The Midday Brief: Aug. 31, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "Running against the longest-serving governor in Texas history, Bill White is trying to tap into that Lone Star suspicion by calling for gubernatorial term limits. Speaking to the media in Fort Worth this afternoon, he's expected to call for a referendum on whether to limit the governor to two four-year terms." — White calls for term limits, Texas Politics

• "Nepotism charges that have enmeshed veteran Dallas congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson are 'the most recent scandal in (a) long line of Democrat (sic) ethical failures,' the Republican National Committee declared today." — Texan's nepotism case 'the most recent scandal in long line of Democrat ethical failures,' GOP says, Texas on the Potomac

• "President Barack Obama met with soldiers from Fort Bliss today and told them that while the combat in Iraq is over, there is plenty of work to be done to help the Iraqi people." — Obama thanks Fort Bliss soldiers, El Paso Times

• "The White House says Gov. Rick Perry was offered but declined to meet with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and a top adviser to President Barack Obama on border issues." — White House: Perry declined border security meeting, The Associated Press

• "At the request of prosecutors, Texas House officials are halting plans to shred travel vouchers and receipts submitted by state legislators in 2005." — Texas House halts shredding of travel records, The Associated Press

• "Rick Perry is on the inaugural list of 'Dirty Dozen' statewide lawmakers and governors in the country as picked by the League of Conservation Voters. The environmental group has long named a 'Dirty Dozen' in Congress, but is expanding this year to statewides as prospects dim on Capitol Hill for climate change legislation. Perry was included for bucking the EPA on pollution control and supporting coal-fired power plants in the state. In the case of the EPA, Perry's administration is using the EPA for rejecting the state's air-quality program." — Rick Perry among "Dirty Dozen" by League of Conservation Voters, Trail Blazers

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Taking a page out of the Kay Bailey Hutchison handbook, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White called for gubernatorial term limits today." — Bill White Calls for Gubernatorial Term Limits