Tag Archives: Rick Perry

Abbott signs texting while driving ban

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the good news. The bad news is that being Greg Abbott, he wants to make it worse. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed into law a bill that creates a statewide ban on texting while driving. The measure, authored … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Abbott signs texting while driving ban

Texting while driving ban passes the Senate

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if this one gets signed into law. Legislation that would create a statewide texting-while-driving ban overcame a last-ditch attempt in the Senate on Friday to gut the bill. The bill’s author, state Rep. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, said he … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Texting while driving ban passes the Senate

The state’s voter ID failure is much bigger than you think

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

You really have to read this. The confusion started in the first hour of the first day of early voting in San Antonio last October. Signs in polling places about the state’s controversial voter ID law contained outdated rules. Poll … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bathroom bills and business interests

Posted on May 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Monthly’s Dave Mann reviews the Republican schism over the bathroom bill and comes to the same conclusion as I have. At the moment, the Legislature—and the Republican party, for that matter—has settled into an uneasy stalemate between Patrick’s right-leaning … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

This could be the session that a statewide texting-while-driving ban passes

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I haven’t followed the progress of the filed-every-session statewide-band-on-texting-while-driving bill, but recent tragic events have put a spotlight on it and raised the probability of it actually becoming law. Texas is one of four states that do not have a … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

“Fetal remains” rule blocked

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks ruled Texas cannot require health providers to bury or cremate fetuses, delivering another blow to state leaders in the reproductive rights debate. On Friday afternoon, Sparks wrote in his ruling that Texas Department … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “Fetal remains” rule blocked

Texting while driving ban bills filed again

Posted on November 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see if this gets a different result. Drivers know the risks, and in more than 95 Texas counties they live under local cell phone ordinances that ban texting while driving. But the Lone Star State remains one of four … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 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

“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

Rick Perry will join “Dancing With The Stars”

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Make your own Tom DeLay joke. Mine is in the embedded image. Former Gov. Rick Perry is joining the new season of “Dancing With the Stars.” Texas’ longest-serving governor will be a contestant in the 23rd season of the dance … Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Texas loses another voting rights lawsuit

Posted on August 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge Friday blocked Texas from enforcing a state law that limits the availability of interpreters in polling places, ruling that it violates protections guaranteed by the U.S. Voting Rights Act. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

What next for voter ID?

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Hasen, writing in Slate: The trial court was ready to throw out the entire law, but the 5th Circuit said such a remedy went too far. The court held that when a trial court finds a law has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What next for voter ID?

Rick Perry still toadying for Trump

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Dude must really need a job. Former Gov. Rick Perry says he is open to serving in the administration of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his former rival in the race for the White House. “They know that I … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

From the “You can dish it out but you sure can’t take it” files

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Poor baby. After years of Texas trying to lure businesses away from other states, New York has struck back — with an ad that paints the Lone Star State as unwelcoming and discriminatory to the LGBT community. The two-minute ad … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Trump University origin story

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Ars Technica a few weeks ago, before the whole Trump University thing really blew up: In 2005, both of us became fixated on a late-night infomercial that promised access to “hundreds of billions of dollars” in “free government money.” … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Trump University origin story

Rick Perry must really need a job

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the most charitable explanation I can think of for this. Former Gov. Rick Perry, who had called Donald Trump a “cancer on conservatism,” is now endorsing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Perry, a former candidate who had backed U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Rick Perry must really need a job

Business as usual with the Texas Enterprise Fund

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Raise your hand if this surprises you. In July of 2013, Gov. Rick Perry announced that he had closed another deal. Chevron would build a 50-story tower in downtown Houston next to one of its existing office buildings. The $662 … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Business as usual with the Texas Enterprise Fund

Case against Rick Perry officially dismissed

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So there you have it. The criminal case against former Gov. Rick Perry was officially dismissed on Wednesday, weeks after Texas’ highest criminal court ordered that it be dropped. Judge Bert Richardson, who presided over the case in Travis County … Continue reading →

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

If we really cared about improving mental health in Texas

Posted on April 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We would have expanded Medicaid at our first opportunity. Federal health officials say people with mental illness and addictions are being left behind in Texas because the state hasn’t expanded Medicaid to more low-income adults. The health care program for … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on If we really cared about improving mental health in Texas

Paxton prosecutors file their response briefs at the 5th Court of Appeals

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

In sum: Don’t think about Rick Perry! A Travis County court’s decision to throw out Rick Perry’s abuse-of-power indictments should have no bearing on Ken Paxton’s securities fraud case, the team prosecuting the first-term attorney general wrote in their latest … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Paxton prosecutors file their response briefs at the 5th Court of Appeals

Is there anything more to the Rick Perry case?

Posted on March 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’m dubious. The special prosecutor in the abuse-of-power case against Rick Perry said Thursday he still hasn’t decided whether to drop the matter a week after the state’s highest criminal court ordered that the indictment against the former governor be … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Is there anything more to the Rick Perry case?

Paxton files his first indictment appeal

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

And on we go. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to fight to get out from under three felony indictments, arguing anew before a Dallas appeals court that he is innocent of accusations he repeatedly violated state securities laws. “We … Continue reading →

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

CCA dismisses remaining charge against Rick Perry

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This would appear to be the end of the road. The state’s highest criminal court dismissed the remaining indictment against former Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday morning, apparently ending the case that started with his threat to veto state funding … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry’s day at the CCA

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait to see if he comes out of this a free man or a man still under one or more indictments. Lawyers for former Gov. Rick Perry fought Wednesday before the highest criminal court in Texas to finish … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Who can pay for Ken Paxton’s defense?

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Paxton himself would like to know, though he doesn’t want you to know that he wants to know. In mid-July, a law firm representing an unnamed state official asked the Texas Ethics Commission whether it would be legal under state … Continue reading →

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

Perry appeal briefs

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The latest update on the appeals before the CCA in the Rick Perry matter. The 3rd Court of Appeals this summer tossed one of two counts against Perry, saying the coercion law underlying it violates the First Amendment. The 3rd … Continue reading →

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

What is coercion, anyway?

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It could be the defining legacy of Rick Perry’s career, depending on how things go in the courts. The coercion law has been used only sparingly in Texas, according to records for the past five years, and some legal experts … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What is coercion, anyway?

CCA will hear appeals of Perry’s indictments

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday granted requests by both Perry and the Office of the State Prosecuting Attorney to determine whether the indictment against Perry should stand. The court set oral arguments for Nov. 4. … Continue reading →

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

Perry’s pathetic pity party

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There isn’t a violin small enough. Rick Perry blamed his criminal indictment and exclusion from the Republican debate mainstage for his failed presidential bid in his first interview since suspending his presidential campaign on Friday. “The indictment by the Travis … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Adios, Rick Perry

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I ought to say something about this. In many ways, Rick Perry might have been a victim of his own success. After 14 years in the governor’s mansion, riding a freewheeling Texas oil economy and a tea … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

CCA gets ready to deal with Rick Perry

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The action never stops. The next move in the felony case against Rick Perry belongs to the state’s highest criminal court, which will decide as early as mid-September whether to accept or reject two appeals in the case. The Court … Continue reading →

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

State files its appeal of Perry indictment dismissal

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. State Prosecuting Attorney Lisa McMinn on Friday asked the state’s highest criminal court to reverse the decision by the Austin-based 3rd Court of Appeals, which tossed out the charge that Perry coerced a public servant when he tried … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry appeals his other indictment

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

More for the CCA to deal with. Lawyers for former Gov. Rick Perry are urging the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to finish off the remaining charge in his indictment, ratcheting up their push to end the case against the … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Perry appeals his other indictment

Dismissal of Perry indictment appealed

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

By a new player in the game. Former Gov. Rick Perry didn’t need more bad news Tuesday, but a Texas agency is lining up against his legal team in the criminal case against him. The Office of the State Prosecuting … Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment