Tag Archives: Donald Trump

A parting gift of pollution

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gee, thanks. Texas may soon get authority over the disposal of ash from coal-fired power plants, a change that could insulate coal companies from tougher rules expected under a Biden administration. A proposal introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency … Continue reading →

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On prosecuting the insurrectionists

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good start. While federal prosecutors in the nation’s capital will likely tackle the bulk of criminal charges for the perpetrators of Wednesday’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Ryan K. Patrick is among a growing number of U.S. … Continue reading →

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The Republican war against Harris County

Posted on January 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

To be fair, it’s not just Harris County that’s in the crosshairs, it’s the big urban counties, and cities in general. But it’s real and it’s dangerous and it’s anti-democratic. Republicans in the Texas Legislature are gearing up to bar … Continue reading →

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What to do about Ted and Kenny?

Posted on January 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You wouldn’t think it would be possible for Ted Cruz to become more loathesome, but if you think that you seriously underestimate him. Two nights before the Electoral College certification in Congress, Ted Cruz was in vintage form. The junior … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Impeach him again

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is Donald Trump’s fault. All of it, though he did have plenty of assistance. Impeach him again, convict him this time, and then arrest him on the way out the door. There had been a call for censure before … Continue reading →

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Dems go two for two in Georgia

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s hard to talk about anything else, given the violent debacle in Washington yesterday, but the two Democratic Senate candidates in Georgia won their runoff elections, giving control of the Senate to the Democrats, and putting an emphatic final exclamation … Continue reading →

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Ted Cruz says “Look at me! Look at meeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Also, “Look at me!” Continuing to pursue unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and some of his fellow GOP senators announced they would vote to reject the certification of Electoral College votes for the presidential election … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020, The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

So is anyone going to try to collect Dan Patrick’s reward money?

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a nice little research paper for you: On November 10, 2020, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick put out a press release stating, in relevant part, “[S]tarting today [I] will pay up to $1 million to incentivize, encourage and reward … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Fifth Circuit bats aside Gohmert appeal

Posted on January 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering… . The Fifth Circuit cuts everything short on the stupid Gohmert suit with these brutal disposition. A very conservative panel btw. — Raffi Melkonian (@RMFifthCircuit) 07:32 PM – 02 January 2021 . I’m sitting here … Continue reading →

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Gohmert lawsuit tossed

Posted on January 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. A judge dismissed a lawsuit from Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, that was aimed at Vice President Mike Pence, seeking to put the authority to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s election win in the vice president’s hands. U.S. District Court … Continue reading →

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Census Bureau will miss deadline that would allow for apportionment shenanigans

Posted on January 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Census Bureau will miss a year-end deadline for handing in numbers used for divvying up congressional seats, a delay that could undermine President Donald Trump’s efforts to exclude people in the country illegally from the count if the … Continue reading →

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Pence asks for deranged Gohmert lawsuit to be dismissed

Posted on January 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Vice President Mike Pence has asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit brought against him by Republicans seeking to empower him to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The suit, brought by Rep. … Continue reading →

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Okay, so *this* is the last pointless gesture

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

You can always count on Louie Gohmert to find the stupidest thing possible to do. Vice President Pence was sued Sunday by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and several other Republicans in a far-fetched bid that appeared aimed at overturning President-elect … Continue reading →

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One last (?) pointless gesture

Posted on December 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because true desperation never dies, I guess. Rep. Lance Gooden of Terrell is one of the latest members of Congress to say he is going to object to the Electoral College certification on Jan. 6. Now, he says he just … Continue reading →

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The proper level of seriousness

Posted on December 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Meet John Fetterman (if you haven’t already), Lt. Governor of Pennsylvania and America’s foremost Dan Patrick troll. All John Fetterman wants for Christmas is the $3 million he says Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick owes him. The Democratic lieutenant governor … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

More on the TDP 2020 audit

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m very much looking forward to seeing the final report, but I don’t have a clear idea of the objectives from this story. [Unsuccessful State House candidate Brandy Chambers’] election night confusion mirrors the second-guessing going on within the Texas … Continue reading →

