Monthly Archives: December 2003

November traffic report

Posted on December 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

There were about 26,000 visitors in November, so it had about the same daily pace as October. As with October, it would have been more had it not been for a Real World event, in this case Thanksgiving. A link … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Traffic Reports | 1 Comment

Working on the House

Posted on December 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Kos highlights a couple of upcoming special elections, all of which involve open Congressional seats vacated by Republicans. One of these in particular, the South Dakota seat abandoned by convicted manslaughterer Bill Janklow, is a good pickup opportunity for Democrats, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on Working on the House

Hilbert redux

Posted on December 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

For the math geeks in my audience (and you know who you are), there’s some followup to this post about Elin Oxenheilm and her claimed solution to the sixteenth Hilbert problem. Gustav Holmberg has several posts (here, here, here, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Comments Off on Hilbert redux

Guess what? There’s an electronic voting machine controversy!

Posted on December 15, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

There may be a recount in the City Council District G election, where Pam Holm won by a 27-vote margin over Jeff Daily. The timing is perfect, coming on the heels of yet another report that electronic voting machines, including … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 4 Comments

Meet the missus

Posted on December 14, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a nice profile of incoming First Lady Andrea White, who comes across as a down-to-earth type who’ll be more visible than Frances Brown but less, um, colorful than Elyse Lanier. I had the opportunity to meet her … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 1 Comment

Capturing Saddam

Posted on December 14, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

So Saddam Hussein has been captured. That’s great news, probably the best news out of Iraq since he was first toppled. I hope this will help pacify things over there, though I have my doubts. Kevin Drum sums it up … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 8 Comments

More Pettite buzz

Posted on December 13, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

With the signing of Andy Pettite, the Astros are the talk of baseball as the winter meeting goes on in New Orleans. General Manager Gerry Hunsicker is talking about what else he has in mind, while local radio DJs Dean … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 2 Comments

Redistricting lawsuit update

Posted on December 13, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not quite in the mood to quote, summarize, and make snarky comments about the latest testimony in the federal lawsuit aimed at blocking or overturning the new Congressional map in Texas, so what follows is the links to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | Comments Off on Redistricting lawsuit update

Greg Abbott vs. himself

Posted on December 13, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Attorney General Greg Abbott, who once lauded a successful lawsuit that forced the State Supreme Court building to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, is now suing to overturn Title II, which is the section of the ADA that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 2 Comments

Beyond red and blue

Posted on December 12, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a very interesting analysis of regional trends in Presidential elections which, as the title indicates, goes beyond the binary red/blue state model. Check it out. Via TAPPED. Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Comments Off on Beyond red and blue

What about the politicians?

Posted on December 12, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that two former executives of Westar were indicted on charges relating to their looting the company. At the time, I wondered why there was no mention of any action regarding the $25 grand payoff to various Republican … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on What about the politicians?

Haliburton sticks it to taxpayers

Posted on December 12, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

War profiteering? Whod’a thunk it? Houston-based Halliburton Co. may have overbilled taxpayers by as much as $61 million for trucking gasoline into Iraq, Pentagon auditors said Thursday. The Pentagon’s Defense Contract Audit Agency said Halliburton also may have tried to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 5 Comments

That’s the Chron I remember

Posted on December 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

You know, after all of the bashing the Chron did of Tom DeLay, Rick Perry, Tom Craddick, and the rest of the redistricting bunch over the summer, I started to lose some of my animosity towards their editorial page. It’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 3 Comments

The Koufax Awards

Posted on December 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time for the 2003 Koufax Awards, and nominations are going on now. There’s a lot of deserving blogs and bloggers out there, so some tough choices have to be made. My nominations are beneath the More link. Forgive me … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 3 Comments

New Mersenne prime found

Posted on December 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I love stories about big prime numbers. More than 200,000 computers spent years looking for the largest known prime number. It turned up on Michigan State University graduate student Michael Shafer’s off-the-shelf PC. “It was just a matter of time,” … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 6 Comments

G-Dub is in the house

Posted on December 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Or something like that. He’s officially on the state ballot, anyway. Gov. Rick Perry, flanked by other GOP officeholders, filed the necessary paperwork at Texas Republican headquarters. He predicted a close presidential race next year but said Bush, his predecessor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Comments Off on G-Dub is in the house

Democrats fire salvo in redistricting case

Posted on December 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

On the eve of the federal redistricting lawsuit, attorneys for the Democratic plaintiffs have released memos which detailed the extent of Tom DeLay’s involvement in the process. [Democratic lawyer J. Gerald] Hebert noted one memo in which [DeLay’s political aide … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 3 Comments

Astros to sign Andy Pettite

Posted on December 11, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I confess, I never really thought the Astros would have a shot at Andy Pettite, but it looks like I was wrong. It’s a gutsy move on their part, though it does have a downside, as Pettite has benefited from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 2 Comments

Fuzzy math

Posted on December 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Richard Morrison’s website now has my interview linked from his news page. There are a couple of other articles about him and his campaign, but something in this story caught my eye. “We’ll be mounting an aggressive re-election campaign as … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 5 Comments

PAC-ing them in

Posted on December 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

This Statesman article about the Tom DeLay PAC Texans for a Republican Majority (TRM) and the grand jury investigation into its dealings doesn’t really cover any new ground but does give a good overall picture of the PAC and its … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on PAC-ing them in

Yeah, but who’d they pick for Miss Congeniality?

Posted on December 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The latest Scripps Howard Texas Poll is out, and it shows some interesting numbers for the top Republican politicians in the state. Out of a sample of Texans identifying themselves as Republican primary voters, 45 percent said they would vote … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 3 Comments

Christmas time is here, by golly

Posted on December 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

There was an interesting article in the Chron recently about Christmas music and how there have been almost no songs added to the popular canon in the past 20 or so years. One bit caught my eye: Sure, there are … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 14 Comments

Redistricting lawsuit may be delayed

Posted on December 10, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit aimed at stopping the Texas redistricting have asked the court to delay the start of the trial until after the Justice Department has finished its review. The department has until Dec. 22 to complete its … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 1 Comment

Why last-minute attacks are done at the last minute

Posted on December 9, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Received in the mail today: A postcard from the Adrian Garcia campaign which said “We’re tired of late attacks” on one side and which had a message from Houston Police Officers’ Union President Hans Martuciuc on the other defending Garcia’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 2 Comments

Arising from the ashes

Posted on December 9, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t seen anyone else mention this, so I’ll note that a new federal building has just opened in Oklahoma City to replace the one that was destroyed by the terrorist Timothy McVeigh. OKLAHOMA CITY – A new Oklahoma City … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 2 Comments

“A Christmas Story”: The Book

Posted on December 9, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Here‘s something for your Christmas list this year. If you’re shopping for a stocking stuffer or an early Christmas present for yourself, you could do a lot worse than a new little book called A Christmas Story. That’s A Christmas … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 4 Comments

Let the court battles begin

Posted on December 9, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas redistricting lawsuit gets underway this week in federal court. “This could become a landmark case if the three federal judges approve the proposed map. … It will be the largest disenfranchisement of minority voters since Dr. (Martin Luther) … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | Comments Off on Let the court battles begin

An interview with Richard Morrison

Posted on December 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I had the chance recently to sit down with Richard Morrison, who will be running against Tom DeLay in the 22nd Congressional District if the old map remains in place. I have a good feeling about him as a person … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 19 Comments

Westar indictment

Posted on December 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Two top executives from the Kansas-based utility Westar have been charged with a variety of crimes related to looting the company’s coffers. Nowhere in the story does it mention Westar’s donations to various Tom DeLay-operated political action committees, donations that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Westar indictment

Why White won

Posted on December 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

John Williams has a good analysis of Bill White’s mayoral victory, which he attributes to good planning, hard work, and of course, money. Williams correctly notes that the latter is an ingredient to success but by no means a guarantee: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2003 | 2 Comments

The Pandagon list

Posted on December 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The 20 Most Annoying Conservatives of 2003, now with graphics and gratuitous Futurama references. Four stars. Chuck Bob sez “check it out”. Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on The Pandagon list

Meanwhile, in a sport that does feature a playoff…

Posted on December 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to the Trinity University men’s soccer team for winning their first national championship! They had a tough road to the title but came through in style. Talent and attitude helped Trinity win its first Division III national championship last … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

Let the BCS bashing begin

Posted on December 8, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Everyone takes their shots at the BCS today, from Dennis Dodd and Ivan Maisel to King Kaufman and John Lopez. I don’t think the problem here is strength of schedule, though Kaufman makes a great point about how a team … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 5 Comments

Plasticgate!

Posted on December 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Ahem. The Christmas tree decorating the Texas House chamber this year doesn’t shed needles, touch off sneezing fits or create a potential fire hazard. The artificial tree, made in China of polyvinyl chloride, is 10 feet shorter than the homegrown … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 3 Comments