The Midday Brief: Oct. 29, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "It isn't often you'll see Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D) and a Tea Party group agree on something. But that's just what happened on Thursday when a lawyer representing a Tea Party-backed True the Vote project wrote the Justice Department to request federal poll monitors come to Harris County, Texas." — Tea Partiers Join Rep. Jackson Lee In Calling For Federal Election Monitors In TX, Talking Points Memo

• "Across the state, early voting numbers are up. If recent trends hold, more than half of all voters will vote early rather than on Tuesday. But some recent research suggests that having an early voting option may not actually be improving turnout in Texas." — All this early voting is good for turnout, right?, PoliTex

• "As a nonprofit 501(c)4 corporation, King Street Patriots (KSP) should be allowed to engage in electioneering without disclosing donors or registering as a political committee, and Texas laws to the contrary are unconstitutional, said the Indiana attorney who put together the pivotal U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United campaign finance case." — Citizens United attorney says Texas law cited against King Street Patriots is unconstitutional, The Texas Independent

• "Bush reveals that he gave the order to shoot down planes in U.S. airspace on Sept. 11, 2001. Initially, when jetliners seized by terrorists barreled into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, U.S. authorities had no idea how many other planes had been taken over and might be used as lethal missiles." — Drudge Report: Bush memoir says he ordered planes shot from skies on 9/11, Trail Blazers

• "The Daughters of the Republic of Texas have hired a director at the Alamo after leaving the position vacant for nearly 10 months." — Daughters of the Republic of Texas move to hire Michael Dutton as Alamo director, The Dallas Morning News

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "As the nation's shuttle program moves toward its scheduled end next year, observers are asking: What's next for manned space exploration? Ben Philpott reports on how federal funding changes for NASA will determine the answer." — What's Next for Manned Space Exploration?