Tag Archives: Barack Obama

The Texas Trib and its polls

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been so immersed in the Houston elections that I forgot to give a warm welcome to the Texas Tribune, which made its debut on Tuesday. I really like the look of the site, I like their lineup of writers, … Continue reading →

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Perry’s got a secret

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Quite a few secrets, actually. He really, really doesn’t want you to know what he’s up to over there. When a national news organization in 2003 asked the state archives for the execution memoranda written for former Gov. George W. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Adrian Collins

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I said I was finished with interviews. Turns out that wasn’t quite the case, and so today we have a conversation with Adrian Collins, who is running for HISD Trustee in District IX against incumbent Larry Marshall. Collins … Continue reading →

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The DMN on the food stamp situation

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s depressing reading these articles, but it’s important to do so, to really understand why we’re so screwed up. First and foremost, it’s an attitude problem. As in, the people who have the most power over it have the least … Continue reading →

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From the “I hate you! Now give me some money!” files

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Republicans think the stimulus package was bad public policy and an ineffective waste of money, except for the money that comes to their districts, in which case it’s all good. Texas’ top lawmakers in Congress want President Barack Obama to … Continue reading →

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We’ve got uninsured people, yes we do

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

More than one out of four people in Harris County doesn’t have health insurance. One in three adults in Harris County lacked health insurance in 2008 while Texas continued to have the highest rate of uninsured residents in the nation, … Continue reading →

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FCC to move forward on Net Neutrality

Posted on September 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The fight for Net Neutrality took a big step forward on Monday with the chair of the Federal Communications Commission announcing plans to expand the rules to protect a free and open Internet. In a speech at the … Continue reading →

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Polling health care in CD28

Posted on September 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Daily Kos/Research 2000 conducted a series of polls in various Blue Dog Congressional districts, one of which was Rep. Henry Cuellar’s CD28. The results are here. To the question “Do you favor or oppose creating a government-administered health insurance option … Continue reading →

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Justice for Hispanic farmers

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I received an email about this and thought it was worth passing on. Hispanic farmers and ranchers deserve justice! Join us in calling on President Obama to end discrimination and bring transparency to USDA-administered farm programs. Sign the petition online here. … Continue reading →

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KBH’s pathetic czar claims

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure this silly WaPo op-ed by our senior Senator, in which she makes wild yet provably false claims about the rise of government “czars”, will be making the rounds of the Texas papers this week, so we may as … Continue reading →

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Retired general calls out Perry

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Damn. A retired Air National Guard general called Thursday with three worries. “Something bad’s gone wrong in this country,” said retired Brig. Gen. Tom Daniels, 62, of Fort Worth. “Something’s wrong in Arlington. Something’s wrong in Austin. And something’s wrong … Continue reading →

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The jounalists are coming! Eek!

Posted on September 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill has a panic attack. The chairman of the Harris County Republican Party sharply criticized Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia Thursday for granting jail access to a reporter and videographer from Al Jazeera English, an … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

John Cornyn: For deficits before he was against them

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There are many ridiculous things about our political discourse these days. Among them is the discussion of long-term federal budget deficit projections, in which the vast majority of Republicans, especially those who have been in office for more than a … Continue reading →

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Three candidates so far for HISD Trustee in District I

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know that Natasha Kamrani, the incumbent Trustee in HISD District I is not running for re-election. One candidate to replace her is Alma Lara, who was in the race before Kamrani announced that she was stepping down. According to … Continue reading →

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Edwards gets a primary challenger in HD146

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

For the third straight election cycle, there will be a contested Democratic primary in HD146. Harvey Kronberg reports. Billy Briscoe, who served as Paul Hobby’s travel aide during his campaign for Comptroller in 1998, says that he is running in … Continue reading →

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You can pay me now, or you can pay me later

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Odds are, we’ll opt for later to deal with the large deficit we’re facing with the unemployment insurance trust fund. Texas’ jobless-benefits fund is empty, and the state will probably borrow $1.5 billion from the federal government to pay benefits … Continue reading →

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Stenholm speaks

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a really interesting interview with former Rep. Charlie Stenholm, who represented the Abilene-centered 17th District until it was redistricted into what is now the Lubbock-centered 19th in 2003. Stenholm was a founder of the Blue Dogs, and while there … Continue reading →

