Monthly Archives: July 2008

And the special mystery guest is…

Posted on July 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

…Al Gore. Or so I’m told. But first, Rep. Lloyd Doggett is giving Speaker Pelosi a rousing introduction. The question is when Gore will appear and whether it will be spontaneous or introduced. Will report back when it happens. UPDATE: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Netroots Nation, day 3

Posted on July 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I thought our panel went pretty well yesterday. It was well attended given its local appeal, and we got a number of good questions from the audience. We panelists – Vince, Matt, Boadicea and I – hardly let our poor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Obama’s haul in June

Posted on July 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Impressive. Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee revved up their money machine in June, outpacing their Republican rivals by almost $25 million, the Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign said Thursday. Obama and the party have also all but caught up … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Comments Off on Obama’s haul in June

NBA India

Posted on July 19, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

New frontiers for the NBA. Could LeBron James or Shaquille O’Neal catch on in the Hindi heartland? The NBA certainly hopes so as it plans a major push to introduce basketball to India and expand its already formidable global reach … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Culberson v. NASA

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be fun to watch. Two days after telling an online town hall meeting that NASA had “failed us miserably” and “wastes a vast amount of money,” Houston Rep. John Culberson said Thursday he was weighing legislation to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 6 Comments

The other conventions

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

While Netroots Nation is going on here in Austin, there is another gathering – not as large, not as well known – also happening: RightOnline, which bills itself as “a meeting place for the free enterprise movement, focusing on how … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Netroots Nation, day 2

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Day 2 of Netroots Nation got off to a slightly weird start for me, when I woke up and thought “my, it’s awfully bright”. I use my BlackBerry as my travel alarm clock, and as with yesterday, I had it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Bloomberg on Houston

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The recent spate of favorable stories about Houston continues with this Bloomberg entry. Houston, the fourth-largest U.S. city, hasn’t had a new downtown luxury apartment tower in four decades. That will change next year, when One Park Place opens. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Midafternoon update, and more me in the media

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Bloggers Caucus was a success – we had about 70 people in attendance, including some media types and other more traditional activists. Joe Jaworski spoke about his campaign. Melissa Noriega (who probably wasn’t expecting to be called on, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 2 Comments

Media coverage of Netroots Nation

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman writes about Netroots Nation and has the good taste to quote me. “As politics has embraced the notion of blogging … it’s also the case that what I say and what I do does have an impact on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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I have arrived at Netroots Nation

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sitting here on the floor of the Austin Convention, connected to their WiFI network (called “internets”) and getting ready for a full day of networking and schmoozing. First event is the Texas Blogger Caucus at 10:30. I’ll check back … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Still more recycling

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Following up on the recent good news that the city will now accept more types of plastic for curbside and dropoff recycling, City Controller Annise Parker announces on her website that more expansions are coming: Recycler AbitibiBowater has committed $3 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 2 Comments

Texas Freedom Network blogging

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Freedom Network, which does an admirable job of watching and chronicling the religious right in Texas, has started a blog called the TFN Insider. Among other things, they’ll be focusing on the State Board of Education and its … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 1 Comment

Voice mail

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Dwight expresses his loathing of voice mail, then admits it’s not going anywhere: In companies where technology is a means rather than the end, voice mail is alive and well. People reach for a phone when they want to have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 1 Comment

Policing the jailers

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has named a department employee to head the newly created post of inspector general to investigate abuses at the county jail. The appointment comes as federal authorities review the downtown lockups and a local … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Netroots Nation

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It occurs to me that I haven’t pimped my participation in Netroots Nation yet. I will be there, trying to attend as many concurrently-scheduled events as I can (where’s Hermione’s time-travel charm when you really need it?), and sitting on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 1 Comment

The county money report

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Alan Bernstein rounds up the finance reports for the countywide candidates, and there’s some good news and some not-so-good news for both sides. Democrat Adrian Garcia, the Houston councilman, easily outraised incumbent Tommy Thomas in the race for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Skelly on TV

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Get ready to see Michael Skelly and his family on TV. Democratic congressional challenger Michael Skelly brought an unusually early and extensive start Tuesday night to the next season of political TV advertising in the Houston area. Skelly, who has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 1 Comment

Still more elected offices

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

And here we have another push to make a currently-appointed statewide office an elected office instead. It’s almost as if legislators want to send a message to Governor Rick “39%” Perry or something. Lawmakers should look at allowing voters rather … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 2 Comments

Why can’t they advertise?

