General Community Update

Some of the new categories for this blog's link list and resource guide are not complete quite yet but I figured since the revamp of the blog is some what on target I would introduce a few of the categories with news and curiosities that I have found while traversing across the electronic super highway.

Category one: Support 3 Rivers Athletics
If any body has any of this information please forward it to me via comments here, please. (illustration picture under category still in debate, primary links: college/ professional/ semiprofessional are done, need to follow up with community sports organizations now,
need to follow up with high school athletics next,)

Befriend the Fort Wayne Derby Jeerleaders

Our jeerleader squad wants to be your friend! Send them a friend request at www.myspace.com/fwdgjeerleaders And don't forget, not only are we holding try outs for interested skaters on Jan. 7 and 9, we are also looking for dedicated individuals to volunteer, ref or join our jeerleader squad.


Category Two: But There Are Things To Do In Fort Wayne
(Category not posted on side bar will be a reoccurring theme)

IPFW "Fall-Into-Finals" Party and Drinking Convention announced.

With an IPFW student I.D. and $6, you can apparently drink yourself stupid tomorrow (the 30th) at the Quality Hotel (3330 W. Coliseum Blvd., Fort Wayne) while being hopefully entertained by The Freezing Scene as well as The North River Agents. One IPFW I.D. admits two people. It's apparently all-ages, so I guess that means fake I.D.'s are welcome and encouraged. It starts at 9pm but the bands wont start playing until like ten or eleven.

One more proof that yes in fact there are things to do in Fort Wayne but only if you have money, a car, and are enrolled at IPFW. I have no issue with drinking but this has got to change. Next is a beginning example of how easily the Cultural Studies Credit Program could work.

The Fort Wayne Youth Theatre announced that The Best Christmas Pageant Ever will be presented on Saturday December 15 and Sunday December 16 at 2:00 p.m. on stage at the Arts United Center at 303 E. Main St. in Fort Wayne.

To make reservations you can call the box office at 422-4226 beginning Monday, December 10 between 12:00-4:00 p.m. Tickets are $12.00 adults and $8.00 children. If you'd like to see the show for free you can let the Director, Reuben, know if you are available on December 10 from 10:00-5:00 to help hang set pieces and lights for the show. If you work for 2 hours, you can get a comp ticket to see the show...

... and trust me he will need some help!

I figure that is enough rambling for now but just to let y'all know I will be going on my annual Advent retreat on Saturday up at the Chapel and Skete @ Crosswood Centre (Skete= Russian Orthodox term for Monastery) in Auburn, Indiana. It will be fun to reconnect and have fellowship with my friends whom are clergy of the Orthodox-Catholic Church of America and the lay members of the local communities they serve. Every time I go up to Crosswood Centre I am refreshed for another long haul with in my pastoral duties and personal life.

[UPDATE: Much as the story of my life normally tells, I was called away early this morning on an pastoral issue and could not attend the retreat today. Thank yous go out to those who prayed for me! Fortunately I have the opportunity to go on another retreat shortly after the Christmas season in mid January, probably on one of my patron feast day.]

One last note you will find that certain religious links have been pulled off this blog. All religion and spirituality links with the exception of mine and organizations directly affiliated with me are on Our Lady Rejoice Ministries third edition of The Reign And Rook, which is now in blog format and will debut in limited form this Sunday. I hope you are enjoying the transitions.

Come play in my office awhile

My Darling Readers and Lurkers,

For those whom are paying attention to this blog for whatever reason, I just wanted to let you become aware that over the last couple of days and into this next week, certain changes are a happening all across my little roundabout on the electronic super highway, lol.

Don't worry for the most part they were planned out a month or more ago. Things are being refiled, added new, and a few things just got shredded. So keep that in mind as you traverse the two lanes of chaos in the figure eight form that is my mind displayed on this and other pages.

Wait a minute where did that category come from, urgh.

Blessings Along The Journey,

Fr. Fozy Bear
MRev. Kenneth White, Jnr.

Photo Credit: Brad Walsh @ Junk Mag

But there is nothing to do in Fort Wayne... Wrong!

Every time I here someone complain about there not being anything to do in Fort Wayne it causes me to have a twitch in my brain that makes me want to throttle their head against the brick wall of the Old City Hall Museum on Barr Street. Now granted, most things in Fort Wayne seem to require exorbitant amounts of money in order to participate in. That is especially true, when one person is or a group of people are barely making it, while either going to college or just trying to scrape the bottom of the barrel on a day to day basis to survive.

Then I was thinking to myself most of my kids still have enough money to buy cigarettes every other day or so, and a good portion about a quarter of them have a pretty decent marijuana habit *shrugs shoulders and shakes head*; so if they if they have the money for that, then they should be able to redirect some of those funds for other endeavors and experiences within the community. Now of course that leaves the other three quarters of my kids and their peers who are just trying to get by moment by moment. If you are a student at I Paid For What, besides being treated to a thousand dollar Midget Elvis for March Madness a couple of years back, there are really some pretty fucking cool options available to you as a student in the way of discounts at local establishments and free tickets to certain events either on or off campus. I know one student was enrolled at the minimum full time credit hours for like twelve years just to receive those benefits, and to defer his tuition for a lifetime. But that doesn't begin to cover those, and there are a lot, who haven't had the opportunity or who failed there first attempt at college and haven't gone back yet for whatever reason.

So I propose a plan to City Council (hat tip towards Mitch Harper) and whoever else might be reading this blog entry. Let's start as a system based on volunteer work in the area, a Cultural Studies Credit:

Let's start by organizing both youth and young adults ranging in age from 16-21 and 21-26. The basic premises is that when they volunteer a certain amount of hours in the community, lets say ten (10) hours, one would receive a ten dollar credit (covers the cost of a movie, snack, and soda) which would either be distributed in a gift card or voucher system. They could then use them to see a movie at the Cinema Center, or gain entry into any of our beautiful museums, or go skinny dipping at Fox Island (*not legal but fun*). To beat the summer heat what if the volunteers could donate their time and then use some of their credits to get into the FW-AC Park Department's pools for free.

If they go over forty (40) hours in a month then should there also be an additional benefit awarded or their credited hours over forty should roll over to the next month. These are just some rough ideas that I am plotting out for a bigger action to make life better for my kids and kids all across this beautiful city we all love and call home.

As you gather around with family and friends...

and decide whether or not to come out at dinner remember the reason for this get together is first about love and then survival of the pitch fork.

This is a cute thing that I picked up from Nancy Nall

I am told that literacy is defined as possessing an eighth grade reading level by the time you graduate from high school, I think that is a pretty horrendous expectation. We need to challenge our friends to read more and comprehend better.



On a side note the Libertarian Party of Allen County's blog only received a High School rating, as did Our Lady Rejoice's website, lol. And now without further banter, one more picture:

Literacy in America: Historic Journey and Contemporary Solutions
by: Edward E. Gordon and Elaine H. Gordon

What does it mean to be a literate person in America? That definition has changed over time. In 1900, for example, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, what it meant to be a literate person was for one to be able to write one’s own name. By the 1930s, in order to be considered literate, one had to have three or more years of schooling.

By World War II, it was necessary for a person to have four years of schooling. In 1947, the U.S. Bureau of the Census said that literacy required a person to have five or more years of school. In 1952, the Census Bureau tweaked the number up to six or more years of school, and in 1970, the U.S. Office of Education said that literacy required at least a ninth-grade education. Today, the U. S. Department of Education says that literacy requires a high school education plus.

(to read full review, follow link below)....The authors demonstrate that literacy education is not necessarily synonymous with schooling. Abraham Lincoln, as only a single example, attended school for less than one year.

story from March 2003 copied from the Education Digest
Hat tip for the blog readability test to Nancy Nall Derringer

A Crapload of Conduct Issues (Final Copy)

Over the last week or so several blogs in the area jumped on two particular bandwagons.

The two primary issues that did get coverage over the normal City of Fort Wayne government corruption or citizen's general stupidity, were discussions (which I started lurking across from Mitch Harper's Fort Wayne Observed) on a certification of civility for bloggers who were being asked to moderate their blog content under the principles drafted by Tim O'Reilly.

A second bastion of cross blog politicking came when Rachel Blakeman of Be Part of the Solution started a discourse that comes down to boycotting businesses/owners that support a particular opposing political ideology, candidates, or platforms.

As of earlier this morning, also reminisced by Kody's Tinnel Vision, it has been quite an interesting recovery from the elections. Even with the aforementioned cross blog debates as the blogosphere around these Three Rivers traffic has seemed to slowly trickle to a log jammed stream with no hope of recovering for a couple of days to a week, to the pointe that this blog, yes my blog, actually almost made it to the Top Twenty on the Indiana Influence Index of the Blog Network News site! Thank you!

