Monthly Archives: April 2004

More on Sinclair

Posted on April 30, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Center for American Progress fills in some more details about Sinclair, the owner of several ABC affiliates which won’t be showing tonight’s Nightline. To put it mildly, these guys have been strongly supportive of President Bush. Check it out, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 5 Comments

Losing focus

Posted on April 30, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

As noted yesterday by the Yellow Dog Blog, this special session has essentially ceased to be about school finance reform and is instead focusing first on property taxes, with maybe some school stuff thrown in if they can. In particular, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

New deal for Lea Fastow

Posted on April 30, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

If at first you don’t succeed, reduce the charges. The Enron Task Force had successfully sought an indictment on two counts of felony conspiracy and four counts of making false tax statements. On Thursday, those six charges were replaced with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 3 Comments

“Contrary to the public interest”

Posted on April 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

It is extremely difficult for me to understand this, which comes via Atrios. NewsBlues.com is reporting [no free link] that Sinclair Broadcast Group has ordered its ABC-affiliated stations not to carry tomorrow’s “Nightline,” which will air the names and photos … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 7 Comments

The pension opt-out vote

Posted on April 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting has started for the May 15 election of City Proposition #1, which would allow Houston to opt out of the pension guarantee that was enacted last September. The numbers are scary (and getting scarier), but I’m rather torn … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 5 Comments

Say good night, Rockets

Posted on April 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

So the Rockets exited the playoffs last night. A little luck and a little more better execution and they could be 3-2 going into a home Game 6, but it’s not to be. Yao Ming has said that just making … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 2 Comments

Good boy, Rep. Smith! Here’s your biscuit!

Posted on April 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

As promised yesterday, Rep. Lamar Smith filed legislation to once again try to give Bacardi rum a sweetheart trademark deal that isn’t available to other American companies. Smith, R-San Antonio, filed a bill Wednesday to alter U.S. trademark rules to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Good boy, Rep. Smith! Here’s your biscuit!

House kneels before its masters

Posted on April 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Remember those halcyon days of, um, yesterday, when Tom Craddick could say things like this? The expansion of the sales tax is designed to tap into the growth in the service sector of the Texas economy. “The idea of broadening … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 2 Comments

What is it with not electing Senators?

Posted on April 29, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Did I miss a memo? Is this National Bash The 17th Amendment Week and nobody told me about it? Zell Miller, Georgia’s maverick Democratic senator, says the nation ought to return to having senators appointed by legislatures rather than elected … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 2 Comments

Vieth decided

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Supremes upheld Pennsylvania’s redistricting plan in the Vieth v. Jubelirir case, though in doing so they did not throw out the Bandemer precedent. By a 5-4 vote, the court rejected a challenge by Pennsylvania Democrats to districts that were … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 2 Comments

Indeed, my credentials are more than sufficient

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I just have one question for you, Norbizness: is your rap lyrics to middle management translator a skill you list on resumes? I’d hire you for it. Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Comments Off on Indeed, my credentials are more than sufficient

Carrying rum for Tom DeLay

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever else one may say about Tom DeLay, once he’s been bought he has the decency to stay bought. Just ask Bacardi, on whose behalf DeLay has been trying to sneak or force through a bill that would give them … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 1 Comment

Morrison, Meyer, and more Frost

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Kos teases us with some poll news from CD22: I’ve gotten my hands on some polling data from the district, and it’s surprisingly poor for [Tom] DeLay. His Approval/Disapprovals are 44/48. On the reelect question, 36 percent would definitely vote … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment

Feeds, blogrolls, etc

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose I should’ve subscribed to my own blog’s feeds from the get-go, but after reading David’s post about Atom, I learned that I don’t have a full-post feed of my own. I’ve created an Atom template, and once I’m … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 8 Comments

The limits of outsourcing

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I largely agree with the logic and conclusions in this story about why not all outsourcing of technology tasks to India has been successful. I have some experience in this kind of matter (which I will not talk about in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | 1 Comment

House unveils its proposal

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The state House has released a new plan to overhaul state tax collections as part of school finance reform, and to say the least, it’s not timid. It’s also not likely to survive in its present form. I think the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

An interview with Rep. Martin Frost

Posted on April 28, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Recently, I had the opportunity to conduct an email interview with Rep. Martin Frost, who is running in a highly contested and closely watched race in the new 32nd Congressional District against Republican Rep. Pete Sessions. The interview is beneath … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 4 Comments

