The Midday Brief: November 5, 2009

Your afternoon reading:

• “Every death penalty case raises big, Biblical themes: vengeance versus mercy, punishment versus redemption, the Old Testament versus the New.” –  Life, death and the prodigal son – Houston Chronicle

• “A debate and vote are expected Saturday on the 10-year, $1.2 trillion bill that would extend coverage to 96 percent of Americans, require employers to insure their employees and bar such insurance company practices as dropping coverage for sick people.” –  Majority leader: House will pass health bill – Associated Press

• “Every day of the week, 94 male immigrants are unloaded from buses at the international bridge in Presidio, where they walk into Ojinaga, Chihuahua.” Presidio officials, county judge, state representative object to program – The Big Bend Sentinel

• “China’s reputation for blocking foreign access to its own burgeoning clean-energy sector has been fueling anger over the planned project in Texas.” – Schumer Seeks to Block Stimulus Money for Chinese-Backed Texas Wind Farm – The New York Times

• “Conservative activists aren't wasting any time in mourning, as one put it, in the wake of their anointed candidate's narrow loss in New York's 23rd Congressional District.” - Florida, Texas, California? Conservative Activists Mull Their Next Stand – Politics Daily

• “The internal investigation found three officers, who received suspensions ranging from one to three days, violated department policies, but cleared them of allegations that they used excessive force.” –  Fort Worth police suspend officers after Rainbow Lounge investigation - The Dallas Morning News

New in The Texas Tribune:

• “In modern-day Texas (and the country as a whole), a lot of ordinary people like to think of themselves as political independents.” –  The Polling Center: Are Texas Independents Really All That Independent?  – The Texas Tribune

• “Of all the tales of restraints gone wrong I heard while reporting this story on Texas special education students, this one is the worst.” – TribBlog: Restraints: A gut-wrenching case – The Texas Tribune