Category Archives: Show Business for Ugly People

SOS versus Sumners

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not a steel cage death match, but it’ll do. In a strongly worded letter today, the Texas Secretary of State’s office told Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Don Sumners that his decision not to purge presumed-dead voters … Continue reading →

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Not dead yet

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As they say, reports of their deaths have been greatly exaggerated. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Don Sumners said Monday that he would not purge from the voter roll before the November election any of the 9,018 citizens who received letters … Continue reading →

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“Waiting for Godot” in Texas

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. “It’s only a matter of time.” For more than a decade, that thought has provided solace to the out-of-power Democrats who dream of turning Texas blue, much like it was before Ronald … Continue reading →

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Testifying about the Women’s Health Program

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

More hearings like this, please. The Texas Department of State Health Services got an earful today from lawmakers and women’s health advocates at a public meeting in Austin to discuss proposed rules for the Texas Women’s Health Program — specifically, … Continue reading →

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Waiting for an investment

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some day, the national Democratic Party will make an investment in Texas rather than just use us as a glorified ATM. Just don’t ask me when that day will be. Texans have become accustomed to occupying the nosebleed seats at … Continue reading →

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This is what a government takeover of health care looks like

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s happening right here in Texas. Texas officials express confidence that thousands of low-income women will be able to find new providers should Planned Parenthood be excluded from the state’s Women’s Health Program, but Xelena Gonzalez does not think woman … Continue reading →

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Julian Castro is ready for his closeup

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your primer on the rising star, San Antonio Mayor, and DNC keynoter Julian Castro. I’ll let you take it in in all its hagiographic glory, but I’d like to highlight my favorite part, where the authors manage to find … Continue reading →

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“Collateral damage”

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that war on women going? In the year since deep cuts to family planning funding took effect, the impact has become apparent. An Observer review of state records has found that 146 clinics have lost state funds, clumped mainly … Continue reading →

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The first rule of women’s health

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Is don’t talk about things that make certain Republicans queasy. A proposed state rule that would prohibit doctors in Texas’ Women’s Health Program from discussing the option of abortion with their patients — even if the patient asks about it … Continue reading →

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Two suggestions for better elections

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ed Kilgore writes that Tennessee Democrats shot themselves in the foot with the winner of their low-information, low-profile Senate primary. [F]acing incumbent Sen. Bob Corker will be some obscure dude named Mark Clayton, who won a plurality of the vote … Continue reading →

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One Texas PAC

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Catching up on something from before last week’s runoffs, there’s a new PAC in town with some big ideas for the future. State Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer and Ana Hernandez Luna unveiled the One Texas PAC, with Martinez Fisher pledging … Continue reading →

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Privatizing psych hospitals makes as much sense as privatizing prisons

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Especially when it’s the same outfit doing the privatizing in each case. Sixteen months after the Montgomery County Mental Health Treatment Facility opened in Conroe, the state’s first publicly funded, privately run psychiatric hospital is facing at least $53,000 in … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry must love federal intervention

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

He sure does his dangedest to invite it. Perry, a Republican, has vowed not to expand Medicaid and not to create an insurance exchange. Consumer advocates in Texas say the Perry administration has also been dragging its feet when it comes to … Continue reading →

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Perry versus the insurance companies

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Quien es mas macho? Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he rejects the “Obamacare power grab” and will block measures expanding health insurance to millions in his state. The country’s second-biggest health insurer is betting he won’t succeed. The same day … Continue reading →

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Poli Sci profs against voter ID

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Rice political science professor Mark Jones writes an op-ed in the Chron that does a thorough job of dissecting Texas’ contentious voter ID law. Nearly one out of every three Texas counties lacks an operational DPS office, and no office … Continue reading →

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Our high maintenance Governor

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ka-ching! Texans have been billed $2.2 million in out-of-state travel expenses for Gov. Rick Perry’s security detail since his November 2010 re-election, including his failed presidential bid and other trips ranging from vacations to state business and political gatherings, according … Continue reading →

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Christina Gorczynski – Mission Possible: Youth Engagement

