Monthly Archives: September 2004

Business tax revisited

Posted on September 17, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Now that a judge has forced the issue, Tom Craddick is stating the obvious: We need a real tax to replace the useless corporate franchise tax. “I really believe we’ve got to find a broad-based business tax in this state, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on Business tax revisited

Strama and Sandlin

Posted on September 17, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Would you call the former CFO of Dell Computers an “anti-job growth, anti-business” activist? Mark Strama’s opponent did just that, after the Dell CFO and some other business leaders dared to endorse the Democratic challenger for State House District 50. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on Strama and Sandlin

DeLay ethics update

Posted on September 16, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

There’s always something big happening when one’s computer access is restricted, isn’t there? Taking on Tom DeLay has you covered on the DeLay ethics complaint,, while The Stakeholder informs us that someone has finally raised an official complaint regarding the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on DeLay ethics update

Robin Hood overturned

Posted on September 16, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Some state lawmakers wanted a court ruling before they got to work on school finance reform. They have one now. A state district judge declared the school funding system unconstitutional Wednesday, saying Texas faces a bleak future if it fails … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 5 Comments

Family in town

Posted on September 15, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Mom and Dad, sister Eileen, and nephew Declan arrived today for Olivia’s baptism on Saturday. Sister Kristin and her boyfriend Mike arrive Friday, as do Olivia’s godparents (my college roomie Greg and Tiffany’s cousin Emilie, plus their respective spouses and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 5 Comments

Kristen Breitweiser

Posted on September 15, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Want an example of former Bush voters switching to John Kerry? Try this on for size. And check out this interview (scroll down) that Kristen Breitweiser, 9/11 widow and Bush voter in 2000, did with Judy Woodruff: BREITWEISER: …I spent, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 9 Comments

Ivan the Terrible

Posted on September 15, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Man. Has this been a crappy hurricane season or what? And it’s just September 15. To Mac and everyone else in the path of Ivan, please stay safe. Over here in Houston, where we’re waaaaaay overdue to get creamed by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 8 Comments

Another reason to dislike TXU

Posted on September 15, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Want a reason to dislike TXU beyond their desire to charge poor people extra? According to this Texas Observer article, they may have committed securities fraud in the wake of the Enron collapse. There are two lawsuits pending against them, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | 3 Comments

Deadlock in DeLay ethics investigation?

Posted on September 15, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an update to the House Ethics Committee investigation of Tom DeLay, which is fast approaching the deadline they set for themselves when they chose to defer the matter in July. Unfortunately, it looks like this may wind up a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 1 Comment

Richard Morrison wrapup

Posted on September 15, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

We got a huge response yesterday to Richard Morrison‘s appearance on Texas Tuesdays. Who knew so many people didn’t like Tom DeLay? There’s a long list of thank-yous here and a personal message from Richard here. As always, it’s never … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Tuesdays | Comments Off on Richard Morrison wrapup

From the “What Liberal Media?” files

Posted on September 14, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Greg notes that the Chron is running op-eds with ridiculously underinformative bylines. Again. The piece in question touts the “success” of Prop 12, the ridiculous tort “reform” measure passed last year, and was written by the Chairman of the State … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 4 Comments

H-GAC Open House

Posted on September 14, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

This is ridiculously short notice, but if you’re in Houston and have an interest in local transportation issues, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) is holding an open house tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 PM to discuss the three-year Transportation Improvement … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 1 Comment

It’s Worth It: Chicago Style

Posted on September 14, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Via Ginger, the Chicago Tribune explores the Houston: It’s Worth It campaign. I can’t tell you how happy I am that they took the initiative to contact Elyse Lanier to ask her what she thought of this campaign. Her answer … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 4 Comments

Paying attention

Posted on September 14, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

What Dwight says. This sort of thing should not happen in a civilized country. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Texas Tuesday: Richard Morrison

Posted on September 14, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been flogging the various Tom DeLay scandals and outrages for some time now. I do this for two reasons. One is that I think DeLay is a corrupt, morally bankrupt charlatan who can’t be removed from power quickly enough. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Tuesdays | 3 Comments

Blogrolling

Posted on September 13, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I seldom use my Blogrolling links on the sidebar to read blogs these days, since my Bloglines subscriptions do a much better job of keeping track of what I have and haven’t read for me, but if I’m going to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Blogrolling

Take the train to the game

Posted on September 13, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

After the Rice-UH game at Reliant last Sunday there was a fair amount of complaining by fans about the parking and traffic situation. Turns out they had even worse problems for the opening Texans game. “It took us an hour … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 3 Comments

How long is 45 days?

