I was deeply disturbed by this situation and took it upon myself to write my state’s representative, and senators. I originally wanted to send my correspondences by physical letter signed by hand to help get my point across, however I was unable to find the appropriate address to use such a method and instead passed on my concerns by email. I didn’t have very high hopes for the outcome of my message as when it comes to the US Government I am somewhat of a pessimist. However I also believe that unless I do my part to make my voice heard I have only myself to blame if nothing comes of it. By speaking my peace I can with good conscience lay the blame on those who have listened and remained idle in their actions to right these wrongs.

Read the letter that I sent to House Representative Paul Hodes, as well as Senator Judd Gregg, and Senator John E. Sununu.

The First Reply I got back was from Senator Sununu. The last time I had written this man it was about Net Neutrality and the response I had received to that was something analogous to: you’re wrong, the bill is right, big Telco told me so. My Fiancee had also written a letter to him concerning Net Neutrality and received the same exact form letter response. Sununu’s reply to my letter about the ICE raids was slightly more positive, albeit not by much. Read it yourself; I got the impression that he’s pretty much saying: I’m not even going to bother with this issue unless there is a bill in my face, and even then I might not even bother taking into account your concerns.

The Second Reply I received was from Senator Gregg. He isn’t even technically the senator for my region of the state but I decided to write to him anyway. I was actually quite pleased with the response I received back from Senator Gregg. The basic impression I got was that he took what I was saying to heart, he admitted to not knowing many details of the case but he was going to make an effort to learn more from ICE and that he would be in contact with me if he needed more details. I was quite pleased with the response, though I’m staying cautiously optimistic about whether or not anything will come of it. I’ve heard replies like this before in the corporate world and while good intentions are there it quite often gets pushed aside in the face of more pressing issues. While this is one of the issues I hold closest to my heart, I have no delusions that this likely very much a low priority for nearly all of congress.

The Third reply I received was from House Representative Paul Hodes. Despite the fact that I received Paul Hodes’ response last he was the only one who sent it via email. If I recall correctly I never received a response from him concerning the Net Neutrality issue so I was pleased to see that at least someone read my letter. Though if you read it yourself you will probably find yourself scratching your head in the same way I was. No I did not link the wrong response, and no I have never contacted this man with any interests outside of Net Neutrality and the ICE raids. I really hope Mr Hodes reads this and feels embarrassed by it. Sir, if you are reading this, you are welcome to send me a real response and I will gladly post it here.

I do hope that others who felt as I did about the actions of ICE wrote their congress persons about it. I would very much like to see some of the replies you may have received or at least your thoughts on the matter.

If you neglected to write your congress persons despite your feeling against the actions of ICE then shame on you. If you’re not doing something to get your voice heard while our peers are having their lives destroyed by something that should not be a crime then you might as well be the one raiding their homes.

Do you have opinions and insights about the Video Game industry? If so then I might be interested in having you write them for thoughthead.

If this is something you’re interested in please contact me at twistedsymphony(at)gmail.com and we’ll talk.

One of the project I’m working on is I’m considering opening up a Modding Store. I wont be selling modchips or anything like that but I’d like to sell DIY kits, tools, supplies and maybe even swag and other stuff related to console modding. I’d be happy to hear your ideas on the kinds of things you’d like to see.

I’m not looking to make a ton of money just enough to cover server costs and fund a few projects a year.

I’m quite interested in doing more interviews like this so if anyone knows anyone in any modchip teams or even just in the game industry, I’d be interested in getting in touch with them.

In thoughthead.com news you can expect to see Ackerhack adding his two cents worth very soon, and I’ve also revamped the comment system on the site here.

Registration is now no longer required and I hope that this helps encourage people to leave more comments. Of course if you’ve already registered you can still login and not worry about typing in your name and email every time you comment. This new system is really more of an addition to the existing system than a replacement. Gravatars will still work whether you’re posting from a registered account or simply leaving a comment off-the-cuff.