In case you hadn't noticed, there's likely to be a great many contested races this cycle in Texas.

Our questions this week cover a little bit of everything.

The Politico's Ben Smith has it that AFL-CIO leadership will commit $53 million to "unrestricted 'member-to-member' communication" during this election cycle.

Gromer Jeffers has some coverage on Rep. Kirk England's press conference concerning his decision to switch parties yesterday, and some GOP reaction.

You may have heard — since the news is everywhere — but State Representative Kirk England, a Republican from District 106 in Grand Prairie, has decided to join the Democratic Party.

Republican Fred Hill, who emerged as an anti-Craddick Republican in the last session and had asserted he would be a candidate for Tom Craddick's job the next time around, has announced he won't run again for his state house seat in Richardson.

I spent most of my youth in Johnson County, and as I was growing up I would occasionally hear references to the "good ol' boy" system in place there that determined, in large part, what went on in the area. I didn't think much of it, assuming that all small Texas towns probably operated in this way.

Fort Worth Weekly, which continues to impress with its coverage of local area political issues, offers an inside look at one facet of that insular system in Johnson County which affects plenty of people: law enforcement.

Get your Consensus Candidate scorecards ready: George Bush is all set to nominate Michael B. Mukasey as Alberto Gonzales' replacement at Justice.

It's the weekend, so I will keep the commentary to a minimum and direct you to two items of interest. On the Environment (Campaigns): Iowa is pretty important, says Politico. Er, rather, still pretty important. On the Environment (Global Warming): The Northwest Passage exists! Because we a melted a hole big enough in the arctic ice for shipping!

We got some nice letters this week; we appreciate those. Keep the questions coming, though!