Category Archives: Show Business for Ugly People

One more thing about polling

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When I wrote about the Rasmussen problem, I said that they were the only outfit polling on a lot of “issue” questions. That’s not totally true, though nobody does nearly as much of that as Rasmussen does. The UT/Trib poll … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Barack Obama, Election 2010, Greg Abbott, health care, lawsuit, polls, Texas | 4 Comments

The Rasmussen problem

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Jonathan Chait discusses the “Rasmussen problem”, which basically boils down to the fact that Rasmussen’s polls have become rather extreme outliers, and they all seem to serve a narrative about the country taking a sharp pro-conservative, anti-Obama turn. As Nate … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged budget, Election 2010, Governor, health care, Jack Conway, Kentucky, polls, Rand Paul, Texas | 3 Comments

So much for Abbott’s big “voter fraud” case

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in 2005, Attorney General Greg Abbott announced with a flourish a rash of arrests in South Texas on various counts of voter fraud. These arrests, some of which were announced while the Lege was debating a voter ID bill, … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged absentee ballots, Greg Abbott, Hidalgo County, McAllen, Texas, The Lege, voter ID | 4 Comments

Worker’s Comp goes before the Sunset Commission

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The worker’s comp battle has moved to the Sunset Advisory Committee, with testimony being given about how the Division of Workers’ Compensation does its business. Elise Hu continues her reporting on the war of words between several former employees of … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Rod Bordelon, Texas, Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Sunset Advisory Committee, The Lege, worker's compensation | Comments Off

RV voters

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Really interesting story about a group of RV owners who “live” in a park in Polk County and vote there, but are seldom actually physically present. On the one hand, Escapees Inc. is a business catering to recreational vehicle enthusiasts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged absentee ballots, lawsuit, Polk County, RVs, Texas, voter registration | 1 Comment

White wants to “undo some of the damage” the SBOE has done to social studies

Posted on May 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lord knows, there’s a lot of it to undo. Bill White wants to start with changing the Chair. Some Texans have called for a limited review to address some of the more controversial standards that will influence new history, government, … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Bill White, David Bradley, Election 2010, Governor, Mike Villarreal, SBOE, social studies, Texas, textbooks, The Lege | Comments Off

The Worker’s Comp Commissioner fires back

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

How can you tell when whistleblowers are having an effect? When the entitiy they blew the whistle on attacks them. As the Division of Workers’ Compensation heads into a public hearing at the Sunset Advisory Commission next week, Commissioner Rod … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Rod Bordelon, Texas, Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Sunset Advisory Committee, The Lege, worker's compensation | Comments Off

The clown show finally calls it a wrap

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some other state to be the national laughingstock again. The Court of Criminal Appeals gives it a good run for its money, but you just can’t out-embarrass the SBOE, and every … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Bill White, Cynthia Dunbar, Don McLeroy, Election 2010, Judy Jennings, liveblogging, Michael Soto, Mike Villarreal, Rebecca Bell-Metereau, SBOE, social studies, Steve Brown, Texas, Texas Freedom Network, textbooks, videos | 1 Comment

More on worker’s comp fraud

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Elise Hu has a followup to her story from last week about worker’s comp fraud and the lack of investigation of same. It seems she attracted the attention of the Lege. “My primary concern is patients getting improper treatment — … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged budget, Glenn Hegar, Joe Deshotel, Texas, Texas Department of Insurance, The Lege, worker's compensation | Comments Off

AFL-CIO offers Perry cheaper housing

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s some first-class snark in this press release I got from the Texas AFL-CIO today. The speaker is Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller. In light of the state’s historically huge budget shortfall and new cuts that will place hundreds if … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged AFL-CIO, budget, Governor, Governor's mansion, Rick Perry, Texas | Comments Off

And the clown show gets underway again

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your TFN liveblogging of today’s SBOE social studies hearings. Brian Thevenot of The Trib is also there, and he reports that an interesting character has asked the Board to slow down. Former U.S. Secretary of Education and Houston Superintendent … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged budget, Election 2010, liveblogging, SBOE, social studies, Texas, Texas Education Agency, textbooks, The Lege | 1 Comment

Briefly noted

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting things from today that I wanted to note… There are plenty of people who want to be on the Appropriations Committee, so putting some who doesn’t want to be there, like State Rep. Joe Driver of Dallas, doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Arizona, Armando Walle, budget, Debbie Riddle, Don Sumners, Election 2010, Harris County, Harris County Tax Assessor, HISD, Houston, immigration, Joe Driver, Mario Gallegos, SBOE, social studies, Terry Grier, Texas, textbooks, The Lege, Trey Martinez-Fischer | Comments Off

