Monthly Archives: September 2016

ECPS: Trump 42, Clinton 36

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Another state poll result to add to the list. A new Emerson College poll in Texas, which has long been a Republican stronghold, shows Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by only 6 points (42% to 36%), with 10% of respondents … Continue reading →

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Patrick whines about NCAA decision to pull events from North Carolina

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick criticized the NCAA on Tuesday for its decision to pull seven of its championship events from the state of North Carolina. The action came after North Carolina passed a law regulating the use … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of September 12

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance has a secret plan to ask someone else for a plan to bring you this week’s roundup.

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Hearing on voter ID outreach set for Monday

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Once more into the breech, to see if the state needs to get slapped down again. Texas officials will be back in federal court next week to defend the state’s voter ID law, this time against accusations that they have … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Some officials take note of special education funding restrictions

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. The vice chairman of the State Board of Education, a Houston school board member, a key state senator and scores of parents and disability advocates all expressed strong opposition on Monday to a Texas Education Agency performance-based … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Publisher of crappy Mexican American Studies textbook defends said textbook

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not that crappy, she swears. The publisher of a proposed Mexican-American studies textbook that scholars, elected officials and Hispanic activists have decried as racist and inaccurate is defending the high school text ahead of a public hearing on the … Continue reading →

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City loses in appeal against firefighters’ pension statute

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a pension fund-related litigation update for you. Houston can’t overhaul a state-governed firefighter pension system that the mayor claims is pushing the city towards insolvency, a Texas appeals court ruled. Houston sued the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund … Continue reading →

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The local and state party perspective

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is the flip side of yesterday’s story about the national Democratic campaign opening an office in Houston. As long-beleaguered Texas Democrats look toward November, they see opportunity in the fallout from Trump’s rhetoric targeting Latinos and women. Surveys have … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

“Denied”

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is worth your time to read. During the first week of school at Shadow Forest Elementary, a frail kindergartner named Roanin Walker had a meltdown at recess. Overwhelmed by the shrieking and giggling, he hid by the swings and … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

NCAA removes all championship games for 2016 and 2017 from North Carolina

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Actions, they have consequences. Based on the NCAA’s commitment to fairness and inclusion, the Association will relocate all seven previously awarded championship events from North Carolina during the 2016-17 academic year. The NCAA Board of Governors made this decision because of the cumulative actions taken … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The one Family Court race

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The 507th Family Court is one of the two new courts in operation in Harris County, and thus one of the two spots on the ballot for which Democrats had to choose nominees this summer. In keeping with its Civil … Continue reading →

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More on the ground game here

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

A few days ago I wrote about the opening of a national Democratic campaign office here in Harris County. I had the opportunity to pose a few questions to the campaign over the weekend about this office and their larger … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Federal lawsuit filed in Alabama over statewide judicial elections

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There are now at least two lawsuits like this in the federal courts. Tuscaloosa reverend Curtis Travis has been voting his whole life in Alabama. While nearly one-fourth of the voting population, like him, is black, the three highest courts … Continue reading →

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The bigger debtors’ prison problem

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not just Harris County. Last week, an Amarillo attorney released documents that he said showed the city jailed disabled people simply because they were unable to pay municipal fines. According to the Amarillo Globe-News, the victims of this apparent debtors’ prison system … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Time for a change, part 2

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Ed Gonzalez for Sheriff, after indicting incumbent Sheriff Ron Hickman for a litany of failures. At the beginning of this campaign we believed that Sheriff Ron Hickman should get the benefit of a doubt on his challenging … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for September 11

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

What kids wish their teachers knew about them. “We hear too much about what’s wrong with baseball. We need to hear more about what’s awesome about baseball.” Crime is a big problem at WalMart. “The Beach Boys’ Southern California sound … Continue reading →

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Wanted: Poll workers

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Multi-language ability a plus. Presiding election judges hire their Election Day staff, working largely from a list compiled from online applications. Hector de Leon is with the Harris County Clerk’s office. “We’re going to have approximately 5,845 people working on … Continue reading →

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You are still free to discriminate against LGBT people

