look at over the past nine years the texas texas really has to worry about c.e.o.'s because c.e.o.'s have been seen seeming to do quite well why that doesn't seem to be the problem i don't mean to focus on the c.e.o.'s but what i need to focus on is texas is the most attractive place to do business for the people that decide where to locate companies and this relates to jobs and that's why over the last five years texas has created more jobs than every other states combined it's a remarkable record that's why you have. them going nation maybe you would expect that because actual unemployment rate has risen. it's still well below the national average i would have been twenty three states have a better one so why are we looking at those states that have better and i think i think you'll see i mean there's still things they can do they can lower the tax burden more they can i mean everything is good relatively if everything perfect no but i think they've done a lot of good things it's predictable regulatory regime low taxes and then also things like tort reform just th

texas gain more jobs in june and this year than any other state in the country that the texas models added thirty seven percent of all net u.s. jobs since the recovery began why it will proponents say it's the free market it's a business friendly climate no state income tax regulatory conditions are contained and flexible. it's considered fiscally responsible and government is small it's a nonunion state as well now critics say these arguments are both good for a state that has one of the worst budget shortfalls in the country a rate of unemployment that has been on the rise and of fiscally responsible government policy that included filling holes with federal bailout money there to help me evaluate the truth is practically thankee is state affairs manager at americans for tax reform so my first question of course is do you think texas is a model of what works yeah i think you could say certainly what it's done in many respects economically certainly creation is a model for the states not only other states but for the federal government but unemployment has risen in texas and if ther

especÍficamente a texas y su legislaciÓn.ble. >> que se revise bien el caso, que no maten a un inocente. si fuera culpable, como ley, no somos nadie para quitarle la vida a alguien. >> si estados unidos estÁ pidiendo justicia de otros paÍses, lo mÍnimo que puede hacer es dar la misma justicia que ellos estÁn pidiendo. >> los presidentes de estados unidos y mÉxico han pedido a texas que retrase o bloquee la ejecuciÓn. pero desestimaron el predio, se ha demostrado que texas se ha equivocado, varios condenados a la pena capital demostraron su inocencia. >> nos va a daÑar internacionalmente. tambiÉn los americanos que estÁn presos en otros paÍses. >> maÑana se espera una manifestaciÓn en favor del mexicano en las afueras de la cÁrcel. >> texas ejecuta a mÁs delincuentes que cualquier otro estado del paÍs. ha causado muchas fricciones con mÉxico que no tiene pena de muerte. otro mexicano, pese a las objeciones del entonces presidente. >> ahora para hablar un poco mÁs del tema, nos acompaÑa el abogado y activista por los derechos d

estado de texas.consulado mexicano. y eso bajo la ley internacional. bajo la convención. y esto es el peligro aquí. >>> cuandoh@r qué dice? el gobierno del presidente obama y 4 países incluso. an tratado de intervenir para salvar lno i-ed.nda. ¿por qué ha sidan dif? >>> bueno, el pema es, que el gobernador de texas el tiene la autoridad de parar esta que aquí en el estado de texas. ya ha pasado h@univisionnot unin ionama yt uni-oct.nno represent comisión de las naciones unidas han mandado un aviso a la comisión. de que n sig con la pena de muerte. >>> todavía hay tiempo para que el gobernador rick perry pueda intervenir y se detenga esta ejecución ¿es posible que esto h@ >>> todavía tiempo h el último minuto entonces, el gobernador perry tiene el poder de pararoct. est y está en sus manos, pero mbién corteh@uedet uni-oct. interv y eso es lo que se espera aquí. el punto no es si la persona es culpable o no culpable. el punto es que hay leyes internacionales. que no se siguen. y por el estado que siguie

today and more seem to be on the horizon what model can we look to for salvation will some tell the texas miracle is the success story to recreate one look at one look behind the rhetoric and what's really going on we will have all of that and more on tonight's show but first what did the mainstream media miss. well the debt debate may seem like the only thing going on in the war old if you watch the three cable news channels with each tiny political move and navy and key words being spoken in p.r. stunt being made by lawmakers being followed very closely like it is the most important thing in the world. so you have house speaker john boehner trying to wrangle enough votes to get his plan through the house and he said first of all it's time for the senate to move whatever's going on in the house is a sideshow it's meaningless so the senate needs to move now nancy is a letter once again to d.c. just so we can show you some live pictures the g.o.p. is the emerging from a behind closed doors they're having a meeting about what's going to happen with his dinner bill. live pictures of lawmaker

but not in texas, not in rick perry's texas. in 2005, the george w. bush administration ordered states to follow this law. rick perry said no. the supreme court said the only way to enforce the law is for congress to take action. so the obama administration took the very rare step of the federal government wading into a state criminal case. not over the issue of whether or not the prisoner was innocent or guilty, but over whether or not texas could kill him. without ever letting him get help from his home government. john ballinger, a lawyer who served the state department in the george w. bush department, arguing in this case, it should be obvious to anyone, including officials in texas, that if americans, including texans, are arrested and detained in some other country and the united states complains they have not been given their consular notice, it will be pointed out to us that the united states does not comply with our own international obligations on this. it cuts the legs out from under the state department, he said. to make arguments on beha

can it quench a texas-size drought? >>> also, a military town on edge yet again after police expose what they say was a plot to kill soldiers at ft. hood, texas. for families there, a frightening sense of deja vu. >>> and he never gave up hope. a pilot shares his epic struggle, treading water for 18 hours lost on the great lakes. >>> and good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm tanya rivero. >>> texas is eagerly awaiting the arrival of tropical storm don. >> it's now on track to make landfall along the southeast texas coast tonight or tomorrow morning with winds topping 65 miles an hour. as you can imagine, people are along the texas coast are getting ready. >> but believe it or not, it is not expected to put a dent in the historic drought. parts of the state are 15 inches short of their average r rnfall abc's matt gutman shows us how bad it is. >> reporter: these soybean plants would normally be about chest high this time of year. instead, the tracks in the soil here are about waist deep. >> well, just how m

hood in texas.muslim-american private was arrested. police say he planned to kill soldiers outside the base. army major nadal hassan is accused of killing 13 fellow soldiers at ft. hood, just two years ago. >>> and tropical storm don is expected to hit the texas gulf coast around midnight tonight. heavy rain is going to be welcome in texas where the entire state is dealing with a severe drought. so some people are hoping that it works well, but i got to tell you, hard to balance wanting rain but not wanting the damage that comes with a tropical storm. >> back to our top story this morning, house speaker john boehner will try to entice a few conservative holdouts to support his debt ceiling plan, a plan he hopes to plan some time today. joining me from capitol hill is one of the republican holdouts, congressman from south carolina. good morning congressman. thank you for joining us this morning. what do you need to see from the house speaker and from his plan to get you on board? >> i think speaker b

governor perry talk about the texas economy in his first speech to a texas audience. the governor and about 15 minutes, but first, the address by mayor caster. at age 35, he is the youngest mayor in the 15 largest cities in the u.s. he discussed why it is the best of times and worst of times for hispanics. >> good afternoon. let's begin by giving a big round of applause for trey fisher. i live in his district. thank you for the introductions. forest we don't need 36 or 37 latino he will get the job done in austin. welcome to america's seventh largest city. the second largest in texas, the fifth fastest growing city in the united states. i want to ta a moment to really thank sylvia garcia, arturo vargas, all of the naleo board members and each and every one of you who are here for coming down to san antonio today and the next few days to be part of a very special conference. all of us, as elected officials, i know, have a million different things going on, very busy lives, but i believe this conference will be well worth your time, your energy and effort. it's an excit

here is texas. there's don. forecast is somewhere around corpus christi, will spread some rainfall. the problem is not its size, but that it's moving so fast. moving at almost 15, 20 miles per hour. if it continues to move that fast, you want these things to stop and just rain for a long time. if it moves that fast, by the time, it would be in new mexico, here it comes. all the way -- the cone as we call it. almost to houston, but not quite, all the way down to brownsville. i think the storm is trying to turn up its way, but it's not, staying south to the path, so take the rainfall when you can get it. victoria, kings ranch, all those areas there, they could use a lot more. >> bring it on, chad myers. thanks so much. >>> coming up next, a bombshell at the warren jeffs trial. the polyga. >>> plus the mama drama with this hollywood actress. why she's suing her own mother, but if you are in the market for a new car this year, we have a look at america's best loved automobiles according to j.d. powers & associates.

in texas i'm sure nobody is complaining about those. i love when liberals try to make conservative utopia where severing going wrong and they are adding jobs. look we have terrible unemployment but texas is really in bad shape. come on. you have a strong argument shep. >> bill: texas is in good shape. there is a desscrep city between white collar and blue collar. >> health technology jobs. important point. coming from places like california that's losing them because they are not being competitive. >> bill: much cheap tore live in texas, particularly south texas than it is up here in the north and california. you both agree once perry gets, in romney's numbers are going to come down and is he going to hurt romney. that's the guy that's going to get hurt. >> remember, at this point, bill, money counts big time and rick perry has demonstrated the ability to raise money. >> bill: i mean, he can get texas money, no doubt. >> the crazy part about him is he is a guy who once said let texas accede from the rest of the country. >> bill: he wasn

hood, texas. he faces charges in a plot against the army post where 13 people were killed in a mass shooting less than two years ago. the muslim-american soldier admits planning a terrorist attack. joel brown reports. >> reporter: u.s. law enforcement sources tell cbs news that 21-year-old army private nasser abdo admits he was seeking retaliation for what he says the army did to him. they say he intended to attack the sprawling army post at ft. hood in texas. >> i'll just say that military personnel were a target of this suspect. >> reporter: in 2009 a shooting rampage at ft. hood left 13 dead and 30 others injured but on wednesday a suspicious clerk at this gun shop near the base may have been the difference in preventing another tragedy. the clerk tipped off police after abdo asked for advice on building explosives. he tried to buy weapons and six canisters of smokeless gun powder. >> the first red flag is when he asked kathy, "what is smokeless powder?" if you don't know what it is, why would

how has he run the state of texas?st interest has the state of texas been run while perry was governor? >> fair to say that rick perry is truly a special interest governor. that's who he's serving, it's not we the people of texas. you can trace it. look at the hpv vaccine, he passed an order that would mandate an hpv vaccine for all 6th grade girls in texas, and he did it for $6,000 campaign check from the drug company, merk. the lobbyist turned around, worked for rick perry at one time, and then got the trans-texas corridor rights granted to his former employer. the revolving door is clear on a bunch of issues, not just on the trans-texas corridor, that just is one that started our grass roots group. he's got more corporate welfare slush funds than i can counted. i mean, we have all kinds of money to increase perry's corporate slush funds, but not enough money to fund government, as you were talking about in our -- in your opening. our budget was balanced on accounting tricks. last biennium's budget was balanced on st

of texas. i'm very interested in rick perry. >> who's your dream candidate to get into the race? >> i would love for rick perry to get into it. >> this man needs to be president. >> stephen: (as last speaker) i complete... ahem. i completely agree. this man needs to be president. we haven't had a texas governor in the white house for almost three years! think of all the uncleared brush we've built up! (laughter) and, folks, perry may be going for it because on august 6 he is holding a rally called "the response." >> this is governor rick perry and i'm inviting you to join your fellow americans in a day of prayer and fasting on behalf of our nation. with the economy in trouble, communities in crisis, and people adrift in a sea of moral relativism, we need god's help. i sincerely hope you'll join me in houston on august 6 and take your place in reliance stadium with praying people asking god's forgiveness. >> stephen: yes! come pray and fast at reliant stadium. but bring your wallet because at n.

it's heading in the general direction of the south texas coast. you're safe in florida, you're save in louisiana, mississippi and alabama. this is heading to the southeast. here's the track just in from the national hurricane center. you notice the timing of it, it's going to take it today into the center of the gulf, and then towards the texas coast late friday night into early saturday morning. there will be a landfall, it's not a big deal, with a weak storm system you're not going to have the eye of the hurricane or anything like that. it's just, that's when the center will cross. we'll watch that on radar. it looks like, houston, you're out of the cone of uncertainty. that's this yellow cone. it should come onshore around corpus christi or brownsville and then it will dissipate as it moves into the mountainous terrain. here's how the computer models, each of these squigly lines represents each computer, and an almost unanimous decision, it will take us south to corpus christi. only one of our computers is hinting on a northward's track. in the

like these sunflowers, they've all wilted in the texas drought. in west texas, where people can't remember the last time it rained, they still somehow have a sense of humor about it. but make no mistake. this is a serious drought. large lakes that supply drinking water to west texas cities are mere puddles. in this lake, less than 1% of the water is left. pump stations are high and dry. with lakes and water tanks running dangerously low, cities are desperate to find new sources of water. and one may have found it in an unlikely if not unpleasant source. sewage water. the city of big spring is so desperate for water, it's building a plant to recycle its sewage. >> the quality of water that we're going to be producing from the production facility is essentially water that you could deliver to somebody's tap. >> reporter: fresh or not, for : now it's the only water in sight as the dry texas wind brings no rain. charles hadlock, nbc news, big spring, texas. >>> in the horn of africa, refugees from somalia continue to flee the famine in that country to

just hours ago here in north texas, a man died. emergency officials say they found him in a house with no air conditioning. diane. >> yungi, thank you for reporting in tonight from that dry lake bed. >>> and, next, there are a lot of ways americans are expressing worry and frustration at the squabbling politicians letting the debt deadline take the economy to the brink. and one big message was delivered today. the markets, the dow dropped almost 100 points, as worried investors pulled out. they're watching that clock, you see, right there, ticking down to the august 2nd deadline for a debt deal. and in another scramble for safety, people are rushing to invest in gold. prices up as never seen before. here's abc's john berman. >> reporter: the partisanship, politicking and lack of progress in washington might already be taking a toll on your personal bank account and 40101 the stock drop today -- the first sign investors are saying, "we're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore." >> the impatience and frustration is clea

soldier arrested in texas with an arsenal of guns and explosives. allegedly planning an attack on an army base, foiled by a former cop with a hunch. >>> secret plan. the white house scrambles to create a financial survival kit for the nation, as the debt ceiling deadline approaches and the wrangling rachets up. >>> too much tylenol? major changes tonight for anyone who takes the best-selling pain reliever. the important new information about how much you should take. >>> and golden achiever. we'll tell you the story of a scruffy dog who made an unauthorized run in a marathon and won much more than the race. >>> good evening. a u.s. soldier is behind bars tonight for plotting a massive attack on troops at a sprawling army base in texas. police tell abc news the suspect is 21-year-old private naser abdo, a muslim raised in texas, all right facing court martial. his plan reportedly included multiple bombs and a shooting rampage near ft. hood, the site of that massacre two years ago. and it was all thwarted by a retired cop that worked in a gun shop. ab

the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i would like to yield five minutes to the gentleman, brand new member of the rules committee, one of our 87 new republican freshmen, the gentleman from lawrenceville, georgia, the gentleman from, congressman woodall. five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for five minutes. mr. woodall: i very much thank my friend from texas for yielding. it's true, i'm one of the new guys there on the rules committee, one of the new guys here in this congress. and because i haven't been watching this process go on quite this closely before, i'm prepared to answer the question today of why are we here and why are we here doing this. for folks who don't watch the process, hadn't watched it like i have, what this rule is, it will -- that we're working on today is to say, you can bring up a bill in the rules committee and then bring that bill to the floor on the very same day and that's unusual. because regular order

in texas, the period from february to june was the driest since 1917. it may take a hurricane to make things right. until then, ranchers like jim mccord are left high and dry. >> we're in survival mode. we're just trying to survive and do the best we can until conditions get better. >> reporter: but even then relief could be temporary. climate models show another la nina could be forming. the weather phenomenon in the pacific ocean keeps the south drier than normal. that means drought conditions could be on tap again next year. back at ham orchards... >> once they break the skin, well, it's open season for anything that wants to eat on it. >> reporter: ...there's a new concern: grasshoppers that normally eat healthy grass in nearby pastures are now starting to eat his peaches. >> between the bugs and not having enough water and the heat and the grasshoppers and everything else, we're just fighting a losing battle. >> reporter: and, bob, scorching heat is also making the drought worse. temperatures here have hit 100 degrees every day since july 2, evapor

texas was doing all right. we've created more jobs in texas in the last several years than the rest of the country combined. he helped governor bush before he became president, passed a medical liability reform and governor perry built on that with a tougher measure. he's got -- in certain kinds of civil cases if you file a frivolous lawsuit you have to pay your attorney's fees and the defendant's. >> greta: i'm a lawyer. that scares people off who have legitimate beefs. because they think they will be put out of their house with a legitimate beef. there's a downside to that. >> i grant you that. the bill in texas is more narrowly drawn and focused on keeping nuisance ones if is it a big company, that's got a lot of assets and resources loser pays doesn't apply. in some of these cases where you have mom and pop operations that get bankrupted by having a frivolous lawsuit filed, this discourages those kinds of cases. >> greta: more of our interview with karl rove why he says the republicans are having a primary

>> it off the coat of texas, 140 miles southeast of corpus christi, texas.ellite. and quite a big blob. we have time for this thing to strengthen in the next several hours and it will make landfall somewhere between 9:00 and midnight across the southeast, rather, the south texas coastline and you can see already some of the storm move inland and with the satellite radar you can see the outer bands moving into places like louisiana and through houston and we could see the potential for tornadoes with the landfalling tropical storms and hurricane, the friction against land, brings us slight rotation and potential for weak tornadoes. there is the track as of around 2:00 p.m. with a new track at 5:00 p.m. and still at 50 miles per hour sustained wind storm and we have potential for this to strengthen but as we get through the next several hours making landfall somewhere between corpus christi and brownsville, and padre island. >> they have had a lot of drought, will this help? all necessity were praying for the tropical storm in texas because 75 percent of the s

the young hispanics in texas can aspire to be the next rolando fablos, the chairman of the texas racing commission, maybe the next roberto dehoyas who heads our economic development shop and one of my favorites, the head of the texas alcoholic beverage commison, jose querveose. is that awesome? that is the right job for that man. these are truly leaders. these are individuals who, you know, so many more in our public and private sector just like them, they really make me proud to be a texan. they make me proud to have associates and be able to work with men and women like them. hoping really makes me optimistic about the future of this state. indications are that our younger generation is getting that message about those opportunities. their heading to school to pursue opportunities in record numbers. between 2000 and 2010, in that 10-year period of time, hispanic enrollment in texas universities increased by 88% compared to 48% for all the other ethnic groups in this state over the same time period, the amount of bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and certificates earned by hispanic

austin, texas, first, followed by raleigh, north carolina, nashville, tennessee, and san antonio, texas, and houston, texas, and forbes says that many of the cities on the list have some of the best job creation records in the nation. joining me is the author and forbes contributor who wrote the article detailing this list. thank you for joining me, joel. >> my pleasure. >> okay. so i have to say, i'm from the state of texas, so any time i see texas in a good list like this, it makes me smile, because i love to see all of the major cities on the list, but why is texas taking in so many spots here, houston and san antonio and austin? >> well, we were looking at job creation, but other things. migration, and where people are having children, where are immigrants coming in and thriving? and the texas cities and dallas also did very well. all of them did really well, and then there were some cities in the south that nashville, raleigh, also doing very well. the only big city on the east coast on northeast that did well was washington, d.c. not too hard to figure out why they are doing well.

so i guess just a lot of disappointment in texas.this was the best chance of rain we had in a long time, months, and it just didn't come true. hopefully we'll get another weak tropical stimulater in the season. back to you. >> here's hoping. thanks so much, bill. >>> the debt showdown even if the deal is reached and the august second deadline is met, the u.s. credit rating could still be downgraded. the domino effect that could follow, you're watching msnbc saturday. we're taking a look at it. ♪ going to the bank without going to the bank... that's a step forward. with chase quickdeposit on your smartphone, you just snap a picture, hit send and done. chase quickdeposit. take a step forward and chase what matters. ♪ we just keep on keepin' on ♪ ♪ keep on ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistles ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ ting! ] [ male announcer ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-co

hood in texas. what detectives have discovered about the plot. >> we worry about terrorism overseas, sometimes in our own backyard things are going off. thank god this was uncovered in the nick of time as we said. >>> also ahead in this half hour, the pilot of a small plane who splash landed in lake huron and had to tread water for 18 hours waiting for help. he's well enough to talk and we'll hear about his unforgettable ordeal. >>> later this half hour, dogs love to run. you're about to meet an amazing canine who is so into running he's a star attraction at a marathon. see why this is our favorite story of the day. >>> before all that the army says for the second time in two years one of their own was plotting a deadly attack on troops at ft. hood, texas. >> this time a clerk at a gun shop got suspicious and tipped off police. it happened in killeen, texas, near the army base. as abc's ryan owens reports. >> reporter: investigators say this young soldier has been battling the army almost since he j

inching forward, any doubt in texas? >> i don't think there's any doubt in texas.k there's been any doubt since the last gubernatorial campaign when he was obviously starting his presidential bid then. >> you think he was starting early and now all those "nos" were waiting? so eric let's assume governor perry gets in. who in the current field has the most to lose? >> i think probably tim pawlenty has the most to lose given what he has to do in iowa. he has to win in iowa as does michele bachmann. rick perry getting in hurts both of them dramatically. long term i think it will hurt romney. what we've seen throughout polling consistently is that he seemed capped out another about a third of the votes. so for example, in iowa, half of the political operatives engaged in 2008 for a candidate are still sitting on the sidelines and he can't break more than 35 or 40% of the polls. short term, definitely pawlenty and bachmann. >> so mimi, they say he has appeal to evangelicals and can make us case to fiscal conservatives. how formidable would a perry candidacy be? >> i thi

[laughter] so follow my lead, texas. and if anyone objects, you tell them, "you can have my fireworks when you pry them from my cold, handless hands." [laughter] nation, i'll just keep this down here. nation, the 2012 election is going to be historic. years from now, americans will look back and say, "aiya! ji-sheh ji-yo lee-sheh ee-ee duh. shen-zay huey-chu kuahng-kung, foo-ching suo-yo zai-wu." [laughter] and folks, it's all the more historic because of the supreme court's citizens united ruling, which allowed the creation of super pacs, political action committees that can take unlimited corporate and union cash to create political ads. months ago i announced my plans to set up colbert super pac. our motto: making a better tomorrow, tomorrow. [laughter] in fact, when you google the phrase super pac, i'm the first five results. [cheers and applause] that breaks my previous record of the first four results from googling the phrase "pear-shaped pundit." [laughter] since i brought them to the nation's attention in april,

this is from the drought in texas. it is so hot, it is so dry across every inch of the state, conditions are worse right now than they were during the dust bowl years, chad was talking about that just yesterday. you can see these pictures, it shows the devastation. i don't even know what that's a skeleton of, but it shows you how dry and horrible it is. farmers usually plant wheat at the end of the summer, but the ground is so dry, that's looking unlikely. fish, they need water, they are dying. ponds evaporate, cattle are sold at a loss. this is likely to translate into higher food prices for us. across texas, many houses are shifting on their foundations because the soil is so dry, and, in fact, in some cases foundations have sunk more than five inches. listen to this home owner's story. >> sank even more since the drought. cracked. front door locks i had changed out a month and a half ago, now the front door won't lock again because it's sunk down. there are big cracks in the ground where there were just little crack

hood texas. we will have the latest on the muslim american soldier now in custody, next. >>> of course we are waiting for speaker john boehner to tell us the latest on the debt ceiling negotiations. we will watch that podium for you there and bring you the latest as soon as we get it. he will speak before the vote on his bill this afternoon. so, what are we going to do with this? i don't know. the usual? [ blower whirring ] sometimes it pays to switch things up. my - what, my hair? no. car insurance. i switched to progressive and they gave me discounts for the time i spent with my old company. saved a bunch. that's a reason to switch. big savings -- it's a good look for you. [ blower whirring ] [blower stops] the safety was off. out there with a better way. now, that's progressive. didn't really know what i wanted to do. didn't like high school. and then i met my teacher, mr. mccooey, and that click happened. i would never have even thought about going into the engineering field if it wasn't for

raised in texas. three texans were serving as governors of three different states. rick perry it myself and a man by the name of jeb bush. rick and i do have one important difference. i was accepted into the university of texas. he had to go to texas a&m. [laughter] rick perry has built a strong and consistent record as a conservative during his 11 years as governor of texas. he is a leader in emphasizing the role of states in our federal system. he has frequently taken on the federal government also overreaching into our areas of state primacy. a strong fiscal conservative. he vetoed more than $3 billion in budgeted items and cut taxes tax rates for everybody. whether it is taking on the trial lawyers or the teachers unions, rick perry has shown himself time after time to be not afraid to use his political capital for the good of the people. texas leads the country in terms of job growth, economic growth in no small part due to rick perry's of 11 years as the governor of the great state of texas. it

in texas 213 of 254 counties have been declared disaster areas. some ranchers struggling to feed their cattle are forced to either sell or slaughter them. normally fertile farm lands are bone dry. the texas farm bureau says the state's wheat crop is a loss, and hardest hit here is cotton, which accounts for half of the u.s. crop. estimated agricultural losses in texas alone total more than $3 billion. >> i can remember it being dry, i can remember it being wet, but never this dry, never this hot. >> reporter: in oklahoma, there's no relief in sight. >> talk about this long-term severe drought is going to take some major tropical moisture to actually get us close to average for much of the state and it does not look like that's in the cards here for the next week or so, and that's some bad news. >> reporter: in central georgia, formers hoping for yellow corn are seeing only rows of withering brown stalks. >> the drought has affected this area very severely, the corn crop is going to be way off this year. >> reporter: farther south in florida, this

for, another texas governor. the one place that they can get marks for his presidency is when comparing who is responsible, and by two to one, people say george bush and his policies. if you close your eyes, rick perry sounds like rich little doing george bush. it really does. i have a role. i remember the bumper sticker of any candidate on my car who uses the words optimize, proactive, or prioritize. i was leading in his direction, but when he said prioritize, that did it. >> you don't like his english. >> he can do in texas what most states can do. they do not have armies. they did not fight wars. they do not have global responsibilities. one aspect of this whole discussion thatt is being overlooked, ignored, whether the debt ceiling will be raised for two years or for six months, the way this thing is going, given what is on the table now and the possibility that there will be cuts, there will be massive dislocation in this country. children are going to find that their access to hospitals will be cut back. se

the texas education agency a few months ago reported that over 50% of the children in our texas publico. in the census numbers that were reported, of the one million new folks in our state 18 years or under, fully 95% of those young people were latino. at the same time, in the texas legislature, education funding has been gutted by $4 billion, even though the money was there in a rainy day fund to do otherwise. texas already was 44th in term of spending per pupil, and our results show that. in the latino community, our dropout rate is more than a third. the number of uninsured children in our state is nearly 30% and texas is ranked 50th, dead last, in the number of uninsured, or insured children. we have the highest number of uninsured children. and 748,000 latinos are uninsured in our state. and so we have in 41 -- front of us these days something that looks like a pretty picture of low taxes and low regulation but when you start to look at the future of our state and particularly the latino community, it is a completely different picture and it often goes unsaid. it often goes unanal

law aimed at circumventing the ban, by allowing made in texas incandescents to be sold in texas, authored by state representative george lavender. >> we're tired of the federal government micromanaging their lives. >> reporter: many still love the bulb that was invented 140 years ago. the traditional bulb that we all grew up with. >> they call it an edison base or a medium base. it goes in the regular light bulb. >> reporter: and the other one? >> this is a compact fluorescent light, this particular one is a 15 watt. the new kid on the block. >> reporter: a lot brighter. >> a lot brighter. >> reporter: does anybody say they're too harsh? >> if they're too harsh, you can down wattage. >> while the lights my differ some, some say the old light bulbs are electric heaters that give off a little bit of light. 90% of the energy is given often by heat. >> reporter: but the new bulbs also contain small amounts of mercury. >> if i dropped this light bulb, we would have to evacuate the house of representatives, according to the epa light bulb law. >> reporter: one group freedom action opposes the b