Perry Appears on ABC’s “This Week”;
Cruz Appeared on Leno Fri; Boston Globe on Cruz’s Harvard Years;
Cornyn Appears on WFAA’s ITP; Cornyn Calls for Sebelius’ Firing;
Abbott, Davis File; Veteran’s Day: Luke’s Wings
******
Howdy readers.
Good early morning from Pittsburgh, PA.
I spent the weekend introducing Suzanne to my extended family and attending Pitt’s basketball season opener, the UT-West Virginia game (we are on track to attend 10 games this year!) and the Steelers-Bills game.
My teams were 3-0 this weekend and I feel at least partially responsible.
The last few days were an unplanned and unexpected break from the daily brief, ending our streak of consecutive emails at 463.
Even Cal Ripken eventually missed a day.
We are back at it tonight and have as much commitment to delivering you with the top Texas news as we did when MRT was founded by Jason Stanford and I on February 13, 2012.
Thank you for your faithfulness, your interest, and most of all, your patience.
—
New AP top 25 poll:
4. Baylor
10. Texas A&M
12. Oklahoma State
22. Oklahoma
23. Texas
Big XII bowl projections.
Here’s the end-of-weekend brief:
PERRY ON ABC’S ‘THIS WEEK’
ABC’s Jeff Zeleny interviewed Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) in Iowa, in a pre-taped interview.
The full transcript is here.
The Hill newspaper covered Perry’s appearance with this story.
My view: The Perry interview was good and bad. On one hand, he re-inserted himself into the 2016 conversation and reminded primary voters that he is a likely candidate with a record. On the other, his appearance was very short on a busy news weekend (Christie, Iran nuclear talks, Obamacare fallout, etc). It was a heavily edited interview and Perry’s answers appeared to be one or two lines because of the editing. Pre-tapes offer a scheduling advantage but an editing disadvantage. Perry should continue to appear on Sunday shows when he can (he will be in South Carolina Tues, Dec. 3, so perhaps the Sun before?) and he should look for an opportunity to appear live, in studio (or via satellite) in an extended fashion so he can continue to counter the perception that he cannot adequately debate issues.
Your absolute must click stories:
> Mayor Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the first time in California on Saturday. (There’s been talk of a Clinton-Castro ticket in 2016)
> U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) appeared on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno Friday. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here.
> The Boston Globe reports on Sen. Cruz’s college days at Harvard Law School.
> U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) appeared on WFAA ABC DALLAS’ “Inside Texas Politics” on Sundaymorning.
> Sen. Cornyn has called for HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ firing.
> The two major candidates for Governor filed for office on Saturday.
VETERANS DAY
Monday, Nov. 11, is Veteran’s Day.
We all choose to celebrate it in our own way — to honor the service and sacrifice of our military, active duty and our Veterans.
I’ve been privileged for the past few years to serve on the Board of Advisers for Luke’s Wings, a DC-based national Veterans nonprofit whose sole mission is reuniting Wounded Warriors with their families at military hospitals around the country.
To date, Luke’s Wings has purchased over 1,400 flights. They can book flights within minutes and have a right of first refusal agreement for all fares with partner American Airlines to ensure maximum cost savings.
If you’re awake, Luke’s Wings’ Jennifer Magerer will appear this morning on Fox and Friends at 6:15am ET / 5:15am CT this morning.
They have now launched their annual “No Soldier Spends the Holidays Alone” program, with a goal of raising $500,000 to book flights.
The average flight costs $300.
Last year, through funds raised in this program, they provided over 200 flights for Wounded Warriors at Christmas time.
If interested, their financials may be found here.
Coverage from last year is here.
To financially support Luke’s Wings, visit http://www.LukesWings.com.
Thanks for considering.
—
#txlege
– AAS’ Ralph Haurwitz reports on a “closed” UT Regents meeting (via phone) slated for Monday, and the House committee investigating Regent Wallace Hall continuing its hearings Tuesday andWednesday.
– KXAN NBC Austin’s Josh Hinkle investigates the appointment power of Gov. Perry.
2013 / 2014 / 2016:
– SAEN’s Peggy Fikac reports (behind paywall) on Republican criticism of recent comments from gubernatorial candidate and State Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) that she is “pro life.”
– Chron’s Mike Morris looks at how the two major candidates for Houston Mayor spent their combined $6.7 million.
– Two Democrats have filed for SD-10, the State Senate seat being vacated by Wendy Davis.
Other stories of interest:
– The growth of oil production at the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas is astonishing.
– SAEN’s Aaron Nelsen reports (behind paywall) that, according to 2012 Census figures, the nation’s two poorest metro areas are in Texas (Brownsville-Harlingen is #1 and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission is #2).
– This weekend’s Formula 1 race is putting an international spotlight (behind paywall) on Austin.
Lighter clicks:
– Drunk college president delivers halftime speech to team.
– A bizarre $280 fine at a San Diego Chargers game.
– Every once in a while, a Hail Mary pass works.
Your Daily Source of Inspiration:
– Balancing being a U.S. Army Veteran and a college football player.
– Thank you, Major Lyles, for your service & your inspiration.
– An 11 year-old Lubbock boy made it his mission to return a Purple Heart he found.
– The 12th Man is one of the great traditions in college football. Watch this.