To give you a basic rundown of my thoughts would probably take forever; so before I continue my response, let us first review the basics of the Civility Enforced platform from Irish blogger Tim O'Reilly.

We celebrate the blogosphere because it embraces frank and open conversation. But frankness does not have to mean lack of civility. We present this Blogger Code of Conduct in hopes that it helps create a culture that encourages both personal expression and constructive conversation.

1. We take responsibility for our own words and for the comments we allow on our blog.

We are committed to the "Civility Enforced" standard:

We will not post unacceptable content, and we'll delete comments that contain it.

We define unacceptable content as anything included or linked to that:
- is being used to abuse, harass, stalk, or threaten others
- is libelous, knowingly false, ad-hominem, or misrepresents another person,
- infringes upon a copyright or trademark
- violates an obligation of confidentiality
- violates the privacy of others

We define and determine what is "unacceptable content" on a case-by-case basis, and our definitions are not limited to this list. If we delete a comment or link, we will say so and explain why. [We reserve the right to change these standards at any time with no notice.]

2. We won't say anything online that we wouldn't say in person.

3. We connect privately before we respond publicly.

When we encounter conflicts and misrepresentation in the blogosphere, we make every effort to talk privately and directly to the person(s) involved--or find an intermediary who can do so--before we publish any posts or comments about the issue.

4. When we believe someone is unfairly attacking another, we take action.

When someone who is publishing comments or blog postings that are offensive, we'll tell them so (privately, if possible--see above) and ask them to publicly make amends.
If those published comments could be construed as a threat, and the perpetrator doesn't withdraw them and apologize, we will cooperate with law enforcement to protect the target of the threat.

5. We do not allow anonymous comments.

We require commenters to supply a valid email address before they can post, though we allow commenters to identify themselves with an alias, rather than their real name.

6. We ignore the trolls.

We prefer not to respond to nasty comments about us or our blog, as long as they don't veer into abuse or libel. We believe that feeding the trolls only encourages them--"Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, but the pig likes it." Ignoring public attacks is often the best way to contain them.

Of course this new campaign came with logos and banners and all the fluffy feel good bull lark that comes with "making the world a better place" feeling expressed through the "thoughts of those who are enlightened". I am so sorry, sometimes people just need a good deep dicking or ass spanking (read: brain refresher), whether it be from someone pointing out the practical or the more ideal response to an issue or at least educating through a tense situation or ignorant populous regarding a particular subject matter.

So of course others in the blogosphere of Fort Wayne decided to add their own explosive rhetoric into the mix. Eric White @ The Centerline, actually brought up that Tim O'Reilly added the category of "Anything Goes" as an option to amend the Code of Civility. All the blogs in the area included disclaimers and new applications of the Code, with some illustrating with cartoon animations one of which was that of a lit fuse on a dynamite stick amongst others.

Now of course this blog with my propensity to use male erotic art and photography has several ideas for how to illustrate each option and I will post those later. As to where this blog stands on the issues of blog civility? Blunt force trauma has always worked best in my case.

The questions posed by Rachel Blakeman after some review of the cross blog debate still ring of the same hypocrisies that the liberals bitch and whine about when Christians boycott Disney and other theme parks for "Gay Days" or when conservatives bitch because liberals boycott certain manufacturers and clothing companies or grocery stores for certain work site practices and labor violations; yet still neither party, conservative or liberal, have bothered to chastise the S.A. [edited/cite] which uses homeless men as sweat shop labor and spend approximately 80,000.00 dollars a year to promote discrimination of gays and lesbians, or on occasion other minority group members.

My point is simply this, if you want to draw your line in the sand, fine do it; but then make damned sure as hell that you, put a concrete slab on either side of that line and erect a ten foot high by ten foot long fence between those slabs of cement, and post a don't trespass sign on either side. Don't be the ecological/environmental/economical conscienceless who preach against abusive work environments, for abstinence only education, protest harmful chemicals, and preach intolerance on a Saturday rally and then secretly shop at Wal*Mart on Thursday night when no one is watching or go to a gay bar on drag night while wearing a dress because no one will notice. Duality is what pisses me off more than anything hold your stand on ideals and in reality not just against individuals or companies.

I dislike the way Wal*Mart treats it's employees and what it does as a company to small mom and pop stores even here in big old Fort Wayne, Indiana. But there are three reasons why I still shop at Wal*Mart:

1. They carry my particular favorite brand of underwear, Hanes Forward Fashion Bikinis, String Bikinis, and Low Rise Briefs, with my over sized balls and a ghetto booty as big as mine they provide the support and longevity, sheerness, and breathe ability I desire in essentials wear. Three pairs that I still have from 1995, I know I am a bad queer boi, are just now starting to show wear and tear.

2. The five different medicines I am on for my two heart failures and kidney failure in the course of a year only cost me thirty six dollars a month, before Medicaid kicked in since I haven't been able to work my primary paying jobs since mid March. Now it roughly cost me sixteen dollars a month. Thanks to the Wal*Mart in house co pay of four dollars a prescription on certain medicines I am alive today and have not had to go onto dialysis yet.

3. The third reason is my nine year old boy Bruno, who I am probably going to have to take for his walk here shortly, before it gets to cold and beyond dark. He is on a special food diet and the only place that carried the type of food that he could eat during the E-coli scare that hadn't been contaminated was a Wal*Mart brand Lamb and Rice blend.

By the way, for those who don't know, Bruno is an Australian Cattle Dog (aka, Queensland Blue Heeler) with throwback traits.

~CONCUSSIONS AND ILLUSIONS~

As I can not find one of the pictures I am looking for, and knowing my luck it will appear as soon as I publish this final post, I am going to revisit this post in a couple of months. I hope that: a. the conversation will have not subsided as it is one that we as bloggers need to progress through and evolve around for a while; and b. as we try out these new codes of conduct and stretch and skew them to our own application of civility, we will remember that it all started with one man writing down his thoughts across the world wide web and all of us jumping his bones or at least bitching up a storm about it.

Now if I were still in advertising or marketing regularly I would tell my big standard company to take note of this power of one blog to change the conversation even for just a brief time from Ireland to Indiana and across the world. That is called in marketing, 'a desired return'.

I think that the biggest concern is that we don't become complacent in the comfort that we all have behind a screen of electrons and strokes on a well worn keyboard. For most of us if we didn't have the news sources either online, through television, or the good old fashion black and white newsprint, to feed off of for stories to banter about, what would we have left? Each other and that is exactly what we have now both in person and through traditional industry.

There is a huge debate going on about the future of news media in this country and everywhere else. The blogosphere hasn't just changed the status quota or flipped mainline journalism on its ear, it has changed the way we all look at cultures and ideas and common practices that aren't considered abnormal any longer.

We as bloggers have taken the time to share either our lives and our opinions on certain matters and sometimes a little of both about this small part of our world around us and hopefully along the way have learned from others what a true normal world view really is.

Truth be told, I am lewd and graphic (and I probably use the strong man argument style more than I should); but more so important is that I inform you of my sarcastic and queer view of life and love and doing them both well, sometimes. I can only pray you enjoyed the exploration and beseech to you peace in every imaginable form.

Blessings Along The Journey,

Fr. Fozy Bear
MRev. Kenneth White, Jnr.

Excuse me! Can I borrow your newspaper?

In an obvious ploy to lure more gay men to overnight at Britain's 300 low budget low class and badly decorated Travelodge hotels, the chain's crafty management has announced an epidemic of naked men roaming the halls and lobbies throughout the night.

According to the report out of London, a surge in naked sleepwalking among guests has led Travelodge to re-train staff to handle late-night nudity.

Travelodge says sleepwalking rose seven-fold in the past year, and 95 percent of the somnambulants are scantily clad men.

"We have seen an increased number of cases over the years so it is important that our staff know how to help sleepwalking when it arises," Leigh McCarron, the chain's sleep director, said in a statement.

One tip in the company's newly released "sleepwalkers guide" tells staff to keep towels handy at the front desk in case a customer's dignity needs preserving. Small penises? An obvious case of genital herpes?

The company said naked wanderers often ask receptionists such questions as:

"Where's the bathroom?," "Do you have a newspaper?" or "Can I check out, I'm late for work?"

Studies have found that sleepwalking can be brought on by stress, alcohol, eating cheese or consuming too much caffeine. It generally takes effect an hour or two after going to bed, when people are first slipping into a deep sleep.

