I stand before you as the governor of Texas but also stand before you the son of two tenant farmers. Ray Perry who came home after 35 bombing missions over Europe to work his little corner of land out there and Amelia who made sure that my sister Milla and I had everything that we needed included hand sewing my clothes until I went off to college.

I'm always going to live in Texas. Texas is my home - it'll be my home forever.

Texas was such a welcoming place and with its unbelievable history and tradition it's extra special to be a part of that.

The people of South and Central Texas and the Coastal Bend need jobs they need health care they need water infrastructure improvements they need a quality education and they need the resources to keep our borders safe and secure.

The scary thing is when I did my set in Texas everyone was excited. The show was great. I was done and the next DJ put something on vinyl and the difference! The quality!!

You know the good part about all those executions in Texas? Fewer Texans.

Our work is before us. It cannot be passed to future legislatures and must not be passed to future generations. May we boldly seize the moment with singular unity. And may we build a Texas of unlimited possibility.

Here is what we know after more than a decade of Republican rule: Texas works. Even 'The New York Times' let it slip into its pages that 'Texas is the future.'

Havin' fun while freedom fightin' must be one of those lunatic Texas traits we get from the water - which is known to have lithium in it - because it goes all the way back to Sam Houston surely the most lovable the most human and the funniest of all the great men this country has ever produced.

But it wasn't until I graduated from Texas A & M University and joined the United States Air Force flying C-130's all around the globe that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom.