Monthly Archives: October 2010

Weekend link dump for October 31

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Boo! Here’s my usual reminder about the Candy Man, and how he helped kill Halloween around here for awhile. Extreme credit card makeover. The asymmetry of responsibility. The public knows a lot of things that aren’t true. It’s your job … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | Comments Off on Weekend link dump for October 31

Final early vote wrapup

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As was the case in 2008, we saw record levels of early voting this year in Harris County. As polls closed Friday before Tuesday’s general election, as many as 450,000 people are expected to have cast their ballots early or … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Quantifying my elitism

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, Charles Murray’s latest bit of faux-populism has spawned a meme. Let’s see just how much of an out-of-touch elitist I am, shall we? 1. Can you talk about “Mad Men?” Yes, but only because I absorb vast quantities of … Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | Tagged , | Comments Off on Quantifying my elitism

Tourists…In…SPAAAAAAAAACE!

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now how much would you pay for a trip to the exosphere? In the half-century since humans first touched the stars, just seven people have paid their way into space, each forking over tens of millions to orbit around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | Tagged , | Comments Off on Tourists…In…SPAAAAAAAAACE!

Saturday video break: This is Halloween

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

And this is how you celebrate it: Happy Halloween!

Posted in TV and movies | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Saturday video break: This is Halloween

Last round of polls

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The newspapers have another poll, and I have a question about it. The survey of 673 likely voters found Perry leading Democratic nominee and former Houston Mayor Bill White 49 percent to 37 percent. They are followed by Green Party … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“The cul-de-sac battleground”

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer has an interesting look at three State House races in suburban areas that were once Republican strongholds but have now become battlegrounds. Two of them are Democratic-held – HDs 52 and 133 – and one (HD105) is still … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “The cul-de-sac battleground”

Sign of the times: Prop 3

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Spotted this the other day on Old Spanish Trail just east of SH288: Far as I can tell, the nearest red light camera to this sign is at Wayside and I-45. It’s all I’ve seen of the campaign against Prop … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Friday random ten: Dia de los Muertos

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Dia de los Muertos is what we celebrate after Halloween around here. In honor of that, here are ten songs about death. 1. And When I Die – Blood, Sweat & Tears 2. The Car Hank Died In – Austin … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Friday random ten: Dia de los Muertos

Here comes the late money

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The 8 days out finance reports are in, and it’s about what you’d expect. Millions of dollars poured into Texas legislative campaigns during the past month as interest groups tried to maximize their influence and partisans readied for the upcoming … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Here comes the late money

The fate of the city propositions

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story could easily have been headlined “A bunch of people take wild guesses about what will happen to the city ballot propositions”. Political analysts say the fate of the three propositions may be tied together for some Houstonians … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on The fate of the city propositions

Texas tells Amazon to pay up

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Well, that’s one way to attack the budget deficit. Texas has sent Amazon.com Inc. a $269 million bill for uncollected sales taxes on purchases made by state residents from the Seattle-based Internet superstore over a four-year period. […] R.J. DeSilva, … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Ryan issues opinions about poll watching

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan has issued a couple of opinions relating to poll watching that may help clear things up a bit. The first opinion has to do with where poll watchers may and may not go: Poll watchers … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of October 25

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes you all have voted or will be voting as it brings you this week’s blog roundup.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged , | Comments Off on Texas blog roundup for the week of October 25

Beware the stock photo

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the best press release I received today, from the campaign of Rick Molina in HD144. The front cover of a direct mail piece for endangered incumbent Ken Legler shows a photo of a doctor, standing with blue collar and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early voting: The Democratic voters start to show up

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After one full week of early voting, the proportion of votes coming from Republican State Rep districts was tilted about two percentage points more towards the GOP than it was in 2006. I’ve argued that this is nothing to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dry Dallas update

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of money being spent to remove alcohol sales restrictions in Dallas. The group behind next month’s ballot measures to expand the sale of alcohol in “dry” areas of Dallas has raised nearly $1 million – mainly from grocery stores, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

TDP to get KSP’s financial records

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston tea party spinoff King Street Patriots will grant the Texas Democratic Party access to its financial records, forestalling an injunction hearing that had been set for Monday afternoon in Austin, according to TDP. According to a TDP news … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