Pet blogging

Posted on April 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Dallas Morning News has a pet blog. No, really. And you know what? Looking at the content, which includes a plea for help in finding a lost dog, I think this is a pretty good idea for a newspaper-based … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 3 Comments

You’re in the database now

Posted on April 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Be careful when ordering that pizza – it might help The Man hunt you down. It’s dinnertime, and you’re hungry and tired, so you pick up the phone and order your favorite pizza. But you might have just landed yourself … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 5 Comments

Exchange program

Posted on April 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I received an email from Jesse Lee of the DCCC asking if I’d like to participate in a blog exchange program, where I posted something there and he posted something here. I agreed, and this morning my guest … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on Exchange program

Slotmania!

Posted on April 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Slot machines at horse racing tracks are all the rage today. Seven Texas racetracks, including Grand Prairie’s Lone Star Park, could function as around-the-clock gambling casinos open 365 days a year under a multibillion-dollar proposal presented to a legislative panel … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 8 Comments

Rodriguez updates lawsuit

Posted on April 27, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez has amended his lawsuit against Henry Cuellar to allege that many people who voted in the runoff do not actually live in CD28. The San Antonio Express-News visited some of the residences in question Monday based on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 2 Comments

Repeal the 17th?

Posted on April 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, Tom DeLay supports repealing the 17th Amendment, which allowed for the direct election of Senators. During the House debate last week over reconstituting Congress in the event of a terrorist attack or natural catastrophe, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 16 Comments

Putting your principles into action, the hard way

Posted on April 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

From the WaPo’s Reliable Source column: A Different Kind of Joint Session • Last week the Capitol Police busted a young intern working for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) for toting a baggie of pot and a bong into the Cannon … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 2 Comments

More on Perry’s school strategy

Posted on April 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an interesting perspective on why Governor Perry proposed the school finance reform solution that he did. The 134 school districts that lose money under the Robin Hood school finance system serve 12 percent of the state’s students. Voters in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 3 Comments

Catholicism and politics

Posted on April 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been rather amused lately watching all of the dust that’s been kicked up over John Kerry’s Catholicism and the attempts by some people to reduce the entirity of Catholic dogma to a litmus test on abortion. Most amusing has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 4 Comments

Steve Brozak

Posted on April 26, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Steve Brozak, who may have a major role to play in the Democrats’ efforts to win back the House in November. WESTFIELD, N.J. — On a Friday afternoon last April, a couple of weeks after he returned from Iraq, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment

A little forensic punditry

Posted on April 25, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Kevin Drum points to this WaPo piece by William Adler, in which he shows how he fingered a UT prof for signing his name to an op-ed which had been entirely written by someone else, and as it embarrassingly turned … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 3 Comments

Chron overviews TRM/TAB investigation

Posted on April 25, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron kinda teased me with the headline of this front page story: “Possible violations of law found in state GOP money trail”. The story, which says that a review of “more than 10,000 pages of state and federal campaign … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Chron overviews TRM/TAB investigation

Academics and athletics at Rice

Posted on April 24, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

So there’s been another faculty report at Rice which is critical of athletics there. Wasn’t the first one, won’t be the last. Typically, this one makes no recommendations except for “more study”. I’m a fan of Rice sports, but I’m … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 4 Comments

Thus endeth week one

Posted on April 24, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

We’re now one week into the special session on school finance reform, and the one thing we know for sure is that the Perry Plan is toast. Neither Tom Craddick nor David Dewhurst has supported it, there’s already an alternate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

There’s your tort “reform”

Posted on April 24, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

This would be funny if it weren’t so utterly pathetic. House lawmakers sent a stern message to insurance companies Thursday: Medical malpractice lawsuit reforms passed last year were meant to help doctors — not boost profits. Republicans and Democrats who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 17 Comments

The sacrifices some bloggers make for the rest of us

Posted on April 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Kriston Capps is made of sterner stuff than I am, let me tell you. Last night I attended a panel discussion hosted by a conservative/libertarian social club, and the topic of discussion was gay marriage. Panelists included former Rep. Bob … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 2 Comments

DVD, RIP?

Posted on April 23, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Still fighting with your VCR? Get ready to fall even farther behind on the technology curve. The DVD stands out as one of the most rapidly adopted consumer technologies ever, but in the electronics industry it’s akin to an aging … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment