Monthly Archives: September 2002

Unintentional Comedy Dept.

Posted on September 15, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The funniest thing you’ll read today is this wedding announcement in the Sunday Chron. I thought Tiffany was gonna bust a gut next to me on the couch. Read how the guests “transcended” to the reception, while the orchestra played … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness | 1 Comment

A touch of race

Posted on September 14, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Democratic Senate candidate Ron Kirk has suggested that GOP opponent John Cornyn’s strong support for an invasion of Iraq may have some racial undertones: Democratic Senate candidate Ron Kirk suggested Friday that Republican opponent John Cornyn’s comfort in sending U.S … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2002 | 1 Comment

Spain invests in Mexico

Posted on September 14, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting article in today’s Chron about investment by Spanish businesses in Mexico. Spain is the fourth-largest investor in Mexico at $3.6 billion, trailing Canada ($3.8 billion), the Netherlands ($8.9 billion), and of course the US ($66.7 billion, all numbers courtesy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Around the world | Comments Off on Spain invests in Mexico

You need to read more blogs

Posted on September 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

From a Two Minute Drill by Will Vehrs: I’m surprised there isn’t more outrage over voting problems in South Florida, especially from the “Al Gore Was Robbed” crowd. I guess irregularities only matter if your candidate is losing. We all … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 2 Comments

Equal treatment

Posted on September 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Charles Dodgson has some sharp words regarding Noelle Bush and reactions to her recent troubles: Now that Noelle Bush has been caught trying to smuggle a crack rock into a rehab facility, folks on the right are cautioning left-wingers not … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on Equal treatment

EU debates measure to restore order in Florida

Posted on September 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Patrick points me to this hilarious piece by Max Sawicky: EU DEBATES MEASURES TO RESTORE ORDER AND DEMOCRACY IN FLORIDA. [From Le Monde et La Merde, September 12, 2002] BRUXELLE — The storied war cabinet of the European Union continued … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | 1 Comment

Fake hangtag seller caught

Posted on September 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

From today’s Chron: DALLAS — A man who last year drew the ire of women’s rights groups for selling so-called “wife-beater” T-shirts on the Internet is facing a felony charge for purveying another questionable product: fake handicapped-parking placards. James Doolin, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Comments Off on Fake hangtag seller caught

Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs

Posted on September 13, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

And yet another Didn’t Think It Could Possibly Get Any Weirder moment for the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup. Seems that a Houston police officer paid for 50 “no trespassing” signs with his own credit card two days before the Roundup occurred. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | Comments Off on Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs

That freedom of religion thing

Posted on September 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

From today’s Chron: Texas student allowed to wear Christian crucifix DALLAS – A North Texas high school student whose family practices a Christian religion won the right Wednesday to wear her crucifix necklace in full view after appealing to the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 7 Comments

Kuff 2, Press 0

Posted on September 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Following up on his mocking of Chron reporter Rachel Graves for her “Crawford Weblog”, Richard Connelly of the Houston Press makes fun of Fran Blinebury (scroll down) for his ignorant selection of BYU to with the Western Athletic Conference. Help … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 2 Comments

We need to know

Posted on September 12, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Via Josh Marshall comes this NYT article which talks about how little we know about the collapse of the Twin Towers. Of course the country had to understand what went wrong. One of the largest structures ever built had failed, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 1 Comment

RIP, Johnny Unitas

Posted on September 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Johnny Unitas, voted the best player of the NFL’s first 50 seasons, has died at the age of 69. Unintas, first to accumulate 40,000 passing yards, still holds the NFL record for throwing touchdown passes in 47 consecutive games. Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on RIP, Johnny Unitas

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: You’re free to go now

Posted on September 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

As noted by Kevin, the DA’s office has announced it will drop all charges against those arrested in the Roundup last month and to vacate the convictions of those who already pleaded guilty. I’m glad to hear it. Now let’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | Comments Off on K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: You’re free to go now

Groovy, baby

Posted on September 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

When I see things like this story, which Karin and Kevin have both flagged, I just can’t help myself. At around 5 a.m. Monday, authorities say two people in a dark SUV broke in to Austin Powder, a business that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness | 3 Comments

Food fun

Posted on September 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I am now going to resume living my normal life… Mac points to this story, which claims that you can teach children to like yucky foods such as broccoli if you keep making them try it. In her speech about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | Comments Off on Food fun

FDNY

Posted on September 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from an email my father sent to family members on September 30, 2001: Our father and Grandfather, Charles A Kuffner, badge 9647, was one of those special men who entered the ranks of the Fire Department during … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on FDNY

