Mr Watts, who was first elected to Congress in 1994 as part of Newt Gingrich's conservative revolution, lost a power struggle with Tom DeLay, the majority whip (and number three in the hierarchy).

ECONOMIST: The retirement of J.C. Watts

Steny Hoyer, the current number two in the House Democrats' hierarchy, says he has enough votes to win.

ECONOMIST: Bipartisanship

But there are number of things that just are outdated, our strict hierarchy, in terms risk aversion, things of that nature.

NPR: Ford's North American Chief Sets Sights on Restructuring

Solid state storage has become a permanent part of the storage hierarchy, improving the overall performance and reducing energy use in a growing number of storage-intensive applications and systems.

FORBES: The 25th Season of Flash