Category Archives: National news

The quest for a dollar coin that people will use continues

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now with extra special deficit reduction capabilities! Americans are a tight-fisted people when it comes to their dollars. So in order to replace the paper currency with dollar coins — a long-advocated move that could save the government an estimated … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Away with Click and Clack!

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of high quality snark from the floor of the House: See here for more.

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Saturday video break: Why can’t a teacher be more like a banker?

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Jon Stewart would like to know. The Daily ShowTags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook Thanks to TPM for the catch.

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No, he can’t

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This week, President Obama gave Republican critics of the Affordable Care Act a way out, if they met certain conditions. President Obama, who has stood by his landmark health care law through court attacks and legislative efforts to repeal it, … Continue reading →

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A little Texas in Wisconsin

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Way to go! The weather in Wisconsin is cold this time of year — but the budget fight is only getting hotter. Following a walkout by the state Senate Democrats, depriving Republicans of the three-fifths majority needed to pass the … Continue reading →

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Arizona Congresswoman shot

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Horrible. Six people were killed and 12 others wounded — including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords — in a shooting outside a Tucson, Arizona, grocery store where the congresswoman was holding a constituent meeting, police said. The suspect in the shooting … Continue reading →

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We have a Census number

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here you go. After knocking on 50 million doors and handling tens of millions of surveys, the Census Bureau on Tuesday announced that the official population of the United States is now 308,745,538. The 2010 census also shows America’s once-torrid … Continue reading →

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What now for the DREAM Act?

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It may take awhile, but the DREAM Act will be back, and it will pass. The Senate vote Saturday to toss the proposal that would have granted young illegal immigrants a route to legal status dealt a harsh blow to … Continue reading →

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DADT repeal passes, DREAM Act fails

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some history was made yesterday. The Senate took a big step toward ending the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers today. By a vote of 63 to 33, the Senate voted to end debate on a bill repealing the military’s … Continue reading →

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DREAM Act to be voted on in the Senate today

Posted on December 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s the day. Clergy from San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas vowed Thursday to continue pushing for passage of the DREAM Act, despite getting what they characterized as unclear responses from the staff of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and … Continue reading →

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Still DREAMing

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The good news is that the DREAM Act passed the House last week. The bad news is that means it had to go to the Senate, where good bills go to die these days. At this point, it may not … Continue reading →

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Early Census estimates

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

These are not official numbers but give a pretty good idea of what the final numbers will look like. Figures released Monday suggest the nation’s population is between 305.7 million and 312.8 million. The middle estimate of 308.5 million would … Continue reading →

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What will KBH do about the DREAM Act?

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think there’s any question what she’ll do, but these stories get written anyway. Hutchison, R-Dallas, who has supported similar legislation in the past, is one of a half-dozen Republican lawmakers targeted by Democrats, Latino groups and organized labor, … Continue reading →

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The war on lightbulbs

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t even know where to begin with this. Light bulbs – the universal icon of a bright idea – have become for conservative politicians and activists a symbol for something much more nefarious: Big Brother. Gov. Rick Perry writes … Continue reading →

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Look in the mirror, John

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It is of course a terrible thing that the actions of a single Republican will keep the Houston/Galveston area from keeping $40 million in federal disaster funds, but the reaction to it from certain quarters is more than a little … Continue reading →

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Nominations, please

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope that while President Obama was in town, someone asked him if he ever intends to nominate a US Attorney for Texas? Justice goes on, but Obama could have used those prosecutor jobs to build a farm team … Continue reading →

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Prop 8 overturned

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good. In a major victory for gay rights advocates, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down a California ban on same-sex marriage. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision to overturn the voter-approved ban, known as Proposition 8, came in … Continue reading →

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Start stocking up on those forever stamps

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They’re about to be a bargain. Fighting to survive a deepening financial crisis, the Postal Service said Tuesday it wants to increase the price of first-class stamps by 2 cents — to 46 cents — starting in January. Other postage … Continue reading →

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Cap and trade would cut the federal deficit

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Surely this means all those “deficit hawks” I keep hearing about will rush to embrace the American Power Act now. Right? The CBO analysis of the American Power Act, championed by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) found … Continue reading →

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We have a new illustration of “chutzpah”

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From Sen. John Cornyn, who knows a thing or two about shamelessness. Sen. John Cornyn pinned Democrats with the failure of a plan to extend jobless aid for millions of unemployed workers, only a day after Democrats fell a vote … Continue reading →

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This is why we call him “Smokey Joe”

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You’ve probably seen it by now, but feast your eyes anyway on Rep. Joe Barton apologizing to BP for that mean ol’ government making them pay for their mess in the Gulf. He’s since apologized for the apology, but given … Continue reading →

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What will climate change legislation cost?

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

My friend Robert Nagle surveys the literature on climate change, specifically analyses of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA), also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, and finds estimates for how much it will cost the average … Continue reading →

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Austin divests itself from Arizona

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Austin City Council decided Thursday to end business and travel ties with the state of Arizona to protest a new state law that will allow law enforcement officers there to detain people they suspect are in … Continue reading →

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CO2 emissions down

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I thought this was worth sharing. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) just issued its must-read report on U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions in 2009.  It turns out energy-related CO2 emissions have dropped faster than EIA had expected just a few months … Continue reading →

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It may take an act of God for Rick Perry to admit he was wrong

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry is being questioned about his silly “act of God” comment regarding the BP oil leak in the Gulf, and he’s apparently a mite touchy about it. Look, we all know – clearly Perry does – that “act of … Continue reading →

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Knock, knock, Census calling

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

They won’t be knocking on my door, but they’ll be knocking on a bunch of other ones. When census enumerators set out this Saturday, they could encounter a range of responses at the 48 million addresses they need to check. … Continue reading →

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Not too bad a job returning those Census forms

Posted on May 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We did better than in 2000. Houston, Harris County and Texas each exceeded their 2000 Census mail-in return rates this year while falling short of the national rate, according to final figures released Wednesday. In Houston, 67 percent of those … Continue reading →

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Groups that support Republicans oppose health care reform

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I know, quelle surprise. The uncertainty over the Congressional healthcare bill has incited fear among some small business associations in Texas. They gathered with U.S. Chamber of Commerce representatives on Tuesday to say they’re worried about ripple effects … Continue reading →

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Census update

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is not exactly a surprise. Households in older, single-family Houston neighborhoods are returning 2010 census forms at the highest levels in the city so far, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data. Neighborhoods with concentrations of apartments or … Continue reading →

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Special Friday video break: Hell, no, you can’t!

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Finally got a chance to see this: As they say in sports: Scoreboard, dude.

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Get those Census forms in

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

C’mon people. We can do better than this. A week after most Americans received their 2010 Census forms, return rates in many urban areas such as Houston and Harris County are lagging behind those in rural communities, the Census Bureau … Continue reading →

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Where the population is moving to

Posted on March 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Call it the Sunbelt Slowdown. Census estimates released Tuesday capture the impact of the housing downturn and economic recession, including the critical period after the financial meltdown in late 2008, on the nation’s counties and metropolitan areas. The population figures … Continue reading →

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Abbott’s health care lawsuit

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a copy of the lawsuit that AG Greg Abbott and a dozen of his buddies have filed against the health care reform bill that was signed into law today. You may be wondering, as I have been, … Continue reading →

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The freakout

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A month ago, Jonathan Chait saw the gathering momentum for getting health care reform passed, and observed “The conservative freakout is going to be something to behold.” And indeed so far it has been. Katherine Haenschen and Bob Moser did … Continue reading →

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