Category Archives: National news

Small bills, please

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re a regular reader here, you know that I’m a skeptic of proposals to replace the dollar bill with dollar coins. As I’ve said before, I personally would rather have a wallet full of bills than a pocket full … Continue reading →

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Cornyn says relax, we won’t do it

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Texas’ senior Senator reassures us that Republicans won’t destroy the global economy in order to gain political leverage. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said in Houston Thursday that Congress will not allow an impasse over raising the … Continue reading →

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The epic fail of utility deregulation

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Surely no one is surprised by this. The winners and losers in the nation’s wave of utility deregulation are clear. The winners? Shareholders and executives. The losers? Customers and workers. Over a decade of deregulation, the frequency and duration of … Continue reading →

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Remake the Fifth Circuit!

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Yes, please. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is widely viewed as one of the nation’s most conservative federal appellate courts, but President Barack Obama could get a chance to change that perception in his second term. Ten of … Continue reading →

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All or nothing on Medicaid expansion

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Partial Medicaid expansion, in whatever the form, will not be an option. “Consistent with the law, there is not an option for enhanced match for a partial or phased in Medicaid expansion,” acting Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator … Continue reading →

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The dollar coin is an idea that just won’t die

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It keeps turning up like a bad penny, as it were. American consumers have shown about as much appetite for the $1 coin as kids do their spinach. They may not know what’s best for them either. Congressional auditors say … Continue reading →

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Mapping oil usage

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the Natural Resources Defense Council America buys 18.8 million barrels of petroleum products every day, accounting for more than 20% of all global usage. This can drain roughly $1 billion on average every day out of the economy. This … Continue reading →

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The dumbest plastic bag argument I’ve seen so far

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This story is about the city of San Francisco rolling out a new ordinance intended to further limit the use of disposable bags by retailers. I’ve heard a variety of arguments against the different versions of this kind of law, … Continue reading →

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News flash: Birth control prevents unwanted pregnancies

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. Free birth control led to dramatically lower rates of abortions and teen births, a large study concludes. The findings were eagerly anticipated and come as a bitterly contested Obama administration policy is … Continue reading →

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More than four, please

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Not good enough. A majority of House Democrats have signed a brief to the Supreme Court opposing the Defense of Marriage Act (widely known as DOMA) — but not a majority of Texas Democrats. Only four of the state’s nine … Continue reading →

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No Medicaid expansion for you!

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So much for that. Texas will not expand Medicaid or establish a health insurance exchange, two major tenets of the federal health reform that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last month, Gov. Rick Perry said in an early morning announcement. … Continue reading →

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Seattle bans plastic bags

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Spotted this while we were in Portland. Those ubiquitous, single-use plastic bags will no longer be available at checkout counters at grocery and retail stores across Seattle starting Sunday. The ban intended to cut down on pollution requires grocers and … Continue reading →

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That other big lawsuit

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it, there was another big ruling last week that will have a profound effect on Texas. A federal appeals court Tuesday upheld a finding by the Environmental Protection Agency that greenhouse gases pose a public health … Continue reading →

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What will Texas do now?

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Affordable Care Act has been upheld by the Supreme Court, there are two big issues that Texas will have to face. (*) One is the health care exchanges, and the other is Medicaid expansion, now that there’s … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS upholds Obamacare

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You can read the decision here. I’ll skip the analysis, since you can find a link to someone saying something about it on approximately 97% of the Internet today, but I will give a few links of my own, to … Continue reading →

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Yvonne Gutierrez: Republican support for women’s health?

