The Midday Brief: November 17, 2009

Your morning reading:

• “There was some question about whether Hutchison’s Senate schedule would let her be there, but she is going to be able to attend.” — Hutchison will appear with Cheney, but later than scheduled — Postcards

• “Whether you like it or not, your local tax dollars are subsidizing an effort to effectively gut the state's open meetings laws.” —Bye-Bye Sunshine: Texas Cities Fight Open Meetings —Empower Texans

• “I have to wonder what was the purpose behind the timing of a DPS press release issued today?” — DPS to parents: Your kid could become a Mexican cartel assassin if you don't watch out — Grits for Breakfast

• “This morning, Texas Sen. John Cornyn declared that Nidal Hasan was "compelled by a fanatical religious ideology" and that the 13 shooting deaths were likely the result of Islamic terrorism.” — Cornyn calls Fort Hood shootings likely terrorism, Hill probes advance — Texas on the Potomac

• “The ruling by Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin, the latest in a years-long case, is for far less than the $1 billion that consumer advocates recommended, and one called it a "joke." — State Farm ordered to pay Texas homeowners $310 million for overcharging — The Dallas Morning News

• “The Texas Lottery Commission today took a step toward expanding the state's gambling options to include Powerball.” — Powerball! — Texas Politics

New in The Texas Tribune:

• “This transportation funding quagmire is fodder for campaign web videos.” — HuTube: The Transportation Funding Quagmire — The Texas Tribune

• “The candidates get just 140 characters for each post on Twitter, the popular microblogging site, but their short dispatches do reveal patterns over time.” — The GOP Primary in 140 Characters — The Texas Tribune

• “Sixteen of the facility’s 40 “critical” health care positions were vacant, leaving one staff doctor and two dozen nurses to care for nearly 1,400 detainees.  The complex had no psychiatrist and no dentist, and was short 11 nurses.” — Detaining Care, Part Two: Health Scare — The Texas Tribune