The Midday Brief: July 14, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "Gov. Rick Perry responded today to a federal lawsuit targeting his Christian prayer summit, saying he's going forward with the day-long event despite some claims that it violates the separation of church and state. 'Maybe people would want to lock me up,' Perry said on a Family Research Council radio show. 'I think about those who talk about Christian faith as being intolerant. Isn't it just the height of intolerance to say you can't gather together in public and pray to our God?'" — Perry says those who oppose his prayer summit are "intolerant," Trail Blazers

• "I would have said no, until Newsweek unleashed its megacoverage of Sarah Palin. She hints broadly that she is looking at running and that she can win. Palin eclipses Perry in every way — name ID, loyal following, fundraising ability, celebrity status. The Palin buzz created by Newsweek stepped all over the Perry buzz, which hasn’t been very loud recently." — Has Perry waited too long?, BurkaBlog

• "A little-known movement of radical Christians and self-proclaimed prophets wants to infiltrate government, and Rick Perry might be their man." — Rick Perry's Army of God, The Texas Observer

• "Maverick PAC, the Texas-based group of young Republican donors, is going national.  The organization that sprang up during President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election has established a presence in California, Florida, Washington, D.C. and also has its eye on Illinois and the interior west, according to co-chairman George P. Bush, who’s the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush." — Bush young donor PAC launches nationally, Politico
  

• "The remarkable growth of Latinos nationwide … is center stage as maps are being drawn in states with large Latino populations like Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois and Texas. But it also is playing a role at the local level elsewhere, in political maps for state legislatures, town councils, and even school boards." — Latinos Surge but May Not Win Equal Political Clout, The New York Times

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Even as it is coping with deep reductions to its own budget, the Texas Education Agency faces criticism from school districts and lawmakers, although not necessarily for the same reasons — vivid evidence of the pressure on the TEA." — A Battered Texas Education Agency Faces Competing Demands

• "Rais Bhuiyan is suing Gov. Rick Perry to stop the state from executing the man who shot him in the head 10 years ago." — Victim Sues to Stop Murderer's Execution