Tag Archives: Rick Perry

The cost of jailing parole violators

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We sure do spend a lot of money putting people in jail that don’t really need to be there. Each month, an average of 2,286 state parole violators are housed in Texas jails, a policy costing taxpayers at least $42 … Continue reading →

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No film commission incentives for you!

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. The Texas Film Commission has denied incentives for “Machete,” the controversial immigration-related feature film from Robert Rodriguez’s Austin-based Troublemaker Studios. In a brief, formal letter dated Dec. 1 and released Wednesday by Katherine Cesinger , a … Continue reading →

Posted in TV and movies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Some Garcia 2002 numbers

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When I did an analysis of County Commissioner Precinct 2 for this year’s election, I said that I couldn’t include a comparison from 2002 because I didn’t have precinct-level data for that year. I got an email the other day … Continue reading →

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Federal court clears the way for greenhouse gas rules to be enforced in Texas

Posted on December 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, Texas is subject to the same laws as those other states. Who knew? A federal appeals court on Friday rejected pleas from Texas, some other states and industry allies to block nationwide rules on greenhouse gas emissions slated to … Continue reading →

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New flash: Dropping Medicaid would be bad

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t take my word for it, take the Texas Department of Health and Human Services’ word for it. Opting out of federal Medicaid, something Republican leaders have been considering as a method to wipe out Texas’ estimated $25 billion budget … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The war on lightbulbs

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t even know where to begin with this. Light bulbs – the universal icon of a bright idea – have become for conservative politicians and activists a symbol for something much more nefarious: Big Brother. Gov. Rick Perry writes … 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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Because that’s who he is

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Before Thanksgiving, Ezra Klein asked “Why does Gov. Rick Perry want more uninsured Texans?” Consider the case of Texas, which with 25 percent uninsured, leads the nation in not providing for its residents. If the state pulls out of Medicaid, … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More pushback from the medical community on Medicaid

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Doctors and medical associations had a big effect on public opinion during the fight over the Affordable Care Act. We’ll see whether that is true during the fight over Medicaid. “Unless our state leaders can come up with a financing … Continue reading →

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Medicaid: Ideologues versus experts

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The fascinating thing in this story about the Republican plan to kill Medicaid is just how half-baked the idea is. GOP Gov. Rick Perry, fresh off a big re-election win and touting his new book on states’ rights, is among … Continue reading →

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On Latino turnout

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how to make more Latinos vote. But I do know these things: 1. Whatever it is that Texas Democrats have been doing, assuming there is something that qualifies as some kind of action in this area, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

More on Medicaid

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mike Tomasky on the question of Texas ditching Medicaid: The states’ share of Medicaid costs has been an immense burden for two decades, there’s no denying it. I remember Mario Cuomo complaining about it when he was governor, when I … Continue reading →

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

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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The hole is deeper than we thought, the continuing story

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You have to admire the timing on this. Texas collected $2.5 billion less in taxes in the 2010 fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, than the previous year, state Comptroller Susan Combs said in a new cash report. The tax … Continue reading →

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Opening thoughts on the carnage

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In no particular order… – Republicans gain 22 seats in the State House, for a 99-51 advantage. That’s with Pete Gallego, Hubert Vo, and Donna Howard, all of whom had been trailing early, coming back to win. Howard’s margin of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Beyond today

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m having a hard time right now thinking about anything past last night, but here’s a Trib story from Sunday that takes a look ahead to the legislative and other battles that will follow. I think you can take some … Continue reading →

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What the polls said

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a roundup of the most recent versions of the most recent polls on the Governor’s race, some of which include one or more other statewide races. We’ll come back to this and see how accurate they were after tomorrow: … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Endorsement watch: Early voting? Never heard of it

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Somewhat incredibly, there were still endorsements being made over the weekend. Two newspapers finally got around to picking a side in the Governor’s race. The good news is that at least they picked the right one. First up, the Abilene … Continue reading →

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Last round of polls

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The newspapers have another poll, and I have a question about it. The survey of 673 likely voters found Perry leading Democratic nominee and former Houston Mayor Bill White 49 percent to 37 percent. They are followed by Green Party … Continue reading →

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The deficit debacle

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Think things are bad now? Just you wait. Texas faces a budget crisis of truly daunting proportions, with lawmakers likely to cut sacrosanct programs such as education for the first time in memory and to lay off hundreds if not … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Once again, I’ll take the under

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a bizarre new UT/Texas Trib poll that’s so odd I can’t even come up with a good introduction for it, so I’m just going to jump straight to the weirdness: Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill … 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 →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Endorsement watch: What took them so long?

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nearly a full week into early voting, the last of the five major dailies, the Star Telegram, endorses Bill White. The hard economic reality of 2010 is that Texans deserve a governor who can work effectively on a national level. … Continue reading →

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Appeals court suspends Willingham court inquiry

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This happened late last week. An Austin appeals court has ordered Judge Charlie Baird to halt his inquiry into whether Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully executed in 2004 and whether there is probable cause that state officials committed a crime … Continue reading →

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

Endorsement watch: All for Bill White

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have another sweep yet, as the Star-Telegram hasn’t weighed in quite yet, but all the endorsements so far have gone Bill White‘s way as expected. A sample: The DMN is particularly pointed. Perry, 60, has done relatively little … Continue reading →

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More on Perry’s self-appropriation of Emerging Tech funds

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman moves the ball forward on the Emerging Technology Fund story and Governor Perry’s self-appropriation of its funds. Two points from the story stand out to me. Gov. Rick Perry and the state’s legislative leaders awarded a $4.5 million … Continue reading →

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Perry appropriates Emerging Tech funds on his own

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Procedures? Advisory boards? Who needs ’em? Gov. Rick Perry approved a $4.5 million award from the state’s technology fund to a company founded by a major campaign donor despite the company’s failure to win the endorsement of a regional screening … Continue reading →

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No federal sex ed money for Texas

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Stay ignorant, kids. It’s what the state of Texas wants you to do. At the end of the summer, Texas quietly opted to forgo yet another pot of federal money — specifically, $4.4 million that would have gone toward educating … Continue reading →

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What will the teabaggers do?

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the most part, I don’t really care what they’ll do, but there is one point worth noting: “I can’t say the tea party support for Rick Perry is very strong, but the opposition to Bill White is intense,” said … Continue reading →

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Disclosure for thee, but not for me

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You don’t need to know. Gov. Rick Perry said [Monday] that he wouldn’t release documents revealing investors in recipients of Texas Emerging Technology Fund recipients. […] The governor’s office is told of investors in the tech fund applicants, a staffer … Continue reading →

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Lyceum poll: Perry 48, White 43

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Statewide poll numbers released today show that Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Houston Mayor Bill White trails Republican Governor Rick Perry by five points. The fourth annual 2010 Texas Lyceum Poll, conducted September 22nd – September 30th, … Continue reading →

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30 days out gubernatorial fundraising numbers are in

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of money out there. A handful of mega-wealthy donors helped Gov. Rick Perry raise almost twice as much money as Democrat Bill White between July and September, according to campaign releases Monday. The $8.2 million that poured into Perry’s … Continue reading →

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The social network campaign

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry won’t show up at a debate, but he is a presence on the Internet. The list of things that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Bill White, his Democratic opponent in November, disagree upon is long. But on the … Continue reading →

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The Perryless debate

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The debate went on as planned. In the fall campaign season’s first debate open to all candidates for governor, Democrat Bill White waited until his closing statement to attack the candidate who wasn’t there, incumbent Rick Perry, regarding allegations that … Continue reading →

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