Monthly Archives: January 2013

LegeTV

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In case you want to watch the sausage being made. Texans who subscribe to AT&T U-Verse will be able to watch live proceedings from the Texas House and Senate chambers beginning noon on Tuesday when the 83rd legislative session opens. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sylvia Garcia

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The special election in SD06 to succeed the late Sen. Mario Gallegos is Saturday, January 26, and early voting for this election begins Wednesday, January 9. There are two serious candidates in this race, State Rep. Carol Alvarado and former … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A look ahead to the 2013 Lege

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib previews the biennial hijinks of the 2013 Texas Legislature. The last time Texas lawmakers convened in Austin, they were absorbed with numbers and boundaries: how to make ends meet with a deflated state budget and draw new district … Continue reading →

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Substitute WHP has problems: Film at 11

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

No one could have seen this coming. State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has been worried about the Women’s Health Program since the state said it would create its own version of the program. That came after the state moved to … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Remake the Fifth Circuit!

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is widely viewed as one of the nation’s most conservative federal appellate courts, but President Barack Obama could get a chance to change that perception in his second term. Ten of … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Weekend link dump for January 6

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Does joking about writing the wrong year on checks mark one as irredeemably old? “A spider that builds elaborate, fake spiders and hangs them in its web has been discovered in the Peruvian Amazon.” Arachnophobes the world over shudder in … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 1 Comment

SCOTUS has not taken up the Texas redistricting lawsuit yet

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Redistricting: No decision announced [Friday at the Supreme Court about whether the court will hear the Texas redistricting case. The court, however, could issue additional orders on Monday. The Justices haven’t had these briefs for long, so it’s not … Continue reading →

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Horse’s head sold separately

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Shorter John Cornyn: “Unless President Obama gives us Republicans everything we want – and we insist that he be the one to come up with the list of things that we want, so we can attack him for it in … Continue reading →

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The dog that hasn’t barked yet

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The most dispensible member of the Harris County legislative caucus hasn’t done what she normally does yet. Camping out in the Texas Capitol to ensure a prime designation for your legislation on illegal immigration? That’s so 2011. State Rep. Debbie … Continue reading →

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Curbside composting

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Way to go, Austin. City officials are asking Austinites in 7,900 households in five parts of the city to separate their banana peels, egg shells, meat, chicken bones, milk cartons, leaves and any other organic material from their household trash … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Saturday video break: Everybody Knows

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Song #37 on the Popdose Top 100 Covers list is “Everybody Knows”, originally by Leonard Cohen and covered by Concrete Blonde. Here’s the original: Is it just me, or does Cohen bear a striking resemblance to another famous Leonard, Leonard … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: GLBT Caucus for Sylvia

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Caucus membership met Wednesday evening to consider endorsement for the vacancy in Senate District 6 created by the passing of Senator Mario Gallegos. Members had to make a very difficult decision between two amazingly qualified and … Continue reading →

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It was a very good year for Gene Wu

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Rep.-elect Gene Wu has some big shoes to fill in HD137, but I am confident that he will do a fine job of it. Wu relates much of what he plans to do and why he sought public office to … Continue reading →

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Tar Sands Protesters Are Texas Progressive Alliance 2012 Texans Of The Year

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance, a consortium of Lone Star-based liberal weblogs, has selected the protesters of the Tar Sands Blockade as Texans of the Year for 2012. The award has been given annually to the person, or persons or organization, who had … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Music from last year

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Old fogey that I am, I do still try to add new music to my collection. Here’s a sample of the music I now have that was released in 2012: 1. No Forgotten Man – Solas (Noisetrade download) 2. Born … Continue reading →

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What they’re saying about education

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a couple of stories focusing on area legislators and their priorities for 2013. There will be many new faces in the Lege and the Senate in this session, so the more we know about what these folks … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Anderson’s DWI proposal

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall that former Harris County DA Pat Lykos’ DIVERT program for DWI offenders was a major point of contention in the GOP primary fight that was eventually won by new DA Mike Anderson. (If you don’t recall, see … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Recycling pollution

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is unfortunate. The calls to the city of Houston’s 311 help line came in the early morning and the middle of the night – complaints of red smoke, yellow smoke, explosions, fire, a child having trouble breathing. Reports like … Continue reading →

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Open source textbooks

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is a great idea. The words “free” and “college” aren’t often used in the same sentence, but a philanthropic venture at Rice University is drawing attention for bringing them together. OpenStax College, a nonprofit publishing organization founded by a … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Third parties revisited

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Politico has a question. Is Austin’s Travis County the nation’s Libertarian Party stronghold? The co-founders of a Libertarian political action committee based there make that case, arguing that the Texas locale is the “most Libertarian large county in America.” Wes … Continue reading →

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Finally a focus on water

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that the 2013 Lege does seem to be serious about water issues. House Speaker Joe Straus recently said Texas’ water needs will be a high priority, while Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who presides over the Senate, … Continue reading →

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Murder by numbers continued

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There are two ways to look at this. Houston averaged slightly more than four murders a week during 2012, unofficial figures indicate, inching up from 2011 when the total dropped to the lowest point since 1966. In unincorporated Harris County, … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 31

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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White Ds and non-white Rs

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A few points to make about this. White Democrats are an increasingly vanishing species in the Texas Legislature, where there will be only 10 when the new legislative session starts in early January. The face of the Legislature has undergone … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Soto’s parting gift on textbooks

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Outgoing SBOE member Michael Soto will be missed. Soto, the Trinity University English professor who was knocked off in this year’s Democratic primary by the little-known Marisa Perez, spent much of his two years on the board grappling with frustration … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Boise bails on Big East

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

By my count, the Big East has now lost more members than it ever had. Boise State will remain a member of the Mountain West Conference and will not join the Big East in 2013. The Broncos’ decision, confirmed in … Continue reading →

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Your other one-minute real estate update

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Basically, real estate good in Houston. Inventory of homes for sale has fallen to a level not seen in more than a decade. Builders are trying to keep up with a growing demand from buyers relocating here for jobs. Realtors … Continue reading →

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This blog goes to eleven

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As of today, I have been writing this blog for eleven years. One runs out of dinosaur analogies after awhile, so let’s say that in Internet terms, this blog appeared at about the same time as the trilobite. I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 4 Comments

Now you can drink for charity

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The OKRA Charity Bar is now open for business. Charity Bar — like Warren’s Inn, its neighbor around the block — will be open until 2 a.m. seven days a week. “I think bars have a responsibility to people in … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment