Friday in the news

Well, Texas redistricting looks to be finally happening. While the strangely shaped districts might well raise some eyebrows, as they are hardly compact communities of interest (http://www.tlc.state.tx.us/research/redist/pdf/map_plan01374c.pdf), one cannot help but admire Tom Delay’s tactical skills and moxie. Really. This is really undemocratic, but if Delay can pick up another 5 seats, who knows how long the Republicans will control the House. After all, one of the jobs of the Majority Leader would seem to be to preserve a Majority for his party.

There is an insightful analysis in the Christian Science Monitor going into some detail about how our perceptions of the situation in Iraq are shaped by where we get our news: http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/sept11/dailyUpdate.html. Not a shock piece, but it offers some food for thought.