Monthly Archives: October 2003

Morales sentenced

Posted on October 31, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales has been sentenced to four years in Club Fed for the mail fraud and tax evasion charges to which he pled guilty in July. The mail fraud charge stems from Morales’ lawsuit against U.S. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Morales sentenced

Endorsements and a mini-scandal

Posted on October 31, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I went and voted this morning, so all you candidates out there can stop calling and mailing me, at least until the runoffs begin. My slate of candidates is remarkably similar to Greg Wythe‘s. Here’s how I voted: Mayor: Bill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 3 Comments

A letter from Congress

Posted on October 31, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t have any guest posters here, but once in awhile I’ll publish someone else’s words here. This is one of those times. One of my readers is a legislative assistant to Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D, Dallas). He sent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on A letter from Congress

Timbergrove update

Posted on October 31, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Chron columnist Rick Casey follows up on the story of the disappearing yard signs in Timbergrove (see here for Part One). If you can get past his cutesy tone, he actually did some good reporting, as he discovered what happened … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Timbergrove update

Another one bites the dust

Posted on October 30, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another Enron exec has copped a plea. Former Enron executive David Delainey, a close business associate of former CEO Jeff Skilling, pleaded guilty today to one count of insider trading and agreed to cooperate in the government’s Enron investigations. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 2 Comments

Hogwarts Headaches

Posted on October 30, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I can see a future Surgeon General’s warning: Reading too much Harry Potter may be hazardous to your health. A Washington doctor warned that he has seen three children complain of headaches caused by the physical stress of relentlessly plowing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 2 Comments

And still nastier

Posted on October 30, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

In the final televised debate before the election (and may I say that with all the debates and candidate fora we’ve had, no one can legitimately claim to be unfamiliar with the three hopefuls), Bill White and Orlando Sanchez stepped … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 5 Comments

The Pearl brewery

Posted on October 30, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a great story about the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio, which was purchased last July (not longer after I’d noted that it was having difficulty finding a buyer) by a San Antonio-baed company that appears to be committed to … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Well, SLAPP me silly

Posted on October 29, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Has it really come to this? Don Luskin threatening to sue Atrios for…well, what, exactly? Definition of character? Excessive snarkiness? Operating a blog without the express written consent of Major League Baseball? Hell if I know. Didn’t anyone learn from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 8 Comments

Meanwhile, in another corporate scandal

Posted on October 29, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

In case you’re bored with Enron’s shenanigans, there’s always Tyco, where former CEO Dennis Kozlowski sure knew how to throw a party. Jurors saw a videotape Tuesday of dancing women, half-naked male models and “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett at a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 4 Comments

Will Lea Fastow’s trial be moved?

Posted on October 29, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I hadn’t been following the recent Enron goings-on all that closely, because I was unaware that Lea Fastow’s lawyers had petitioned for a change of venue, a request that the judge will rule on shortly. I knew they’d … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on Will Lea Fastow’s trial be moved?

What’s Special About This Number?

Posted on October 29, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a cute site for people who like numbers and random odd facts about them. Clearly, the author missed an opportunity here – what’s special about the number 138 is that it’s the smallest number about which there is nothing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 2 Comments

Civic silliness

Posted on October 29, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another example of how private entities can restrict your freedom more effectively than the big, evil guvmint can in some situations. A homeowner named Claire Gonzales in Timbergrove Manor (a neighborhood not far from my own – it’s where … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

“24” season three

Posted on October 28, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Man, I love 24. I think Season 3 is going to kick even more butt. Don’t read this Chronicle story about the season premier until and unless you’ve seen it. I gotta get me the season 1 and 2 DVDs… Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 2 Comments

One week to go

Posted on October 28, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Election day is a week from today, so the most expensive mayoral race in Houston’s history is, well, not exactly drawing to a close, but about to enter a new phase. Greg notes that Sylvester Turner has the most cash … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 1 Comment

A couple of sites of interest

Posted on October 28, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a bit late in the game for this, but Rock the Vote is sponsoring a contest aimed at registering people to vote. They’ve got some good prizes, and it’s certainly a worthy cause, so check it out. The contest … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | 2 Comments

Space couple together at last

Posted on October 28, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Those crazy kids Yuri Malenchenko and Yekaterina Dmitriyeva, who got married while he was aboard the International Space Station (see here, here, and here for the details) are finally together after a near-perfect touchdown in Kazakhstan, meaning they can finally … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Space couple together at last