Asked Thursday why she thought 95 percent of its sleepwalkers were naked men, a Travelodge spokeswoman said: "We have more men staying with us than women, so that could be a factor."

story and picture copied from R.J.R.'s PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK

New Show: QUARTERLIFE on Sundays and Thursdays

Below this text blurb is the pilot trailer for QUARTERLIFE a new web based show about a group of twenty-somethings coming of age in the digital generation. And a social network about what it means to be creative, to pursue a passion, to make a difference in the world, or just to find a place in it. Debuting on MySpace November 11th and on their 2.0 Community Website (link is below) on November 12th.

In Part One Dylan begins blogging about her life, unbeknownst to her friends or co-workers. In Part Two Dylan's friends get angry when they find out that she has been blogging about them. Danny and Debra struggle with the question of where their relationship should go. There is a two second preview of Part Three available on the website (link is below).

Quarterlife Trailer

Add to My Profile | More Videos

To explore further go to QUARTERLIFE's WEBSITE or visit the MYSPACE PROFILE.

Golden Showers: A private business plan to curb impared driving

While the comments will be endless on the head of this post (puns intended), what is even more ironic is that if this system were implemented in the United States every male in America would stop drinking alcohol at midnight just to pump themselves full of water in order to play the game.

For at least three months, straight bars would stop selling beer, and of course every gay bar in America would have to expand their mens restroom onto the dance floor, because it would be the gay bars primarily to install the game first since we already have the fifteen inch monitors everywhere anyway. All the straight bois would go there to play just to show off their mad control skills and still end up proving that gay boys can actually hit a hole that they aim for better still sober or drunk.

What is even more important is that this is a prime example of business leading a change for the betterment of society and as proof by the Belgium government anytime the government gets involved in private business they tend to fuck every great idea over since they didn't think of it themselves... sounds like Fort Wayne government to a T too.

Story copied from R.J.R.'s PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK

While American cops are driving themselves crazy over men's room foot tapping, Belgian cops are freaking out over a new craze that has recently washed over their little country from big bad perverted Germany.

It began in Frankfurt, a rather conservative city mostly known for banking and business and long hot frankfurters. And speaking of long hot frankfurters, those clever Germans have developed a new video game technology called Piss-Screen that allows visitors to public men's room to operate a rather exciting video game with their piss stream.

Considered something of a public service, the racing game is installed in bars and as you and the other guys line up at the urinals, it allows you to compete against the other drunken urinaters. After the game, the screen displays anti-drunk driving slogans and numbers for local taxi companies.

Developed using much the same technology as the Wii, Piss-Screen allows players to steer by shifting the stream to the left and to the right, and their urine will make the turns happen on screen. Well, the Belgians are about as happy with this German advance as they were when Hitler invaded their sleepy little landscape in the early days of World War II. Les Belges are not amused and have banned the "Place to Pee" game declaring it to be an "indecency offense."

Additional story verification GayGamer: Games + Urination=
Link to the Piss Screen Game (currently overloaded)

Photo credit Matt's Dick Junkie (+18 Mature Audiences Only)

It Is Just One Of Those Days...When You Need A Good Laugh

to those whom served in silence and may we pray for peace

may we always remember
and never forget our
young men and women
whom have sacrificed so much
and all glbt service members
whom have served in silence
for our freedom!

The regular media is finally catching up the rest of the way

GOP, Democrats dismiss
Libertarians at their peril
By Kevin Leininger The News-Sentinel

Libertarian Chairwoman Jennifer Jeffrey's cell phone rang early Tuesday night as she spoke about efforts to build a competitive third political party in Allen County. As she listened to the vote totals, disappointment filled a face that had beamed with optimism only minutes before.

“I won't say I'm content with the results. I was expecting to win. But I'm glad we were heard,” said Jeffrey, whose candidates were uniformly trounced Tuesday despite competing for nearly every city office, the first time that's ever happened. But the eight Libertarians on Tuesday's ballot were not merely heard. Their unprecedented presence and performance sent shock waves through Republican headquarters, even though none of them came close to winning.

“If not for the Libertarians, John (Crawford) and I would still be on council,” said 2nd District Republican Don Schmidt, a 36-year veteran who came up a scant 13 votes short in his race against Democrat Karen Goldner. Crawford, R-at large, best known for his forceful and unapologetic support of the city's no-smoking ordinance, finished a close fourth in a contest having room for only three. Crawford echoed Schmidt's conclusion.

