texas Workforce Commission announced that the unemployment trust fund is now expected to be almost depleted … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

Recycling reboot

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

The city of Houston is taking a crack at boosting participation in its curbside recycling program by making it easier to dispose of recyclables. The pilot program, to be announced by Mayor Bill White today, will be offered to about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

Activist running in Farmers Branch

Posted on March 12, 2009 by Greg Wythe

Via Stace, I see that one of the leaders in the fight against xenophobia in Farmers Branch is a on the ballot for City Council there. Business owner and activist Elizabeth Villafranca [announced] her candidacy Monday afternoon. Villafranca, an outspoken … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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