Monthly Archives: July 2006

Some CD28 speculation

Posted on July 5, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Via Dos Centavos, an Express News article fro last Friday on how the CD23/CD28 conundrum may get resolved. Some local Democrats hope to see Laredo dropped from District 28 in the remapping process, which starts with parties in the case … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 2 Comments

BurkaBlog

Posted on July 5, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

It’d been rumored for awhile, and now it’s official: Texas Monthly’s Paul Burka, who a year ago wrote an article that basically dismissed blogs and blogging, is now himself a blogger. Life is funny sometimes, isn’t it? (So is TJ … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Tax attorneys love Strayhorn, builders love Greg Abbott

Posted on July 5, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Two items on why ethics in government is a need-to-have, not a nice-to-have: One, why tax lawyers love Carole Keeton Strayhorn: In her quest to become the next governor, Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has continued to accept, despite criticism, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

Let’s get ready to gamble

Posted on July 5, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t get around to this before the holiday, so let’s catch up: The next big issue in the governor’s race may well be gambling, as the realities of HB3 are forcing everyone to look around for the revenue to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Comments Off on Let’s get ready to gamble

For the Fourth

Posted on July 4, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know if the rain we had here earlier will go away and let the annual fireworks show go on as planned, but it’s looking reasonably good now. This beinh Houston, of course, one can never be sure. If … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Comments Off on For the Fourth

Could you pass the citizenship test?

Posted on July 4, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Do you have what it takes to become a citizen? When immigrants want to become Americans, they must take a civics test as part of their naturalization interview before a Citizenship and Immigration Services officer. The questions are usually selected … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 3 Comments

Latinos driving to register voters

Posted on July 4, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

As today is Independence Day, I just wanted to note this exercise in democracy from the weekend for future reference. Latino rights groups today are kicking off their strategy to register new citizens and children of immigrants as voters in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 3 Comments

A tour of CD23 – Part One

Posted on July 3, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming my fingers don’t all fall off first from all the cutting and pasting, I’m going to do an in-depth analysis of the electoral results in CD23, from 2002 and 2004. Installment #1 is up at Kuff’s World, in which … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on A tour of CD23 – Part One

Is it a loophole or not?

Posted on July 3, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron looks to history for some guidance in the DeLay ballot replacement lawsuit. Ben Campbell had just been sentenced to federal prison on bank fraud charges. He also was the Republican nominee for re-election to his state House district … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 3 Comments

Save the penny!

Posted on July 3, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Pity the poor penny, the least beloved coin in America. There’s another push on to get rid of it. For the first time, the U.S. Mint has said pennies are costing more than 1 cent to make this year, thanks … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 3 Comments

Who’s at work today?

Posted on July 3, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

So. Anybody else at work today? With the July Fourth holiday falling on Tuesday this year, Monday will be an orphan workday for many people who can’t take the day off. Although other national holidays are usually moved to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | 5 Comments

Mapchangers: The final frontier

Posted on July 2, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

We’re in the final round of voting for Mapchangers. Texas is the only state with two candidates in the final ten, Chris Bell and John Courage. You can only vote for one of them. What to do? Let Chris Bell … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on Mapchangers: The final frontier

The Press comes a-blogging

Posted on July 2, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

You can’t tell from their front page, but if you look inside, you can see that the Houston Press is hopping on board the blog express. Blogsploitation! Attention, local bands: We want your music. Yeah, your garage demos, your next … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on The Press comes a-blogging

Harris County CD22 selector selected

Posted on July 1, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t get to this story yesterday. Despite a continuing legal dispute over the process, Harris County Republicans chose on Thursday their representative on the committee that will select a nominee to replace former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. “Why wouldn’t … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 4 Comments

Diane Trautman in the news

Posted on July 1, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Nice article in one of the community papers about Diane Trautman, who’s running against “Judgmental Joe” Crabb in HD127 up in the Kingwood area. Some highlights: “At the [July 20 Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce] luncheon, one of the things that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 3 Comments

And it’s back

Posted on July 1, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. The University of the Incarnate Word announced Friday that it will reinstate the library’s print subscription to the New York Times after canceling it earlier this week to protest the publication of articles exposing the government’s secret … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 2 Comments

How to pander and meddle all at once

Posted on July 1, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

You have to hand it to John Culberson. The man knows how to pander. Local officials continued to debate police policy toward illegal immigrants Thursday after the U.S. House passed a Houston lawmaker’s measure that would cut off federal crime-fighting … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 4 Comments