Are they right? Could be. If Jeffrey is right when she said Libertarians draw two votes from Republicans for each vote they get from Democrats, the 580 votes 2nd District Libertarian Jonathan Bartels earned would have been more than enough to earn Schmidt another term.

Likewise, the more than 11,600 votes going to the three at-large Libertarians might have given Crawford the edge over incumbent Democrat John Shoaff, who won along with Republicans Marty Bender and Liz Brown.

Crawford lost to Brown by about 100 votes and to Shoaff by less than 2,000, although two-to-one support for Crawford among Libertarians cannot be assumed because most of them vehemently oppose the smoking ban as an infringement of business owners' property rights.

But if Jeffrey's crestfallen look was genuine - and it was - she wants to do far more than play the spoiler. She wants Allen County's Libertarian Party to offer legitimate alternatives to big government-loving Democrats and to Republicans whose deeds seldom match their small-government sound bites.

“My husband is with the Army in Iraq fighting for our freedom, so I really have no choice but to do the same,” the mother of four said. “Being a Libertarian means getting government out of the way and letting people live their lives. Our goal is to have candidates for all local races. If you don't build at the grass-roots level, all you have is a patchy lawn.”

Frankly, that image seems to fit right now. Even though it competed for all but mayor, clerk and council's 4th District, the party's candidates were - to be diplomatic - of uneven quality and, according to Jeffrey's own estimate, raised less than $10,000 in total campaign contributions.

Nevertheless, Jeffrey has good reason to believe her party's best days may be ahead of it.

“Voters need real choices, but the Republican and Democratic parties support the status quo, with little difference between them,” the self-described recovering Republican said. “The discontent with government has just built up over several issues, whether it was smoking, taxes, or Harrison Square and the use of eminent domain.”

But to build a political machine - and that's just what Jeffrey intends to do - it will take more than a handful of brave candidates willing to endure certain defeat for the sake of principle. It will require credible candidates and lots of money, neither of which are yet in abundance.

Ironically, that dream may have helped defeat Schmidt, the council candidate closest to Jeffrey's Libertarian ideal. But if the Republican Party does not heal the obvious and lingering resentments created by the contentious mayor's race, bigger names and fatter checkbooks may start looking for an alternative. That could be good for Jeffrey - and bad for her GOP counterpart, Steve Shine.

“(Libertarians) were emboldened” by the election, said Shine, who thinks his party will have to resist their appeal by re-embracing its core principles: limited government, low taxes and economic development.

“That would be good for (Republicans),” Shine said. “It would act as a check on us, if you will.”

It's never good when one party dominates politics - as the local GOP has done at times. But neither is it good when two parties seem to offer voters a single choice. The Libertarian Party is still the scrawny and sometimes awkward newcomer, but Democrats and especially Republicans ignore its potential at their own peril.

Libertarian Candidates Impact Election Results
By: Nicole Pence, from the Networks of Indiana News Center

Playing the role of political spoiler. Allen County's Libertarian Party made history for itself this year, posting candidates in nearly every Fort Wayne municipal race. Though none of them won, their presence clearly impacted some of the key races. As Nicole Pence reports.

Libertarian Jonathan Bartels ran in the second district city council race and lost. He only got six percent of the vote, but, since election night, he's been called the 900-pound gorilla.

Jonathan Bartels(L), Lost 2nd District Race: (Do you think if you weren't in this race in the second district Don Schmidt would be the declared winner right now?) Absolutely." That race is still being contested. Schmidt, the 36-year council veteran, finished 13 votes behind democrat Karen Goldner. Schmidt argues he'll push for a recount. Bartels says since the votes were tallied, democrats have been thanking him. Jonathan Bartels(L), Lost 2nd District Race: "As close as the race was if my votes had not have been there they would have more than likely gone to Don Schmidt.”

Andy Downs with the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics says it's a stretch to say Goldner won because of the libertarian in the mix. But, agrees it didn't help Schmidt. Andy Downs, Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics: “The libertarians way of campaigning in Fort Wayne, they talked a lot about fiscal responsibility, about government not being involved in economic development projects. I think it's fairly safe to say they pulled votes away from Republicans."

Downs also says libertarians made a big splash in the at-large race, gaining almost 12-thousand votes. Incumbent, Dr. John Crawford-who didn't get re-elected, is proof.

Andy Downs, Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics: "He's (Crawford) the person vocally for smoking ordinance and vocally for Harrison Square. And those are two issues the Libertarians spend a lot of time talking about."

