Tag Archives: Greg Abbott

Nirenberg’s choice

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I know what I’m rooting for. Former Mayor Ron Nirenberg is mulling his political future, even as he’s adjusting to his new day job — lecturing Trinity University students on communications. The two main paths he is considering are Bexar … Continue reading →

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Some reactions to the THC executive order

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is not impressed. By issuing an executive order banning THC products for minors, Gov. Greg Abbott ensured nobody would be fully satisfied. When crafting legislation, that’s often a good thing. Compromise, by definition, means both sides don’t get everything they … 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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THC vape pens are now illegal

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

For those who need to know. Vapes containing THC and other hemp-derived cannabinoids like Delta-8 [are now] illegal to sell in Texas […] under a law passed earlier this year. Senate Bill 2024, while narrower than efforts to outlaw all … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans THC for those under 21

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Why didn’t we just do this first? THC products will remain largely legal in Texas, but will be banned for minors and current regulations further enforced under a new executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott on Wednesday directed the … Continue reading →

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Lege fails to pass disaster emergency response bill

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What a bunch of jokers. Efforts to overhaul local emergency response to disasters failed after the Texas Senate concluded its business early Thursday without taking up the House’s version of a bill that would have mandated new training and licensing … Continue reading →

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Nobody knows what to do about the dumb Ten Commandments law

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a mess. Texas school districts must decide whether to display Ten Commandments posters in every classroom before a new law requiring them to goes into effect Monday, even as its fate remains tied up in court. A federal judge enjoined 11 school districts from displaying … Continue reading →

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DaSean Jones to resign from his bench in October

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This comes as a bit of a surprise. Judge DaSean Jones, the elected Democrat in the 180th District Court and the defendant in Harris County’s last pending 2022 election contest suit, plans to resign in October, his lawyer said Friday. … Continue reading →

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Ivermectin for everyone!

Posted on September 1, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? The Texas House on Wednesday passed a bill that would make ivermectin — a drug used mostly in this country to treat livestock for parasites — available to Texans without a prescription. The latest legislative action moves … Continue reading →

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Camps oppose floodplain restriction

Posted on August 31, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I gotta say, I’m not sure who they think will be sympathetic to this. Leaders of three Kerr County youth camps wrote to Texas House lawmakers Friday opposing legislation that would prohibit the state from licensing camps with cabins in … Continue reading →

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What the Lege has done since redistricting

Posted on August 30, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Just a couple of headlines to ponder, now that the redistricting bill has been signed. Texas House greenlights ‘bounty hunter’ abortion pill ban Texas House OKs transgender bathroom ban after years of GOP attempts Yep, definitely doing the hard work … Continue reading →

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Hearing set on new Congressional map

Posted on August 29, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go A federal judicial panel will hear arguments beginning Oct. 1 for an injunction against the implementation of new congressional boundaries approved by the Texas Legislature. According to three lawyers who were in the El Paso courtroom Wednesday … Continue reading →

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Paxton orders other school districts to follow Ten Commandments law

Posted on August 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. Attorney General Ken Paxton instructed schools across Texas to follow the requirements of the state’s Ten Commandments display law, despite a federal court ruling that temporarily blocked the law for nearly a dozen schools last week. Paxton’s … Continue reading →

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Motion to block implementation of new map filed

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, from the inbox: Today, plaintiffs supported by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) filed a preliminary injunction to block the implementation of HB 4, which further gerrymanders the Texas congressional map.  After filing a supplemental complaint in the U.S. … Continue reading →

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New legal challenge filed against redistricting map

Posted on August 24, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Fron the inbox: Today, plaintiffs supported by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) initiated a legal challenge against the newly enacted congressional gerrymander in Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, asking the court to strike … Continue reading →

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Judge blocks Ten Commandments law

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge in San Antonio temporarily halted a Texas law that would require public schools to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom by siding with a group of families who claimed the requirement harmed their children’s religious development. U.S. … Continue reading →

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Motion for expedited review of proposed Congressional map filed

Posted on August 20, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, on Monday night. Today, the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) filed a motion in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to ask the court to quickly set a hearing for a preliminary injunction that will … Continue reading →

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And they’re back

Posted on August 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Quorum time again. Texas House Democrats announced they would return to Austin Monday, ending a two-week walkout over a GOP mid-decade redistricting plan and paving the way for the map’s passage. “We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance … Continue reading →

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First Ten Commandments lawsuit heard

Posted on August 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We are promised a ruling before September 1, the date the law would go into effect. The debate surrounding a state law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools intensified Friday as attorneys representing 16 Texas families … Continue reading →

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The private school grift is gearing up

Posted on August 17, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

What happens when you spend a billion taxpayer dollars with no oversight and no accountability? We’re about to find out. For about eight years, a Houston private school has followed a unique pattern when appointing members to its governing board: … Continue reading →

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Special Session 2: [Insert dumb sequel name here]

Posted on August 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

As promised/threatened. With the Texas House still frozen by Democrats’ absence from the state, Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday called a second special session to begin less than two hours after the Legislature gaveled out the first overtime round. The … Continue reading →

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The end (of the quorum break) is near

Posted on August 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

And getting nearer. The House Democrats who fled Texas to block GOP redistricting appear likely to return in the coming days, according to a press release they issued Thursday. The caucus said its members will return if Republicans follow through … Continue reading →

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So when might the quorum busters return?

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Before I address that question, here’s an important bit of business to resolve. Illinois courts will not force Texas Democrats back to the state, a judge ruled Wednesday, dealing a blow to Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dustin … Continue reading →

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Everything happens on Tuesday

Posted on August 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember when I said yesterday that there was still no quorum and not much had happened? That was then, this is now. The Supreme Court will take its sweet time in deciding on those quo warranto filings to expel … Continue reading →

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Still no quorum

Posted on August 12, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sitting here waiting for the Supreme Court to take up those ridiculous quo warranto actions by Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton and have been hesitant to start writing something for fear that I’ll have to trash it and start … Continue reading →

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Quorum break Day 5 roundup: Help an ideological enemy out?

Posted on August 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Hilarious. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dustin Burrows are asking an Illinois court to enforce arrest warrants against Democratic lawmakers who have left the state to delay passage of a GOP-backed congressional map. Burrows issued civil arrest … Continue reading →

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Quorum break Day 4 roundup: So what is the FBI doing?

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Nobody knows. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn announced that the FBI has granted his request to investigate and locate the Texas Democratic lawmakers who left the state in an attempt to stop the passage of new GOP-favored congressional maps. A spokesperson … Continue reading →

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Fifth Circuit upholds voter ID for vote by mail

Posted on August 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Of course they did. A federal appeals court has upheld Texas’ requirement that potential voters must list their identification information in their application for a mail-in ballot. In Texas, voting by mail is only available for certain groups of people, … Continue reading →

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Quorum break Day 3 roundup: Of course there’s a bomb threat

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose something like this was inevitable. Texas House Democrats in Illinois to block GOP redistricting were evacuated from their hotel Wednesday morning due to a bomb threat, lawmakers and local police said. A press conference scheduled for 12:30 p.m. … Continue reading →

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The Operation Lone Star boondoggle

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Money, money, money… Maverick County Attorney Jaime Iracheta works in a freshly refurbished, wood-paneled office with a matching desk and leather couch set. He holds meetings in a video-equipped conference room and drives to work in a heavy-duty Chevy Silverado … Continue reading →

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Quorum break Day 2 roundup: Paxton hauls out a big threat

Posted on August 6, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

He seems destined to fail, but we’re going to go through the motions anyway, I guess. Attorney General Ken Paxton will ask for a court ruling declaring vacant the seats of any lawmakers who are not back to work by … Continue reading →

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If Democrats could gerrymander now in Texas

Posted on August 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

There’s not a lot of news on Day Two of Quorum Break 2025. The session ground to a halt as expected. Greg Abbott shook his fist and threatened to Do Things to the absent Democrats that he does not have … Continue reading →

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The last redistricting hearing

Posted on August 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

We’re just going through the motions at this point. The Texas redistricting map unveiled this week was drawn for the express purpose of boosting Republican strength in Congress, the House sponsor of the measure said Friday during the first, and … Continue reading →

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Hill Country flood hearings

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Brutal. Kerr County’s emergency management coordinator acknowledged Thursday that he was ill and asleep when rain inundated the Hill Country community early July 4. Will Thomas told lawmakers during a legislative hearing in Kerrville that his wife woke him at … Continue reading →

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