Tag Archives: Rick Perry

Say “No” to Confederate license plates

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been in Texas over 25 years now, but sometimes I just can’t escape my Yankee heritage. A group of elected officials said Saturday that Texas cannot allow the Confederate flag – which they consider a symbol of oppression – … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Why is stimulus by one type of government better than the other?

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Perhaps someone should ask that question at the next Republican Presidential debate, which they seem to have every week or so. Gov. Rick Perry’s record of creating jobs with taxpayer money is coming under greater scrutiny because of his presidential … Continue reading →

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Tort “reform” is still a scam

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I’m as shocked as you are. A national report released Wednesday says the 2003 Texas law that limited damage awards in malpractice suits has caused health care spending to rise and has not significantly increased the number of … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Our expensive Governor

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Another story about our Governor and his expensive travel habits. The cost is mounting for Texas taxpayers as Gov. Rick Perry pursues the presidency, with new figures showing the tab for the governor’s security detail has topped $364,000 for out-of-state … Continue reading →

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More Perry privatization problems

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Insert your favorite cliche about being shocked. The state of Texas has quietly outsourced the management of more than $1 billion in federal disaster recovery funds to an engineering firm with close ties to Gov. Rick Perry’s administration, paying the … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect the next budget to be any better than this one

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing a theme I’ve harped on here, if state legislators thought that they solved Texas’ budget issues this year they are sadly mistaken. Some experts say Texas tax revenues must zoom far above forecasts, if we’re to escape another miserable … Continue reading →

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Giving tax breaks to those that don’t need them

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You can add this to the list of things schools might have to pay for that they don’t have the money to pay for. Three environmental commissioners appointed by Gov. Rick Perry are considering whether to grant some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Today’s Republican Party is too radical even for Rick Perry

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Mark Jones states a few facts about the Texas version of the DREAM Act that Rick Perry signed in 2001, and what it says about the Republican Party now. In 2001 the Republican Party enjoyed a narrow majority over the … Continue reading →

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From the “Sacrifice for thee but not for me” department

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry sure does like to travel. At a time when state budget reductions were used to help offset a multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall, taxpayers were billed in excess of $294,000 in security detail expenses for out-of-state trips by Gov. Rick … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

PPP: Perry takes lead on Obama in Texas

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not by that much, however. Rick Perry has an under water approval rating in Texas and he’s leading Barack Obama by a smaller margin than John McCain won the state by in 2008…but at least he is leading Obama, which … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How’s that Texas miracle going?

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not so good. The Texas unemployment rate reached 8.5 percent in August, its highest rate since June of 1987. That’s an increase from 8.4 percent in July. Those numbers come from the U.S. Department of Labor. The numbers were confirmed … Continue reading →

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Perry’s email purging on hold

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Never underestimate a truly determined hacker. Gov. Rick Perry’s state office has temporarily stopped deleting emails every seven days — as its official document retention policy allows — thanks to the efforts of a Wisconsin-based political activist who thinks they … Continue reading →

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Rick Perry must love uninsured people, because he’s helped create so many of them

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about the grim statistics on poverty that were recently released by the Census is this little nugget that hits close to home: Health insurance coverage also dropped for most age groups, although census officials said the … Continue reading →

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This is an excellent time to cut funding for fighting wildfires

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s exactly what the Republicans did in the budget that came into effect last week. Cash-strapped state lawmakers – led by Gov. Rick Perry’s stand against raising taxes or dipping too deeply into the state rainy day fund – cut … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On Texas’ government jobs

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Since I had previously complained about a lack of acknowledgement by Texas writers about the role that growth in the public sector has played in the so-called “Texas Miracle”, I want to give credit where it is due. In the … Continue reading →

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How long will we talk about Latino turnout before someone does something about it?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard any of this before. On Saturday, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project announced its 2012 goal of raising Latino voting in Texas to 2 million from the 1.7 million who voted in the last presidential … Continue reading →

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Texas’ unemployment rate spikes

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Texas unemployment rate hits its highest mark since 1987. That’s probably not the kind of headline Rick Perry wants to read right now. As Gov. Rick Perry touts job creation and limited government on the campaign trail, the Texas’ unemployment … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

What if they all lose?

