Monthly Archives: May 2004

Encore, anyone?

Posted on May 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Senate is trying to figure out what to do with the dead raccoon the House left on its doorstep, the question must be asked: Will there be a second session if nothing happens in this one? The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on Encore, anyone?

The paper trail

Posted on May 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Kevin Drum and Nick Confessore discuss paper receipts for electronic voting machines. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I think that the various e-voting machines should be the interface, and the paper receipts should be the actual … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 6 Comments

It’s a go in Galveston

Posted on May 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Schlitterbahn Galveston – Full speed ahead! The planning commission on Tuesday gave the New Braunfels-based company the green light to break ground. Officials say the $30 million water park will be constructed on 25 acres at the Galveston airport. Construction … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 3 Comments

John Lopez is making sense

Posted on May 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Somebody slap me – this is now twice that I’ve favorably cited John Lopez. The passionate fight you want to wage in order to keep sports at Rice, especially football, is shared by many. By me. But it is emotion … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 4 Comments

With cheesy ad gimmicks come great responsibility

Posted on May 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not really sure who came up with this Spider-Man on the bases idea, but I’m glad it didn’t fly. A day after announcing a novel promotion to put advertisements on bases next month, Major League Baseball reversed course Thursday … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 4 Comments

GOP accuses Laney

Posted on May 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The state GOP has filed an ethics complaint against Democratic State Rep and former House Speaker Pete Laney, alleging that he used campaign contributions improperly as reimbursement for his personal plane. Republicans have repeatedly attacked Laney on the issue since … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on GOP accuses Laney

A little sports nostalgia

Posted on May 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Fifty years ago today, Roger Bannister ran a mile in under four minutes. Fascination endures with the four-minute mark, which many at the time believed was physically impossible. “It still seems strange to me that the intrinsically simple and unimportant … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 6 Comments

Not my fault!

Posted on May 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Bush takes Rumsfeld off the hook President Bush said today that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld “will stay in my Cabinet” despite Democratic calls for his departure over abusive treatment of Iraqi prisoners by American military guards. “Secretary Rumsfeld has served … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 6 Comments

One year for Lea Fastow

Posted on May 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Lea Fastow will get one year in Club Fed after pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor charge. “I’ve made an error in judgment that I will always regret for the rest of my life,” she told U.S. District Judge David … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 1 Comment

Revisiting insanity

Posted on May 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Somehow in the midst of all the school finance madness, a Senate committee is looking at the state’s antiquated insanity laws. A legislative panel is conducting its first hearing on the standard that requires a defendant seeking to be found … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Atom update

Posted on May 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

All right, it appears that my Atom feed fails to validate (thanks to Danil for pointing me to the Feed Validator). I’m not really sure how to fix it, but I have verified that the current version of MovableType does … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | Comments Off on Atom update

Senate to House: Thanks for nothing

Posted on May 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the House has punted, the Senate is trying to figure out what to do with the mess they’ve inherited. “They didn’t leave us much to work with. They may as well have sent us a piece of paper … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

DCCC blog tour continues

Posted on May 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Archpundit takes a look at some Illinois Congressional races over at the Stakeholder. Good news – the Democrats have a shot at winning the seat once held by Don Rumsfeld. Check it out. Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on DCCC blog tour continues

New frontiers in wireless technology

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Were you looking for just the right excuse to get a Blackberry or video-enabled cellphone? Wait no more. Naked News anchors have already stripped down to bring news in the buff to the Internet and the television in more than … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Comments Off on New frontiers in wireless technology

Up and Atom

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Well, it appears that I now have a full-post Atom feed, which should be located at this address: http://www.offthekuff.com/mt/atom.xml. I’ve subscribed to it myself in Bloglines so I’ll know when it’s working or not. You can see it for yourself … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Administrivia | 9 Comments

Recount ’em again

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready for another recount in CD28. U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez’s legal case against challenger Henry Cuellar was severely hobbled Tuesday when a judge denied his attempt to raise the issue of possible illegal votes cast in Webb County in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment

Zing!

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

From Patrick in the comments to this post: I bet Dennis Franchione is breathing a little easier now the Gov. Perry has set the new standard for the worst shutout ever laid on an Aggie. Dude. We are not worthy. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 2 Comments

Not really worth analyzing after all

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

OK, I take it back. I’m not going to bother analyzing the current House bill, which was originally supposed to be on school finance reform but which is an unrecognizable mass of tax tradeoffs that no one likes and everyone … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 4 Comments

A hundred and twenty-six to nothing

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to try to pick up some of the tatters of the most recent budget “plan” from the House and make something coherent out of it a bit later, but for now, take a moment to digest this story, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

You made that up

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Snarkout has a lively look at made-up languages and the people who love them. I just have one question: Does the Klingon Linguistics Institute have a visiting scholars program? Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 2 Comments

William Krar sentenced

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

William Krar will get eleven years in the pokey. TYLER — An itinerate gun dealer caught with a cache of poison gas, machine guns and other weapons in an East Texas storage facility was sentenced Tuesday to more than 11 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Texas Tuesday wrapup

Posted on May 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Nearly $500 was raised yesterday for Richard Morrison, which is a pretty decent total and an encouraging beginning to Texas Tuesdays. I’d like to thank all of the bloggers who helped promote this effort: The People’s Republic of Seabrook Appalachia … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Tuesdays | 2 Comments

Who are you?

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

New music from The Who. The Who — considered one of the most acclaimed, most influential and loudest rock groups ever — issued a compilation of their classic singles on Tuesday, including two new songs, the first they have released … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Music | 7 Comments

The streak is over, long live the streak

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

We won six games in a row before finally losing, as we did last night in a game that was closer for us than perhaps it should have been. Though we did some good things, including throwing a runner out … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Just call me Coach | 1 Comment

I scream, you scream, we all scream for slot machines

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a moot point now, but I think Jim D is exactly right here. Permitting gambling in some places, but not others, is going to (and right ought to) unleash a torrent of “me too”-ism from cities and counties left … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on I scream, you scream, we all scream for slot machines

Morrison update

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with the Texas Tuesdays tradition (hey, we’ve had more than two posts now, so that makes it a full-fledged tradition now), YDB has a brief interview with Richard Morrison. What are you hearing voters on the campaign trail say … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Tuesdays | Comments Off on Morrison update

Contributors wanted

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

No, not here, but at the Political State Report, which recently purged its rolls of idle authors. Especially if you live in a currently unrepresented state, this is an excellent chance to ease your way into blogging – no setup … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 4 Comments

Chaos reigns in Austin

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

It’s pretty much official – gambling is dead. Everyone knows the votes aren’t there. And that new business payroll tax – dead, too. All of this pretty much guarantees that whatever eventually gets christened as The Bill won’t do squat … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 4 Comments

Professors dislike football: Film at 11

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

As in 1992, a majority of Rice professors have expressed a dislike of atheltics in general and football in particular. As in 1992, I expect the trustees to thank them for their input and then ignore it. I for one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 12 Comments

Texas Tuesdays debut

Posted on May 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the debut of Texas Tuesdays, in which our coalition of bloggers raises awareness and hopefully a little money for some deserving Congressional and State House candidates. We lead off today with Richard Morrison, who is taking on Tom … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Tuesdays | 1 Comment

The giving season

Posted on May 3, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

You know all about the rise of the small donor in this year’s election cycle, right? And you know how successful Atrios has been with his John Kerry Thursdays, right? Well, nothing succeeds like success, so get ready to mark … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Tuesdays | 1 Comment

Catholicism and politics, take two

Posted on May 3, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The National Catholic Reporter has a very good editorial on the “controversy” of John Kerry’s Catholicism and what it means about his fitness to be President. Assume for the moment that John Kerry’s Catholic critics are correct. That a Catholic … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 5 Comments

At home in CD28

Posted on May 3, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

With Rep. Ciro Rodriguez filing a lawsuit to overturn the result in the CD28 Democratic primary, the case would appear to turn on the question of what a valid voter registration is. The issue of residency is a murky one, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment

Pro prose

Posted on May 3, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

And the march of bloggers going pro continues apace. Congrats to Ezra for landing an internship at the Washington Monthly and to O-Dub for his new gig with Media Matters. I look forward to seeing you on the Sunday talk … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 2 Comments