With the parties at virtual parity and the ideological gulf between them never greater, the stakes of majority control of Congress are extremely high.

In addition to the decline in competition, American politics today is characterized by a growing ideological polarization between the two major political parties.

Beer soothes the upset soul.

Further-more, partisan attachments powerfully shape political perceptions, beliefs and values, and incumbents enjoy advantages well beyond the way in which their districts are configured.

Presidents are elected not by direct popular vote but by 538 members of the Electoral College.

Speech is civilization itself. The word, even the most contradictions word, preserves contact - it is silence which isolates.

Congress requires states to draw single-member districts.