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

So I’m reading this article about the National Park Service and its attempts to reach out to minority communities, who represent a disproportionately small fraction of their attendees, and I came across this curious paragraph: The Park Service is prohibited … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 1 Comment

Conditional medicine

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t often write about this kind of stuff, but I find myself particularly annoyed by it, and that’s what having a blog is all about. The Bush administration wants to require all recipients of aid under federal health programs … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 2 Comments

Pushing for wind energy infrastructure

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Back in April, I blogged about a proposal to connect the wind farms in West Texas to the rest of the state. On Thursday, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) will hold a hearing to examine that report by the Electric … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Some fundraising numbers

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

A sample of fundraising numbers for the second quarter, based on press releases received: – From Larry Joe Doherty in CD10: Larry Joe Doherty, Democratic nominee in the 10th Congressional District, will report receiving over $247,000 in campaign contributions from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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More elected offices

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Clay Robison floats the possibility of another elected office for state government. For the first time in years, the Texas Department of Insurance will be up for sunset review, thus assuring that proposals for strengthening Texas’ weak regulatory system will … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 1 Comment

From the “You’re new around here, aren’t you?” files

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I only just now got around to reading this article on some issues folks in the Sabine Street Lofts are having with the kidz at the new Jamail Skate Park, but all I really needed to read was this bit: … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of July 14

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Netroots Nation week! Whether you’ll be there in Austin or just looking for liveblogs and video feeds, you can get in the mood for the event by catching up with the Texas Progressive Alliance and its blog highlights for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Bell time

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

We knew it was coming, and now via QR (and BOR and Greg), here it is: Chris Bell will make his formal announcement of candidacy for SD17 on Sunday. You can view a PDF of his announcement here, which highlights … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | 3 Comments

Houston: Hot or not for college grads?

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Press cover story this week is about how indie bands are avoiding Houston after the 2006 incident at Walter’s on Washington. I’m not really into the indie music scene, and probably wouldn’t be even if I weren’t a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Music | 3 Comments

Time to say good-bye to the Kirby trees

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The fight over Kirby Drive’s trees is over, and like it or not, the project is going forward. Work will begin Monday on the contentious Kirby Drive reconstruction project between Westheimer and Richmond with a design that retains none of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on Time to say good-bye to the Kirby trees

“It took me sixteen hours to get to LA”

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

Virginia Senator John Warner’s proposal to reinstate a national speed limit is back in the news. [Sen. Warner] says it’s time to start the conversation about an energy-saving national speed limit to help spare Americans from usurious fuel costs. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 5 Comments

Hotze loses again

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

From last week, another loss in court for local anti-tax gadfly Bruce Hotze. Hotze has filed four lawsuits about Prop 2, which sought a revenue cap on all city funds. Any revenues that exceeded the yearly cap would have to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | 1 Comment

The tax that dare not speak its name

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This came out last month, a little before some of the recent angst about the business margins tax hit the news. It’s not something we haven’t heard before, but it’s definitely something we need to hear again. The quality of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

TIERS for Medicaid

Posted on July 13, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

This can’t be good. State social services officials now plan to switch 1 million or more needy people in the next year to a different application process for benefits, including Medicaid and food stamps. The state says it intends to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | 1 Comment

The Chron on Bradford

Posted on July 13, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a curious article about former HPD Chief Clarence Bradford, who is now running for District Attorney as the Democratic candidate. I say “curious” because I can’t tell if it’s a special one-time-only story about one candidate, or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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