Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of August 31, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty for these and many more topics from 6-9 am.

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1. Final Night of the Republican Convention

It was an interesting, but great final night of the 2012 Republican Convention. Overall it was a great convention with some fantastic speeches that unified the Republican Party. More importantly, I think this convention showed the differences between Mitt Romney and President Obama. This convention was aimed at those who were on the fence, let's hope they were watching.

Clint Eastwood was the mystery guest last night and as I tweeted out last night, the speech was funny, odd, and a little uncomfortable. I guess that's alright though. It was Clint Eastwood so I think that means anything goes. I'm not going to slam Eastwood for his speech. No it wasn't polished, but I don't care about that. If what he said resonated with one person, it was worth it.

Marco Rubio was absolutely on fire last night. According to my Twitter feed he even had some people getting a little misty-eyed. Rubio will run for President one day, and I'm pretty sure he will win. He is easy to relate to and commands a room. His story of freedom and what that means for immigrants is awesome. You can view a transcript and video of his speech here.

Mitt Romney's speech last night was the best speech I have heard from him. It was personable and showed leadership. Throughout the convention different videos and speeches tried to redefine Romney as an every day man. A husband and father who was successful in business. Last night, Romney demonstrated all of that. Romney was emotional when talking about how his father would leave his mother a rose every morning.

Because every day, dad gave mom a Rose, which he put on the
bedside table.  That is how she found that the day my father
died. She went looking for him because, that morning, there was
no rose.

Romney also became became a bit emotional when talking about his sons.

Those weren't the easiest of days.  Many long hours, and
weekends working.  Five young sons who seemed to have a need to
reenact a different world war every night.
(LAUGHTER)
But if you ask Ann and I, what we'd give to break up just
one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and
discover a pile of kids asleep in a room -- well every mom and
dad knows the answer to that.  Those days were the...
(APPLAUSE)
... these were tough days on Ann, particularly.  She was
heroic through it all.  Five boys with our families a long way
away.  I had to travel a lot for my job then, and I'd call and
try to offer support.  But  every mom knows that that does not
help did the homework done or get the kids out the door to
school.  I knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine.  I
knew without question that her job as a mom was a lot more
important than mine.

Romney came across as real and genuine. Something that the Democrats don't want people to think. One of my favorite lines in the speech was this:

President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the
oceans.
(LAUGHTER)
And to heal the planet.  My promises to help you and your
family.

You can read Romney's speech here. What did you think about last night?

2. Federal Court Rules Against Texas Voter ID (link)

The Texas Voter ID law was dealt a blow yesterday, but that doesn't mean it's over. Texas is taking the Voter ID fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The three-judge panel ruled that the law imposes "strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor." The panel also said that racial minorities in Texas are more likely to live in poverty.

According to the Texas Tribune:

The court added that the case would have been “far closer” if the Legislature passed amendments filed that would have made the law less stringent, including measures that would have waived fees for the indigent who needed documents to obtain an ID to vote, and expanded the range of identifications acceptable under SB 14. Amendments that would have kept DPS offices open in the evening and on weekends, and allowed the indigent residents to cast provisional ballots without photo ID were also voted down or tabled.

What a bunch of BS.

3. Change in Texas? (link)

Do Texas delegates want Governor Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst out? According to the Texas Tribune, the answer is yes.

Fort Worth delegate Ken Dale is already eager for Gov. Rick Perry to move on. And when the retired pilot learned Wednesday morning that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was also expecting to run for re-election, it was more than he could take.

“Lord no!” he shrieked. “So we’re gonna have a governor for life and a lieutenant governor for life? Some of the politicians need to know when it’s time to retire. We have other talent in the state. I’ve already voted for them enough.”

It is a common sentiment among the Texas delegation to the Republican National Convention. Many of the delegates have supported the same state leaders time and time again. But now they are ready for change they can believe in. Or term limits. Or a Tea Party insurgent. Anything but the same old, same old.

If Perry is re-elected in 2014 and serves a fourth full term, a Texan born in 2000 will have gone from diapers to his or her high school caps and gowns with the same governor. Dewhurst, elected in 2002 and also up for re-election in 2014, would be looking at a total of 16 years in the No. 2 spot, where he presides over the Texas Senate.

“I think it’s time for them to move on,” said Dan Pickens, a Dallas delegate and former member of the State Republican Executive Committee. “It’s been too long, and things are stagnant. I’m a very term-limit oriented guy.”

Thoughts?

4. I Hate Political Correctness (link)

Political correctness is way out of control. Did you know that according to the U.S. Department of State, the phrase "holding down the fort", is racist? This article might make your head explode. You've been warned.

John M. Robinson, the Chief Diversity Officer at the U.S. Department of State, wants America’s diplomats to know that common phrases and idioms like “holding down the fort” are, in fact, deeply racist.

Robinson, who also serves as director of the Department’s Office of Civil Rights, used his “Diversity Notes” feature in the July/August issue of the official “State Magazine” to examine the hateful roots of everyday sayings. In one recent public relations kerfuffle at Nike, Inc., he wrote, the company torpedoed a sneaker called the “Black and Tan.”

“What a wonderful celebratory gesture and appreciation for Irish culture. Not!” wrote Robinson, an adult.

Robinson notes that “Black and Tan,” in addition to being an enjoyably robust alcoholic concoction, can refer to the brutal Protestant militiamen who ravaged the Irish countryside in the early 20th century — which is why Irish bartenders always get so upset when you order one.

In an effort to avoid offending those notoriously fragile Irish sensibilities, Nike pulled the shoe from stores.

Robinson would like us all to learn from the sneaker company’s inadvertent racism and really start watching what we say. For example, did you know “going Dutch” is a reference to Netherlanders’ apparently well-known parsimoniousness, and that your widowed neighbor, sweet old Mrs. Rasmussen, cries every time she hears you use it?

And did you know using the phrase “holding down the fort” is the linguistic equivalent of scalping a Cherokee? According to Robinson, the phrase dates back to American soldiers on the western frontier who wanted to “hold down” all that land they stole.

“Handicap” and “rule of thumb” are two more figures of speech that Robsinon, in his wisdom, has decreed offensive. The latter, Robinson says, refers to the width of a stick a man could once use to legally beat his wife.

And in case you’re wondering how he could have done all the etymological detective work necessary to conclude that these phrases came from where he says they came from, and still have time to perform his Chief Diversity Officer duties at the State Department, wonder no more: Robinson doesn’t really know if any of this is true.

“Much has been written about whether the etymologies below are true or merely folklore, but this isn’t about their historical validity,” Robinson writes. “[I]nstead, it is an opportunity to remember that our choice of wording affects our professional environment.”

Ugh.

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