REP. AARON PENA: THE STATE CAPITOL IS GOING TO THE BLOGS

A good story in the Fort Worth Star Telegram about the rise of blogging at the Texas Capitol. Click here to read the story.

Many of our good friends and must reads from the capitol are mentioned. Here is how some of our good bloggers are described:

"• Burnt Orange Report -- Byron LaMasters of Dallas, a student at the University of Texas at Austin, and friends cover state politics. They support the Democratic party. http://www.burntorangereport.com/

• Off the Kuff -- Charles Kuffner works in information technology in Houston and has written about politics from his blog since 2002. He describes himself as a "moderate Democrat." OffTheKuff.com/mt

• In the Pink Texas -- Former journalist and legislative aide Eileen Smith covers the legislature. She describes herself as nonpartisan. http://www.inthepinktexas.com/

• Pink Dome -- Anonymous Austin businessman and a friend cover the Legislature from a progressive point of view. http://www.pinkdome.com/

• Grits For Breakfast -- Scott Henson, a researcher for the American Civil Liberties Union in Austin, looks at how the Texas Legislature is addressing civil liberties. gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com

• Gaining a Following: Rick Perry vs. the World -- A blog tracking the 2006 race for governor, written by a Houston Republican. http://www.perryvsworld.blogspot.com/"

For those new to this medium, I recommend these and other sites for good, informative, funny and timely information related to the capitol and Texas politics.

A Capitol Blog and Lone Star Rising were both mentioned in the story. I continue to believe that the internet has made a paradigm shift that has shifted power to the average citizen. Rather than the linear, top down one-way communication comming from the elites to their subordinates, the internet now allows two way and vertical communication to each other.Many citizens are just now awakening to their new found potential.

Like many who are over 40 years of age (45), if it were not for the prodding of my son, I too would find the internet to be intimidating. People who want their government to be more responsive to the interests of the average citizen need to embrace this medium.

I may not be a blog evangelist, but I do believe in that founding principle of our government, that government does best when it serves the interests of the governed, rather than the governed serving the interests of the government.