We the people

Posted on September 11, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

We just observed a moment of silence here in our building to commemorate the terrorist attacks of a year ago. I didn’t need to be asked to be silent – I was in the middle of reading Teresa Nielsen Hayden’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | 3 Comments

Liar, (alleged) liar

Posted on September 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron intones solemnly about Police Chief C.O. Bradford’s indictment for lying during a disciplinary hearing. I have to say that the whole thing leaves me slack-jawed. How dumb do you have to be to lie about something on the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | Comments Off on Liar, (alleged) liar

RIP, Billie Carr

Posted on September 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Billie Carr, the dean of Texas liberals, has died from a stroke at the age of 74. I’ll have to keep an eye open for Molly Ivins’ eulogy, which will surely contain all of the best stories about The Boss. Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on RIP, Billie Carr

Why Montgomery County sucks

Posted on September 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The book-banning patrol is at it again in Montgomery County (north of Houston). Having discovered one book that they don’t like, they’ve gone searching for more: A crowd of about 200 people spilled into the hallways at Commissioners Court on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Why Montgomery County sucks

Dynamic duo

Posted on September 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Wanna guess which pair of pitchers has the best record since the All-Star break? Not Mulder and Zito, not Johnson and Schilling, not Maddux and Glavine. Nope, it’s Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller. They’re both on nine-game winning streaks and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Comments Off on Dynamic duo

Sexism in the blogosphere

Posted on September 10, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I thought I had some insightful things to say about sexism in the blogosphere (debate started by Dawn Olsen, with followup here and here, and amplified by Meryl Yourish, with followup here, here, and here), but I don’t think I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Society and cultcha | 4 Comments

It’s not so silent if you’re paying attention

Posted on September 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Avedon is “inarticulate with disgust” over this rant by Steven den Beste in which he claims “[…] there’s been a deafening silence from such people about the sheer brutality and barbarity of some of their customs, particularly in how they … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | 4 Comments

In The National Interest

Posted on September 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Just got an email from my friend Nick Gvosdev. He’s the editor-in-chief of In The National Interest, an “online weekly designed to provide insight and analysis of American foreign policy and world events from a realist perspective”. It’s a companion … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other punditry | Comments Off on In The National Interest

Tropical Storm Fay

Posted on September 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Jack Cluth braves mud, fire ants, and the possible wrath of his wife to bring you photos of the aftermath of Tropical Storm Fay. As noted, it wasn’t bad, and we are thankful for that. Thanks, Jack! UPDATE: Oops. It’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Tropical Storm Fay

And one more thing

Posted on September 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

On the way in to work this morning I heard a radio ad saying that David Carr bobblehead dolls are now available at McDonald’s for $4.99. They didn’t say if you had to buy a Happy Meal in order to … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | Comments Off on And one more thing

Let the hagiography begin!

Posted on September 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Well, the Texans won their debut NFL game yesterday, which can only mean one thing: The Chronicle has gone into hype overdrive, with a complete special section on our new beloved hometown heroes, surely the greatest thing this town has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 2 Comments

A history of baseball’s labor relations

Posted on September 9, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Nice article on ESPN.com by Doug Pappas about baseball’s labor history. The following quote is a pretty good encapsulation of why the owners have always been and likely always will be the bad guys: Shortly after helping to force [then-Commissioner … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | Comments Off on A history of baseball’s labor relations

Thanks for sharing

Posted on September 8, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Go away for a few days and the weird Google searches pile up. To whoever found me with the search string “i love relaxing nude at home now since the 2 of us joined a nudist organization”, I’m very happy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Comments Off on Thanks for sharing

Couple days off

Posted on September 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be out of town from this afternoon through Sunday, so no bloggage until I return. Have a great weekend. Continue reading →

Posted in See, I do have a life! | 2 Comments

Reason weighs in

Posted on September 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

Kevin forwarded me this link to a Reason article which argues that the baseball settlement which averted a strike is just snake oil. Regular readers of this site and of the Baseball Prospectus will see a lot of familiar stuff. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball | 2 Comments

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: The Press breaks its silence

Posted on September 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Press has finally written about the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup, and I have to say it was worth the wait. They’re particularly scathing to Chief Bradford and Captain Aguirre, but pretty much everyone in this sorry episode who deserves … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup | Comments Off on K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: The Press breaks its silence

Kaldi update

Posted on September 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

A nice feature in the “This Week” section of the Chron on Kaldi Cafe owner Stephanie DuBroff and her attempt to get a private members-only liquor license. Looks like she’ll get it. Good! Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Kaldi update

A strike against the free market

Posted on September 5, 2002 by Charles Kuffner

The main problem with a free-market economy is that sooner or later, someone produces something like this. Yeesh. Via Ungodly Politics. Continue reading →

Posted in General snarkiness | 2 Comments