Perry’s rental crib

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This AP story about the Governor’s rented mansion is certainly entertaining. With the state facing a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has spent almost $600,000 in public money during the past two years to … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged budget, Election 2010, Governor, Governor's mansion, Rick Perry, Texas | 3 Comments

New frontiers in open meeting laws

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s an awful lot here to think about. The Texas Legislature may become the first in the nation to tackle whether tweeting and texting is being used to circumvent open meetings laws and whether the private devices of public officials … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged BlackBerry, Eddie Lucio, email, instant messaging, Keith Elkins, open records, Robert Duncan, Senate, Texas Open Meetings Act, text messages, The Lege, Twitter | 1 Comment

White tells the SBOE to wait till next year

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the SBOE is set to take a final vote on their proposed revisions to the social studies textbook standards. They’ve received a lot of mostly negative feedback so far, but have said they’re still considering specific suggestions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Bill White, Cynthia Dunbar, Don McLeroy, Election 2010, Governor, SBOE, social studies, Texas, textbooks | Comments Off

Blowing the whistle on worker’s comp fraud

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Really good article in the Trib about worker’s compensation fraud and why so little of it is being actively investigated these days. This is the sort of thing that really ought to get traction, as it has something for all … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Leo Berman, Rick Perry, Texas, Texas Department of Insurance, worker's compensation | 4 Comments

How about filling all of the court vacancies?

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t really have an opinion about the newest Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan. There are people I respect who think she’s a good choice, and people I respect who wanted someone else, generally Diane Wood, to be the nominee … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Barack Obama, SCOTUS, Texas | Comments Off

We whine bigger than other states, too

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Someone please call a waaaaaahmbulance. Since January, besides losing big federal contracts, Texas’ pollution permit process has been rejected for failing to meet Clean Air Act requirements; the state is facing fines for chronically missing food stamp benefit deadlines, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Barack Obama, Henry Bonilla, Texas | Comments Off

The historians have their say

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The various legislative groups held their SBOE hearings on Wednesday. In pointing out the many ways in which that unesteemed body screwed the pooch on social studies, they joined with others in calling for a delay in adopting the new … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged budget, Election 2010, Judy Jennings, Rebecca Bell-Metereau, SBOE, social studies, Texas, textbooks, Trey Martinez-Fischer | 1 Comment

The big picture for health care reform in Texas

Posted on April 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The number you need to know is four point two million. Texas’ uninsured population will drop from 6.5 million this year to 2.3 million once the federal health care overhaul is fully implemented, and about a third of the remaining … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged David Dewhurst, Greg Abbott, health insurance, lawsuit, Rick Perry, Texas, Tom Suehs | 4 Comments

Meet Steve Brown

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Steve Brown, the new Chair of the Fort Bend Democratic Party. Steve Brown, a 35-year-old with a résumé of political experience, has big plans for the moribund Democratic Party in Fort Bend, and his confidence in the party’s ability … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2010, Fort Bend County, Steve Brown | Comments Off

Disclose, please

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough by itself. The U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for corporations to pour money into influencing Texas elections, but the state ethics commission today is taking up a … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Bill Hammond, campaign finances, SCOTUS, Texans for Public Justice, Texas, Texas Association of Business, Texas Ethics Commission | Comments Off

The enduring question of Latino voting

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You can count on there being some number of articles about Latino voting every year. The Chron took its turn on Sunday. The numbers are formidable. Hispanics made up 31 percent of the Texas population in the 2000 census and … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Election 2002, Election 2006, Election 2010, Governor, Latino voting, Rick Perry, Texas | 1 Comment

Just a minute, SBOE

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I almost missed this op-ed by State Rep. Carol Alvarado about everyone’s favorite clown show, the State Board of Education. In it, she hits on a theme we’re seeing more and more of. How can board members claim that our … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Carol Alvarado, Cynthia Dunbar, Don McLeroy, Election 2010, Geraldine Miller, Ken Mercer, SBOE, social studies, Texas, textbooks | 1 Comment

A redistricting compromise?

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how realistic this is, but if an agreement on how to divvy up the new Congressional districts can be worked out before the start of the legislative session, it would at least allow for more attention to … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Census, David Dewhurst, Henry Cuellar, Joe Straus, Lamar Smith, redistricting, Texas, The Lege | 6 Comments

Where the votes are going

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Matt Stiles looks at Census data and notes a political point. Seven Texas counties — Rockwall, Williamson, Collin, Hays, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Denton — are listed among the nation’s 30 fastest-growing areas, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Barack Obama, Bill White, Census, Collin County, Denton County, Election 2002, Election 2004, Election 2006, Election 2008, Election 2010, Fort Bend County, George Bush, Governor, Hays County, John Kerry, John McCain, Montgomery County, Rick Perry, Rockwall County, Texas, Williamson County | 8 Comments

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