Monthly Archives: December 2021

Crystal Mason using SB1 to try to overturn her illegal voting conviction

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hope this works. It would be one small good thing to come out of that otherwise harmful law. Crystal Mason, the Tarrant County woman whose illegal voting conviction has garnered national attention, is asking for a Texas appeals court to … Continue reading →

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Corbevax

Posted on December 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very cool. A Houston-made COVID-19 vaccine will likely be approved for use in India by the end of the year, said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of Texas Children’s Hospitals Center for Vaccine Development. Hotez and his co-director, Dr. Maria Elena … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for December 12

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

“The Untold Story of the Portuguese Diplomat Who Saved Thousands From the Nazis”. “25 years ago, Tickle Me Elmo’s co-creator was suspected of being the Unabomber by the FBI”. “Here’s Why Movie Dialogue Has Gotten More Difficult To Understand (And … Continue reading →

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Travis Scott speaks

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Really not sure this was his best move. Amid countless lawsuits against him, Travis Scott sat down with The Breakfast Club radio personality, Charlamagne tha God, for his first public interview since a dangerous crowd surge injured hundreds and left … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two Georgia election workers sue over post-election harassment

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I am so rooting for them. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, the Gateway Pundit—one of the country’s leading sources of pro-Trump misinformation—helped instigate a vicious harassment campaign against two Black Georgia election workers, according to a new lawsuit. As Republicans desperately … Continue reading →

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2021 runoff results

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the vote totals, and here’s an early Chron story which has the results right but was just before the last batch came in. To summarize: – Sue Deigaard had the only easy night – she led by 30+ … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS allows providers’ lawsuit against SB8 to proceed

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot to unpack here. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the legal challenge brought forward by abortion providers against Texas’ abortion restriction law may continue, bringing new life into what has become the most significant effort … Continue reading →

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Filing update: We have an Ag Commissioner candidate

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

But before I can get to that and other news, I have to bring you this: A Fort Worth man is running for the State Board of Education as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Green Party member. Filing for a … Continue reading →

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It’s 2021 Runoff Day

Posted on December 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

. Have you got your #IVoted sticker? Ballot box with ballot Ballots include runoffs for HISD, HCC, City of Bellaire and Missouri City. ⌚ Election Day is Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mobile phone with rightwards arrow at … Continue reading →

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State judge rules SB8 is unconstitutional

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds a little better than it actually is, but it’s still pretty good. A Texas judge on Thursday ruled that the state’s controversial law restricting abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy violates the Texas Constitution, saying it should not … Continue reading →

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Joy Diaz joins the Governor’s race

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I wish her luck, but I don’t think she’s going to get very far. After 16 years on the airwaves in Austin as a journalist at KUT and the public affairs show, “Texas Standard,” Joy Diaz announced Wednesday that she’s … Continue reading →

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ERCOT and PUC swear there will be no blackouts this winter

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Do you believe them? The Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Wednesday pledged that the “lights will stay on” this winter as it inspects power generators and enforces other requirements to avoid a deadly power … Continue reading →

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Our cow poop future

Posted on December 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a resource we have a lot of, to be sure. TotalEnergies plans to build its first biomethane plant in the Texas Panhandle to produce renewable transportation fuel from cow manure. The French oil major on Tuesday said it has … Continue reading →

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Quinnipiac: Abbott 52, Beto 37

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Brutal, but remember what we say about every poll result, whether good, bad, or indifferent: It’s one data point. Gov. Greg Abbott has a commanding lead over Democrat Beto O’Rourke in a new public poll released on Wednesday. Abbott, a … Continue reading →

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I’ll see your AstroWorld lawsuit and raise you $10 billion

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a big number, though that’s partly because there are a lot of plaintiffs. A local law firm has just filed the largest suit to date against Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival after the mass-casualty tragedy that claimed the lives of … Continue reading →

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Quinn Ewers

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This story caught my eye. They got played by an 18-year-old. Depending on your sports acumen, hearing the name Quinn Ewers either makes your ears perk up or leads you to ask, “Who?” The former Ohio State quarterback’s name is … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 6

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s beginning to look a lot like the first Christmas season Texas Progressive Alliance roundup.