Mexico City: The next franchise frontier

Posted on October 28, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a longish article about the prospects of an American sports franchise moving to or being founded in Mexico City. It has the standard reasons why a league (most likely the NBA or Major League Baseball) might do … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 9 Comments

Strayhorn pounds Perry again

Posted on October 28, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Carole vs. Rick again, in what’s sure to be the longest-running soap opera between now and 2006. On Monday, Strayhorn repeated her earlier attacks against Perry over budget cuts in health care and funding deficiencies in the public schools … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 16 Comments

On being a top blogger

Posted on October 27, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Halley Suitt has brought up an issue that’s come up in the past: is there gender bias in the blog world? Says she: This week as we looked into the Perseus Study, which David Weinberger linked to in his excellent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 6 Comments

Help wanted

Posted on October 27, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

This is somewhat unusual, but I’m willing to try this out once and see what happens. I received the following email from a reader: Do you know who (attorneys) are all involved beyond the ones you listed in your June … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Comments Off on Help wanted

It’s good to be rich

Posted on October 27, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been said that Bambi was the best piece of anti-hunting propaganda ever produced. From this description of two new reality-based TV shows, there are some new contenders for the title of best anti-wealth propaganda out there. Television’s embarrassment of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 3 Comments

Bringing the suburbs into town

Posted on October 27, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

An interesting article from Sunday about the battles, philosophical and otherwise, between residents in Midtown, which is just south of downtown Houston, and developers. Midtown is one of the few places now where you can see real mixed-use development. With … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 9 Comments

Mayoral race gets ugly down the home stretch

Posted on October 27, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Well, we’ve seen the Sanchez and White camps go negative lately, and now there’s a flyer being circulated by some fringe elements which accuses Bill White and several City Council candidates of conspiring to “eliminate black leadership”. After a decorous … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 5 Comments

New State Democratic Party chair

Posted on October 26, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t really have much to say about the election of Charles Soechting as the state Democratic Party chair on an interim basis to finish out Molly Beth Malcolm’s term, but StoutDem, Greg Wythe and Andrew D all do. Sounds … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 1 Comment

Jon Matthews off the air

Posted on October 26, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Good grief, how in the world did I miss this? Popular radio talk show host Jon Matthews is off the air and we’ve learned Sugar Land police are investigating him. Houstonians have been listening to the conservative radio talk show … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 116 Comments

Congrats to the Marlins

Posted on October 26, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to the Florida Marlins, a very deserving World Series champion. Josh Beckett was amazing, and he needed to be since Andy Pettite pitched very well also. I’m rather surprised that the one name no one mentioned during the game … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 6 Comments

September traffic report

Posted on October 26, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Better get to this before October ends – September continued a trend of Best Months Ever, a trend that will be broken this month thanks both to a perfect storm of events that pushed me to new heights and my … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Traffic Reports | Comments Off on September traffic report

Texans for True Mobility and anonymity

Posted on October 25, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

This is hard for me to comprehend. [Ed Wulfe, the Houston developer who heads Citizens for Public Transportation, the pro-rail political action committee] said Texans for True Mobility’s refusal to reveal its backers demonstrated the organization’s “contempt for voters.” Wulfe … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 6 Comments

Houston’s electronic voting machines

Posted on October 25, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County has had electronic voting machines for some time now. Not the crappy Diebold machines, but that doesn’t mean that people haven’t been voicing concerns about them since before their adoption. Recent events have not done anything to change … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 4 Comments

Those pesky EPA rules

Posted on October 25, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I found out about this through editorials: The Double Secret Energy Bill, which the Republicans in Congress are working on and the rest of us proles will only learn about 48 hours before it’s up for a vote, contains a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Unintelligently Designed Policy

Posted on October 24, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The title to this post is cribbed from Angry Bear, who reminds me that the forces of darkness are gathering again in Texas for the annual vote on textbook purchases. From Bob Park’s What’s New newsletter. 3. INTELLIGENT DESIGN: URGENT … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Reponse from Diana Davila Martinez

Posted on October 24, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

As I mentioned earlier, I got a call from Diana Davila Martinez after I’d published an email from Diane Mosier of the Greater Heights Democratic Club. Ms. Davila Martinez objected to some of the things that had been said about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | Comments Off on Reponse from Diana Davila Martinez

Friday dog blogging

Posted on October 24, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Let Calpundit have his cats. For those of us right-thinking people who prefer dogs, here’s a great article in the Times about how to tell where someone lives in the City by what kind of dog they own. Be sure … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 2 Comments