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Ask the League of Women Voters to do a guest blog and what do you get? Brace yourself, readers, for a … Continue reading →

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Cindy Vara-Leija: Political Activism, Great-Grandma Style

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, a mother of six would take her youngest children along as she set up … Continue reading →

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California-style primaries

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m deeply skeptical of this. In 2010, California voters approved getting rid of party-based primaries and adopting a “top-two” set-up, sometimes called a jungle primary. This month, the state tried the new primary model in which candidates of all parties … Continue reading →

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Gene Wu: Backyard Progressivism

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Before I became involved in politics, I learned that there are real people in our communities who need hands-on assistance, people … Continue reading →

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Steve Brown: The Grown-Up’s Platform

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Texas Democrats recently adopted a very progressive platform that addresses critical areas of need in our state. It also gives reasonable, … Continue reading →

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Suehs to retire

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs will call it a career this August. Suehs’ announcement follows news last month that Billy Millwee, the state’s Medicaid director, was retiring, leaving an even bigger void than anticipated at the top … Continue reading →

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The TFN on the SBOE

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Hair Balls attended a session at the TDP convention held by the Texas Freedom Network about electing a less-embarrassing State Board of Education. More than 600 people packed a ballroom at the George R Brown Convention Center on Saturday morning … Continue reading →

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There’s an app for registering voters

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In New Mexico. It needs to go nationwide. Jason Libersky is a deputy voter agent in New Mexico. He spends much of his time at community events throughout Albuquerque registering people to vote using an iPad application he created — … Continue reading →

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Recycling campaign signs

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Great idea. [Mike Martinez] has been running Food is Free since founding it in late January, and now he’s asking for old campaign signs to line the edges of garden boxes. They can be dropped off in front of his … Continue reading →

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Politicians come and go, but campaign cash is forever

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It seems that way, anyway. With the defeat of several incumbents in last week’s primaries, there’s a lot more unneeded campaign war chests lying around. Millions in unspent contributions have long lurked in former state lawmakers’ campaign bank accounts, often … Continue reading →

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Things to do this weekend

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Democratic Party State Convention is in town starting tomorrow. Here are some of the things I plan to do: Thursday The HDCC was instrumental in getting the House Democratic caucus to 74 members after the 2008 election. It … Continue reading →

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You sure you’re registered?

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Your voter registration could get cancelled without you realizing what’s happening. More than 300,000 valid voters were notified they could be removed from Texas rolls from November 2008 to November 2010 – often because they were mistaken for someone else … Continue reading →

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How Perry punked the GHP

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I wrote about Rick Perry’s budget suicide pact and how it was endorsed by the Greater Houston Partnership in a credibility-killing move. Turns out, according to Patti Hart, Perry didn’t exactly tell them what it was they were … Continue reading →

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More on the size of the SBOE and its districts

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The House Redistricting Committee is holding its hearing today on whether the 15-member State Board of Education and its ginormous districts are appropriately sized. A House Redistricting committee will study the merits of expanding the board to creating smaller districts, … Continue reading →

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One million uninsured kids

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One point two million uninsured kids in Texas, actually. But who’s counting? More than 1 million Texas children remain without health insurance, and those kids are not getting the care they need. The startling condition of the state’s children came … Continue reading →

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Rally for women’s rights in Austin April 28

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like there’s been an awful lot of these lately. Here’s the next one: Go here to learn more and to register. I’ve generally been skeptical about rallies in the past, but at this point I’m glad to see evidence … Continue reading →

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“Phantom” voters

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is a molehill, not a mountain. Sixteen small counties across Texas appear to have more registered voters on their rolls as of 2010 than qualified citizens of voting age – a phenomenon prompting conservative Washington, D.C., watchdog group to … Continue reading →

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All the “news” that fits, we print

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve heard of slow news days before, but this is ridiculous. State Comptroller Susan Combs trumpeted a survey Tuesday showing – as she wrote in the forward to a 15-page report – that a mere 3.4 percent of employers surveyed … Continue reading →

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