The Midday Brief: Feb. 9, 2012

Your afternoon reading:

• "Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, in the course of a powerfully delivered indictment of the Obama administration on Thursday, managed to slip in a response to that Chrysler ad that ran during the Super Bowl, called 'It’s Halftime in America,' in which Clint Eastwood extolled the recovery of the auto industry. … Mr. Perry drew chuckles from the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington when he said, 'I’m fearful of what the final score is going to be if we let this president start the second half.'" — Rick Perry Jokes About Chrysler’s Super Bowl Ad. The Punch Line: Obama., The New York Times
  

• "Gov. Rick Perry met with most of the Republicans in Texas' delegation to the U.S. House for about one hour on Thursday morning. After the meeting, which was closed to the press, Perry said the discussion was 'pretty straight forward.' 'We just talked about the issues that are affecting Texas, making sure that we keep our focus on the 10th Amendment, making sure that we don't create any more debt,' he said." — Perry meets with GOP Congress members from Texas, The Dallas Morning News

• "A Super PAC supporting Paul has pledged to monitor the vote in all the remaining states, using an army of exit pollsters to fight what it calls results that are 'outrageous, unacceptable and patently un-American.' … The leader of the group, its founder, chairman and treasurer, is Gary Franchi, a promoter of conspiracy theories and sophisticated social-media entrepreneur in the resurgent movement known as the Patriots." — Super PAC supporting Ron Paul is operated by a 9/11 'truther,' NBC News

• "The Dallas school district took about 5,700 fifth-grade boys this morning to see a new movie about African-American fighter pilots in World War II, but female students were excluded. Busloads of Dallas school children began arriving at the AMC Mesquite 30 theater around 10 a.m. this morning to watch Red Tails about the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of black American male pilots who flew missions in World War II. But girls were kept from seeing the movie." — Dallas ISD fifth grade boys are seeing Red Tails right now -- but girls were excluded, The Dallas Morning News

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Gov. Rick Perry targeted 'left-wing, pro-abortion radicals' in a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, blaming the Obama administration for the state’s stand-off over the Women’s Health Program." — Perry Targets "Left-Wing, Pro-Abortion Radicals" in CPAC Speech

• "Animal protection organizations are pushing for legislation in Texas that further regulates ownership of exotic animals as pets, but one East Texas resident says she'll fight to keep her 22-year-old African lion." — Humane Society Wants Tougher Exotic Pet Rules

• "Under the new rules, tenured UT System faculty members will receive two kinds of post-tenure reviews: yearly reviews and 'comprehensive reviews' that will occur at least every six years." — UT Regents Vote to Revamp Review Process for Professors