Texas prosecutors are investigating the activities of political action committees linked to Senate Majority Leader Tom DeLay as they related to a Texas redistricting effort.

This case "is only one piece of a much larger picture," said Ronnie Earle, the Travis County district attorney running the investigation. "And the larger picture is a blueprint of what is happening in the country, namely a saturation of the political process by large corporate interests with large amounts of money." [via The Washington Post]

Some of the characteristics of fascist regimes (as shown by history) include: protection of corporate power; obsession with crime and punishment; and fraudulent elections.