Top Stories: Remember, there’s no waste/cronyism in TX public schools

• $800,000 in fraud identified at San Antonio ISD – Brian Collister, WOAI News
• CCISD conflict of interest debate gets much hotter – Curt Olson, Texas Budget Source
• Texas Watchdog editor responds to 'unethical' accusations by Paula Harris, Houston ISD – Trent Seibert, Texas Watchdog
• Lawsuit challenges Texas public school funding – Gary Scharrer, Houston Chronicle
  Isn’t it neat how bloated school districts, teachers unions, and other special interests manipulate the legal system in an effort to thwart decisions by elected officials?

Recommended

• Building Permanent Debt – Michael Quinn Sullivan, Empower Texans
• Lawsuits still pouring in to beleaguered Texas windstorm agency as TWIA reform bill kicks in – Steve Miller, Texas Watchdog
  The Mostyn Law Firm is still advertising hard for these sorts of cases in the Houston area.
• Harris jail noncompliance caused by using pretrial detention to coerce plea deals – Grits for Breakfast
• TX GOP controversy – Weston Hicks, AgendaWise Reports
• Ascension Update – Daniel Greer, AgendaWise Reports
• Occupy Colleges plans second day of action – Mary Tuma, Texas Independent
  It’s surprising that the motivated young liberals at Texas Independent weren’t too busy occupying to be “reporting.”
• In El Paso, an Epic Clash of Political Titans – Brandi Grissom, Texas Tribune
  Anybody else think that headline is just a touch overblown?

Perry for Prez

• About last night (at the Republican presidential debate) – Jonah Goldberg, The American
  

  What has come through about Perry is that he hasn’t spent years plotting, thinking, maneuvering to be President of the United States. I think this speaks very well of his character. But it is also a major liability when going up against a guy like Mitt Romney, whose definition of relaxation is to do extra credit homework assignments.

• The Perry Performance – Erick Erickson, RedState
• After another bad debate, is Rick Perry finished? – Byron York, Washington Examiner
  No, but he’s still on life support. This format was horrible, Republican candidates for President should never put themselves in the situation of having to answer to the likes of sneering lefty journo Karen Tumulty again, and nobody was watching this hidden channel. That said, when about the best defense of a candidate’s performance you can muster is that nobody saw it, that’s not ideal.
• A Slow but Unsteady Debate for Perry – Nate Silver, NYTimes.com
• Rick Perry dings rivals, but latest Republican debate largely passes him by – Todd Gillman, Dallas Morning News
• Rick Perry is in­cred­ibly bad at debates – Jonathan Bernstein, Washington Post
• Perry on the Ropes? – Beth Reinhard, National Journal

• Cruz, Dewhurst Trade Punches – Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog
• Wrong to use taxpayer money to sue state – Curt Olson, Texas Budget Source
• Perry raises $17.1 million in Q3 – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
• Perry, others boycott Univision debate over Rubio handling – Marc Caputo, Miami Herald
• Perry hunting camp among many Texas places with racially charged names – Tim Eaton, Austin American-Statesman
• Silence and Shrugs Follow the Perry Hunting Camp Story – Mark Benjamin, Time
• Chris Christie troubled by hunting camp sign but says he doesn't know enough about it to judge Perry – Ryan Rusak, Trail Blazers Blog
  Smart answer. Herman Cain should have given that answer initially, although he has walked back to something very similar.
• A Personal Note to Senator Fosdick – Ed Hubbard, Big Jolly Politics
• State outsourced allocation of federal disaster recovery funds to firm with ties to Perry – Brenda Bell, Austin American-Statesman
  This is an interesting story not so much substantively (it could have used a stronger editorial hand), but from the perspective of a Texas political media observer. Recall that the investigative/watchdog journalism group Texas Watchdog reported on problems with the Texas state housing program in August. The vaunted Texas Tribune responded with… a dismissive piece (see link and comment under Recommended) allowing bureaucrats to pooh-pooh the idea of problems at the agency. And now, the Statesman follows with a piece that doesn’t reference the earlier Watchdog reporting, and tries to play a Perry/Cronyism angle using a few weak quotes from federal bureaucrats (whose ultimate boss hasn’t been the most friendly president towards Texas).