Allright, so Amelia wasn’t having dinner with me, although with my extremely extended absence from this blog, it certainly seems plausible.  A lot has been changing in my life, and I’d like to bring everyone up to speed.

• In July, I moved to small-town Georgia (about an hour East of Macon)
• In nine days, I will be getting married
• I’ve been dealing with personal issues that required the assistance of a psychiatrist. (Hey, I never claimed I wasn’t crazy.)
• My mother passed away in August, and I have been dealing with the grief process
• I’ve - ultimately - been finally approaching that point in one’s life where one sits back, shakes their head in amazement, and finally realized that Corinthians I had hit at last (”…when I became a man, I put aside childish things”).

My life, ultimately, has changed for the better, although this period of time was not without its negatives.  The loss of my mother was a defining moment in my life.  She was truly my best friend, and my closest confidant.  The fact that it happened so soon after my moving out of my parents’ home, and several states away, made it all the harder.  This, combined with pre-existing issues, led me to consult with the wonderful individuals at my local rubber room. (A joke.  I have never undergone
inpatient psychiatric care.  I have merely been being treated for depression as a standard office-visit type patient.)  Fortunately, I have met a wonderful woman, and in nine days, we are to be married.

What does this mean for MindSpeak?  Hopefully not too much of a change.  Since I have moved out of Texas, I will be moving more towards a broader political base, including more national and international politics, as well as a fair bit of Georgia politics.  Yes, I certainly intend to continue blogging about the Texas political arena, and I hope to remain a member of the Texas Progressive Alliance, as well as potentially forming a similar group of bloggers for the Georgia progressives.  Additionally,
I hope to ask my wife to begin blogging here, as well.  She shares many of my political views, and - in fact - is a bit more liberal than I am, overall.  I think her voice would be a welcome change around here.

When is all of this going to take place?  Sometime after the start of the year.  During the next week, I will be moving servers (the change should be seamless, and the blog should not go down).  Towards the middle of January, I hope to be into a routine where blogging will have a specific portion of my day dedicated.  As I have multiple blogs, I hope to - again - have a defined schedule of updates (i.e. every mon, wed, fri, etc).  Given that I will be blogging only a specific number
of days per week, I am considering doing specific topics on specific days.  In example, Monday: Texas Politics, Wedensday: Georgia Politics, Friday: National/International Politics.

Ultimately, I’m not certain how this will all turn out, but I do know that MindSpeak will make a comeback!  I hope to see you around, once it does!

Allright, so Amelia wasn’t having dinner with me, although with my extremely extended absence from this blog, it certainly seems plausible.  A lot has been changing in my life, and I’d like to bring everyone up to speed.

• In July, I moved to small-town Georgia (about an hour East of Macon)
• In nine days, I will be getting married
• I’ve been dealing with personal issues that required the assistance of a psychiatrist. (Hey, I never claimed I wasn’t crazy.)
• My mother passed away in August, and I have been dealing with the grief process
• I’ve - ultimately - been finally approaching that point in one’s life where one sits back, shakes their head in amazement, and finally realized that Corinthians I had hit at last (”…when I became a man, I put aside childish things”).

My life, ultimately, has changed for the better, although this period of time was not without its negatives.  The loss of my mother was a defining moment in my life.  She was truly my best friend, and my closest confidant.  The fact that it happened so soon after my moving out of my parents’ home, and several states away, made it all the harder.  This, combined with pre-existing issues, led me to consult with the wonderful individuals at my local rubber room. (A joke.  I have never undergone
inpatient psychiatric care.  I have merely been being treated for depression as a standard office-visit type patient.)  Fortunately, I have met a wonderful woman, and in nine days, we are to be married.

What does this mean for MindSpeak?  Hopefully not too much of a change.  Since I have moved out of Texas, I will be moving more towards a broader political base, including more national and international politics, as well as a fair bit of Georgia politics.  Yes, I certainly intend to continue blogging about the Texas political arena, and I hope to remain a member of the Texas Progressive Alliance, as well as potentially forming a similar group of bloggers for the Georgia progressives.  Additionally,
I hope to ask my wife to begin blogging here, as well.  She shares many of my political views, and - in fact - is a bit more liberal than I am, overall.  I think her voice would be a welcome change around here.

When is all of this going to take place?  Sometime after the start of the year.  During the next week, I will be moving servers (the change should be seamless, and the blog should not go down).  Towards the middle of January, I hope to be into a routine where blogging will have a specific portion of my day dedicated.  As I have multiple blogs, I hope to - again - have a defined schedule of updates (i.e. every mon, wed, fri, etc).  Given that I will be blogging only a specific number
of days per week, I am considering doing specific topics on specific days.  In example, Monday: Texas Politics, Wedensday: Georgia Politics, Friday: National/International Politics.

Ultimately, I’m not certain how this will all turn out, but I do know that MindSpeak will make a comeback!  I hope to see you around, once it does!

John Courage, who’s running for Texas Congressional District 21, put out a press release last week lambasting his opponent, Lamar Smith, for voting against the Internet Freedom and Discrimination Act of 2006, which requires broadband providers to adhere to Network Neutrality rules.

Smith, who claims a residence in Bexar County but spends most of his time on Cape Cod, practices Christian Science and is a Yale alumni.

In his press release, John Courage had this to say about Smith:

“Smith’s vote sends a clear message to his constituents that he believes it is acceptable for major providers to monopolize access to the Internet. Smith either does not understand that people’s access to the Internet is in danger, or just does not care. His vote against Net Neutrality underscores his disconnect from his constituents who use the Internet everyday.”