DeLay trial gets underway

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

And the entertainment value is high already. A last-minute dispute erupted after DeLay’s defense attorneys struck five potential black jurors, leaving the panel with no African-Americans. Prosecutors objected. DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin cited reasons for striking the jurors. He said … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Maybe Keller hasn’t gotten away with it just yet

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Could there possibly be some accountability in this world? [The state Commission on Judicial Conduct]’s executive director, Seana Willing, asked the panel to reconsider its decision to dismiss the case, which stemmed from Keller’s actions on the day Michael Wayne … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: One more

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I was wrong when I said the Chron was done with endorsements. I’d forgotten that they hadn’t endorsed in the one contested County Commissioner race. They have now rectified that. In two terms on the five-member Harris County Commissioners Court, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: One more

Former Rep. Kino Flores convicted

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Former State Rep. Kino Flores, who was indicted last year on multiple counts of tampering with a governmental record, was convicted today on eleven of those counts. Flores, a 14-year state representative, was convicted of five counts of misdemeanor tampering … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Former Rep. Kino Flores convicted

The deficit debacle

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Think things are bad now? Just you wait. Texas faces a budget crisis of truly daunting proportions, with lawmakers likely to cut sacrosanct programs such as education for the first time in memory and to lay off hundreds if not … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Still not mentioning the Libertarian numbers

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s one Trib story about their most recent poll (summary here, crosstabs here), that barely mentions the most remarkable numbers from it. The voters who identify with the Tea Party overwhelmingly favor Republicans in statewide races, with more than 80 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Blast from the past, RRC edition

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

TPJ tells me something I didn’t know about Republican candidate for Railroad Commissioner David “My party is my qualification” Porter. Porter has been the treasurer of the Texas Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (TRLCC) since 2006. That’s when school-voucher activist James … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Blast from the past, RRC edition

Transgender golfer sues LPGA

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This lawsuit against the LPGA filed by a transgender woman will be worth watching. Lana Lawless, a 57-year-old retired police officer who had gender-reassignment surgery in 2005, made her name as an athlete in 2008 after winning the women’s world … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Transgender golfer sues LPGA

“Houston Have Your Say: Energy, Economy & Environment”

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Time again for another edition of Houston Have Your Say on KUHT: Worried about air quality? Concerned about environmental regulation costing jobs in the Houston region? Join Patricia Gras for Houston Have Your Say: Energy, Economy & Environment: Making It … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

For those who are just tuning in to the whole Tom DeLay saga

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman has a useful overview of How We Got Here in the DeLay money laundering case, which goes to trial today. I love the fact that it all began with a little hubris. It was November 2002, just days … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on For those who are just tuning in to the whole Tom DeLay saga

Once again, I’ll take the under

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a bizarre new UT/Texas Trib poll that’s so odd I can’t even come up with a good introduction for it, so I’m just going to jump straight to the weirdness: Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Can we finally get some US Attorneys?

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A “Republican and former federal prosecutor” named Bill Mateja wrote an op-ed over the weekend that simultaneously cheered and criticized the Republican obstruction of getting US Attorneys nominated for Texas. Why should Republicans, who have played their hand so well, … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Can we finally get some US Attorneys?

Census participation numbers

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Seventy percent of Houston households returned their 2010 census forms by mail, up 6 percent from 10 years ago. That could translate into millions of dollars in additional federal funding, according to city officials. Bragging rights, too. Just … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Another look ahead at redistricting

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The short version of this Chron story is basically “Republicans would like to control every aspect of the redistricting process, while Democrats would at least like to win the Governor’s office and maintain some semblance of parity in the House”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

One week of early voting

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s start with the breakdown of the early voting numbers after one full week: 2010 Overall Strong R = 47.7% Medium R = 9.4% Medium D = 17.9% Strong D = 22.9% Total R = 57.1% Total D = 40.8% … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Endorsement watch: State House

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I think this list of State House recommendations wraps up the endorsements for the Chron. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other races left for them to do. Anyway, in twelve contests they went with … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment