The Midday Brief: January 14, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "The dead included some people who had been waiting on the grounds of an adjacent hospital in vain attempts to get treatment. When they died, their bodies were simply dragged next door to the morgue." — Obama Pledges Sweeping Aid Effort; Haiti Red Cross Says Toll May Be 50,000 — New York Times

• "The legislation came after a U.S. Department of Justice report found that the facilities failed to protect residents from harm." — Texas company hired to install cameras in state living centers — Postcards

• " It also found continuing gaps in six-year graduation rates between white and minority students at UT." — University of Texas trails state demographics with minority, low-income students — The Dallas Morning News

• "Don't believe in the economic recovery, Paul warned. It's phony and those who get sucked in are bound to get caught again by the massive losses inevitable in every popping bubble." — The Great Bear of Texas — Forbes

• "Four years ago, Carole Keeton Strayhorn was running for governor of Texas but couldn’t remember the name of the president of Mexico." — Slater: Recalling key moments from Texas debates past — The Dallas Morning News 

New in the Texas Tribune:

• "But the collateral damage would have been a heightened threat to U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, who is always looking over his shoulder." — 2010: A Theory About the Democrats and Waco — Texas Tribune

• “We’re asking people for very large sums and a skirt only gets you so far.” — You've Come a Long Way, Maybe — Texas Tribune