Monthly Archives: October 2004

And on they go

Posted on October 12, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, how about those Astros? Well done all around. And how sweet it is for Biggio and Bagwell to come up big in the decisive 7th inning. Nothing quite like a little redemption, is there? The championship series ought to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 3 Comments

How not to remember the Alamo

Posted on October 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

There are times when I do feel sorry for headline writers who struggle to avoid reaching into the Big Bag of Cliches to title certain types of news stories. This is one of those times. Police arrested a couple they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 8 Comments

The Improbable Blog

Posted on October 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Annals of Improbable Research (formerly the Journal of Irreproducible Results) has a blog. And they now have a contender for next year’s Ig Nobel awards. Via the overjoyed Julia. Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Court time for Ellis and Robold

Posted on October 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Today, DeLay associates Jim Ellis and Warren RoBold have their first day in court. Jim Ellis, a key Washington aide who coordinated several efforts in the Texas Legislature promoted by DeLay, and former fund-raiser Warren RoBold are scheduled to appear … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 2 Comments

Fastow sued over back taxes

Posted on October 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

What a tangled web. The Fastows, according to the lawsuit filed in 212th District Court, owe [Galveston] county $17,471 on their 3216 Musket Lane home in the posh Pirates’ Cove subdivision. That amount includes penalties, interest and attorney fees. But … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on Fastow sued over back taxes

RIP, Ken Caminiti

Posted on October 11, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Former Astro Ken Caminiti, 41, dead of a heart attack. Rick Licht, Caminiti’s agent and close friend, said Caminiti died at New York’s Lincoln Memorial Hospital in the Bronx. Licht, who last spoke to Caminiti last week, declined to comment … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 3 Comments

Weekend DeLay update

Posted on October 10, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, those editorialists sure do enjoy bashing Tom DeLay, don’t they? I’ve hoped all along that the Democrats could nationalize the Congressional elections by tying various DeLay rubber stamps to him and his sleaze. It’s happening now, so we’ll see … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 3 Comments

Biting the Big Apple

Posted on October 10, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

So I was in New York this weekend for my 20-year high school reunion. A fun time was had by all, and I’ve got two blog posts to give you about it. One is sober and reflective, the other is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 4 Comments

What’s the difference?

Posted on October 9, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Sam Rosenfeld asks a very good question: How exactly does the GOP’s removal of tax credits for movie studios in response to the RIAA’s hiring of Democrat Dan Glickman differ from 1998, when the House Ethics Committee chastised Tom DeLay … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on What’s the difference?

Can this sandwich be saved?

Posted on October 9, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The AusChron talks about the troubles at Schlotzsky’s. Personally, I’ve always felt that of the major sandwich chains, Schlotzsky’s offered the least amount of sandwich for the money without being sufficiently good enough to justify it. They’re good, but for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | 13 Comments

Statesman sues Craddick over phone records

Posted on October 9, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman has sued Tom Craddick to get his phone records during the runup to the 2003 Speaker election. In its lawsuit, the Statesman alleges that Craddick has refused to release information in his phone records that should be available … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Statesman sues Craddick over phone records

Flu vaccine shortage

Posted on October 8, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

This has caused no small amount of heartburn at the Kuffner house, since infants are vulnerable to the flu but those younger than six months old cannot be vaccinated themselves, so Olivia has to wait until December 6. Tiffany has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

Yet another DeLay roundup

Posted on October 8, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a closer look at the energy industry fundraiser that drew one of Tom DeLay’s admonishments. The fund-raiser was organized by former DeLay energy aide Drew Maloney, in coordination with ARMPAC staff. Energy executives were told they could … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 2 Comments

Compromise on smoking ban

Posted on October 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like a compromise has been reached in the effort to ban smoking in restaurants. Mayor Bill White announced Wednesday that he is drafting an ordinance that would ban smoking in restaurants, but not in bars. “I have been listening … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 2 Comments

Roundup on DeLay

Posted on October 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Just a sample of what some other folks have said. I’m certain I’ll miss a few, so let me apologize in advance. The Stakeholder is all over this. See here, here, here, and here. Julia brings the snark (I know, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 2 Comments

Does Ted Poe share our values?

Posted on October 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The title of this post is a play on the NRCC ads that have been hammering Nick Lampson lately. They’re your standard-issue attack ads: grainy images of the target, vague and voluminous accusation of one moral failing or another, an … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 5 Comments

Nader rejected again

Posted on October 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Ralph Nader’s bid to get on the Texas ballot has been rejected by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The state ballot without Nader has already been certified and sent to all 254 Texas counties. Nader tried to get on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 1 Comment

The latest admonitions

Posted on October 7, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

So now we know that Tom DeLay has been officially admonished again by the House Ethics Committee. The lawmaker from Sugar Land was cited for apparently linking political donations to legislation and for recruiting federal aviation officials to help search … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 1 Comment

D-Day for DeLay?

Posted on October 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The House Ethics Committee is supposed to have met at 2 PM EDT to (finally) decide what to do on the Chris Bell ethics complaint against Tom DeLay. Let’s hope they take this group’s advice and appoint an outside counsel. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 1 Comment

The endorsement season begins

Posted on October 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle finally realizes there’s less than four week to Election Day, and so they better get cracking on endorsements. (The Dallas Morning News has already made seventeen endorsements.) They get started by endorsing City Prop 1 while opposing City … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 5 Comments

Rack ’em up

Posted on October 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Another Enron guilty plea. A former assistant treasurer at Enron pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud for lying to credit rating agencies. Timothy Despain, 39, faces up to five years in prison. But he … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | Comments Off on Rack ’em up

RIP, Joyce Jillson

Posted on October 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Joyce Jillson, famed astrologer, dead at 58. Do I really have to make the joke here, people? Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness | 2 Comments

A mind like a steel trap

Posted on October 6, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Vice President Cheney, last night: “Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer…. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.” Except for the 2001 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 1 Comment

What’s the rush?

Posted on October 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I probably should have already blogged about the Governor’s refusal to halt executions while the godawful Houston Crime Lab mess gets cleaned up, but if you’ve been waiting for me to do so I hope you’ve already seen what Ginger … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 7 Comments

From the Department of Anecdotal Evidence

Posted on October 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Inspired by this Kevin Drum post, I took a little informal yard-sign survey of my neighborhood this past weekend. Now, I expected Kerry/Edwards supporters to greatly outnumber Bush/Cheney fans. I live in a Democratic enclave, I had only seen K/E … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 19 Comments

Updated registration tallies

Posted on October 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Not quite at the thirteen million mark yet for Texas, though the data in this story is about two weeks old. Texas — one of 16 states with the deadline — expects the final figures will reveal a record number … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | 1 Comment

“Free speech zone” knocked down at Texas Tech

Posted on October 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Another victory for free speech in Lubbock. In a major decision affecting the way public universities allow public speech, U.S. District Judge Sam Cummings knocked down a Texas Tech policy that establishes free-speech zones. Cummings ruled Thursday partially in favor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 4 Comments

Caffeinated beer

Posted on October 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

I believe I have identified another sign of the impending apocalypse: Caffeinated beer. Budweiser’s new brew, Be, pronounced “B-to-the-e,” is a cross between an energy drink and a beer. “You’ll be able to wake up and dull the senses at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | 19 Comments

Texas Tuesdays: Chet Edwards

Posted on October 5, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

And here we are again for another exciting Texas Tuesday, with our special guest star Chet Edwards. Get the latest scoop and a Q&A here and here. We’re officially in the home stretch now, with four weeks to go, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Texas Tuesdays | 2 Comments

The bulb goes on

Posted on October 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

How many members of the Bush administration does it take to change a light bulb? None. “There’s nothing wrong with that light bulb. It has served us honorably. When you say it’s burned out, you’re giving encouragement to the forces … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness | Comments Off on The bulb goes on

Hubener and Miller

Posted on October 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

Katy Hubener will be in Austin tonight for a fundraiser. I’m just going to crib from Byron here: Help take back the Texas House! Do your part to meet a rising star in the Texas Democratic party: KATY HUBENER, Candidate … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on Hubener and Miller

A few random thoughts about the baseball playoffs

Posted on October 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

What can you say about the Astros? They won 36 of their last 46 games, which is just outrageous. They also owe some thanks to the Cubs. Check the standings in today’s paper. Over the last 10 games, the Stros, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 7 Comments

On to the next debate

Posted on October 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

So Kerry appears to have won the post-debate spin as well as the debate, and it’s showing in the polls. Of course, as Steve Casburn reminds us, Walter Mondale did pretty well in the first debate of 1984, too, so … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 3 Comments

DeLay slinks in

Posted on October 4, 2004 by Charles Kuffner

This is hilarious: Tom DeLay was scheduled to be in Austin at 11 AM today for a fundraiser for his own campaign. Democrats were going to greet him with a protest outside the venue. Apparently, the thought of that so … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on DeLay slinks in