The Midday Brief: Oct. 28, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "Sen. Dan Patrick — the Houston Republican who earlier announced the founding of the Independent Conservative Republicans of Texas to reach out to Tea Party activists and independents — now says he's joining with other lawmakers to create the Tea Party Caucus." — Because Independent Conservative Republicans just aren't Tea Party enough?, Texas Politics

• "He deserved what he got, but I’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 don’t vote." — The Kino Flores verdict, BurkaBlog

• "Mexican newspapers have reported that an American man visiting his daughter in Nuevo Laredo was shot by members of the Mexican army early Tuesday." — Reports: Texan shot by Mexican army in Nuevo Laredo, Houston Chronicle

• "'There is no doubt we are going to lose heavily in the upcoming election. There is a negative attitude in the country. A lot of what President Obama has proposed and accomplished has been completely distorted by news media and others. But it may be there are some beacons of hope.'" — Former President Jimmy Carter: 'No doubt' Democrats will take heavy losses on Election Day, The Dallas Morning News

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." — Raymund Paredes Proposes New Funding Formula