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Final 2021 runoff early voting totals

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The last day of early voting is always the busiest. (Well, other than the 2020 election, but you get the idea.) Early voting for four Houston ISD board seats and local council races ended Tuesday with 21,732 ballots cast, according … Continue reading →

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Matthew Dowd drops Lt Gov bid

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sensible. Matthew Dowd, a former George W. Bush political strategist who had launched a bid to be the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in 2022, ended his campaign Tuesday, six days before the candidate filing deadline. In a statement, Dowd, … Continue reading →

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Kim Olson running for TDP Chair

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A retired Air Force colonel and former nominee for agriculture commissioner is running for chair of the Texas Democratic Party. Kim Olson is the first major candidate to announce a challenge to the party’s current leader, Gilberto Hinojosa, … Continue reading →

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Yes, omicron was found in the wastewater

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it. Houston has detected the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 in eight of its wastewater treatment facilities, confirming the new strain is spreading in the city. A Harris County resident was the first … Continue reading →

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The 2021 hurricane season is now over

Posted on December 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was another bad one, even if it maybe didn’t feel so bad from our local perspective. The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season [ended] Tuesday with 21 named storms, four major hurricanes and a new addition to the list of costliest … Continue reading →

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Justice Department sues Texas over redistricting maps

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Add it to the queue. The Department of Justice is suing Texas over its new redistricting maps, alleging that lawmakers intentionally discriminated against Latino and Black voters while redrawing the state’s political districts this year. The lawsuit, filed in federal … Continue reading →

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Filing update: A primary challenger for Judge Hidalgo

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Been wondering for a long time if someone might take the plunge… . Welp — Evan the Maccabee (@evan7257) 1:33 PM – 6 December 2021 I should point out, before I get too far into this, that Judge Hidalgo already … Continue reading →

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Here comes omicron

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It was always just a matter of time. Texas has identified its first case of the omicron COVID-19 variant, a strain flagged as potentially more infectious than any that has come before it, including the delta variant responsible for surges … Continue reading →

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A brief look at the winter storm litigation

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This story is actually about the judge who will be presiding over winter storm cases, but it caught my eye for a reason that will be apparent. Sylvia A. Matthews presided over more than 175 jury trials and 160 bench … Continue reading →

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

How’s that city push to get its employees vaccinated going?

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Not bad, actually. Nearly three months after Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an executive order requiring Houston’s 21,000 city employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, receive a medical or religious exemption, or submit COVID-19 test results every two weeks, compliance with … Continue reading →

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Enron, 20 years later

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Memories. It was hailed as the most innovative company in America, a hometown energy giant whose name graced one of Houston’s skyscrapers and the Astros ballpark. Enron was founded in 1985 as a natural gas pipeline company and became one of the largest … Continue reading →

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MLB Hall of Fame rights a couple of wrongs

Posted on December 6, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Buck O’Neil and Minnie Minoso, and the four other new Hall members. Six candidates earned election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday via the Eras Committee process, it was announced today on MLB Network. Gil Hodges, … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for December 5

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

“Every age group in Vermont has seen cases rise in the past couple of weeks, with one exception: senior citizens. They’ve actually seen cases fall, which points to the fact that boosters protect not just against hospitalization and death, but … Continue reading →

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It’s the power grid, stupid

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s also a campaign theme. Texas Democrats want to talk about the power grid. Specifically, they want to talk about how it failed in February, how they don’t think enough has been done to fix it and why they believe … Continue reading →

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Omicron may be coming, but delta is still here

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still a big problem, in case we haven’t forgotten. Omicron’s arrival in the U.S. came as no surprise to federal health officials and will be met with similar anticipation in Texas, where experts believe it could show up in … Continue reading →

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How Houston has handled homelessness

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve done pretty well, actually. Since more than $65 million in COVID-related funding has poured into Houston and Harris County’s coffers, they have worked in tandem with a number of partners to ramp up the housing units available to move … Continue reading →

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2021 runoff early voting report: Just checking in

Posted on December 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t been following the daily early voting reports for the runoffs very closely. Only a small portion of the populace is voting, so comparisons to the November EV totals don’t mean anything. But we’re most of the way through … Continue reading →

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