Like a zombie from a bad B movie, redistricting reared its ugly head again today with yet more bad maps engineered by Tom DeLay being passed around the Capitol and rumored that they will be submitted later this evening in the Senate Jurisprudence committee meeting.

TRAVIS COUNTY TO BE CUT INTO AT LEAST THREE.--The newest maps slice and dice Travis County into at least three congressional districts, ensuring Austin loses its voice in Washington and guaranteeing DeLay can continue pushing his extremist agenda for at least a decade. Thousands of neighbors from across Texas have testified against redistricting in both the House and Senate and yet the legislators continue to disregard the voice of the people.

FINAL HEARING SET FOR THURSDAY.--Thursday July 17th at 9 am, please come testify against these outrageous maps and the continued effort to remove Central Texas' voice in Washington. If you have testified previously, you can still sign in and speak against these specific maps.

Senate Jurisprudence Committee Hearing on Redistricting

Thursday, July 17th

Texas Capitol Extension Auditorium (E1.004)

9:00am


SENATE VOTES ON FRIDAY.--The map is expected to be voted out of committee on Thursday and voted on by the full Senate as soon as Friday, July 18th. The time for the Senate floor vote has not yet been scheduled, but please come help pack the gallery and let the Senators know that the people of Texas are watching as they disenfranchise voters across the state. You can verify the time of the session by checking the Senate website at www.senate.state.tx.us.

Additional steps that you can take:

1. If you are represented by State Senator Jeff Wentworth you may express your opposition to any new redistricting plan and let them know you support the current map. Contact information is available at: http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/citizenResources/ContactLeg..html.

2. You may also contact relatives or friends outside Travis County and ask them to call their Senators with the same message. They can look up their Senator by visiting this website:

Please attend on Thursday and Friday and continue the fight to preserve the voting rights and representation of the citizens of Travis County and across the state.

Don't get mad, TAKE ACTION!

Talking points about the plan:

! DeLay's newest plans slice and dice Travis County into at least three congressional districts, ensuring Austin loses its voice in Washington and guaranteeing DeLay can continue pushing his extremist agenda for at least a decade.

! Austin is chopped into bizarre-shaped congressional districts that stretch as far south as Mexico and as far east as Houston.

! If this plan is successful No Austinite is likely to ever represent our united community again.

Doesn't Surprise Me!

Bill - you must be living in the dreamworld where you think this is actually a democracy where our views and opinions actually make a difference! Sure, this pisses me off - but the ''fix'' is in - so to speak. What kind of ''democracy'' is it when our representative government is pre-selected through rigged elections??!! Our state leadership will just lie and cheat until they can bend the rules far enough to get what they and their small band of special interest supporters want. That's why I no longer vote in legislative or congressional elections. They are a joke! My vote will only add to the illusion!!

Extremist Agenda

Bill,

You wrote:

''and guaranteeing DeLay can continue pushing his extremist agenda for at least a decade.''

Can you outline, in bullet form, Congressman Delay's extremist agenda? Please stick to facts. Use of extremist terms, such as ''extremist'', don't do a lot for me.

Thank you.