Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Americans put politics aside yesterday to honor our nation's fallen heroes, particularly those who lost their lives in Iraq. In Californian, hundreds of parades and ceremonies commending those who have perished and those who are still with usserved as a reminder that Memorial Day is about more than just a threeday weekend.

Putting aside politics should not distract us from the enormous tragedy the Iraq war has inflicted on thousands of military families and the entire nation, wrote JoeGuzzardi of the Lodi News-Sentinel, who called the loss of young lives"sadly predictable." Guzzardi's advice: get out soon and let the Iraqishandle their own affairs.

Members on both sides of the aisle are already feeling bruised over negotiations to change the way district lines are drawn, withSenate Republican leader Dick Ackerman saying the chances of abipartisan deal are getting slimmer by the day. Legislators are spliton whether to pair redistricting reform with term limit modifications,a move Speaker Fabian Nunez has called unconstitutional. The otherquestion, perhaps more fundamental: if we're not having the legislaturedraw the lines, then who?

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