Doug Horner (L), Lost At-Large Race: "People need to understand that we stand on ideals and values of small government, less taxes, less government intrusion and that's not where the parties have been going.”

The Libertarians plan to have candidates in the next county and school board elections.

Jonathan Bartels(L), Lost 2nd District Race: "We are obviously not a majority but we are a significant part of the district and we do need to be listened to."

How is this NOT a classic conflict of interest?

What the fuck were they thinking?

With all the flack between the current Administration and the Press and City Council regarding the environmental data and actual purchase/cleanup cost of the Omni Source site redevelopment for the north of Downtown St. Mary's River Area, you would think that one would not want to look suspicious or to cozy with contentious ideas in their own transition to office. What is even more sad is no one from the traditional press called him on this either.

Henry picks transition team chief

By Benjamin Lanka The Journal Gazette

Mayor-elect Tom Henry on Thursday made the first of what will likely be several appointments, naming Ben Eisbart to lead his transition team.

Henry said Eisbart's professional and educational experience make him the perfect person to help assemble a new administration. Eisbart is executive vice president of administration for OmniSource Corp. and is a former Democratic member of the Fort Wayne City Council.

Henry said he plans to make further appointments to his transition team in the coming weeks.

Additionally, he asked people interested in positions within his administration to submit resumes online at www.tomhenryformayor.com, via e-mail to campaign@ tom henry for mayor .com or sending them to Henry for Mayor Transition, P.O. Box 5406, Fort Wayne, IN 46859.

The results of the municipal election sort of

It has been quite an interesting week as people from all three parties are just trying to relax and unwind after a hard fought and intense election cycle and recover from an even more intense results process and review of polling data.

So that the record and analysis is clear I am going to wait until all the numbers are in for an in depth review but here are some basic stats.

From the News-Sentinel or copied from Fort Wayne News

Without official numbers from the Allen County Election Board as of early this morning, the best indicator of turnout in Fort Wayne could be the mayor’s race. A total of 52,876 votes were cast for mayor, about 31 percent of the more than 173,000 registered voters. That would represent the lowest voter turnout in a municipal general election in Fort Wayne since at least 1947.

Fort Wayne City Council At-Large results

+Martin Bender 26719
+Elizabeth Brown 24920
-John Crawford 24813

+John H. Shoaff 26623
Thomas D. Essex Jr. 19645
A. Denise Porter-Ross 17402

Michael Brightbill 2880
Doug Horner 4516
William Larsen 4229

Now while the Libertarian vote looks dismal in the At Large races keep in mind that it is also a total of 11,625 votes compared to the almost fifty three thousand votes for mayor. Now just comparing the numbers as they stand here without having the actual stats one could guess that we had at least 2880 straight ticket libertarian votes and others who split their votes between all three parties, it will be interesting to read the final reports and spread sheets.

Within the district races it got more intense in the first district Byron Peters took ten percent of the vote and LPAC candidates averaged about five percent across the particular areas and certain races did stand out for obvious impact on the outcomes.

Jonathan Bartels pulled 6 percent from an even tie between Karen Goldner who won out over him and Don Schmidt by thirteen votes which are still in contention because of ballot discrepancies and will be decided later more than likely by a recount.

On another note, even though I had to pull my endorsement for Karen (because of the campaign flier which leveled accusations that could equally be applied to our new mayor elect Tom Henry as the tenure on City Council of both Schmidt and Henry overlap and certain other issues mirror), I also stand by my original statement of endorsement that she will be a welcome addition to the Common Council in her continued service to the community.

Robert Fuller while not defeating Timothy Pape in the fifth district still brought forth an eight percent pull of the vote lever or button in this case. Robert struck a cord with many constituents and like Karen took the time to get to know the people he lives and works with.

Hopefully this will allow both of the other Parties and the Journal Gazette to realize that the Libertarian Party is here to stay and is a force to be reckoned with in local elections. All bantering and posturing aside it was a fun ride and I am looking forward to next year.

It would also prove interesting to note how many abstained in either the mayor or city clerk race and how many others did bullet voting as the Journal Gazette suggested.

Special thanks to the News Sentinel, Frost Illustrated, and Nicole Pence, and Benjamin Lanka among many others for giving us assisstance in getting our message out to the general populous.