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Let’s seat those judges

Posted on August 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Traditionally, a President seeks input from a state’s Senators when filling federal court, US Attorney, and US Marshall openings. Also traditionally, when the President and both Senators from a given state are from opposite parties, the state’s Congressional delegation assumes … Continue reading →

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If you can’t beat ’em, shout ’em down

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, your modern day Republican Party: Angry teabaggers and other opponents of health care reform are heckling members of Congress at their town hall meetings back home in an effort to sway the debate and drown out reform … Continue reading →

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Perrycare

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Who says Republicans don’t have any ideas about health care reform, or anything else for that matter? Here’s Rick Perry’s plan to overhaul the system. This afternoon, Rick Perry’s office released a letter the governor has sent to Health and … Continue reading →

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More money for SUPERTRAINS

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. [Thursday], the U.S. House passed its housing and transportation bill, which will provide funds for fiscal year 2010. Approved mostly by members of the majority Democratic party, the bill would allocate $4 billion to high-speed rail programs — if … Continue reading →

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Education stimulus money for Texas approved

Posted on July 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. The U.S. Department of Education has approved Texas’ application for using $3.2 billion in federal stimulus money, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, said. That money will be used to pay for textbooks and a $1.9 billion increase in school … Continue reading →

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Maddow on Perry

Posted on July 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned in passing that Governor Perry has decided that since his battle against the stimulus package was so effective, he needed to turn to health care reform, which he planned to oppose on 10th Amendment grounds. No, I have … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

On the matter of turnout

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This Star-Telegram story about turnout in the 2008 election versus turnout in the 2004 election has got some people talking. The presidential race between Barack Obama and John McCain sent more Texans to the polls last year, but the state … Continue reading →

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US Attorney update

Posted on July 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Mary Flood notes that while we still don’t have a nominee for US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, we at least now have a list of finalists. The committee met with the four folks whose names were sent … Continue reading →

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On the future of Democrats in Texas

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

By now you’ve probably read Mike Lux’s HuffPo piece (crossposted at BOR) about the future of the Democratic Party in Texas. The main thrust of Mike’s piece is about turnout, and where there’s numbers there’s my curiosity getting piqued. Let’s … Continue reading →

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Federal court bench moving out of Galveston

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Disgraced former judge Sam Kent may be the last federal judge to serve in Galveston, at least for the foreseeable future. The state’s oldest federal bench, which remains vacant after the resignation of U.S. District Court Judge Samuel B. Kent, … Continue reading →

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Can we call this a bipartisan agreement?

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From last week. As Democrats in Congress push harder for a government-run health insurance plan that would compete with private insurers in some reform bills, Sen. John Cornyn said it remains a “deal-breaker” with Republicans. From this week, via Kos. … Continue reading →

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Voting right on climate change, part 3

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. The late-stage whip count on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 has produced a particular political irony. A measure crafted by two Democrats in the House of Representatives — Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) … Continue reading →

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The latest Lyceum poll

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Lyceum just released a poll on various campaigns and politicians, and well, I’m not sure that it says much of anything. I’ve got the PDF here, and the problems begin right away: We interviewed Texas adults during the … Continue reading →

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Who are these people?

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, there are vacancies in the US Attorney’s offices in the Southern and Western district offices in Texas, which will be filled by Presidential appointment. Normally, when the President is of one party and both of a given … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS upholds Voting Rights Act

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

For now, anyway. The Supreme Court ruled narrowly today in a challenge to the landmark Voting Rights Act, siding with a small Texas governing authority but sidestepping the larger constitutional issue. The court, with only one justice in dissent, avoided … Continue reading →

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

Is there a problem with the stimulus funds?

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I hope not. The debate over whether Texas lawmakers can use federal stimulus money to boost education spending, including funding a raise for teachers, is heating up. The Obama administration warned states Thursday it may withhold millions of dollars if … Continue reading →

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Your Texas Republican delegation in action

Posted on June 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

David Weigel tells us what some of our Republican Congressfolk have been up to. Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.), who has introduced a bill that would require future presidential candidates to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, has collected four more co-sponsors — Reps. … Continue reading →

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