State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, speaking during a Senate Committee on Education hearing on July 20, 2010. He is the Vice Chair of the committee.
State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, speaking during a Senate Committee on Education hearing on July 20, 2010. He is the Vice Chair of the committee. Spencer Selvidge

Your afternoon reading:

  • “Sen. Dan Patrick โ€” the Houston Republican who earlier announced the founding of the Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas to reach out to Tea Party activists and independents โ€” now says he’s joining with other lawmakers to create the Tea Party Caucus.” โ€” Because Independent Conservative Republicans just aren’t Tea Party enough?, Texas Politics
  • “He deserved what he got, but Iโ€™m not going to celebrate it. Political corruption and scandal rub off on everybody in politics and diminish what little respect the public has. It is particularly cruel when it happens in South Texas, because ordinary people need help from government, but they have no faith in it, and so they donโ€™t vote.” โ€” The Kino Flores verdict, BurkaBlog

New in The Texas Tribune:

  • “Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes wants to change the way public universities and colleges are funded in Texas. Today, at a meeting of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, he will lay out his latest plan to do just that.” โ€” Raymund Paredes Proposes New Funding Formula

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David Muto was the editor of TribTalk, The Texas Tribune's opinion page. He is also the Tribune's copy editor. A Richardson native, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned degrees...