Posted on September 13, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Remember this? Reps. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) and Alan Mollohan (D-W.Va.), the panel’s chairman and ranking member, respectively, now have until early September to decide if their panel will take up a complaint against DeLay that was filed by Rep. Chris … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 1 Comment

Two of these things are not like the others

Posted on September 13, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reports on the five people with a Houston connection who made Capitol Inside’s list of top political donors in Texas. I’m not sure what Capitol Inside’s algorithm was, but I really don’t see why they bothered with Linda … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on Two of these things are not like the others

Call it a capsule review

Posted on September 13, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Star-Telegram has a brief overview of the five Congressional races which involve redistricted Democratic incumbents. No real new info, though it does nicely tie together current fundraising data plus the ratio of Democratic to Republican voters in each district. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment

A good year for the Lottery

Posted on September 13, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this on Friday: Popular scratch-off games and a record lottery jackpot propelled the Texas Lottery to its second-highest sales during fiscal year 2004. Unaudited sales figures of all products totaled nearly $3.5 billion in the fiscal year that ended … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | Comments Off on A good year for the Lottery

Chron on Stenholm vs Neugebauer

Posted on September 13, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s weekly Let’s Check In On The Congressional Elections Report takes a look at Charlie Stenholm versus Randy Neugebauer in CD19. A few things of interest: “This redistricting can do nothing but hurt the agricultural interests of this part … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on Chron on Stenholm vs Neugebauer

Luxury strollers

Posted on September 12, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

If you don’t currently have a baby, you may not be aware of the stunning advances in stroller technology that have been made lately. The higher-is-better philosophy is the chief selling point of the Stokke Xplory, a new entrant in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 5 Comments

Hiding in plain sight

Posted on September 12, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Take a look at this Chron editorial which criticizes the expiration of the assault weapons ban despite its overwhelming popularity in Texas and everywhere else, and tell me if you can spot what’s missing. Give up? Here’s a hint: Rep. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 1 Comment

TXU and credit scoring

Posted on September 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Slacktivist is peeved by this Reuters story in which utility company TXU plans on linking credit scores to energy bills. In a new rate-setting tactic for electric utilities, the unit of Dallas-based TXU Corp. plans bigger rate increases for customers … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | 7 Comments

Assault weapons

Posted on September 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I find the case that the assault weapons ban is not good public policy to be a reasonably persuasive one. For the most part, I’m more concerned with measures to make it harder for felons to buy guns than with … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 5 Comments

If at first you don’t succeed

Posted on September 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Zippy Chippy, the world’s worst racing horse. Zippy Chippy, thoroughbred racing’s all-time loser, made it 0-for-100 Friday when he finished last in an eight-horse field at the Three-County Fairgrounds. The 13-year-old brown gelding’s awful record has made him something … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 4 Comments

Juanita Jean HerOwnself

Posted on September 10, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Molly Ivins introduces us to Susan DuQuesnay Bankston, also known as Juanita Jean of the World’s Most Dangerous Hair Salon and thorn in the side to Tom DeLay. This week, Juanita has an update on the faux Boy Scout award … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Bring on the snark

Posted on September 10, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes it just isn’t possible to respond to a public statement in a calm, rational, and serious manner. With that in mind, let me direct you to Pete and to Norbizness, who have what I think are the proper rejoinders … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 1 Comment

All your states are belong to us

Posted on September 10, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Kevin Hayden has put together an excellent collection of progressive bloggers organized by states. There’s at least one such blogger in 49 of the 50 states – the one holdout is Wyoming, but at least they have an active lefty … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on All your states are belong to us

It could happen

Posted on September 10, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I got a good laugh out of Hotshot Casey’s column today, in which he imagines a future Swift Boat-style smear against State Rep. Rick Noriega, who is currently on active duty in Afghanistan. Best line in the piece: “All of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Comments Off on It could happen

Recruiting athletes, recruiting students

Posted on September 9, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a new study out which debunks the idea that there’s a connection between winning collegiate athletic programs and success at recruiting students. The study was conducted by Robert Frank, professor of management and economics at Cornell University, on behalf … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 3 Comments

For the record

Posted on September 9, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I join with Hope in unreservedly endorsing State Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s to-be-filed proposal to force the official recording all legislative votes. It’s appalling that bills can be passed or rejected by voice vote alone, and it’s long past time someone … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 6 Comments

Coming attractions

Posted on September 9, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

MyDD has a list of Democratic Congressional candidates who are in line to get help from the DCCC. More details are promised soon. Meanwhile, get ready for some TV ads in a market near you. I note that the Roll … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment