Monthly Archives: January 2006

Libertarians against Ron Paul

Posted on January 24, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

This disussion thread, in which a Ron Paul fan tries to convince members of the Libertarian Party of Texas to get their candidate in the 14th CD to drop out of the race on the grounds that it will improve … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

Cohen’s campaign kickoff

Posted on January 24, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

I had the pleasure of attending the official campaign kickoff for Ellen Cohen last Thursday evening in Bellaire at her headquarters. The place was packed – people were lining up outside the door because there wasn’t enough room inside. Lots … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 3 Comments

Thank you, Detroit! We love you!

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Super Bowl XL – not such a hot ticket. With the NFL’s first cold-weather Super Bowl in 14 years, and only the third one in the event’s 40-year run, just three weeks away, many of the firms that arrange Super … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

The new season of “24”

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Unlike Jim, I’m happily engrossed in the current season of 24. It could all fall apart at any time, of course, and as Heather Havrilesky observes, “even when it’s firing on all pistons, it’s also uneven and dorky and campy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 5 Comments

Keir Murray responds to DeLay poll criticism

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Keir Murray responds to criticism of the recent survey of CD22, expanding on what the Chronicle’s James Campbell wrote on Sunday. Check it out. DeLayVsWorld still has some issues with the survey. One point he raises that I don’t think … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 5 Comments

Enron employee ambivalence

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

From the Sunday Chron: Mixed feelings from former Enron employees regarding the upcoming trials of Jeff Skilling and Kenny Boy Lay. Some former employees harbor more sympathy for Lay, who was widely regarded as a fatherly figure in Enron’s halcyon … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 2 Comments

Grand Central Station Houston

Posted on January 23, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Via Houstonist, Metro has requested a preliminary design on an intermodal transit center north of downtown. The board agreed to a $1.6 million contract with New York-based Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects to provide a preliminary design for a massive … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | 3 Comments

My lobbyists are good, your lobbyists are bad

Posted on January 22, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

On the one hand: Lobbyist for state tied to Abramoff Todd Boulanger, who once worked closely with confessed influence peddler Jack Abramoff, now heads a group lobbying Congress for Texas under a $330,000 state contract. Boulanger and his firm, Cassidy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on My lobbyists are good, your lobbyists are bad

Anti-DeLay ad to run today

Posted on January 22, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The two-week saga of the anti-Tom DeLay ad comes to something like a close today when it finally runs on the air. A controversial ad linking Rep. Tom DeLay to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff will hit the airwaves in Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Anti-DeLay ad to run today

Name that fermenter!

Posted on January 22, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

What do you give the person who has everything? The naming rights to a Saint Arnold Brewery fermenter. The specifics: * The tank will be named St. “you fill in this blank” * It cannot be a company name and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Food, glorious food | 2 Comments

Date set for HD106 special election

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The special election to replace the outgoing State Rep. Ray Allen in HD106 will be February 28. Gov. Rick Perry on Friday called a special election for Feb. 28 to fill the unexpired term of state Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 1 Comment

Anti-DeLay ads will finally air in Houston

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

And to think, their run might have ended by now. At least one Houston television station has agreed to air a reworked television ad linking Rep. Tom DeLay to disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff after refusing to air the first … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 4 Comments

Yates requests transfer

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Attorneys for Andrea Yates have filed a motion for a “reasonable” bond that would allow them to move her into Rusk Psychiatric Hospital. George Parnham argues that Yates, who drowned her five children in June 2001, cannot afford the current … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | 1 Comment

Greeting the Gravy Train

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Smokey Joe Barton’s Gravy Train got an appropriate sendoff. About 50 people showed up at the train station Friday afternoon to protest U.S. Rep. Joe Barton’s weekend campaign fund-raising trip to San Antonio for supporters on a chartered … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on Greeting the Gravy Train

David Barrett’s long odyssey comes to an anticlimactic end

Posted on January 21, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

David Barrett, who has wasted $21 million of your tax dollars in a decade-long pursuit of Henry Cisneros, has finally produced his report, which is long on accusations and short on evidence. In a 474-page report, independent counsel David M. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | 2 Comments

Q&A with Jim Henley and David Murff

Posted on January 20, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

There is a contested Democratic primary in Houston’s CD07 for the right to take on Rep. John Culberson. The candidates are Lanier Middle School history and debate teacher Jim Henley, and attorney David Murff. In the interest of helping CD07 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 3 Comments

Goin’ off the rails on a gravy train

Posted on January 20, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember Joe Barton’s Excellent Lobbyist Choo Choo Ride? It’s taking off today from Fort Worth and arriving in San Antonio late tonight, with stops along the way. Why not take a moment to greet him and his close personal … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 1 Comment

The special elections keep on coming: HD106

Posted on January 20, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Caught your breath yet from the HD48 special election? Good, because another one is hot on its heels, this time in Dallas County. State Rep. Ray Allen, a Grand Prairie Republican known for his support of gun rights and knowledge … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

What happened in HD48?

Posted on January 20, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Quorum Report contributor Ed Sills sifts through the results in the HD48 special election and comes up with some reasons why the vote went as it did. A Republican businessman who lost to state Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austin, four years … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on What happened in HD48?

Alvarado off the ballot

Posted on January 20, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The rumor reported last night is true: Gubernatorial candidate Felix Alvarado is off the ballot for the Democratic primary because his filing fee check bounced. The name of Felix Alvarado, a middle school administrator, will not appear on the March … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 3 Comments

David Harris interview

Posted on January 20, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Meant to link to this before, but didn’t quite get to it: Intel Dump has a nice interview with David Harris that focuses mostly on defense and homeland security issues. Check it out. Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on David Harris interview

Who’s the Democratic frontrunner for Governor?

Posted on January 19, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Over on the Quorum Report, Republican consultant Royal Masset is claiming that Felix Alvarado is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for Governor. For reasons known only to themselves the Media have focused mostly on the Democrat gubernatorial primary race … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 7 Comments

Spies ‘R’ Us

Posted on January 19, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Wanna join the NSA? Move to San Antonio. The NSA, the nation’s largest intelligence agency, last April confirmed plans to establish a campus on the Far West Side with an estimated 1,500 new employees. It now appears the agency has … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 10 Comments

The Concrete Cowboy

Posted on January 19, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

How much do I love stories about David Adickes, famed local sculptor of giant Presidential heads? Enough so that two of my friends were kind enough to forward me that link (thanks, Ellen and Erica!). Texas sculptor David Adickes looms … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 8 Comments

Lindsay endorses Hamric

Posted on January 19, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Peggy Hamric may have gotten a leg up in the GOP primary race for SD07 – she just got the endorsement of outgoing Senator Jon Lindsay. The Quorum Report has the press release (PDF), from which I’ll quote … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

Still boom times for Houston homebuilders

Posted on January 19, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Housing slowdown? Not in Houston. There were about 48,000 housing starts in the Houston area last year, up 18 percent from 2004, according to consulting firm Metrostudy. New-home sales haven’t been tallied yet, but they typically follow the number of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Comments Off on Still boom times for Houston homebuilders

You got whose endorsement?

Posted on January 18, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

What are nine words that any Democratic candidate should not want to hear? “You’ve just been endorsed by the Club for Growth”. I’m trying to think of an equivalent endorsement for a Republican primary. MoveOn, maybe. What else can you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

Runoff in HD48

Posted on January 18, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Donna Howard and Ben Bentzin in a runoff for HD48. Howard finished with 49.5 percent of the vote, narrowly missing an outright victory in the special election, according to unofficial final returns. Bentzin followed with 37.8 percent. Democrat Kathy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 2 Comments

Clark to support Juan Garcia

Posted on January 18, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

How many State Rep candidates can boast having a Presidential candidate come to town to campaign for them? As The Red State tells us, Juan Garcia can. General Wesley Clark will join fellow veteran and state representative candidate Juan Garcia … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 3 Comments

Focusing on veterans’ issues

Posted on January 18, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

David Harris, one of the many Fighting Democrat candidates for Congress, says: There are 24.7 million Veterans living in the United States. Nearly 23 percent of homeless adults are Veterans and many more Veterans who live in poverty are at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | Comments Off on Focusing on veterans’ issues

“The Smartest Guys In The Room” on DVD

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The movie Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room, based on the book by the same name, is now out on DVD for your home viewing enjoyment. Good timing for them, what with the Lay/Skilling trial fixing to get underway … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Enronarama | 1 Comment

New Rubik’s Cube world record

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Boy does this take me back, as in all the way to my freshman year of high school: Man Solves Rubik’s Cube in 11.13 Seconds. A 20-year-old California Institute of Technology student set a new world record for solving the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Technology, science, and math | 2 Comments

GHASP study on TCEQ inadequacy finally makes the news

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

Last month, I posted about a study done by the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP), which contended that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) did a poor job of enforcement when chemical plants and refineries violate air pollution … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 1 Comment

Also appearing in this district: Tom DeLay

Posted on January 17, 2006 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron notes that Democrat David Murff will be talking about a familiar name in his campaign against Rep. John Culberson in CD07. Murff is attempting to connect Culberson to DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who represents the nearby 22nd District and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2006 | 4 Comments