The Midday Brief: Sept. 8, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "The Rick Perry camp says it's figured out why Bill White won't release his tax returns from the mid-1990s. It's because he didn't pay any taxes in 1995 while serving as deputy secretary of Energy." — Will Claytie haunt Bill White?, Texas Politics

• "State social services czar Tom Suehs says Texas has greatly reduced overpayment, underpayment and wrongful denials of food stamps. He predicted today that the state and federal food stamp officials will work out a deal to reduce a nearly $4 million fine that the feds levied against Texas in June." — Suehs predicts deal on Texas' food stamp fine, Trail Blazers

• "This information will come as no surprise to those of us who were in the hearing room for the House Appropriations Committee’s interrogation of the governor’s staff last spring about the performance of the Enterprise Fund and the Emerging Technology Fund." — Texans for Public Justice: Enterprise Fund fails to meet job targets, BurkaBlog

• "Former President George W. Bush addressed about 700 people at a fundraiser for scholarships for the Tarrant County College Foundation Tuesday in downtown Fort Worth." — Bush: "Remember the guy who threw the shoe?", PoliTex

• "Back to Basics Political Action Committee, the group funded by Democratic trial lawyer Steve Mostyn, went on television today with a new ad attacking Gov. Rick Perry for allowing home insurance rates to skyrocket." — New Back to Basics Ad Hits Perry on Insurance Rates

• "Republican Bill Flores released his second television ad today in his race to unseat incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco." — Bill Flores Attacks Chet Edwards for Unemployment

• Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill White promises 1,000 more security officers on the Texas-Mexico border in his latest TV spot, appropriately titled "Border." — Bill White TV Ad: "Border"