Category Archives: Show Business for Ugly People

Population growth by legislative district

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Some nice work by the Trib here. Our new interactive map visualizes population changes by district for the total population and residents who are of Hispanic origin. These totals are especially important now given that lawmakers are preparing to redraw these … Continue reading →

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Credit where credit is due

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson calls on the Lege to protect legal aid funding. The budget crisis threatens to leave the state’s neediest without legal representation, Jefferson said, and even now “the courthouse door is closed to many … Continue reading →

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Harris County minus one?

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Despite essentially keeping up with the state growth rate, Harris County may lose a legislative seat in the next round of redistricting. As Texas lawmakers turn their attention to the complex and contentious task of redrawing their own districts, that … Continue reading →

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The opening bars of the redistricting overture

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that we have Census data, you know what comes next. Here’s an Express News story that discusses how redistricting will be different this time around. Democrats still are smarting from the redistricting plan engineered in 2003 by then-U.S. House … Continue reading →

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Census data is out

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Start firing up the mapmaking units. U.S. Census data released today shows the Hispanic population in Texas increased by 42 percent since 2000, and the group now makes up 38 percent of the population. Texas’ population is now 25,145,561. That’s … Continue reading →

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The state of the state

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Is strong, according to Rick Perry. So strong, in fact, that we’re going to kick the legs out of social services, because clearly we don’t need them. When the state faced a budget crisis in 2003, Gov. Rick Perry’s office … Continue reading →

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The Affordable Care Act will help millions of Texans

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So says the Texas Department of Insurance. Even as Texas leaders rail against the national health care law and call for its repeal, the state Department of Insurance has issued a report that says the law will make it easier … Continue reading →

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Will the Lege change the rules about corporate campaign contributions?

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I think the answer to that question is probably “No”, but given the Citizens United ruling and the effect it had in the 2010 election, one cannot rule it out. Immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, the Texas Ethics … Continue reading →

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More on Latino turnout

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Greg adds in his opinion on the Latino turnout question, and as usual it’s worth your time to read in full. Two things for me to comment on. First: If there is a one point that I’ve been reluctant to … Continue reading →

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State auditor to look at Emerging Technology Fund

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Auditor John Keel will perform an audit on the state’s Emerging Technology Fund to see if the money is being used and distributed properly. State Auditor John Keel said Wednesday that his office will review the monitoring of the … Continue reading →

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Redistrict-a-palooza

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Greg attends the Houston redistricting hearing so you don’t have to, and liveblogs it till the bitter end, then follows it up with a summary report. The Chron has a bunch of related Tweets from the hearing here. And Michael … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: It gets worse

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when being a maverick meant something? The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c

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Are you ready for some redistricting?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

If you have some free time this Saturday, Greg tells you that there will be a redistricting committee hearing here in Houston: Saturday, November 20, 2010 10:00 am University of Houston Athletic/Alumni Center O’Quinn Great Hall 3100 Cullen Boulevard Houston, … Continue reading →

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Texas thumbs its nose at the feds again

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Why bother to secede when all you need to do is disobey? Texas has refused to meet new federal greenhouse gas emission rules that go into effect in January, the latest anti-Washington move in an ongoing battle that could halt … Continue reading →

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“You know what that leads to? COMMUNISM!”

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I normally consider it unseemly to kick a man while he’s down, but some men richly deserve it. The godless, left-wing radicals have taken over universities and the national government and are radically transforming the country, State Board of Education … Continue reading →

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Can we finally get some US Attorneys?

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

A “Republican and former federal prosecutor” named Bill Mateja wrote an op-ed over the weekend that simultaneously cheered and criticized the Republican obstruction of getting US Attorneys nominated for Texas. Why should Republicans, who have played their hand so well, … Continue reading →

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Another look ahead at redistricting

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The short version of this Chron story is basically “Republicans would like to control every aspect of the redistricting process, while Democrats would at least like to win the Governor’s office and maintain some semblance of parity in the House”. … Continue reading →

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Latinos still prefer Democrats

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure if it’s the poll itself or just the way the numbers are being presented, but if you can get past that, the news is good. Latino voters overwhelming back Democrats over Republicans in the upcoming election, but … Continue reading →

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Is this the swan song for the clown show?

