Tag Archives: Barack Obama

Calorie counts

Posted on June 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Honestly, this is long overdue. Restaurant groups, nutrition and disease-prevention advocates and Washington lawmakers from both sides of the partisan divide on Wednesday announced they have hammered out an agreement that will put calorie contents on the menus of chain … Continue reading →

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Now how much would you pay for that truck?

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, fellas. You’re coming to the wrong place for sympathy on this. When it comes to iconic symbols of Texas, big trucks and SUVs rank right up there with cowboy hats and boots. But a new White House plan to … Continue reading →

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Obama head on the move

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, Austin! President Barack Obama’s concrete head rested peacefully on an open-bed trailer outside Vino Vino wine bar on Guadalupe Street on Sunday evening. The 20-foot-tall sculpture of the president had just been hauled from Houston. Its creator, 82-year-old artist … Continue reading →

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A new Presidential head comes to Pearland

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You all know I’m a big fan of David Adickes and his giant Presidential heads, which were moved to Pearland last year. Well, they are about to be joined by the latest model. A 20-foot-tall bust of Barack Obama made … Continue reading →

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The DNC comes to Texas

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a pleasant surprise. Calling Texas “a tremendous growth opportunity for the Democratic Party,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine announced this afternoon that Austin will host the Democrats’ annual fall meeting. The Sept. 10-12 session will highlight positive … Continue reading →

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Cornyn reverts to form

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember when Big John Cornyn was rebuking the crazy wing of the Republican Party for making race-based attacks on Sonya Sotomayor? Apparently, he’s figured out that this put him in the minority of the GOP, because he’s now joined … Continue reading →

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Big John versus El Rushbo and The Newt

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There’s just not enough popcorn in the world. As if to magnify what are already major differences between elected Republicans and conservative activists on the question of Sonia Sotomayor, check out what conservative senator (and chairman of the National Republican … Continue reading →

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Green and Gonzalez get plaudits for climate change bill

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

After all the haranging I did on this, the least I can do is to note this. The Obama administration joined environmentalists Friday in heaping praise on Texas Democratic Reps. Charlie Gonzalez and Gene Green for helping climate change legislation … Continue reading →

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Budget yes, UI not yet

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The conference committee on the budget finished its work yesterday. While final details are still emerging, the 10 conferees worked out a last minute plan for spending $700 million of federal stimulus money for state fiscal stabilization. They hope that … Continue reading →

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Credit card reform

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Landmark credit card legislation, poised to reach President Obama’s desk as early as Memorial Day, will force the card industry to reinvent itself and consumers to rethink the way they use plastic. The Senate Tuesday took a critical step … Continue reading →

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Challenging Chet

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Eye on Williamson, I see the national GOP is once again looking to try to beat Rep. Chet Edwards in CD17. There’s little question Republicans are looking to target Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas), who could face yet another tough … Continue reading →

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Metro’s costs and critics

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I have two things to say about this story regarding different cost estimates for the construction of the four remaining light rail lines. The price tag for the city’s four new light rail lines will be: A) $1.46 billion; B) … Continue reading →

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Senate approves SUPERTRAIN study

Posted on May 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Another step forward. Texas should create a long-term plan for developing a statewide passenger rail system, the state Senate decided today in the first such step in years. The approval of Senate Bill 1382 comes at a time when the … Continue reading →

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Juan Garcia takes a job in the Obama administration

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats to former State Rep. Juan Garcia on his new gig. The White House issued a news release announcing Juan Garcia, Obama’s former law school classmate and one-term Texas House member, will be nominated to be Assistant Secretary of the … Continue reading →

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I hate you! Please help me!

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I hate you! [Governor Rick] Perry will moderate a forum Monday on President Barack Obama’s first 100 days. Expect more talk about out-of-control Washington spending, says spokesman Mark Miner, with much time spent listening to people at the Dallas-area stop … Continue reading →

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Here comes the SUPERTRAIN

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. President Barack Obama on Thursday highlighted his ambition for the development of high-speed passenger rail lines in at least 10 regions, expressing confidence in the future of train travel even as he acknowledged that the American rail network, compared … Continue reading →

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Impeach Jay Bybee

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The only thing more revolting than the just-declassified torture memos is the realization that one of their authors is now a federal judge with lifetime tenure. I have to believe that if we knew then what we know now, this … Continue reading →

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Perry walks back secession talk

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As the sun rises in the east, so do politicians who say stupid things revise and extend those remarks afterward when people start asking them questions about what they really meant. And so it was the case with Rick Perry, … Continue reading →

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Doing the easy part

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Dan Patrick gets his day in the sun. Wednesday is the deadline for paying federal income taxes, but it’s also when state lawmakers will consider cutting franchise taxes for 132,000 small businesses in Texas including 24,000 in Harris County. … Continue reading →

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Presidential results by Congressional district

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Swing State Project has compiled a list of Presidential results by Congressional district, for all 435 DCs around the country. I’ve pulled out the Texas numbers and put them in a Google spreadsheet for ease of viewing. Here are a … Continue reading →

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Johnny Sutton resigns

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As is the norm when a new President is inaugurated, US Attorney Johnny Sutton of the Western Judicial District of Texas has resigned his position. Sutton’s resignation was voluntary, [spokeswoman Shana] Jones said, and his future plans were not immediately … Continue reading →

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A letter to the President

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another update from the Handmade Toy Alliance, in the form of a letter to the President on the current state of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and the need for a technical amendment to it for small … Continue reading →

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Precinct data: The City Council districts revised

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I presented data on the 2008 election results by City Council district and by city of Houston/not City of Houston. I said at the time that the measurement was a bit rough because precinct boundaries do not conform … Continue reading →

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Lampson to NASA?

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Former Rep. Nick Lampson, who was a big advocate for NASA while he was in Congress, is now on the short list to become NASA’s administrator. The 64-year-old Stafford Democrat, whose Houston-area congressional district included Johnson Space Center, has joined … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: The City Council districts

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been wondering for a long time how the 2008 vote broke down by City Council districts, as well as for the city of Houston versus non-Houston Harris County. I finally did something about it awhile ago and made a … Continue reading →

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Dallas Dems look to 2010

Posted on April 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Never too early to be thinking about these things. “I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say we can do 57 percent [countywide] in 2010,” said Darlene Ewing, chairwoman of the Dallas County Democratic Party. Because of that comfort … Continue reading →

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Cornymandias

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Look on his works, ye Mighty, and despair! Texas Sen. John Cornyn is threatening “World War III” if Democrats try to seat Al Franken in the Senate before Norm Coleman can pursue his case through the federal courts. Cornyn, the … Continue reading →

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That other budget

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve spent a lot of time lately talking about the state budget – more than the Lege has spent, I daresay – but while this is happening there’s also the federal budget, the first one President Obama has proposed, to … Continue reading →

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Kinky says he’s getting ready to run

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Kinky Friedman has been saying for a long time that he wants to run for Governor again, this time as a Democrat. He’s now finally getting ready to make that official. At least, that’s what he tells Gardner Selby: Friedman … Continue reading →

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KBH leads Perry in early poll

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the polling firm Public Policy Polling asked the readers of its blog which state they should do next. The readers, with a little help from us bloggers, picked Texas. PPP has the results of its first poll up … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte profile

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Really nice article in the SA Current about San Antonio’s Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic caucus leader and a rising national star who had a pretty busy year in 2008 and may be headed for bigger things next … Continue reading →

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The HTA and the Times

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The New York Times wrote an editorial about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Unfortunately, they seem to have misunderstood what all the fuss is about. As many parents, and ultimately manufacturers, learned the hard way, the Bush administration … Continue reading →

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Stimulus for the schools

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texas’ public schools are set to get some much needed stimulus money. Texas school districts can expect a jolt of more than $3 billion over two years under the $787 billion package ushered in by President Barack Obama’s administration. Under … Continue reading →

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Movie night of the future

Posted on February 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So I was reading this FireDogLake post that used the movie “The Wizard of Oz” as a metaphor for the changing of the guard in Washington, DC, and it got me to thinking about how I can’t wait till my … Continue reading →

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