Texas Congressman Lamar Smith took a lot of flack over his authorship of SOPA, a brazen step in internet policing that, if passed, would likely close many of the sites you enjoy regularly, including this one and Smith's own home page. Due to his perceived ignorance regarding internet freedom and the widespread availability of this pretty goofy photo, he is now victim of a sort of memeness previously reserved for internet's greatest heroes and villains. The good news? SOPA has stalled, and Smith said "he would halt his pursuit of the bill until there is wider agreement on a solution to combating piracy."

Image from Quickmeme

While few people are under the impression that copyright law is healthily respected across the world wide web, it comes as some surprise to see SOPA, a.k.a. Stop Online Piracy Act, a.k.a. H.R. 3261, appear in its current form before the House of Representatives. Many internet users may have thought that programs that allowed for legit music sharing (Spotify), programs that allowed for fair use (Flickr's partnership with Creative Commons, for example) and more streaming options for television and films (Hulu, more) were all strong pathways to making pirating both less palatable and tempting. But to a bipartisan group of legislators, more drastic steps are needed to protect copyright. more ›

Remember Puppet Government, last year's Frontera Fest success that went on to wow audiences at this past summer's New York International Fringe Festival? The gang's gettin' together one last time at Ventanna Del Sol's upstairs auditorium to raise money for John Courage, a former teacher, vet, and Democractic congressional candidate for Texas' 21st district. From the Puppet Gov folk: John is a honorable, genuine guy, and also very, very smart. And he's not a... more ›

A bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives might make it illegal for churches to help undocumented immigrants. Two Austin-area representatives, Michael McCaul and Lamar Smith, cosponsored the bill. more ›