Circle the wagons

Congressional Republicans rallied to Tom DeLay's defense yesterday, changing a rule forcing indicted leaders to step down in a preemptive move against the continuing ethics probes against "The Hammer." Todd Tiahrt is probably DeLay's best friend in the Kansas delegation, but his public profile's been low on this one so far.

If you haven't seen it yet, Kathleen Sebelius gets a mention as a Democratic ticket possibility in 2008, according to Time. Can't get the article without a subscription to the mag, though. Meanwhile, pop culture interest in the Heartland continues its post-election rise. Check this out:

Variety reports that out author Clint Catalyst (Cottonmouth Kisses) and gay filmmaker Darren Stein (Jawbreaker) are teaming up for a new ABC series to be titled The Flyover States. The drama deals with a widowed New Yorker who returns to her Arkansas hometown only to discover that big cities aren't the only hotbeds of sin and vice.

Amazing discovery ...