I'm Paul Terry Walhus and I started austinmayor.com. I'm working on the next generation of the site and one of the features we're testing now is something called "Backtalk" which Jan Wolter has installed. It's a promising new interface to our conferences but I haven't made up my mind about it yet. It's in beta on our system and this is one of two beta conferences, the other being the 'backtalk' conference itself.

My name is Linda Curtis. I'm a leading member of Independent Texans, which is not a party and is an affiliation of independent minded reform voters. Independents, now a 35% plurality of the electorate, are united in our concerns for cleaning up and opening up the political process and increasing voter participation. I felt forced to leave Austin (I now live in Bastrop) because, as a single working person, I couldn't afford to live in Austin anymore. I am urging IT members, and those we meet along the way to build something independent to take on the politicos who are destroying democracy in great places in Texas like Austin. I invite you to join Independent Texans, it's free, and you can participate from home.