Posted on September 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After all this time, my heart isn’t into snarking on the SBOE and its latest travashamockery. I just want to point one thing out from how the vote went on that ludicrous and hateful anti-Islam resolution: State Board of Education … Continue reading →

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True culture warriors never sleep

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s no possible way that this can end well. The [State Board of Education] will consider a resolution next week that would warn publishers not to push a pro-Islamic, anti-Christian viewpoint in world history textbooks. Members of the board’s social … Continue reading →

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If the story of the SBOE were told as a fairy tale

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It would look something like this: The truly scary thing is that none of that was made up. If you want there to be a happy ending, I recommend supporting Rebecca Bell-Metereau and Judy Jennings. Thanks to Harold Cook for … Continue reading →

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Arizona Green Party sues to kick its own candidates off the ballot

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just when you think you’ve seen it all… The state Democratic Party is alleging possible voter fraud in what it called a scheme to undermine its candidates by recruiting “sham” Green Party hopefuls. In a complaint filed late Monday, the … Continue reading →

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The elections administrator

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a look at the elections administrator proposal that has been under study. The idea of an elections administrator percolated during the spring as a way to cloak the function in a mantle of nonpartisanship, and incidentally, to … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Let’s talk about sex, baby

Posted on September 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As this is the Labor Day weekend, it is also the traditional start to the high campaign season. Sadly, you will not see the following political ad on your teevee this year, or any other year: Of course, we’ve already … Continue reading →

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Houston Votes responds

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Earlier today Houston Votes responded to the accusations lobbed at them by outgoing Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez. First, here’s their press release: On Tuesday, August 24, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Leo Vasquez made reckless and false allegations … Continue reading →

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Vasquez throws a bomb at Houston Votes

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I guess outgoing Harris County Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez wasn’t quite ready to return to obscurity. Harris County Tax Assessor Collector Leo Vasquez accused a nonprofit group of submitting thousands of bogus voter registration applications in recent months in what … Continue reading →

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There goes the bag drag

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you heard was many thousands of dollars being taken in by the President and the DNC. For the past 22 years, some state Democrats complain, the national party has used Texas like an ATM. The national party’s constant … Continue reading →

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John Cornyn sounds like a Democrat

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

To be more precise, he’s saying something many Democrats around here have been saying for a long time. Days before the president visits Austin and Dallas for Democratic fundraisers, Cornyn lashed out at Obama for focusing his Texas visit on … Continue reading →

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TFN poll on public school curriculum

Posted on July 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is generally good news. Eight of 10 Texans want high schools to teach contraception, including the use of condoms and abstinence, according to a statewide opinion poll that also shows high support for letting teachers and scholars write public … Continue reading →

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Let’s call it what it is

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I do not understand the resistance to renaming the Texas Railroad Commission to reflect what it actually does. The Railroad Commission is the state’s chief regulator of oil and gas production. The agency no longer deals with railroads yet still … Continue reading →

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TPJ files ethics complaint against Perry

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it. Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit watchdog group, filed a complaint [Wednesday] urging the Texas Ethics Commission to require Gov. Rick Perry to provide detailed reports of campaign spending on … Continue reading →

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Texas sues the EPA

Posted on June 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. Texas filed a federal court challenge Monday to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to reject part of the state’s air-quality program. […] State Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office — in a statement accompanying the … Continue reading →

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Man the barricades!

Posted on June 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Wayne Slater, on the just-ended state Republican convention in Dallas: For a party in power, there seem to be a lot of martyrs in the Texas GOP. Rush Limbaugh says Democrats are the party of victims. But it was the … Continue reading →

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The alternate Congressional universe

Posted on June 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Since I brought up redistricting yesterday, here’s an interesting thought experiment for you: What might the state’s Congressional delegation look like today if the 2003 DeLay-orchestrated re-redistricting had never happened? I’ll leave it to you to peruse the maps and … Continue reading →

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