The Midday Brief: July 5, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "In recent years, Mr. Perry has broken politically with Mr. Bush, questioning his credentials as a fiscal conservative, accusing him of going on 'a big government binge' and playing down some of Mr. Bush’s accomplishments in Texas in light of his own." — Perry Breaks With a Fellow Texan: Bush, The New York Times

• "[State Sen. Dan Patrick] remains a drive-time, right-wing talk show host in Houston and Dallas. Meanwhile, though, with hard work and with a quick mind, he has transformed himself into a serious lawmaker and influential policy leader who could ride tea party zeitgeist all the way to Washington." — Talk show host becomes a force in state Senate, Houston Chronicle

• "San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, the rising Democratic star whose White House potential is already the stuff of political forecasting, co-headlined a recent gathering of Hispanic leaders and blasted the immigration agenda of Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Republicans as the most 'anti-Latino' in a generation." — San Antonio's high-profile mayor content with job, The Associated Press

• "The seemingly routine occurrence of Willie Nelson’s being found in possession of marijuana has stoked a small conflagration in a Texas county where a judge says she will not permit what she sees as the lenient punishment of this singer by an overly deferential prosecutor." — Case of Willie Nelson Pot Bust Isn’t Extinguished Yet, The New York Times

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether this will be the last special session, how many lawmakers will return for another term and what issues from the session will play in the elections next year." — Inside Intelligence: In Closing...

• "Michael Crosno is working on lowering the cost of higher education by applying pressure from the outside. He is not a policy wonk. He is a businessman who has built and sold a string of successful companies. His latest is called MyEdu." — Attacking the Cost of College, From the Outside