Monthly Archives: August 2003

Everybody sues

Posted on August 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it was just a matter of time: Both sides in the redistricting standoff have sued each other. The 11 Democrats, who are holed up in a New Mexico hotel, filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court asking … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Favoritism at Farmers?

Posted on August 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

More on the story about Farmers Insurance giving special treatment to legislators like Rep. Joe Nixon and other muckety-mucks that they thought might be useful to them. Basically, the mold manager that they fired, Isabelle Arnold, isn’t going away. She’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Favoritism at Farmers?

What to do with the Dome?

Posted on August 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The debate over what to do with the Astrodome continues, as county officials seek input from developers who might have an interest in the land. There are a few, um, requirements, though. The Sports and Convention Corp. issued a request … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | 3 Comments

Republican Senators visit Albuquerque

Posted on August 7, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

All of the papers are reporting on a trip taken by Sens. Todd Staples (R, Palestine) and Robert Duncan (R, Lubbock) to Albuquerque to meet with the boycotting Democrats. The basic information is the same – Staples and Duncan flew … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 3 Comments

…but Gary will!

Posted on August 6, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t look now, but Gary Coleman will be on the ballot in California’s recall election. Assembling our crackerjack campaign staff, we went to work. With Gary’s authorization, we took out nomination papers and hit the streets to collect signatures. Express … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | 4 Comments

Jerry won’t run…

Posted on August 6, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Jerry Springer has decided not to run for Senate in 2004. “As long as I’m doing that show, my message, no matter how sincere and no matter how heartfelt, does not get through to the people I need to reach,” … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2004 | Comments Off on Jerry won’t run…

Mold!

Posted on August 6, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

So there’s a story in the papers today (in the Chron and in the Statesman) about allegations that Farmer’s Insurance paid off on claims for mold-related damage to State Rep. Joe Nixon’s house even though his policy didn’t cover it. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Mold!

Texas joins Mega Millions lottery

Posted on August 6, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

After many twists and turns, Texas will be joining a multistate lottery system. It just won’t be Powerball. Texas is placing its bets on the multistate lottery Mega Millions, noted for its record-setting jackpots and 1-in-135 million odds, the Lottery … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Jackpot! | 8 Comments

The Crawford Iconoclast

Posted on August 6, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Byron has found my favorite editorials so far in the whole redistricting mess. They come from the Crawford Iconoclast, and they name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and State Rep. Jim Dunnam as their Iconoclasts of the Week for their … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 1 Comment

A little good news

Posted on August 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Two items in the paper today to make me feel better about things. One is that Planned Parenthood has received a reprieve from a new state law whose intent is to deny it federal funding unless it stops performing abortions. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | 1 Comment

Dewhurst hints at legal action

Posted on August 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is warning that he might go to court to drag the eleven boycotting Senators back to Texas. “I’m not going to discuss our legal options. But it’s very, very clear that there are a number of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 2 Comments

Texas takes the lead

Posted on August 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

We’re #1…in jobs lost for the month of July. U.S. employers announced 85,117 job cuts in July, a 43 percent jump from 59,715 in June, according to Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, which publishes monthly tallies of job-cut … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | 1 Comment

Redistricting, segregation, and identity politics

Posted on August 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

A reader with a subscription to TNR sent me a printout of this Peter Beinart article which ties together the recent fights over redistricting and judicial nominees to a new form of identity politics being played by the GOP. I’ll … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 1 Comment

What makes a “good Catholic”?

Posted on August 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Michael Schattman is a former state district judge. He was nominated to the federal bench by Bill Clinton, but his nomination was blocked by Republicans. He’s also Catholic, and he has some pretty strong words for the current Republican ploy … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | 5 Comments

That Winona Ryder sure knows a lot of bloggers

Posted on August 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

OK, this is pretty funny. Go here and read a little bit to get the flavor of it, then go here for an amusing variation on the theme. Standard beverage warning applies. Via Brian Linse. Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Comments Off on That Winona Ryder sure knows a lot of bloggers

The long and winding road

Posted on August 5, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Took a day off from obsessing about redistricting yesterday. There really isn’t much to report, and barring either legal action or a sudden turnaround by one side or the other I don’t expect there will be anytime soon. Byron had … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Gotta love comments

