This is a followup to this diary from last night by Adam T.

Update [2006-1-2 16:23:38 by NeuvoLiberal]: John Morris and Roger Waun will field Democratic challeges in TX-12 and TX-13, respectively. Thanks are due UKLIB at myDD and boadicia over at dKos for posting updates on the filing status. We have 4 filings left to cover all the bases in the lone star state, and 3 hours to do so.

Update [2006-1-2 20:46:8 by NeuvoLiberal]: Per 5:45pm posting, all the CDs in Texas except TX-11 have a Democratic candidate. Please see this posting, and please stay abreast with filing deadlines and status at Barry Welsh's 2006 Congressional Races page, and get involved at local and national national levels. Thanks for helping and participating. Next up: WV (01.28.06), Kentucky (01.31.06), NM (02.14.06), and OH (02.16.06). Have a great day!

remember in 2003 when democratic state legislators high-tailed it from austin to albuquerque to prevent a vote on the texas redistricting plan...?

   While Texas Senate Democrats remain in New Mexico, their counterparts managed to get some work done in Austin.

    Passage of the map remains far away from a full vote, especially since 11 Texas Democrat senators say the hospitality in Albuquerque, N.M., suits them just fine.

    The Democratic legislators say they'll stay in New Mexico until Republicans and Gov. Rick Perry take the redistricting issue off the table, and said they're prepared to remain out of state up to 30 days, the maximum length of a special session.

remember THIS part...?

I've been seeing discussion of Texas' alleged anti-gay-marriage amendment, and a couple people have already pointed out that it has a slight wording problem. But if you sit down and think about it, there's more than one problem here.

"`They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap. '" -- Lewis Carroll, The Hunting of the Snark

Lately, there's been a hunt on for a fabulous beast.  It's being stalked in Ohio by those who think this critter serves to feed the even more fearsome beast known as Diebold.  It's being chased across it's traditional range in Massachusetts by a coalition that spans the political spectrum.  And out in California, the beasts faces the fading fury of he who was the Terminator.

The creature, of course, is the Gerrymander, that serpentine defender of the incumbent and friend to Tom Delay.  But as the hunt intensifies and spreads to more states, the question has to become: do we want to drive the Gerrymander to extinction?  Is it always a varmint, or does it sometimes show a more noble nature?