Tag Archives: George Bush

The balanced budget fantasy

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s really only one thing to say about this. One of Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign staples last year was that America would be a far better place if it were more like the Lone Star State — limited government, fewer … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Yeah, it is too early to be polling for 2012

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

But that won’t stop anyone from doing them. 2012 could be the year Democrats are finally competitive for President in Texas…but only if the Republicans nominate Sarah Palin. There are vast differences in how the various different potential GOP contenders … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bye-bye, border fence

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Long overdue. The Obama administration on Friday canceled the long-troubled, high-tech invisible fence project along the U.S.-Mexico border, ending a five-year, $1 billion pilot program that President George W. Bush envisioned as stretching along most of the 1,969-mile border. Homeland … Continue reading →

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An answer in the Claude Jones case

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in June, I noted the case of Claude Jones, who had been executed in 2000 for a murder committed in 1990. The main piece of evidence used to convict him was a single strand of hair that a forensic … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Population and voting trends: 2004 and 2008 Presidential election

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Taking a look at the voting trends in the fastest growing counties made me want to know more about this, so I broke out the spreadsheets and took a look. I’ll present the results in a three-part series, starting today … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2008 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Where the votes are going

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Matt Stiles looks at Census data and notes a political point. Seven Texas counties — Rockwall, Williamson, Collin, Hays, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Denton — are listed among the nation’s 30 fastest-growing areas, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Why the moon?

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I understand the politics of the fight against NASA cutbacks. Jobs are at stake, even if they are being funded by those evil, dirty, not-job-creating federal dollars. But I’m still puzzled by the whole thing. Texans have so little clout … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

What Ron Kirk says

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ron Kirk, the former Mayor of Dallas who is now the US Trade Representative, was asked a joking question about Rick Perry and his earlier statements about secession after Perry’s win on Tuesday. His response is well worth reading. “I … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You have a funny definition of “fiscal conservative”, Senator

Posted on December 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” Our junior Senator calls himself something that doesn’t describe him accurately at all. … 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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Mercy is a rare quality

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve never doubted that Rick Perry isn’t particularly interested in looking for opportunities to grant clemency to death row inmates. But there’s a big question that needs to be answered by this story and isn’t. Texas has executed 200 convicts … 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

Another Democratic gubernatorial hopeful

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, you can’t say that the Democratic cast of characters for Governor lacks characters. Rick Perry might not be the only candidate in the 2010 race for Texas governor who is known for great hair. As the Republican governor with … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | 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 →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is KBH the new CKS?

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The fact that Jason Embry is asking the question whether Kay Bailey Hutchison is the new Carole Keeton Strayhorn, which as he notes was brought up by Burkablog commenters, says a lot about the state of the Hutchison campaign so … Continue reading →

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Meeting Tom Schieffer

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I had the opportunity to have lunch with Democatic gubernatorial candidate Tom Schieffer on Wednesday, along with several of my blogging colleagues (*). This was at his initiative, and I appreciated the opportunity to get to hear him speak. I’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Texas Tech hires Alberto Gonzales

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m speechless. Alberto Gonzales, who resigned as the Bush administration’s embattled attorney general nearly two years ago, has lined up a fall-semester teaching spot at Texas Tech University, the university confirmed today. Gonzales, who was Gov. George W. Bush’s lawyer, … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Pity and loathing

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still working through my feelings about this Newsweek piece regarding George W. Bush’s not-exactly-triumphant return to Texas. I don’t know if the author realized he was basically writing about Norma Desmond, but that’s the main impression I got from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

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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Perry’s poll

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

For your reading pleasure, a poll of Republican primary voters (PDF) by Rick Perry’s pollster Mike Baselice that shows a 45-39 lead by Kay Bailey Hutchison. You can read a poll memo to supporters that spins the results, but the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Big education bills pass

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, the SBOE may be doing its best to destroy public education in Texas, but the Lege took a step forward to make it better by passing omnibus school reform bills in each chamber. Crafted by the education leaders in … Continue reading →

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I hate you! I need disaster relief!

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Care to guess who is the biggest requestor of federal disaster relief funds since 2001? Why, none other than Governor Rick “Secession 4 Eva!” Perry, that’s who. According to FEMA’s website, Texas has been the site of 13 “major disaster … 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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“With Brinkley and Huntley describing contrapuntally the cities we have lost”

Posted on April 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From the “Be careful what you vaguely allude to in a plausibly deniable way in front of a frothing crowd that knows exactly what you’re talking about and is loving every word of it” department: Rasmussen: “75% [of Texans] Opt … 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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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 →

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

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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Catastrophic, year 2

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Nice little shoutout to Houston’s Catastrophic Theater. Recently returned from a month-long residency at New Hampshire’s prestigious MacDowell Colony for artists, Jason Nodler is bursting with exciting plans and projects for his Houston-based Catastrophic Theatre Company. His agenda for the … Continue reading →

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Schieffer jumps in

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We have a candidate, one not named Kinky. Former U.S. Ambassador Tom Schieffer of Fort Worth has just announced he is taking his first formal step toward seeking the Democratic nomination for governor during a Texas Independence Day press conference … Continue reading →

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Deregulation fail

Posted on February 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that electricity deregulation working for you, Texas? In the decade since Texas deregulated its retail electricity market, rates have skyrocketed higher than any other state with such open competition, according to a report released today. Commissioned by the Cities … Continue reading →

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The reason we need a credible Democratic candidate for Governor, in a nutshell

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it, the far right wing Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina offered an amendment to the economic stimulus bill during all the sausage-making last week. Here’s what he proposed: o Permanently repeal the alternative minimum tax … Continue reading →

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Pete Sessions and the Taliban

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Pete Sessions in CD32 is the chair of the NRCC this cycle. He’s also…well, see for yourself. Frustrated by a lack of bipartisan outreach from House Democratic leaders, Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, … Continue reading →

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One more reason to be glad he’s in Dallas and not here

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t need another reason to be glad that former President Bush chose someplace other than Houston to retire to, but if you do, here’s one for you. The tab to provide crowd and traffic control at the new Preston … Continue reading →

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