The Midday Brief: Nov. 11, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "In an aggressive move to pull his campaign out of the trough that was his Wednesday night debate performance, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has effectively bought himself a chunk of the Fox News Channel, purchasing nearly $1 million of advertising time on the network." — Perry Makes Aggressive Ad Buy on Fox News, The New York Times

• "Prosecutors in Texas say they have opened an investigation into whether former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky should be charged with sexual assault of a boy in Texas." — Texas checking possible case linked to Penn State scandal, Reuters

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "In and of itself, Rick Perry's latest debate gaffe really was just a human moment. Might have happened to anyone. But it’s not a lone symptom: Perry has been failing at this presidential thing almost since he started." — Perry Proves the Maxim: Playing in the Big Leagues is Hard

• "For those not as fortunate as U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin — Congress's wealthiest member — a low net worth poses a challenge: Maintaining one home in the district and another in Washington is tough." — Must You Be a Millionaire to Serve in the People's House?

• "On The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the host dubbed Gov. Rick Perry's debate flub 'the Dope Diamond.' That's right before he unleashed team coverage of the governor's 'brain explosive diarrhea' — and the unintended consequences for excited 'newsmen.'" — Video: Daily Show Dubs Perry's "Oops" Moment the "Dope Diamond"

• "Hey, Texplainer: One of the federal agencies Rick Perry managed to remember during Wednesday's GOP debate is the U.S. Department of Education. He says he wants to close it. But what exactly would that mean?" — Texplainer: What Would Happen if the U.S. Dept. of Education was Abolished?