The Midday Brief: Dec. 22, 2010

Your afternoon reading:

• "This is a major endorsement. Tom Craddick still has a lot of friends on the floor, and Beverly Woolley, as Craddick’s chair of Calendars, was part of his inner circle. Woolley is currently vice-chair of the Tea Party Caucus, and her endorsement of Straus should put to rest the furor over whether he is a 'true' conservative." — Beverly Woolley endorses Straus for speaker, BurkaBlog

• "There's a big asterisk on the 55 percent birth rate figure. A lot of that hails from parents who are legal and illegal immigrants. So we can safely say that Texas' growth is largely fueled by immigration — direct or indirect." — Illegal immigrants help Texas gain 4 House seats, Houston Chronicle

• "State Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington) has filed legislation that would abolish Texas law granting in-state tuition to certain undocumented college students. The 2001 law, written by then-state Rep. Rick Noriega (D-Houston), was a precursor to the federal DREAM Act recently defeated by GOP members of the U.S. Senate." — Kleinschmidt bill would repeal Texas precursor to DREAM Act, The Texas Independent

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "State Rep. Beverly Woolley, R-Houston, threw her support to House Speaker Joe Straus today, putting an important member of former Speaker Tom Craddick's team on the incumbent's side." — Woolley Will Support Straus for Speaker

• "U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, speaks out against 'don't ask, don't tell' with an story about his time in the military — when an 'overt homosexual' soldier misread a signal, apparently, and went to the wrong 'straight' soldier’s bunk." — On House Floor, Gohmert Recalls Gay Soldier Snubbing