Tag Archives: Donald Trump

Where the rainbow crosswalk ends

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is deeply stupid and deadly serious at the same time. At the intersection of North Main Avenue and West Evergreen Street just north of downtown San Antonio, semi-faded rainbows connect each street corner in place of standard, white crosswalks. … Continue reading →

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The latest UT Politics Project poll also has some warning signs for Republicans

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Two data points isn’t enough for a trend, but it is worth noticing. A small majority of Texans oppose the deployment of the Texas National Guard for law enforcement in cities out of state, according to a recent statewide survey. … Continue reading →

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A brief wrapup of the redistricting trial

Posted on October 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Meant to do this awhile ago but never quite got my act together. The future of Texas congressional elections and minority voting rights are in the hands of three federal judges after hearing nearly two weeks of testimony in a … Continue reading →

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IPAWS

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an informative story about an underutilized tool in the emergency response arsenal. In the fall of 2016, as wind-stoked wildfires raced across parched forest and threatened lives around Gatlinburg, Tennessee, state and local officials went back and forth about … Continue reading →

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Cards Against Humanity settles its lawsuit against Elon Musk

Posted on October 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We continue to live in strange times. Cards Against Humanity, the satirical party game, has settled its trespassing lawsuit against Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX. Court records show the lawsuit was dropped last month. In an email to fans sent … Continue reading →

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Metro makes its excuses

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Weak. Metro board chair Elizabeth Brock on Thursday stood by the agency’s decision to remove the Montrose rainbow crosswalk this week after a Houston resident asked why it was erased so quickly. “My primary concern is how quickly y’all allowed … Continue reading →

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Austin seeks waiver for its rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

All the cool kids are doing it. The city of Austin is exploring a waiver that would allow its current street art to stay in place. In a message board post on Monday, Mayor Kirk Watson said the city plans … Continue reading →

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We could have asked!

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I am smacking my forehead so hard, you guys. The City of San Antonio will seek an exemption from the State of Texas in order to keep the city’s rainbow crosswalk. The decision comes after the state issued a mandate … Continue reading →

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Harris County joins amicus effort to block Texas National Guard deployment in Chicago

Posted on October 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee has joined a national coalition of more than 100 local government leaders in filing an amicus brief opposing the Trump administration’s unlawful federalization and deployment of Texas National Guard troops to … Continue reading →

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Metro paints over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Montrose rainbow crosswalk was gone Monday morning after protesters faced off with police as a construction crew started restriping the intersection overnight and some were were arrested, according to the Houston Police Department. As of 8:15 a.m., fresh … Continue reading →

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There may be a lawsuit over the rainbow crosswalk

Posted on October 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A legion of Houston’s elected officials gathered at the Taft and Westheimer rainbow crosswalk Tuesday as a show of force against Gov. Greg Abbott’s call to remove it or risk the loss of state transportation funding, and some even … Continue reading →

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Harris County sues over Solar For All funds

Posted on October 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee filed a lawsuit Monday contesting the Trump administration’s cancellation of more than $400 million in solar energy grants earmarked for Texas-based organizations. The federal funding, part of a $7 billion Biden-era program known as Solar for All, was meant … Continue reading →

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Why is HPD calling ICE so much more often now?

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We deserve some answers. Houston police officers have called federal immigration agents on civilians over 100 times since President Donald Trump took office in January — a jump of more than 1,000% from any of the previous five years, according to public records obtained … Continue reading →

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A brief recap of the whole rainbow crosswalk situation

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Let me see if I’ve got this right: Greg Abbott gets his knickers in a twist over the recently-repainted rainbow crosswalk on Westheimer at Taft, after having been spun up about it by some online wingnuts. These crosswalks are no … Continue reading →

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The latest UH/Hobby poll has some red flags for Republicans

Posted on October 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

First, the headline stories, which don’t interest me much. Ken Paxton and John Cornyn are effectively tied in the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate, with 34% of voters backing Paxton and 33% supporting Cornyn. 22% support Wesley Hunt. Jasmine … Continue reading →

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Wesley Hunt says he’s running for Senate

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, entered the Republican primary for U.S. Senate on Monday, complicating an already contentious race between two of the biggest names in Texas Republican politics. Hunt, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has laid the groundwork for … Continue reading →

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A brief news roundup from the current redistricting trial

Posted on October 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What the label says, three news stories I could find that had coverage of the redistricting trial. From the Trib. When Texas first proposed redrawing its congressional map earlier this summer, critics decried it as a political power-grab to appease … Continue reading →

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UT considers accepting a protection racket

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Choose very carefully, y’all. The Trump administration has asked the University of Texas at Austin to agree to a “set of operating principles” — which reportedly include adopting a stricter definition of gender, a five-year tuition freeze and a cap … Continue reading →

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The state of mosquito research

Posted on October 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Really interesting stuff. Under a microscope, a mosquito can look stunning. Their blue-green iridescent scales, purple bands, and attractive spotted wings shimmer—dazzling enough to forget, for a moment, the insect lives to take a sip of your blood. Mosquitoes range … Continue reading →

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Redistricting trial 2.0 begins

Posted on September 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off. This week, a trio of federal judges will consider whether Texas can use its new congressional map in the 2026 election, marking the first legal test for the districts produced by a summer of intense partisan clashing. … Continue reading →

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The National Weather Service is basically broken

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s being held together by duct tape and twist ties, and it’s all the fault of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, all those Project 2025 assholes, and every cowardly Republican in Congress. Some National Weather Service staffers are working double shifts … Continue reading →

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State files its response to the redistricting lawsuit

Posted on September 27, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

They’re playing the oldies, not the new tune that the Trump Justice Department tried to woo them with. Texas officials acknowledged in a new court filing that the Justice Department’s rationale this summer for pushing them to redraw the state’s … Continue reading →

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Home Depot is watching you

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Beware the surveillance cameras. Hundreds of AI-powered automated license plate reading cameras paid for by Lowe’s and Home Depot and stationed in the hardware stores’ parking lots are being fed into a massive surveillance system that law enforcement can access, … Continue reading →

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Bobby Pulido officially in for CD15

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Our main target to flip next fall. Tejano musician Bobby Pulido is running for Texas’ 15th Congressional District, he announced Wednesday, giving Democrats their best — and potentially only — opportunity to flip a Republican-held seat in 2026. Pulido, a … Continue reading →

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The redistricting litigation strategy

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what we’ve got. Outgunned in the national redistricting war, Democrats are launching a multipronged legal battle to try and prevent GOP gains ahead of next year’s midterms. It stands to be a grueling, lengthy and costly process for Democrats … Continue reading →

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A brief note about a poll

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This poll. Only one-third of Texas voters approve of the GOP-led effort to redraw the state’s congressional map, according to a recent statewide poll, which found that independent and Democratic voters overwhelmingly opposed the mid-decade redistricting and would rather give … Continue reading →

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Another look at Waymo’s robotaxi approach versus Tesla’s

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good long analysis here. A month after Tesla launched a trial robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June for select fans, CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company’s driverless taxis would likely be available to “half the population of … Continue reading →

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There’s more than one way to make voting harder

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is such a bad idea. After years of using a touchscreen machine to mark their ballots, voters in at least three Texas counties will be asked instead to make their selections directly on the paper ballots, by hand, starting … Continue reading →

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Missouri gets in the mid-decade Trump redistricting game

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From The Downballot. Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe has summoned lawmakers for a special session beginning on Wednesday, during which he wants them to adopt a new congressional gerrymander that would flip Missouri’s 5th District from blue to red. Democrats, however, … Continue reading →

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The “Trump Burger” story

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose we must make note of this. The thing about Trump Burger is that it was always irresistible, even for those who would rather eat just about anywhere else. The restaurant is what its name suggests: A burger joint devoted to … Continue reading →

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We have been so lucky to avoid hurricanes so far

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Because the response would be the bigger disaster. Employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency wrote to Congress on Monday warning that the Trump administration had reversed much of the progress made in disaster response and recovery since Hurricane Katrina … Continue reading →

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By the way, COVID is still out there

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just FYI. Covid cases are climbing again this summer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s forecasting model estimates that infections are growing, or likely growing, in most states. While the agency is reporting low levels of the virus in wastewater nationally, some … Continue reading →

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How Trump made the measles outbreak worse

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Everything Trump touches dies. As measles surged in Texas early this year, the Trump administration’s actions sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists that kept them from performing the agency’s most critical function — emergency response — when it mattered … Continue reading →

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Fighting healthcare cuts was a winner

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. The Trump administration’s cuts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, according to a KFF Health News analysis. … Continue reading →

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