Monthly Archives: July 2002

He’s baaaack

Posted on July 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

He’s baaaack Phil Donahue has come out of retirement to host a left-wing Larry Kingesque talk show. No word yet when the male strippers will make their first appearance. Link via Ann Salisbury. Continue reading →

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More Harken stuff

Posted on July 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing the case that Charles Murtaugh made about why the whole Harken business is likely to be bad for Team Bush, Spencer Ackerman says that there’s a simpler way to frame the debate in a Democrat-favoring way: Throughout his political … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on More Harken stuff

Those who forget the past are doomed to write silly things

Posted on July 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Those who forget the past are doomed to write silly things Allen Barra gives the by-now obligatory outrage about the All Star Game fiasco, then veers off into something really silly. He starts by giving the managers a pass on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The USOC will be in town

Posted on July 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The USOC will be in town this weekend as part of its process to determine which US city will submit a bid for the 2012 Games. The locals will try to dazzle them with technology in hopes of enhancing Houston’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Little relief for the flood

Posted on July 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Little relief for the flood Only $300,000 has been raised so far by the American Red Cross for victims of the recent flooding in Central Texas despite the $12 million the agency will spend on disaster relief. In bad economic … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Little relief for the flood

Texas NoCall has an effect already

Posted on July 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

It’s only been in place since July 1, but people are already reporting a decrease in telemarketer calls in Texas. I didn’t get off my lazy butt on this until the third wave, so I’m still under assault until the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 41 Comments

Governor Goodhair gets on board

Posted on July 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Goodhair gets on board Say what you want about our feckless yet photogenic governor, he knows when there’s a script to be followed. That would be the reason for this announcement that the State of Texas, whose unofficial motto … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More blogrolling

Posted on July 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

More blogrolling I’ve added a few links to the left. Nathan Newman was kind enough to drop me a line after discovering my pearls of wisdom through Avedon Carol. I followed a link to Kevin Raybould, and the magic of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Comments Off on More blogrolling

Permalink problems

Posted on July 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Blogger sure picked a great time to give me permalink problems, when I’ve been getting cited by Ginger, Scott, O-Dub, Atrios, and Kevin. Republishing my archives seems to have fixed the problem, but I’m still leery. Anyway, thanks to everyone … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | Comments Off on Permalink problems

Kaufman is more sensible than Blinebury

Posted on July 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Showing a lot more sense than Frantic Fran Blinebury is King Kaufman in Salon, who notes that there was a perfectly good reason for halting the All-Star Game last night, even if it was done in a tin-eared way: The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Personifying problems

Posted on July 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Chron sportswriter Fran Blinebury shows why he personifies the problems that most of us have with his employer with today’s turd-ugly hack job that passes for his regular column. He hits all the usual cliches about Barry Bonds and the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Where have I heard that one before?

Posted on July 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Brian Linse quotes Maureen Dowd as follows: Can a Bush – born on third base but thinking he hit a triple – ever really understand the problems of the guys in the bleachers? That’s a great line. It was also … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Another reason why I gave up on Kaus

Posted on July 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Another reason why I gave up on Kaus is his recent entry about the possibility of violence from the left, spurred on by Paul Begala and MediaWhoresOnline. It’s not so much that Kaus thinks that “the left” may cause violence, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The low-fat myth goes mainstream

Posted on July 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

By now you’ve probably read that big NYT magazine article about the dawning realization that a low-fat diet may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. Of course, if you’re a longtime reader of Off the Kuff, this … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise!

Posted on July 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

For the second time in two years, the Houston Press has had an article about an inner-city resident complaining about the noise of a nearby bar or restaurant. This time, the complainer lives in a downtown loft; previously, the complainer … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise!

Blogrolling

Posted on July 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Well, my blogroll on the left has finally been converted to BlogRolling. All the blogs that are fit to link are there. I’ve officially given up on Mickey Kaus, who hits the quinella of defending Ann Coulter and getting the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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In case you were wondering

Posted on July 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering, the July 4 shooting spree at LAX by a terrorist disgruntled ex-employee nutball dirtbag was actually Tom Daschle’s fault. You just can’t make up stuff like this. Via Atrios. Continue reading →

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What we have to look forward to

Posted on July 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Contenders for the 2003 Houston mayoral race are lining up already in anticipation. I agree with Kevin in that Michael Berry has no chance. The reason is right here in the Chron story: Berry, 30, has served on council since … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | Comments Off on What we have to look forward to

Flooding down in Texas

Posted on July 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to believe, but a mere one year after Tropical Storm Allison unleashed hell on Houston, Central Texas has been hit by even worse flooding. Thirteen counties have been declared disaster areas. Even more incredible, the same storms that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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InstaSpanking

Posted on July 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Mother Nature fact checks Glenn Reynolds’ ass, as reported by Brian Linse. Someone needs to tell the InstaPunditWatcher that it’s time to get back on the job. Continue reading →

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Matt Welch update

Posted on July 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Nice to know that Matt Welch is keeping busy during his blog hiatus. Via the newly permlink-enabled Josh Trevino. Continue reading →

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Another 5-4 Supreme Court ruling

Posted on July 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

In another 5-4 Supreme Court ruling the SCOTUS has struck down a law that prevents judges from saying in campaign ads how they’d rule on a particular issue. A local former judge disagrees with this ruling: Most people who can … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Comments Off on Another 5-4 Supreme Court ruling

Suburbs v. vouchers

Posted on July 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

This op-ed piece in the Sunday Chron makes an interesting point about school vouchers and their promise to improve schools, namely that the better schools, usually located in suburbs, have resisted and will resist efforts to take away their autonomy. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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RIP, Ted Williams

Posted on July 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a busy weekend for me, as we threw a housewarming party on Friday night, so I haven’t had a chance to blog about the death of Ted Williams. The ESPN piece linked gives a good overview of him, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Comments Off on RIP, Ted Williams

Pondering idiots

Posted on July 7, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I really thought I had nothing more to say about the whole Cal Thomas/where’s-the-outrage kerfuffle. I’d gotten some good feedback that showed there was some outrage, and this made me feel better. After reading Kevin Whited and Owen Courreges, I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Pondering idiots

Kuff: Your low-cost, can’t-do-any-worse answer at CEO

Posted on July 6, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Kevin points to this KTRK story of how Reliant Energy had to restate its earnings yesterday. Seems they somehow managed to overstate them by, uh, $7.8 billion. I guarantee, if I were CEO, I wouldn’t lose that much money. One … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Comments Off on Kuff: Your low-cost, can’t-do-any-worse answer at CEO

They are getting younger all the time

Posted on July 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting Chron story today about how state judges in Texas have gotten a lot younger on average over the past two decades. The accompanying graph really shows the trend in recent years. Factors involved in this are pay and a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Harken-gate, coming to a theater near you

Posted on July 4, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Harken-gate, coming to a theater near you Charles Murtaugh writes about the revelations that Dubya may have engaged in some illegal insider trading back in 1989 when he made over $800,000 selling stock at just the right time in the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Harken-gate, coming to a theater near you

RIP, Ray Brown

Posted on July 4, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

RIP, Ray Brown It’s been a bad week for bassists, as legendary jazz bassist Ray Brown died in his sleep at the age of 75. Brown, who was married to Ella Fitzgerald for four years, was on tour with his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Unbelievable

Posted on July 4, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

In an editorial on the budget deficit (from Wednesday, which I forgot to publish), the Chron actually gives praise to Bill Clinton in a manner that is neither snarky nor left-handed. Is the regular editorial board on vacation? How could … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Bad news, good news

Posted on July 4, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Goodhair picked up an endorsement from a group of black ministers, which may help him peel off some of the black vote from Tony Sanchez. “I don’t see why you need to change a horse in the middle of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | Comments Off on Bad news, good news

Final word on Cal the Cretin

Posted on July 3, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Two Andrews, Andrew Ian Dodge and Andrew Sullivan, continue with the conservative spankings of Cal Thomas. My thanks to those who took up the task, and those who helped find these examples for me. On another front, TAPped has also … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Comments Off on Final word on Cal the Cretin

Not everyone’s on vacation

Posted on July 2, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I know, Reynolds is off galavanting around somewhere, Welch and Layne are off doing the “Hey kids! Let’s start a newspaper!” routine, and Diane is taking a breather. Cheer up – I’ve taken about all the vacation I’m gonna … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Kuff beats the Chron to the punch

Posted on July 2, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

On Sunday, Chron political columnist Clay Robison wrote about politicians who campaign on the promise to “run government like a business”. It was amusing last week to hear Sanchez, the Democratic outsider, vowing to “scrub” the budget and Perry, the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | Comments Off on Kuff beats the Chron to the punch