Tag Archives: Rick Perry

Settlement reached in Bell lawsuit against Perry

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Watchdog: A 2007 lawsuit alleging Texas Gov. Rick Perry unlawfully hid $1 million in illegal campaign contributions has been settled in a confidential agreement, a lawyer connected to the case said Friday. The case was filed by Chris Bell, … Continue reading →

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We can’t just cut our way out of the budget deficit, take 2

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some cuts cost a lot more than they purport to save. Public colleges and universities in Texas are absorbing a 5 percent cut in state funding by laying off employees, deferring repairs, scaling back travel and finding other savings. But … Continue reading →

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TCEQ versus EPA

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This fight between the TCEQ and the EPA, or more broadly between polluters and people who like to breathe, has been coming for a long time. Environmentalists are excited by the EPA’s new aggressive posture and hope it prompts an … Continue reading →

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

Perry scoffs at budget shortfall number

Posted on June 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What color is the sky on Rick Perry’s planet? Gov. Rick Perry says that where some see an $18 billion budget gap ahead for Texas, he sees a figure plucked from the sky. “I think it’s a number that somebody … Continue reading →

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Dunnam to Perry: Give me some names

Posted on June 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So as you know, there was a story last month about Rick Perry’s swanky and expensive rental mansion, which he and his wife have been using while the Governor’s Mansion is undergoing repairs. Turns out that the rather lavish lifestyle … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Some people want the EPA to do more

Posted on June 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Sierra Club is taking legal action against the Environmental Protection Agency, saying it has dragged its feet in Texas. The group said EPA officials have missed legal deadlines for action on limiting Texas pollution’s effects on neighboring states; reducing … Continue reading →

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The TCEQ has no one to blame but itself

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What the DMN says: For more than a year, the Obama administration has been beating the same drum, telling the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that its permitting system falls short of federal standards. Yet some Texas leaders and regulators … Continue reading →

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Perry appoints Lehrmann

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise at all. Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Judge Debra Lehrmann to the Place 3 seat that Harriet O’Neill will soon vacate on the Texas Supreme Court. Lehrmann, a Fort Worth District Court judge, won the Republican nomination for … Continue reading →

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It’s good to be the king

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the genius of Harold Cook: No coyotes were harmed in the making of that little film, as far as I can tell.

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Why should anyone trust the TCEQ?

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry wants the EPA to back off. I know, I’m as shocked as you are. Gov. Rick Perry, citing improvements in Texas air quality, asked President Barack Obama on Friday to get regional Environmental Protection Agency administrators to back … Continue reading →

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The TxDOT audit

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you will be surprised to learn that TxDOT has a lot of issues. The Texas Department of Transportation should significantly alter its leadership structure, reshuffle its executive ranks and reduce the role engineers play in leading the sprawling … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Here comes the EPA

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No one can say they weren’t warned. Objecting to how Texas regulates air pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it is taking over the issuance of an operating permit for a Corpus Christi refinery and could step in … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More on the UT/Trib poll

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In response to my comments about the UT/Texas Trib poll, pollster James Henson was kind enough to send me the following: The number of independents is a function of how we present the results, not the methodology per se. We … Continue reading →

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Trib poll: Perry 44, White 35

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We finally have a non-Rasmussen result to discuss. Republican Rick Perry leads Democrat Bill White by nine percentage points — 44 percent to 35 percent — in the 2010 race for governor, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune … Continue reading →

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More Enterprise Fund failures

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There sure are a lot of them. Gov. Rick Perry’s office has rewritten three more contracts for companies that are struggling to create the promised number of jobs after getting millions of taxpayer dollars from the Texas Enterprise Fund. The … Continue reading →

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What will climate change legislation cost?

Posted on May 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

My friend Robert Nagle surveys the literature on climate change, specifically analyses of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACESA), also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, and finds estimates for how much it will cost the average … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 , , , , , | 3 Comments

The stalking horse

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Peggy Fikac brings up a familiar point about expanded gambling. [Rob Kohler, a Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission consultant working against gambling expansion] suspects the gambling talk is paving the way for a new push to lease the state lottery … Continue reading →

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Rasmussen: Perry 51, White 38

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last month, Rasmussen published a poll showing Bill White trailing Rick Perry by four points. This month, they claim a 13-point advantage for Perry, giving him his highest level of support and White his lowest since they started polling this … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Perry’s Fiscal Flim-Flam”

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just go read this article/slide show from the Texas Observer about the gap between what Rick Perry says about the state’s finances and the truth. It’s stuff we mostly knew already, but it’s still sobering to see like that. And … Continue reading →

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

White and Parker

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not particularly concerned about this. Gov. Rick Perry has found an unlikely — and apparently unwitting — ally in his effort to paint Bill White as a liberal spendthrift who left Houston in arrears: Mayor Annise Parker. As she … Continue reading →

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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 , , , , | 4 Comments

The unemployment tax and the Enterprise Fund

Posted on May 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that unemployment insurance taxes have gone up, and we know that the increase is more than it would have been had Governor Perry not rejected $555 million in stimulus funds for unemployment insurance. But there’s another way in … Continue reading →

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

O’Neill to resign from Supreme Court

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Supreme Court Justice Harriet O’Neill, who announced last year that she would not run for re-election, has now announced that she will step down from the Court in June. She told Gov. Rick Perry and the other members of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

About that BP safety record, Governor…

Posted on May 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to his silly statement that the BP oil leak in the Gulf was an act of God, Governor Perry also made the curious claim that BP has “historically had a very good safety record from my perspective.” From … Continue reading →

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TxDOT’s shell game

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Sens. Jeff Wentworth and Wendy Davis, and State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon show in this op-ed how TxDOT is trying to move money that the Lege specifically designated for rail to roads. Transportation advocates won a hard-fought victory during … Continue reading →

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It may take an act of God for Rick Perry to admit he was wrong

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry is being questioned about his silly “act of God” comment regarding the BP oil leak in the Gulf, and he’s apparently a mite touchy about it. Look, we all know – clearly Perry does – that “act of … Continue reading →

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Of guns and kittens

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Kirk Watson has the definitive response to the Rick Perry coyote incident. About all that’s missing is music by Ennio Morricone. Just go read it and you’ll see what I mean. Thanks to the Trib for the pointer.

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry blames God for oil leak

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sure is what this sounds like to me. Texas Gov. Rick Perry Monday offered a stern warning against halting oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of a massive oil leak, and he raised the question … Continue reading →

Posted in Skepticism | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Just a reminder about Perry’s unemployment tax increase

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg watches some video of Texas Workforce Commission Executive Director Larry Temple testifying before the Senate and reiterates something we knew. Temple acknowledged Thursday to the Senate Committee on Economic Development that Texas’ decision not to take $556 million … Continue reading →

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The food banks pitch in

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s great that they’re making such a difference. It’s a crime that it took so long and that the problem got to be so bad before they were called in to help. Last year, food banks had to step up … Continue reading →

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Sixty thousand and counting

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In March, the Dallas Morning News wrote about how Rick Perry was running a new kind of campaign. Rick Perry’s campaign has a radical approach that eschews traditional voter turnout efforts in favor of extensive use of social media networks … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Texas rejects high-risk insurance pools

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No big surprise. Gov. Rick Perry told federal officials Friday that Texas would not participate in health insurance pools for high risk individuals that are being set up under the new national health care law. Perry, citing some of the … Continue reading →

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