Posted on August 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I understand the reasons why some bloggers don’t have comments enabled, but by doing so they miss out on feedback like this. Whoever said that odd-numbered years have boring elections? Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Comments Off on Gotta love comments

Westar bans corporate political donations

Posted on August 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The horses may be in several different counties, but Westar’s barn door is now securely locked. After revelations that Westar Energy Inc. executives may have violated federal election law with illegal political donations, the company’s board has banned corporate political … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Scandalized! | Comments Off on Westar bans corporate political donations

Rod Paige

Posted on August 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a two-part overview of Rod Paige (Sunday and Monday), the Secretary of Education and former Superintendant of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Not much there that isn’t general knowledge (I’m moderately surprised to hear that Eric … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Comments Off on Rod Paige

Rightward Reasoning

Posted on August 4, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

My friend and former band-mate Doug Haunsperger has started a blog. As you can tell from the title, his views don’t exactly mirror mine, but he’s a sharp guy and I expect he’ll bring some good ideas to the table. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | 10 Comments

Dean invades the Texas airways

Posted on August 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve seen the Howard Dean TV ad that’s running in Austin (you can see it here), and I must say I like it. He comes across as calm and reasonable, but still makes his point that President Bush’s policies have … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | 3 Comments

An insider’s view of the Pentagon

Posted on August 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s op-ed pages contain this piece by a recently retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who spent the last three years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Under Secretariat for Policy. She started out as a Bush fan, but … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq attack | 3 Comments

All around the town

Posted on August 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has had a series of articles relating to Metro’s mobility plan, which has been approved by its board for a referendum this November, though the sticky question of how to pay for it is still unresolved. That referendum … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Comments Off on All around the town

The fat lady sings for Dan Cook

Posted on August 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Dan Cook, the San Antonio sportswriter and broadcaster who coined the phrase “The opera ain’t over till the fat lady sings”, has written his last column after 51 years in the business. [L]ooking back, it was my great privilege and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 3 Comments

Sunday news roundup

Posted on August 3, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

If it’s Sunday, that means it’s time for analysis and overview. We’ll start with the Chron and this piece which looks at Lt. Gov. Dewhurst’s role in the redistricting flap. Elsewhere, in the editorial section, Clay Robison rips into Gov. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 2 Comments

July traffic report

Posted on August 2, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

July was by far my best month for visits, with nearly 19,000 Sitemeter hits. That’s more than double my next best month. There were two factors for this. One was that search engine referrals are now being counted by Sitemeter. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Traffic Reports | 5 Comments

Don’t be at work when opportunity calls

Posted on August 2, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

When I got home from work yesterday, there was a message on my answering machine that I had to listen to three times before I was sure I heard it correctly. The caller was a woman who said she was … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 25 Comments

Who’s really affected by all this?

Posted on August 2, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Gov. Perry has been pushing the ludicrous line that the Democrats have been holding up “important state business” by refusing to be rolled over on redistricting. Never mind the fact that most if not all of this business was stuff … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Texas 11 miscellania

Posted on August 1, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

TiVo alert! Sen. Leticia van de Putte will be among the roundtable guests on Real Time with Bill Maher, tonight at 11 PM EDT on HBO. Alasi, I’m HBO-free until the Sopranos come back on the air, so if you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 2 Comments

Is there a marine biologist in the house?

Posted on August 1, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta hate it when that happens: The University of Florida, whose school mascot is the alligator, sent out 19,000 copies of its football media guide before anyone figured out that the animal on the guide’s cover is a crocodile. Oops! … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Other sports | 1 Comment

Ann Hodges retires

Posted on August 1, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

Longtime Chron TV critic and professional prude Ann Hodges is hanging up her remote after 40 years in the business. Hodges could always be counted on to take great offense at some obscure lowbrow sitcom that was defining yet another … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | 1 Comment

Whole lotta nothin’ going on

Posted on August 1, 2003 by Charles Kuffner

I think we’re pretty safely past all of the excitement concerning the Democrats’ flight to Albuquerque and are now firmly in the human-interest-story cycle. This fluffy front page Chron story about reaction of the locals to their unusual visitors is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Killer D's | 2 Comments