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. We all know there is a lot at stake for the 2012 election cycle. All eyes are on Washington but the … Continue reading →

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Robocalls versus illegal street signs

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I so love this. The cheap signs smashed into lawns and along the corners of busy intersections are hard to miss. “We Buy Junk Cars!” ”Cash for Your House!” ”Computer Repair.” The eyesores have vexed Hollywood Mayor Peter Bober for … Continue reading →

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Still trying to kill bills

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Planet Money reports on the continuing efforts to eradicate the paper dollar bill and replace it with dollar coins. In its most recent report, the GAO recommends switching to coins, which could make $4.4 billion for the government over 30 … Continue reading →

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Another way Obamacare is helping Texas right now

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Insurance rebates. Texas consumers and businesses are poised to receive an estimated $186 million in rebates from health insurers under a requirement of the Affordable Care Act, according a study released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The health care act’s medical loss … Continue reading →

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The feds will run Texas’ health insurance exchange

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That seems to be where we’re headed. Texas is almost alone among the nation’s largest states in failing to start work on a key piece of the Affordable Care Act, as legislators and state agencies follow Gov. Rick Perry’s wish … Continue reading →

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Not really buying it, Komen

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So Komen has supposedly reversed itself on Planned Parenthood. I’ve read their statement, as well as TBogg’s improved version of it, and I don’t see a “reversal” so much as I see a bunch of weasel words that may very … Continue reading →

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The CFPB and payday lending

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be good. Picking his first public fight with the banking industry, Washington’s top consumer cop, Richard Cordray, promised on Thursday that his examiners will scrutinize a handful of big banks that make high-cost loans. Inspection of major … Continue reading →

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Parker joins other mayors in push for marriage equality

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good for her. Good for all of them. Houston Mayor Annise Parker seized the vanguard of a drive by 78 mayors Friday to win the equal rights of marriage for gay couples, donning a national leadership role that contrasts sharply … Continue reading →

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Military spending is government spending

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

President Obama recently announced a change in direction for US military strategy in the wake of exiting Iraq, one that will involve some reductions in spending. Much pearl clutching and chin stroking followed. But ongoing tinkering with the nation’s defense … Continue reading →

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DOJ refuses to preclear South Carolina voter ID law

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday rejected as discriminatory a South Carolina law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls. The action by the department’s civil rights division, coupled with Attorney General Eric Holder’s call 10 … Continue reading →

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Coinis interruptis

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

No more Presidential dollar coins will be minted for general circulation. Have you ever seen a $1 presidential coin? Neither have we. Except that one time when we received seven of them in change from a MetroCard machine in the … Continue reading →

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The check will be in the mail a little longer

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The hard times keep coming for the Postal Service. The U.S. Postal Service said a plan to save $2.1 billion a year and fend off possible bankruptcy would effectively put an end to almost all overnight delivery of first-class letters … Continue reading →

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Help keep access to birth control

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, it’s been a rough year for advocates of reproductive freedom, here and elsewhere in the country. There’s a lot of work to be done, starting with the next election, to repair the damage and move things forward … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry must love uninsured people, because he’s helped create so many of them

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about the grim statistics on poverty that were recently released by the Census is this little nugget that hits close to home: Health insurance coverage also dropped for most age groups, although census officials said the … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: We’re at an impasse here

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Am I the only one who sees this as a metaphor for the debt ceiling hostage crisis situation? I can totally see John Boehner, or more accurately Eric Cantor, singing that to Harry Reid. Can’t you?

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New clean air rule from EPA

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A new rule from the EPA that seeks to limit pollution that originates in one state but affects others as well should have a big effect on Texas. The rule, which covers 27 states and the District of Columbia, will … Continue reading →

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Abbott takes his pro-pollution crusade to a new front

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is the sort of thing our Attorney General thinks is worth fighting for. Expanding on the push-and-pull between Washington and Texas on environmental regulation, the state’s attorney general has called federal regulations meant to cut greenhouse gases from auto … Continue reading →

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Feds may prevent some cuts to Planned Parenthood

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good news, at least potentially. Stephanie Goodman of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission confirms that the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services sent a bulletin advising state officials that federal rules do not permit states to ban … Continue reading →

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What Planned Parenthood actually does

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Since the only thing apparently holding up a deal to prevent a government shutdown is the GOP’s mulish insistence on de-funding Planned Parenthood, perhaps it’s time we all understood what Planned Parenthood actually does. Ezra Klein gives the explanation, with … Continue reading →

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