Fort Wayne City Council

At-Large

Martin Bender, R – 26,719
Elizabeth Brown, R – 24,920
John Crawford, R – 24,813
Thomas D. Essex Jr,. D – 19,645
A. Denise Porter-Ross, D – 17,402
John H. Shoaff, D – 26,623
Michael Brightbill, L - 2880
Doug Horner, L - 4516
William Larsen, L - 4229

District 1

Thomas Smith, R - 6965
Kevin R. Boyd, D - 3538
Byron Peters, L - 1166

District 2

Donald J. Schmidt, R - 4549
Karen Goldner, D - 4562
Jonathan Bartels, L - 580

District 3

Thomas F. Didier, R - 5424
Debra McBride, D - 2897
Gloria Diaz, L - 491

District 5

Ronald Buskirk, R - 1715
Timothy Pape, D - 4006
Robert Fuller, L - 504

District 6

Joe A. Smith Sr., R - 789
Glynn A. Hines, D - 3609
Robert Enders, L - 248

stats copied from Mark Rutherford's News On Electing Libertarians

But it is for the children

Now that Dr. Crawford has been voted out of office can we please get the Smoking Ban reformed, please!

$134,178,669

The following is the obligatory debt of the City of Fort Wayne, that means you as a citizen.

When does our City leadership plan to start paying it off or do they just plan to accrue more?

Debt Service Fund
16,680,000
Special Obligations Bonds
60,030,000
Revenue Bonds
1,510,000
First Mortgage Bonds
29,445,000
Capital Leases
19,631,022
New Capital Leases
4,878,500
Other Loans
2,004,147

These obligations started as early as 1998 and will not be paid off in full until at least the year 2021 that is just over three terms of city council remember this debt that you are paying for when you decide not to vote for that other party in four years.

stats copied from William Larsen

I just heard that Smashface died

There is a presence in the city gone for now that is even more well known then her place of residence or as others put it stalking grounds in a temporal existence. There are many a youth and young adult who have encountered the fluffy specter off Wells and and Fourth in an unusual way. Whether she trips you or misguides you through the stacks of Hyde Bros. Book Company she always finds for you the right book at the right time. I am talking about none other than Smashface the Persian Himalayan that has graced the shelves and counter of the establishment for years.

When I was looking for a used Sacramentary, the book that is used to celebrate Mass, it was Smashface that helped me find it -1972 second edition in mint condition- and with my clergy discount it only cost me $60 dollars. When you were looking for just whatever, with no intention just browsing, Smashface would usually be right behind you or coming at you through the other side of the stacks. Smashface will dearly be missed.

As you are gently reminded to wake up and go vote

The future of your City depends on you slipping out of bed and into your car then down to your poling place... I am also asking you to consider voting Libertarians for City Council and experience a drastic change in the way that business is done in the Summit City for the better.

Anyway to perk your heart strings and get what is left of your internal liberal hippie that has become disenfranchised to go out and vote, I leave you with another Jay Brannan video Twenty-six Hour Day. Enjoy!



After you are done voting come celebrate and unwind with the candidates and officers and party members tonight. We have opened the doors to anyone who wants to come and relax with us after a busy election season. Minors are also invited and will be marked at the door. All ages are welcome, bring your ID if you will be imbibing.

Thanks to a generous donation from several candidates and LP supporters we are offering a small buffet with wings, poppers, veggies, and other goodies. Water and soda are also provided free in addition to a cash bar.

The Thirsty Camel is located at 120 W. Washington Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN. Parking is available at Cindy's Diner for free. On street parking is free after 6. There are also garages nearby.

The Libertarian Party of Allen County thanks you for your support and we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!!

To find out more about the Libertarian candidates visit http://allencountylp.blogspot.com

Keeping Up Appearances: The nature of Fort Wayne politics

As some are aware, over the last week certain candidates have been accused and proven of going negative and beyond towards their opponents, with no apology; but yet it is not considered okay, when certain other someones do it for a candidate with out the candidate's permission. Do I smell a double standard coming down the pike? I am not defending Matt Kelty or the AFA in any way but if Karen Goldner and Tom Henry and Chris Stewart want to hold one standard towards their partisan head and chief rival while at the same time acting in pretty much the same way towards their own opponent and still use the same excuses as said rival of caution towards their own accountability for the misinformation, than that is something that must be corrected as well.

Your mirrors are shattered and I am removing my secondary endorsement for Democrats Karen Goldner and Chris Stewart for City Council.