Monthly Archives: October 2014

The outrage machine is fully engaged

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how long they can keep it up. A legal battle between the city of Houston and religious leaders has erupted into a national debate this week about religious liberty and freedom of speech, even as Mayor Annise Parker … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the AG race

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Couple of interesting tidbits in here. A tea party darling with a dozen years in the state Legislature, Sen. Ken Paxton has avoided the media since admitting to a third-degree felony violation of state securities law in late April. Spokesman … Continue reading →

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TPJ files suit against Abbott over Hecht ethics case

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. An Austin legal watchdog group filed suit Wednesday to force action on a $29,000 ethics fine, levied against Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht in 2008, that has languished on appeal for 5½ years. The … Continue reading →

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#GiveToWendy

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

A year ago at about this time, a group of progressive blogs joined forces to raise money for the Wendy Davis campaign, which at that point was only a month old and all of the usual “early money” maxims applied. … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Randy Roll

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote. … Continue reading →

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Subpoenaing sermons

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not sure about this. Houston’s embattled equal rights ordinance took another legal turn this week when it surfaced that city attorneys, in an unusual step, subpoenaed sermons given by local pastors who oppose the law and are tied to the … Continue reading →

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Comptroller candidates will debate

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a trend! Candidates in the race for state comptroller have agreed to one televised debate, though watching the debate requires a Time Warner Cable subscription fo North Texas viewers. Mike Collier, a Democrat from Houston, and Sen. Glenn Hegar, … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of October 13

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance celebrates the advance of marriage equality and looks forward to the day when it comes to our state as we bring you this week’s roundup.

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Voter ID plaintiffs turn to SCOTUS

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Last train, y’all. Texas plaintiffs on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the state’s voter photo ID law in November’s election. “The facts of this case, including record evidence, show that significantly more voter confusion will result from … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Scot Dollinger

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote. … Continue reading →

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The courts giveth, and the courts taketh away

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As expected, the Fifth Circuit lifts the stay on the district court’s voter ID ruling, paving the way (for now) for it to be enforced in November. Texas should require photo voter identification in this year’s general election, the 5th … Continue reading →

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Perry has a court date

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Happy Halloween, Rick. Visiting Judge Bert Richardson of San Antonio on Monday set the appearance for Oct. 31. Richardson also gave special prosecutor Michael McCrum until Nov. 7 to respond to two motions to quash the case. Richardson had excused … Continue reading →

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Making open data better

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Some positive news. Houston leaders in the last year or so have cheered the promise of “civic hacking,” pushing to make the mountains of data the city collects accessible to tech enthusiasts capable of building programs to help citizens better … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Josefina Rendon

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

HISD Board approves one cent tax rate increase

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Still a low tax rate, just slightly higher now. As architects prepare designs for dozens of new campuses, the Houston school board on Thursday approved a 1-cent tax rate increase to help pay down debt from the largest school district … Continue reading →

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Appeals court rules against KSP

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From last week, from the inbox via the Texas Democratic Party: (Yesterday), the Texas Democratic Party prevailed in King Street Patriots v. Texas Democratic Party, when the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District confirmed a lower court decision … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s appellate response brief is the same old junk

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Pathetic. Attorney General Greg Abbott says Texas’ same-sex marriage ban should remain in place because legalizing it would do little or nothing to encourage heterosexual couples to get married and have children. Writing in a brief filed to the 5th … Continue reading →

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Interview with John Cook

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The office of Land Commissioner is often overlooked, but it has a role to play in a whole lot of aspects of state government. From state parks to beaches to mineral rights, from the Alamo to veterans issues to the … Continue reading →

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Chartering

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more than just the Mayor’s race going on in 2015. Houston is guaranteed a frantic 2015 political season with an open mayor’s race on the ballot, but it could get busier still with growing talk of placing … Continue reading →

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Voter ID plaintiffs ask for no stay

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve filed their response to the Fifth Circuit. Attorneys challenging Texas’ voter ID law — which was struck down by a federal judge on Thursday — asked a federal appeals court on Sunday not to allow the state to enforce … Continue reading →

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Complaint against McCrum dropped

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Travis County Attorney David Escamilla said Wednesday he has looked into recent allegations by a Houston attorney against the special prosecutor in the case against Gov. Rick Perry and will not investigate further. Escamilla said he found no evidence … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for October 12

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

News flash: “Reality” TV is heavily scripted and directed. Film at 11. A look at the extremely warped world of marriage counseling and advice columns of the pre-feminist era. “The prohibition against clause-final prepositions is considered a superstition even by … Continue reading →

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More on the voter ID ruling

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As always with big court cases, the first question is who benefits politically from the decision? With a federal judge having declared Texas’ voter ID unconstitutional, Democrats and political experts on Friday predicted the surprise decision potentially could help Wendy … Continue reading →

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YouGov: Abbott 54, Davis 40

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As Ed Kilgore noted on Friday evening, YouGov dropped a load of gubernatorial race polls, including another Texas result. You may look at the topline number and feel dejected, but let me point out two things. One is that YouGov … Continue reading →

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Reminder: Uber and Lyft aren’t legal yet in Houston

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Drive for ’em at your own risk for the next month or so. New entrants into Houston’s paid-ride market can’t be licensed to operate for another month, but the transition is proving problematic as the companies and drivers rack up … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Sweep for Sam Houston

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Chronicle endorses Sam Houston, completing a sweep of the big papers for the Democratic candidate for Attorney General. Democratic candidate Sam Houston is the best choice on the ballot. A graduate of Baylor Law School and candidate for … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Danny Boy

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have no idea who might have done this originally, so I nominate the King’s Singers for the canonical version: The main problem with this song is that it’s so easy to do an over the top schmaltzy version of … Continue reading →

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Court strikes down Texas voter ID law

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Boom. Less than two weeks before the start of early voting, a federal judge ruled the state’s photo voter ID law unconstitutional late Thursday and ordered state officials to drop the new requirements. “The Court holds that SB 14 creates … Continue reading →

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Smoking ban extended to pedestrian plazas

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this. Main Street Square is now a smoke-free zone following the City Council’s decision Wednesday to expand Houston’s smoking ban to pedestrian plazas, marking the latest effort from the Parker administration to curb lighting up in public … Continue reading →

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Sameena Karmally

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Sameena Karmally, whose race against Jodie Laubenbeg is important not for if she wins or loses but for what she represents. If Democrats are going to turn Texas purple, they need to do a lot of work at the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: State Reps and Sam Houston

Posted on October 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron made its State House endorsements in two parts. The highlight from Part One was a couple of key races. District 23: Susan Criss In one of the few competitive contests, Democrat Susan Criss and Republican Wayne Faircloth are … Continue reading →

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Friday random six: U too?

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, six songs by U-named bands is all I got: 1. The Electric Co. – U2 2. Still…You Turn Me On – Uncle Seth 3. I’m In Heaven – Universal Funk 4. Ffuny Ffriends – Unknown Mortal Orchestra 5. Stay … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Judicial Q&A: Kay Morgan

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote. … Continue reading →

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Mail ballots

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Campos: I put out this yesterday and it got some buzz: In 2010, here in Harris County, 54,625 folks voted by mail. 24,231 went straight GOP and 11,448 went straight Dem. 31,101 voted for Governor Perry and 22,875 for Bill … Continue reading →

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