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder. Campus Pride usually highlights the best colleges for LGBT youth, as expensive as they may be. But for the first time today, the advocacy group is calling out the worst campuses for queer students. “Most people are shocked when they learn … Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: A Libertarian moment

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron thinks outside the box in endorsing for the Railroad Commission. Our editorial board interviews scores of candidates for political office every election year, but seldom do we find ourselves wholeheartedly endorsing a nominee from the Libertarian Party. Then … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Me and Bobby McGee

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I have an acoustic Kris Kristofferson version of this classic that breaks my heart every time I hear it, and a version by the Modern barbershop Quartet that I can’t find on YouTube, so I’m just going to put a … Continue reading →

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The Precinct 4 evidence destruction debacle

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

What the heck is going on here? The Harris County Precinct 4 deputy who was fired after destroying evidence in hundreds of pending criminal cases this year has been wrongfully tossing evidence without following department protocol since 2007, Constable Mark … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Rep. Reynolds files for bankruptcy

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This was expected. Embattled state Rep. Ron Reynolds has filed for personal bankruptcy following a judge’s order to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to a former client. The filing comes as Reynolds, the Democratic whip in the House, is … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Civil incumbents, part 2

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron continues a theme. 151st Civil District Court: Mike Engelhart If you commute along the Southwest Freeway, then you probably know Judge Mike Engelhart from his big red billboard at Greenbriar Drive, which informs drivers that the two-term Democratic … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Ladies’ night, part 12

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Feels appropriate to have a Donna Summer song in this first post-Labor Day post. Summer may be psychologically over, but Donna Summer is forever. 1. Mad About The Boy – Dinah Washington 2. I Touch Myself – Divinyls (Chrissy Amphlett) … Continue reading →

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The ground game in Texas

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron looks at the Trump campaign in Texas, such as it is. Just over two months before the November general election, Bryant typifies the Trump campaign in Texas, a mostly invisible but active network of supporters that Republican Party … Continue reading →

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State Supreme Court declines to hear lawsuit over city’s same-sex partner benefits

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I had totally forgotten this was still a thing that was happening. The Texas Supreme Court has declined to hear a case challenging Houston’s extension of health and life-insurance benefits to same-sex spouses of married employees, calling an apparent end … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Documenting the ways that proposed Mexican-American Studies textbook sucks

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Read the report. Saying that a proposed Mexican-American studies textbook is “dripping with racism and intolerance,” several educators and students are calling for the State Board of Education to reject the controversial book. “It is an utter shame we must … Continue reading →

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Reducing pot prosecutions one county at a time

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Some Texas cities are taking direct action to dial back the drug wars and reduce their jail population. As lawmakers have wrestled in recent years with easing restrictions on marijuana use – an issue they likely will confront again when … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

State accused of misleading on voter ID education outreach

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. The federal government is accusing Texas of circulating “inaccurate or misleading information” to poll workers and would-be voters about relaxed identification requirements for the November elections. “Limited funds are being spent on … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Susan Hawk resigns as Dallas County DA

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Thus endeth her short but incredibly tumultuous time in office. After struggling with mental illness, including three admissions at psychiatric treatment centers, Republican Susan Hawk stepped down from her position as Dallas County District Attorney on Tuesday. “It is with … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A Halley’s Coment event

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Every 75 years or so, the Dallas Morning News endorses a Democrat for President. This is one of those years. There is only one serious candidate on the presidential ballot in November. We recommend Hillary Clinton. We don’t come to … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of September 5

Posted on September 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance will not be appearing on “Dancing With The Stars” this fall, though it will be bringing you this week’s roundup.

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Washington Post: Clinton 46, Trump 45

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whoa. With nine weeks until Election Day, Donald Trump is within striking distance in the Upper Midwest, but Hillary Clinton’s strength in many battlegrounds and some traditional Republican strongholds gives her a big electoral college advantage, according to a 50-state … Continue reading →

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Paxton’s dinner with the Briggle family

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So he did go, and he managed to behave himself. Lots of preparation led up to the moment, but Amber and Adam Briggle still exchanged nervous looks when their doorbell rang about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. “I was terrified,” Amber Briggle … Continue reading →

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