If you plan on attending this Saturday's conventions in Texas, you are likely to see plenty of familiar faces, some newly motivated Democrats ready to make a difference, and an attorney volunteering for the Clinton campaign. The Politico's Ben Smith has the text of an email sent to the Lawyers for Hillary group, stating a goal "to have an attorney present at each of the convention sites this Saturday."

If you were harboring hope for a speedy convention, you may be disappointed.

The Wall Street Journal tries to help NRCC Chair and Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole find the upside for House Republicans in the electoral beatings scheduled for November. Honestly, reading this is like reading a scouting report for the Kansas City Royals, but with less hope at second base.

With 29 retirements among House GOP members thus far and the possibility of mounting defeats in the fall, plenty of seats on plenty of committees are opening up on the Republican side. Some relatively fresh-faced members will have a shot filling some high-profile, coveted spots on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and even Appropriations. Patrick O'Connor has a rather tongue-in-cheek rundown of the vacancies over at Politico.

Oh. Hey. This isn't good:

A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Well, at least global warming isn't real, am I right? Hello?

Be careful what you wish for. That old saw is ringing in some ears as a result of this month’s Texas primary.

230 years have passed since the Continental Army under the command of General George Washington weathered a brutal winter in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. While there wasn't an actual battle at Valley Forge back in the winter of 1777-1778, there is a battle going on there now.

Senator Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot Fund "is dedicated to promoting a progressive reform agenda and supporting candidates across the country." Recently they had a contest in which you could vote on which they supported next, and Texas' own Senate candidate Rick Noriega was in the running. Today the Progressive Patriot Fund announced that Rick Noriega was the winner, and as the newest Progressive Patriot will receive a $5,000 contribution. Congratulations, Rick.

Apparently you can't have an idea these days without having to 'play election-year politics' with whatever issue it concerns, so John McCain is going to wait and see how this whole housing thing plays out before cooking up a plan. It is not exactly what I would refer to as a strategy, but hey, if you don't have any economic ideas, why hedge about it? Am I right?

Sometimes he's writing legislation championed by telecom companies soon after receiving donations from them. Others he's employing or taking bundled money from former and current telecom lobbyists. John McCain is such a maverick that he doesn't even follow his own admonitions against being down with special interest lobbyists.

Interestingly enough, Indiana is shaping up to be a late spring battleground in the Democratic primary, as the candidates gear up for a full-on campaign in the Hoosier State. The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut thinks things are starting out knotted up and discusses the pros and cons for each candidate in a look ahead to the May 6th contest.