Category Archives: Show Business for Ugly People

Voter fingerprint ID

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This has superficial appeal, but I don’t believe it holds up under close scrutiny. Fingerprints can now be used to unlock smart phones, car engines, even guns. Why not ballots, too? A New Mexico legislator has just proposed that his … Continue reading →

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Abbott waffles on vaccinations

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Come on, dude. Weighing in on a national debate, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made clear this week that he supports laws that include exemptions to requirements that parents vaccinate their children. “Abbott recognizes the public health benefits of vaccines and … Continue reading →

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We still have those outsourcing blues

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We never learn from history. That’s just how we roll in this state. In 1991, the Texas attorney general’s office signed an $11 million contract to computerize its child-support payments system. By 1997, the deal with Andersen Consulting had ballooned … Continue reading →

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How the appraisal game is rigged

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer tells the tale of how we got to where we are with the appraisal process and how easy it is for the big boys to get their taxes drastically reduced. At the heart of Valero’s lawsuits in Moore … Continue reading →

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Local control, schmocal control

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Lisa Falkenberg: So, let me get this straight. Government is the problem, not the solution. It’s a bumbling bureaucracy run by tyrants, cronies and other self-important suits who think they know better than you or I how to live … Continue reading →

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From the Bad Editorial Timing department

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the Houston Chronicle Saturday edition: State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, called Harris Health’s impending budget shortfall “one more casualty of Texas not participating in the Medicaid expansion. “We could at least stop the bleeding if we had the additional … Continue reading →

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Same sex marriage ads on your TV

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it. The national same-sex marriage advocacy group Freedom to Marry will air a series of television ads in Texas this week, with the aim to personalize the issue ahead of an important federal hearing Friday. The … Continue reading →

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Does any of this sound like “Medicaid Expansion” to you?

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So Wonkblog, TPM, and BOR, all riffing off the same news story in which Greg Abbott had a clandestine meeting with Houston-area legislators and may have said some things that made them think he might be open to “Medicaid expansion”, … Continue reading →

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How much do payday lenders suck?

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This much. Pursuing, or even threatening, criminal charges against payday and title borrowers is strictly prohibited by Texas law, with very few exceptions. The Texas Constitution unequivocally states, “No person shall ever be imprisoned for debt.” But new research released … Continue reading →

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Abbott puts on a moderate act

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He cares about education! During a Capitol news conference in which he announced the selection of his senior staff, Gov.-elect Greg Abbott said Monday that education will be his top policy priority. Abbott said he wants to improve the educational … Continue reading →

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Bag fees versus bag bans

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. If you live in Washington, you know the drill: After bagging your groceries, the checkout machine asks you how many bags you used. And if you used plastic or disposable bags (rather than bags you brought on your own), … Continue reading →

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SBOE adopts history textbook changes it hasn’t read

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome. After adopting hundreds of pages in last minute updates and corrections, the Texas State Board of Education approved new social studies textbooks Friday. All but the five Democrats on the 15-member board voted to accept products from all publishers … Continue reading →

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It’s OK if energy costs go up for now

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my reaction to this. As Texas regulators weigh a response to President Obama’s proposal to combat climate change, the operator of the state’s main electric grid says the plan would raise energy costs and threaten reliability – particularly in the … Continue reading →

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SBOE defers new textbook decision

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They’re funny even when they’re not trying to be. After an afternoon spent wrangling over the proper definition of jihad and the influence of Moses on the Founding Fathers, it was Common Core that ultimately derailed the State Board of … Continue reading →

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It’s textbook approval time again

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You know what that means, because we can’t do this sort of thing without controversy and a generous side order of knuckleheadedness. Bowing to public pressure, the world’s largest textbook publisher has revised misleading language on global warming in a … Continue reading →

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Even Rick Perry appointees back Medicaid expansion

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just the right thing to do. A board of medical professionals appointed by Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that the state should provide health coverage to low-income Texans under the Affordable Care Act — a move the Republican-led Legislature … Continue reading →

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Paper ballots make a comeback

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Everything Old Is New Again department: States have abandoned electronic voting machines in droves, ensuring that most voters will be casting their ballots by hand on Election Day. With many electronic voting machines more than a decade old, … Continue reading →

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Expand Medicaid or else

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out the federal government has more leverage over Texas than you might think. If Texas wants to keep receiving billions of federal dollars to help hospitals care for uninsured patients, state lawmakers may have to look again at expanding … Continue reading →

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What will The Dew do now?

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

“Go away” would be my first choice. David Dewhurst is not ready to leave Texas politics. The outgoing lieutenant governor said Monday he is planning to start a “large public policy venture” and may consider a run for political office … Continue reading →

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UT/Trib poll says Texans would be fine with same sex marriage

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A result of interest from the most recent UT/Trib poll: Registered Texas voters narrowly oppose same-sex marriage, but a large majority is open to allowing either marriage or civil unions to gays and lesbians, according to the latest University of … Continue reading →

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Empower Texans could have some tax problems

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Schadenfreude alert: Empower Texans, an organization at the center of the state’s far-right conservative movement, reported no political expenses on its 2012 tax returns to the Internal Revenue Service, despite showing $350,000 in campaign expenditures to state authorities, documents show. … Continue reading →

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Steven Hotze in his own words

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Media Matters sat in on a conference call of professional haters, and, well, see for yourself. Fox News hero and prominent Texas conservative Dr. Steven Hotze warned supporters during a conference call that gay activists want to overturn laws prohibiting … Continue reading →

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Next in “What’s wrong with our textbooks”: Climate change

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: An examination of how proposed social studies textbooks for Texas public schools address climate change reveals distortions and bias that misrepresent the broad scientific consensus on the phenomenon. Climate education specialists at the National Center for Science … Continue reading →

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On Gene Green and representing Latino districts

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been meaning to blog about this story about Rep. Gene Green and CD29 and how the Houston area has never sent a Latino to Congress, but I kept getting stuck and I finally decided I was overthinking it. Two … Continue reading →

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Congressional Dems request federal investigation of Abbott’s persecution of Houston Votes

Posted on September 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Democratic congressmen from Texas have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate a raid by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office that targeted a nonprofit voter registration group. The Dallas Morning News reported Aug. 31 on the attorney … Continue reading →

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Time again to talk textbooks

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Kathy Miller of the Texas Freedom Network sounded the alarm in the Sunday op-eds. The last time Texas adopted social studies textbooks – in 2002 – political activists and members of the state education board themselves demanded scores of changes … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s voter registration persecution

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Now this is what a partisan witch hunt looks like. On an overcast Monday afternoon, officers in bulletproof vests swept into a house on Houston’s north side. The armed deputies and agents served a search warrant. They carted away computers, … Continue reading →

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Shine a light on dark money

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I totally favor this. Secret campaign donors in Texas may soon be forced out of the shadows. The Texas Ethics Commission, already fighting a conservative group in court over whether it can regulate dark money disclosure, appears poised to approve … Continue reading →

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Once again, voter fraud by impersonation just doesn’t exist

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Washington Post: Election fraud happens. But ID laws are not aimed at the fraud you’ll actually hear about. Most current ID laws (Wisconsin is a rare exception) aren’t designed to stop fraud with absentee ballots (indeed, laws requiring … Continue reading →

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From the files of privatization failures

Posted on August 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A story from last week. State officials have decided to slow the rollout of a controversial overhaul of the foster-care system after the private contractor running a pilot program abruptly pulled out Friday. Judge John Specia, commissioner of the state … Continue reading →

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Abbott does one last solid for Perry

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

He lets him keep his little secrets. After critics raised a stink about the tax dollars being spent to provide security for Gov. Rick Perry while he was gearing up to run for president, lawmakers passed a bill in 2011 … Continue reading →

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Intimidation tactics

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very creepy. Anti-abortion activists in Texas employ strategies to identify and monitor abortion patients, investigate abortion providers and clinic staff and search tax records to find locations of abortion providers, according to newly released undercover audio. The audio, from NARAL … Continue reading →

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From the “Those that disregard history are doomed to repeat it” department

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is the state of environment protection in Texas. Texas’ top environmental regulator suggested Thursday that the state may ignore a proposed directive from the Obama administration in June to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. “I’m concerned that if … Continue reading →

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Another look at Perry’s slush fund

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Like everything with Rick Perry, there’s less to it than meets the eye. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has distributed $205 million in taxpayer money to scores of technology startups using a pet program designed to bring high-paying jobs and innovation … Continue reading →

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