[Magdalen] Gerrymandering was Canada's election

[Lynn Ronkainen]

...we speak of what we know/experience with 'local' political *techniques*, 
shall we say ? <gdr>

Houston, too is a crazy maze of attempted control by our now quite 
Republican-run state, which of course also spills over into US politics. 
Good old Tom DeLay was tried, convicted, may have served jail time but is 
currently free, IIRC - and was a big-time 'fixer'.  For a peek at the drama 
which resulted in the US Supremes getting involved: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Texas_redistricting

The coup led to this: "The 2003 Texas redistricting refers to a 
controversial mid-decade congressional redistricting plan. In the 2004 
elections, it resulted in the Republicans taking a majority of Texas's House 
seats for the first time since Reconstruction. Opponents challenged the plan 
in three suits, combined when the case went to the United States Supreme 
Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry."

We have not been well served by the Elephants here... and they're still 
multiplying.

Lynn

website: www.ichthysdesigns.com

When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not a 
single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave me." 
attributed to Erma Bombeck
 "Either Freedom for all or stop talking about Freedom at all" from a talk 
by Richard Rohr

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Sibyl Smirl" <polycarpa3 at ckt.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2015 10:55 AM
To: <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Gerrymandering was Canada's election

> On 10/20/15 10:10 AM, Jay Weigel wrote:
>> Sibyl, if you don't think it's gerrymandering, you ain't seen
>> Virginia.....especially the Virginia 2nd. The whole thing has been 
>> ordered
>> redrawn.
>
> Some of it is gerrymandering.  But the reason for the numbers instead of 
> place-names is so that places can be redistricted, made "frequently" 
> necessary by population shift.  The scare-quotes around "frequently" is 
> for the long-term.  During my life, living in the same place for most of 
> it, in Kansas, I've lived in at least three different congressional 
> district numbers.  Never moved out of Shawnee Township, Cherokee County, 
> except for three or four years when I was married and we were going to 
> different colleges and frequently moving.  But I'm 71 years old, and my 
> experience in politics only covers about 50 years.
>
> I think Scott was speaking for the whole US, rather carelessly, when 
> basically he was talking about Chicago, and other high-population-density 
> machine-politics areas.
>
> I ain't Urban!
>
> I do know that Chicago is notorious for the gerrymandering, with the 
> machine politics, but the Pendergast machine never got that powerful in 
> rural Kansas.  Take a look at the nice neat map at
> http://www.unityparty.us/kansas-senators-representatives.htm
>
>
>
> -- 
> Sibyl Smirl
> I will take no bull from your house!  Psalms 50:9a
> mailto:polycarpa3 at ckt.net