The Midday Brief: January 12, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "But one of her proposals would make her taking an oath of office interesting — the part where the newly elected governor gets to say he/she will "to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of this state." — Debra Medina says Texas should ignore some U.S. treaties — TRAIL BLAZERS

 • "TYC's sex offender and violent offender treatment programs appear to have quite positive recidivism results, while the agency's now-replaced chemical dependency treatment was a flat-out failure...” — Report: TYC substance abuse treatment increased recidivism — Grits for Breakfast

• “Perry has been so often viewed as a caricature that many Texans have failed to recognize his talent. The fact is that no Republican has so ably surfed the wave of populist anger that has swept through the party in the past year.” — Right Place, Right Time — Texas Monthly

• “Uppermost on Abbott's list of concerns about the bill are the so-called Nebraska compromise and a requirement that individuals obtain health insurance or face penalties.” — Abbott, some scholars disagree on constitutionality of health care plan — Austin American-Statesman

• “If just half of the dropouts in the class of 2008 had graduated on time, it could have meant as much as $197 million a year in average increased annual earnings for those approximately 14,500 students, according to the study.” — Monetary bonus placed on reduction of North Texas dropouts — Fort Worth Star-Telegram

• “Experts all predict Republicans will gain seats this year, and with the flood of Democrat retirements, we could be in a position to take over the majority in Congress.” — Rep. Pete Sessions: takeover of House “no longer just wishful thinking” for Republicans — TRAIL BLAZERS

New in the Texas Tribune:

• “Of the 10 school districts that reported the most restraints of disabled students in 2008, all but one saw fewer restraints in 2009. “ — Still Restrained — Texas Tribune

• "If districts can convince strong teachers from higher performing schools to transfer to the toughest urban campuses, will they be able to hack it?" — TribBlog: Can cash for teachers fix poor schools? — Texas Tribune

• "[T]he Texas business community must step up to the plate as a critical friend of education by demanding first-class education and first-class results." — Guest Column: The 2010 Agenda: Busines — Texas Tribune