In his opposition to the bill, Smith said he would prefer “to leave these decisions to the courts to work out on a case-by-case basis under the anti-trust law”. So much for tort reform reducing the strain on the courts, eh? He also complained that the bill is too regulatory, and could “put a straightjacket on this important sector of the economy”. Important meaning, of course, that all the big boys (see Eric’s list below) will have a stranglehold on it and boast record profits, while small businesses will have more of a struggle breaking into the market.

Courage also recognized the Save the Internet campaign:

The SavetheInternet.com Coalition launched a little over a month ago, the group’s spokesman said. Â Since then, more than 700 groups “spanning the political spectrum” have joined, including MoveOn.org, the Christian Coalition, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Gun Owners of America, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the American Library Association, and Craig Newmark of Craigslist.

It should also be noted that Smith opposes all efforts to offer any form of legal status to immigrants who have entered the country illegally, and in September of 2005 a fax intended for Karl Rove was intercepted in which Lamar Smith stated:

“Immigration needs to be considered in the context of: (1). Media Bias, (2). Animosity toward the president and (3) the feelings of the Republican base.”

Smith also suggests that “Liberals can easily and accurately be painted as opposing enforcement.”

Congress is now pushing a law that would end the free and open Internet as we know it. Internet providers like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress hard to gut Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment and the key to Internet freedom. Net Neutrality prevents AT&T from choosing which websites open most easily for you based on which site pays AT&T more. So Amazon doesn’t have to outbid Barnes & Noble for the right to work more properly on your computer.

Many members of Congress take campaign contributions from these companies, and they don’t think the public are paying attention to this issue. Let’s show them we care - please sign this petition today. Let them know..

I know I haven’t been around too much, lately, folks. I know you all expected a huge follow-up to my Congressman Green outing. Well, there is one. It’s coming. I’m compiling the data, right now. What am I going to do?

I’m going to out:

• Ed Towns (NY-10)
• Al Wynn (MD-04)
• Charlie Gonzalez (TX-20)
• and Bobby Rush (IL-01)

for the back-stabbing, sell-outs they are.

Spread the word. Tomorrow, the truth is revealed.

Forgive me, readers, but the latest project I am working on (to be announced, shortly, on this blog, even), is requiring me to do a test post. This should be the only one, and I do hope you understand.

We’ll be back to our regularly scheduled happenings, soon, including the outing of even more sell-outs.

Everyone take a minute out from the fray of the latest legislative hoopla, and welcome TexasKOS.com to the polisphere.

TexasKOS.com is the newest progressive political blog to hit the Texas polisphere. Charged with the task of taking Texas back, this group of intrepid individuals has jumped to challenge of new media as a way to get the word out.

Give ‘em a visit!

Amazingly, no, I’m not asking for money (although it would be nice). I’m asking for your time. A lot has come up in my professional life, in the past week or so, and I just don’t have the time to dedicate to the blog, right now. I can catch some of the big stuff (like the BAR ballot issue, which I’ll post about later tonight), but not the smaller things, or the opinion pieces that make this blog what it is.

So, I ask you: Do you want to guest blog?

Seriously. If you’re interested in guest blogging on MindSpeak, please e-mail me at fyre@Fyreplace.com, or use the contact page. You are welcome to blog on whatever political topic you wish, and people from all sides of the spectrum are welcome. I’m not putting a limit on your post length, or topic, or anything.

Thanks folks. In case no one comes forward as interested, let me assure you that I am working as hard and as quick as possible to be back up to blogging speed, very soon.

Have you noticed it, yet? The change in the title and “slogan” of this site? Are you scratching your heads, yet? Considering out government’s ability to change things on a whim, I thought I would see what it felt like.

Allright, in all honesty, I felt it was time to break away from the old MindFyre routine. Over time, I’ll be re-inventing myself in the blogosphere. Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere, and all of my old blogs are staying where they are. I am, however, in the beginning stages of considering (yes, doublespeak.. thought I’d try that, too) the building of a blogging network. I’m also looking at opening up more blogs. heh.

So what prompted the name change? The fact that people were confusing MindFyre and MindFyre Politics. The fact that the original “slogan” of “MindSpeak and CrimeThink” did’t really fit. Why? Because free thought and progressive thought should never, ever be equated to crimethink. Ever.

So, I sat back, and decided it was time to re-invent this blog a bit. The natural title was “MindSpeak,” as I started this blog as a place to speak my mind on politics. The new slogan, “Progressive Politics With a Twist”? Oh, that came from the following facts: I consider my politics progressive. Unlike most progressive, I do not identify with any specific political party, nor do I identify with any particular ’shade’ (liberal, conservative, facist, hippie-communeloving-pothead) of politics. Additionally, I hate, hate, HATE partisan politics. If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s to see someone take an issue, and then use it to slam their closest political opponent. My stance has always been, “Concentrate on the f—ing issues, not on what your opponenets are doing.” Add to that the fact that I am probably the only member of the Texas Progressive Alliance (TEXAdS) that has openly and actively supported people from the Democratic party, the Republican party, and an Independant, all at the same time (albeit for different offices). Therefore, my progressive politics, and normally progressive stances, come with a twist.

Welcome, then, my fair readers, to MindSpeak. Enjoy!

Welcome to MindFyre, Politics.

After blogging on several subjects in one blog, I felt it best to seperate topics into multiple blogs. Political commentary, posts, etc… will be here. Welcome to MindFyre, Politics!