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Trump commutes Stockman sentence

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Crooks of a feather. President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday commuted the remaining prison sentence of former Republican Texas congressman Steve Stockman, who was sentenced to 10 years in 2018 after he was convicted of nearly two-dozen felonies, including fraud. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

SCOTUS mostly punts on Census apportionment shenanigans

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They seem to be hoping that the problem will solve itself, while applying a partisan litmus test to when it is appropriate for them to step in. The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to Donald Trump’s final sabotage of the … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Other jurisdictions

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial You may be wondering “Hey, how come you haven’t reported on data from SBOE and State Senate districts?” Well, I’ll tell you, since the SBOE … Continue reading →

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“Of course I didn’t say the thing that I totally said”

Posted on December 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

“You just weren’t supposed to understand it.” Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West said Monday he was not advocating secession from the United States in his response on Friday to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to refuse to take up … Continue reading →

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Can Ken Paxton be sanctioned for his seditious lawsuit?

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

One group is going to try. I wish them luck. A national lawyers group on Monday called for professional licensing bodies to investigate what it called a “breach of ethical rules” by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 17 of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Here comes the vaccine

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Houston’s first doses have arrived. Months of waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Houston are almost — but not quite — over, as hospitals prepare to move the first doses from sealed subzero shipments and into the arms … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Comparing to 2012 and 2016

Posted on December 14, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts I had meant to get to this last week, but SeditionPalooza took up too much of my time, so here we are. The intent of this post is to compare vote … Continue reading →

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Now we wait on SCOTUS

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas filed its reply to the defendants’ responses to its democracy–killing lawsuit, and, well, it’s something. This brings us the Texas AG Ken Paxton’s reply–or, rather, replies, as there are multiple filings, including a motion to enlarge … Continue reading →

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FBI serves subpoenas in Paxton case

Posted on December 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Quite the timing, no? Federal agents served at least one subpoena Wednesday on the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an ongoing investigation into allegations that Paxton abused his authority by helping a friend and campaign donor. Three … Continue reading →

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The states respond to Paxton

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Now we wait for SCOTUS. I sure hope they’re quick about it. Each of the four battleground states targeted by a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn President Donald Trump’s election defeat issued blistering briefs at the Supreme Court on Thursday, with … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Commissioners Court and JP/Constable precincts

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts We now zoom in for a look at various county districts, which are also called “precincts”. I don’t know why we have County Commissioner precincts and JP/Constable precincts to go along with regular voting … Continue reading →

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We still have to talk about Paxton’s ridiculous and anti-democratic lawsuit

Posted on December 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

At least for one more day. President Donald Trump on Wednesday latched on to a longshot Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn a presidential election that handed the White House to Joe Biden. Legal experts say Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: State Rep districts

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction Congressional districts We move now to State Rep districts, which is my usual currency since they provide complete coverage of the county with no partial pieces. You can also get a much more nuanced view of how things have … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton sues other states to overturn their election results

Posted on December 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s as stupid and pernicious as it sounds. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing four battleground states — Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — whose election results handed the White House to President-elect Joe Biden. In the suit, he … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Congressional districts

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Introduction All right, let’s get this party started. In the past I’ve generally done the top races by themselves, but any race involving Trump provides challenges, because his level of support just varies in comparison to other Republicans depending on … Continue reading →

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Birds of a feather

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Sweet. A pro-Trump group that promised to challenge the Nov. 3 election results and expose fraud was sued by a North Carolina money manager who donated $2.5 million to the cause but says he didn’t get his money’s worth. Fred … Continue reading →

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I remain pessimistic about the chances of good voting bills passing

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This Trib story suggests that with Republicans doing well in the high turnout 2020 election, and with the emergency measures that were implemented to expand voting access, the odds of getting a bill passed to make some forms of voting … Continue reading →

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We might get better Census apportionment data

Posted on November 24, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news. The Census Bureau has identified issues in the data from the 2020 decennial census that will take an additional 20 days or so for it to fix, and thus delay the release of survey’s apportionment data until … Continue reading →

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