Gov. Rick Perry, talking to the Houston Chamber of Commerce on Friday — the day state officials announced an increase in unemployment: "Someone had put a report out that the first state that's coming out of the recession is gonna be the State of Texas... I said, 'We're in one?'"Here's the video...

Averitt, Barton, Patrick, Valdes, and Blackburn

Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, in the Waco Tribune-Herald, on redistricting: "It's Republicans vs. Democrats. Period. If you all can remember, a few years ago we went through that process here, and it was very emotional. It will be emotional again."

U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, telling The Dallas Morning News he's interested in becoming the next U.S. Senator from Texas: "I have asked to go speak to the governor about an appointment, but he has not encouraged it. He just said he'd be happy to sit down with me and talk about it. I think I'd be a good candidate."

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, in the Houston Chronicle, in the same subject: "I would have an interest if the governor thought I was the most conservative and best candidate to serve."

Pierre Oliver Gama Valdes, a Mexican businessman who moved his family to San Antonio after drug dealers threatened his family, in the San Antonio Express-News: "I had money in the bank. I had a big house. I have buildings and properties in Mexico City. But I would rather wash dishes in the U.S. than risk my family's life in Mexico."

Jeff Blackburn with The Innocence Project, talking to the Associated Press about "scent lineups," where dogs identify suspects based on their smell: "This is exactly the kind of down-home voodoo that jurors like because, hey, everybody likes a dog. Why don’t they just have a guy who says he has a unicorn that can figure out who criminals are?"