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that Rick Perry and David Dewhurst have decided they really want to be in that place they profess to hate so much, Washington, DC, there are a bunch of politicians behind them hoping to move up. Ross Ramsey wonders, … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: What would Molly say?

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In re: Rick Perry for President, I quote the immortal Molly Ivins, who said about Dubya “Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.” In honor of that, here’s … Continue reading →

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My one piece of advice to Barack Obama in re: Rick Perry

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

By now you’ve probably heard about Rick Perry’s long-anticipated announcement that yes indeedy, he is running for President. I plan to avoid this subject as much as possible, because there’s only so much blogging about Rick Perry one can do … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

No SEC for A&M

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For now, anyway. The Southeastern Conference is not extending an invitation to Texas A&M to become its 13th member, but isn’t ruling out adding the Aggies in the future. University of Florida president Dr. Bernie Machen said the conference’s presidents … Continue reading →

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Video game incentives

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In my earlier post about film incentives, the story noted that the video game industry was a big player in getting those funds. They’re set to get more of them now. In an effort to keep attracting video game jobs … Continue reading →

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Brown versus gray

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is an old, familiar story, but it really can’t be said often enough: When Gov. Rick Perry showed up in San Antonio earlier this summer to deliver brief remarks to the annual gathering of the National Association of Latino … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against business margins tax

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Allstate Claims Service, L.P., which is based in Boerne, has filed a lawsuit alleging that the business margins tax is an illegally-passed income tax in Texas. Oh, boy. Nikki Laing, a CPA and third-year Baylor law student, studied the structure … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Don’t forget Texas’ debt

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that Perry’s Prayerpalooza is behind us and we breathlessly await his Presidential decision, keep this op-ed by former State Rep. Jim Dunnam in mind whenever you hear Perry pontificate about the national debt. Before Rick Perry became governor, Texas … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Film incentives

Posted on August 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Stuff like this always fascinates me. In a legislative session marked by a slew of high-profile budget cuts, Texas lawmakers opted to continue offering [film and TV production] incentives, but they reduced the amount available by 50 percent. They approved … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

You get the policies you voted for

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I hate to sound like a broken record, but these people need to quit complaining about getting what they voted for. Midland County officials are appealing to the state for reconsideration after it stripped $1.2 million in funding from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Responding to The Response

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I almost forgot that Rick Perry’s Prayerpalooza, also known as The Response, is this weekend. Fortunately, some other folks are more on the ball than I am about this. On Tuesday, more than 50 Houston-area religious and community leaders disseminated … Continue reading →

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From the “You don’t need to know” department

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I think I’ve finally figured out what the big secret is with Rick Perry’s travels. In a policy change criticized by open government advocates, the Texas Department of Public Safety will not reveal how much money is being spent to … Continue reading →

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AG rules Willingham case off limits for Forensic Science Commission

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The last shovelful of dirt is thrown. The Texas Forensic Science Commission’s investigation of the science used to convict Cameron Todd Willingham — executed in 2004 for an arson that killed his three children — may be at an end … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dr. Peerwani and the Willingham case

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the newly appointed Chair of the Forensic Science Commission, gets profiled in the Trib. Most of the story is about the history of the Willingham case, which the Commission finally sort of dealt with last year. With … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Patterson to run for Lite Guv

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst running for the Senate, everyone else in state government that’s been waiting for a chance to move up is undoubtedly making plans to do so. At the front of the line is Lanc Commissioner Jerry … Continue reading →

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Does Perry get any credit?

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What credit, if any, should Rick Perry get for Texas’ relatively good economic condition? This Statesman story aims to find out. As Gov. Rick Perry’s flirtation with running for president puts the Texas economy under a microscope, there’s no question … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Austin braces for job losses

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come. The Texas Education Agency said Tuesday that it is laying off 178 employees this week. Those are among the first of thousands of state government layoffs expected in the coming weeks. The TEA decision … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments