UPDATE: 3 Rivers Sports & Athletics: TIN CAPS Opening Day SOLD OUT!; JobFair 2K+ Show; NO BEER/JUST WHINE; 4 D Fans of Tin Caps = What @ GAY DAYS?

APOLOGY: So I first want to apologize for the delay on the update to Mondays post on Friday as promised. There is a more detailed explanation below for those who care to read it.

F6 reported on Monday, the FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS, in preparation for their freshmen season @ Parkview Field announced that Opening Game and Season Tickets would be available for purchase during Mardi Gras and that they would be holding a Job Fair today for approximately 200 part time and seasonal positions. According to all reports, including the official press releases, asserts that Opening Day is SOLD OUT!, "the team put individual game tickets on-sale for the first time and received an unprecedented response - all fixed seats in the ballpark were sold out in less than a half-hour. Full and partial season ticket packages are still available, as the team has held a number of seat locations for those interested in purchasing ticket plans. All individual tickets and ticket plans can also be purchased in person at the Tin Caps Administrative Offices @ Parkview Field or via the Team's website."

Well over two thousand people showed @ the Job Fair at the Grand Wayne Center today, according to reports by Mr. Parker. "We interviewed well over 500 people today and accepted applications from 1,500 more that we were not able to speak with at length,” said Michael Limmer, Vice President of Marketing. The Tin Caps will not be accepting additional applications at this time. Those who apply today are asked to be patient as the team reviews applications and follows up directly within the coming weeks.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game! But OMG, You Cant Buy Beer?

Citing a lack of quorum during the recent local Alcohol Beverage Commission meeting was the latest cause for delay in the ongoing battle of Harrison Square financing and government officials' accountability issues, as reported by Benjamin Lanka of the Journal Gazette:

The local board likely would have been unable to grant immediate permission to serve alcohol anyway, because John Kalb plans to remonstrate against granting the city the license. Kalb, a staunch opponent of the Harrison Square project, said he had concerns with the city holding the liquor license.

John B. Kalb @ Fort Wayne Politics
23 February 2009:
... In discussions with the hearing officer, it was discovered that the application listed an incorrect name for the officer of the Authority making the application. Per IC 7.1, the president and the secretary of the applicant corporation are to formally make the application under their names representing the entity. This would be J. Nelson Coats, president and Deanna Wilkerson, secretary who are two of the officers of the Authority.
My reason for opposing this application as requested is that I don’t see the reasoning behind using an entity like the Authority to own this permit. Since the Authority was established specifically to enable circumvention of the State of Indiana’s constitutional limitation on governmental debt, it just doesn't make sense.....

The city’s agreement with Hardball Capital, owner of the FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS, called for the baseball team to acquire the permit. Greg Leatherman, executive director of redevelopment, said it made more sense for the city to get the license at a substantial discount to save money for the project. Having the city hold the license would also mean that the city’s ability to serve alcohol wouldn’t be affected by a change in ownership.

Greg Leatherman continued..., “This is the City’s! Because if (Hardball) goes away, we keep the license,”.... (and further asserted)....., the delay wasn’t a cause for worry because it won’t affect alcohol sales for opening day, scheduled for April 16. He said they could run into some problems for preseason events scheduled for private businesses and other groups that wanted to use the ballpark as a venue.

Which has lead some to speculate already how long Hardball Capital will retain ownership of the Tin Caps and or for that matter how many other contract adjustments the City or the Redevelopment Commission are going to attempt to make, and we are not even half way through the entire project that has reached over hundreds of millions of dollars and continues to grow by leaps and bounds, all while being funded and pushed forward by a City Government that doesn't understand the meaning of fiscal responsibility and stewardship of tax payer dollars, let alone accountability to its constituents and transparency in active governance.

Taking Ownership Of Your Taxes & Your Team

However, that is where politics and pandering meats the true grit and grain of our Community here in Fort Wayne. Even if we individually or politically or collectively don't like something, it's ours and we own up to it, we still support it minimally, then we try to turn into something better for the Community as a whole. Selling out Opening Day tickets is the first step there will be a whirlwind of things to come down the pike later. This may sound olde fashioned but it worked before it can work again.

One of the things that I would like to see is the Community and the Tin Caps come together and form smaller "farm teams league" (which is similar to what I previously suggested) using our current or former high school and college athletes, or those who never dreamed it possible before, for them to play semi professional sports for exposition games locally against each other and the Tin Caps, also as a mentoring process for the younger generation to develop a local pool of players for the national teams, as well as the Tin Caps to draw recruits from. This way we could have local players move up through the national leagues easier.

Eventually it would provide the personal capital investment of truly making the Tin Caps our local team owned and operated within the City with the best players from the surrounding area and put a local team possibly on the national stage in ten years as a major league team by our own design.

This is just the beginning the possibilities for success are endless and it is up to us as a City as a Community to get ready to take over when Hardball or Barry Real Estate and whoever else decides to bailout or cash in! This initiative must start within the Community not the Corporations, plus as an aside, having the additional farm teams would provide a perfect opportunity to use some of those other name suggestions like my favorite the Summit City Sandbaggers, or the other crowd favorite across the blogosphere, the Maumee Valley Mosquitoes.

Mentioning Community Pride, What About Having GAY DAYS @ Parkview Field?

Well it just so happens that Fort Wayne's PRIDE Fest [Website] [MySpace] is held @ Head Waters Park East on the last weekend of July; and on those dates the Tin Caps are at away games all weekend long, so unfortunately there cant be a joint event on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. However, on the historical anniversary of The Stonewall Rebellion on the 28th of June they will be playing a home game against South Bend at 3 in the afternoon. This would be a perfect opportunity to reach out to local GLBT Lovers of the game, and for us gay bois to drool over all the hot men running around after their balls in tight pants, and jock straps, and swinging their nine inch piece of wood around in their hands. *woofy!*

Fortunately I have access to some insider information regarding this issue in detail. During the initial Matt Kelty and Harrison Square fiascoes back in 2007, Nick Giant, a local body builder and manager @ Coney Island, appeared on a couple You Tube videos shirtless, wearing a leather mask, while slamming those particular issues, both Kelty and the new name of the Team, a year later he also managed to sneak in and get an interview with (video) the General Manager of the FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS. When asked about the idea of hosting Gay Days @ Parkview Field, Mike Nutter said the following:

We are an affiliate of the San Diego Padres, they have done a Gay and Lesbian Night every year that they've been out there in PETCO Park. Again it is something that doesn't go over well with some faction of your fans ...bluntly stated.... But we are open to any group, anybody that wants to come out for theme nights.

As far as wearing rainbows on the uniform or symbolic change of the uniform for a particular group or event:

...You know... We would have to discuss that on a case by case basis with Minor League baseball dictates what uniforms we (Tin Caps) can wear. We would certainly be open to an event that acknowledges people of any group like (Gays and Lesbians) that.

These questions remain to be answered and need to be addressed:

Did anyone see the irony of having tickets sales on Mardi Gras?

The biggest concern I have left is why are we worried about maintaining a alcohol serving license to an establishment that everyone must pretty much drive to get to or from. Let me explain it in five steps:

If the City owns the license to serve or sell intoxicating beverages, and Someone who leaves said facility without the City assuring they are not intoxicated, Does that mean Someone can file suit against the City after they get pulled over by the City Police Department for drinking one beer at a City sponsored drinking establishment? What is there to prevent a liability claim against the City for serving someone to much? Without a breathalyzer station at ever exit, enforcement of driving under the influence, would then be a conflict of interest on the part of any City Official or Police Department, would it not?

Aside from all that, I have to ask the obvious question, being fair and balanced in both my commentary and reporting: After spending 130 million plus tax dollars for this project, that is not even half way done, all we get is 200 plus jobs that are at best part time and typically seasonal, how is that an equitable return on our investment?

If anything it is a violation of the tax abatement rules; which City Council gave the entire Harrison Square project a ten year tax abatement, that should be reviewed, and possibly shortened to five years. Then the County Council, as I have stated on this forum before also, will probably end up giving Parkview Field a Professional Sports Development Zone Tax District as well, which means all taxes incurred by you the consumer there stay at the facility rather than coming back to the Community at large. With that as a high note, you can also probably forget about revenue (even without interest) going to pay back the Jefferson Pointe TIF District money that funded the project in the first place. Something just doesn't seem kosher about all of it and the icing on the cake is that this bonded debt load wont even have paid off until 2034 at the earliest estimates. Not to mention the fact that a lot of these funds could have been building interest instead of being pulled out only to be spent six months to a year down the road if we had simply followed a pay as you go system in the first place.

Last, which Organization in the Gay & Lesbian Community is going to put forward the initiative to have a GAY DAY @ PARKVIEW FIELD with the FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS?

EDITOR'S NOTES: F6, as with the previous post on Monday, turns to Stephen Parker @ AROUND FORT WAYNE for most of the update information for this post. F6 also cross referenced with the Spaulding Brothers @ What's Going Down, Town? for their coverage of certain events as well as the Gentlemen over @ Fort Wayne Politics for their coverage and multi faceted perspectives.

Review of Richard Greenberg's "Take Me Out" by the Rochester Black Friars source of the 5th picture
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F6 Editorial Policy Statement: Although it is nice to know that gay bois can still think about swinging your six to nine inch piece of wood around in our hands, through showing support of the local amateur and professional sports and athletic associations, as part of the continuing editorial service of F6 to promote healthy life choices in all gay bois and gyrlz, F6 intends to prove it is possible to concentrate on more than just tight ends, wide receivers, pitchers and catchers, etc.

EDITOR'S APOLOGY: Strike Three! No, Wait You're Not Out: I almost literally had a heart attack during the week, due to certain stress and a recent occurrence of events. Fortunately by the grace of GOD and the power of prayer, my blood pressure dropped 50 over 30 down in fifteen minutes, and then it took me a couple days to recover the rest of the way. While drastic and damaging as well as potentially deadly, it was eye opening. Even though I thought I was doing everything I could with what little I had to work with, this turn of events proved it was not enough, and I almost paid the ultimate price. I am not willing to give up this life just yet! I have already crossed over before, Heaven is boring; even with how shitty life can be sometimes, I like it here too much. Thank you to those whom are praying for me.

Support 3 Rivers Sports & Athletics: TIN CAPS Tickets, Jobs Fair;

The FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS begin their freshman season, with 70 home games, on the 16th of April @ Parkview Field Stadium.

WOWO 1190AM, Around Fort Wayne, and several other media outlets and blogs are covering the stories quite well so this post, and its copy on LPAC's Blog is just a recap and continuation of the promotion of our own minor league team's hard work in the Community at large.

Tickets will be available for purchase in person tomorrow, aka Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras, @ The Grand Wayne Center beginning at 10A. After that, tickets can be purchased online or the Tin Caps Offices located at Parkview Field, and continue to be on sale both online and via phone. For more information on Tin Caps season tickets, group outings or corporate partnerships for the 2009 season at Parkview Field contact the Team @ 260-482-6400 or visit the Team's website.

Tickets range between $5 for Lawn Seats and $12.50 for Scout Seats behind home plate; the medium ranged tickets of either $8 - 9 range are probably the most economical and better viewing choice for the baseball fan in every inner child. The Tin Caps Group Rates for Lawn (outfield) and Reserved (dugouts) seating are fairly economic, between $5-8 respectively.

There is just sometimes when you have to be in the stands and the middle of the action otherwise it is not the hearty American tradition of hot dogs, baseball, and a nice warm apple pie with ice cream on the side.

Citing a need to accommodate better customer service at Parkview Field, during games and other special events, they will be holding a job fair for 200 Seasonal and Part Time position as well, this Saturday the 28th from 10A-2P @ The Grand Wayne Center's Calhoun Room on the second floor. Some of the positions that need filled include: Ushers, Ticket Takers, Parking Lot Attendants, Ticket Office Sales, Merchandise Sales, Video Production, In-Game Promotions, Field Maintenance, Special Events, Food Preparation and Service Staff. Applicants must be 16 years of age or older.

Certain positions require specific skills and previous experience. Most positions do not require previous experience. Applicants that are not available to attend the Job Fair are welcome to stop by the Tin Caps Administrative Offices located at Parkview Field during normal business hours (Mon-Fri, 9A to 5P). Please call 260-482-6400 for directions and parking information.

They put tickets for games @ new ball stadium for sale on MARDI GRAS! Does anybody else see the irony? There will be more to this category added later on a follow up post on Thursday or Friday, but for now, good night.

F6 Editorial Policy Statement: Although it is nice to know that gay bois can still think about swinging your six to nine inch piece of wood around in our hands, through showing support of the local amateur and professional sports and athletic associations, as part of the continuing editorial service of F6 to promote healthy life choices in all gay bois and gyrlz, F6 intends to prove it is possible to concentrate on more than just tight ends, wide receivers, pitchers and catchers, etc.

Previous Post On F6: [Tin Caps] [Harrison Square]
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F6 Links Pages: [3 Rivers Athletics]
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Obamanation Part III: Hail 2D Beef 4 its economic value & all those we paid off along D way. 2 slaughter D economy & leave huge debts 4 R kids 2 pay!

The clip below is from What You Ought To Know Show earlier this month produced by The Brothers Winn: [Website] [YouTube].

In F6's constant effort to be fair and balanced, in all of its reporting and provide full commentary to complete stories, this post is going to update the stories previously covered in this post & this post two weeks ago in order to bring them to conclusion.

Gregg retains Senate seat disses Commerce nomination

Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire still wants to be Obama's Water boy even after withdrawing his name from consideration as Commerce Secretary. After "being invited" (read: seeking after) to become the new Commerce Secretary, after Govenor Bill Richardson withdrew due to a scandal over the issue of bond issues in his home State of New Mexico, Gregg accepted the offer and within a week choose to reverse that acceptance when it was revealed that the White House and Democrats in Congress removed the Census from the control of the Commerce Secretary, after the nomination had occurred.

Other Senator Gregg Links:
[The Young Turks] [Hoosier Pundit] [Towle Road]

Additionally, Senator Gregg recessed himself from the vote on the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, citing a potential conflict of interest, which I have to give him credit for that, because it's the most ethical action coming out of Washington for a long time.

2nd stimulus bill passed w/o pay caps for CEOs

The AERRA which passed the Senate, with three Republicans voting for the trillion dollar addition to the national debt. The House and Senate versions were reconciled in Conference Committee, then at the last minute (read: at four in the morning with no one aware) it was found to be lacking the CEO pay restrictions that were first introduced by Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri and then plagiarized by Obama and Geithner a week later.

CEO Pay Caps proven to be false rhetoric and pandering to force vote aka trial balloon.

Besides the CEO Compensation restrictions introduced by Senator McCaskill as an Amendment to AERRA 5 days prior to the Policy Announcement by Obama and Geithner to much fan fare, being reduced to dust during the Conference Committee between the House and the Senate, when Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, introduced his new Policy a week ago it was also void of pay caps and compensation restrictions. He stated that, the Companies would not participate in the stimulus program with the restrictions in play, specifically the cap that would have matched the CEO pay to that of the President or slightly higher.

This is clear and simply put the CEO Pay Cap was a test balloon that popped and political firestorm for no good reason. The Democrats floated a bill amendment that they knew would distract other conservatives from something else hidden in the bill or going on in the world. But the question remains, What were the Democrats or Obama trying to seclude or cover up from the current legislation and or social political events going on around the world that they had to start a forest fire of empty promises and pseudo accountability?

As most people are aware now because of the process that took place with this legislation, once a Bill passed both Houses of Congress they must be reconciled to each other in Conference Committee and then brought back for a final vote. In the very last move made by Congress before the President signed the "stimulus package" into law, they went back and included some of the compensation restrictions, without the cap on CEO base pay. (video, TYT)

Tim Geithner is definitely January's nominee for the 2009 Hunk Of Flesh Award.

I have more to say about the Geithner issues as a whole that should be left to one last additional post to this series. Needless to say but definitely illustrate Mr. Geithner showed himself to be lacking in his ability to both govern and publicly speak.However I don't want to drag it out that much and am frankly tired of covering these numskulls anyway.

The American people are tired of being strung along!
Set up a plan, put it out there into the marketplace, and let us talk about it. Please quit trying to pander to Wall Street and the Unions and lets get the job done. That wont happen as long as anything is done in secret or by trial balloons. I had more faith in you sir.
[Photo: Hope Male Art @ Towle Road==>]

Additionally Congress gets a nomination for HOFA in February because they failed to give the Citizens let alone the 530 plus members of Congress five days to read the final bil. No they got 6 hours notice to read and vote on an 1100 page bill before it went to a vote. The Congress, specifically the Democrats in the House, are doing it again also with the Omnibus Spending Authorization this week as well. Call or write the Congress and tell Speaker Pelosi to put it online for at least 48 hours for the entire world to see, like she promised too even if it falls 72 hours short of the original goal. Certain Republicans in Congress also get a nod for the February HOFA for voting against the AERRA and then attempting to take credit for the money coming back into their respective districts, that is hypocrisy 101.

A SMALL NOTE FROM F6's EDITOR:
My apologies for missing Wednesday and running late on Saturday; the reason is simply that, my injury received from a carjacking several years back, which I have written about previously, has been acting up severely with all the weather changes and general stress of my life. The other reason for the delay in posting is that since this is a social and political commentary not an direct news source, I have the liberty of waiting until all the ducks have quacked to comment on news, events, or culture. This provides me the liberty to have the full picture to work with, rather than flying off half cocked and end up loosing my....credibility in the process. Thanks for your understanding and patience.

What is the difference between Barack and Jesus?
Jesus was a carpenter, He could build a Cabinet.

JAY BRANNAN: SHORTBUS FORCES SUPREME COURT TO OVERTURN CENSORSHIP LAW IN SOUTH KOREA!!!!

As everyone that knows me, and reads this forum, can attest, I am a major dork for JAY BRANNAN, the Texas native, talented Folk Artist, and Actor, in such films as SHORTBUS & Holding Trevor, is so sexy and I am not talking about just physically but mentally and spiritually. It goes without saying, but I will anyway, I would gladly char broil his turkey burgers any day (verse 2, HOUSEWIFE, official uncensored).



Most in Fort Wayne remember the controversy that erupted at the beginning of last year, when a religious zealot went into the Allen County Public Library with a news crew and tried to begin a new version of a book burning, in regards to SHORTBUS being available to rent out by the general public, regardless if they are old enough or not. The controversy even led to this blog being quoted without cite in The News Sentinel, our local evening paper, that is traditionally more conservative. Ironically the Editor's of the News Sentinel, and some Radio Personalities on WOWO AM1190, actually were more open about the film and against the censorship attempt then most liberals that I know. That controversy lasted over a couple months and still technically hasn't been settled, I still hear waifs in the air over it on occasion and in closed circles.

Now Mr. Brannan is reporting that, The Supreme Court of South Korea, found in favor of the John Cameron Mitchell indie film SHORTBUS, in a ruling three weeks ago and overturned the long standing censorship rules on restricted screening as unconstitutional! Here is more from Cho Sun Ilbo:

Court Lifts Restriction on Sexual Movies

The taboo surrounding sexual content in films is to be lifted as the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court recently ruled that the "restricted screening" rating - a powerful tool for film censorship - unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the import and distribution of U.S. film "Shortbus," ruling to annul the "restricted screening" rating imposed on the movie by the Korea Media Rating Board, on Thursday last week. Restricted screening virtually means a film cannot be screened in regular movie theaters. Thanks to the court's ruling, "Shortbus" can be screened in cinemas. The controversial movie graphically portrays non-simulated sex scenes, such as group sex and masturbation. It has played at numerous domestic and international film festivals, and has been recognized for its artistic merits by critics.

Korean films are likely to feature more vivid depictions of sex from after the ruling. Sex scenes in Korean movies have gradually become more liberated, despite a constant struggle with the censorship system. The 1956 film "Liberated Madame" was the first to present female sexuality onscreen, and an age of erotic movies began with "Madame Aema" in 1982.

The film industry and the government censorship board have always clashed over the issue. With the abolition of restricted screening, it will be up to prosecutors and the court to judge whether a film is too lewd.

The film industry welcomes the court's decision. Film Bom CEO Jo Kwang-hee said, "Unlike TV, film audiences play an active role in choosing what to watch. It is inappropriate to censor films when there is so many pornography easily available online."

However, some are already raising concerns about the possible side-effects of the ruling. Ji Myung-hyok, professor at Kookmin University and the head of the Korea Media Rating Board, said, "I am concerned that if films like 'Shortbus' are screened in theaters, it will cause moral chaos."

PREVIOUS POSTS ON F6
[JAY BRANNAN] [SHORTBUS]
F6 LINKS PAGE
[I AM A DORK FOR JAY BRANNAN]

EDITOR: Sorry for Mondays post running late. I wasn't feeling well, had to stop midway to medicate myself, and get some sleep. I wish that Mother Nature would make up her mind about the changing temperatures.

Going Green In '09: I'll have a green Valentine for you? & Remember to Wrap It Up tonight!

Your needle doesn't always have to pointe North to find your destination. I was going to have several post up today but I decided after the three power surges so far in the last two hours to just do the VD post and pray that everyone plays it safe with your significant others or new found romance which ever applies. But seriously though, What is this about a Green Valentine anyway?



I do have one question, cant the environmental wing come up with another phrase like this:
A Ruby Of A Romance: Why Is Red the right colour for Your Lover and the Whole World?

It's not like natural red dye of polished natural fabric undergarments or table cloth specially made for your partners for today is that hard to make and it is environmentally sound. Not to mention the fact that one of the primary fruits used to make the red dye is blackberries and they grow naturally in this area.

Blackberry is the historical translation of our City's previous namesake, Kekionga, the tribal Capital of the Miami Nation. Part of the description of this area from the earliest explorers and settlers of the Three Rivers we call home is a specific commentary of all the blackberries growing up along the tribal and government buildings of the Miami nation.

Plus what better way to say, "I love you. You mean the world to me!" than a hand dyed polished hemp night gown, or organic fiber bikini brief, or table cover for your dinner with your partners. It is cute, economical, environmental, and you made it yourself, that says more than any serving of beef, pork, or chicken, you could have for dinner.

Just an alternative I thought I should pass along, especially in these hard economic times. Now on to the Safe Sex part of this post

Trojan has come out with a new campaign EVOLVE ONE EVOLVE ALL which is actually quite refreshing to see the company embrace all sides of the sexual spectrum in this one clip below with Alan Cummings, including three ways, free love, and the romantic degrees of separation between lovers and friends, which is a serious issue especially in Fort Wayne.



Additionally Perez Hilton has come out with a new video a couple weeks back, which we already added to the video player toward the bottom of this post, called, The Clap, which was Directed by J. B. GHuman, Jr., Owner of Reality Rejectz. It is very much camp and definitively gay.



Both of these videos remind us all very clearly that, this fight is not just about HIV/AIDS but all STDs! If you don't play it safe, ask the right questions, get tested to know your status, and demand the respect from your partners to play safely, you are being a detriment to your own future and offending everyone you love and whom love you, because you failed to take a stand.
Above all remember this: !!!WRAP IT UP!!! May you have a GREEN Valentine waiting for you.

Ironically as I found out after making this post, between this week and next is National Condom Week, in several different countries! So remember to give a 3 pack of prophylactics as a gift, to your children or friends, it will truly save a life. Encourage your friends to have plenty of safe sex only!

UPDATE: TTD In Da Fort: Cabaret Show by Della @ 8P Friday 2 benefit Jack Ryan House and Community Harvest Food Bank

As previously mentioned on F6 there is one more opportunity for you to take your significant other on a free Valentine's Day date @ The Masonic Temple on Friday the 13th from 4-8P for the ART OFF MAIN Exhibit. Those whom are 21 and over can stop by After Dark Night Club 1601 South Harrison (5 blocks from the Grand Wayne Center) for "A Legend In My Own Mind" Cabaret Show hosted by DellaLicious with provided accompaniment by Mark Sampson to benefit ATF's Jack Ryan House & Community Harvest Food Bank.

Freedom 2 Marry: 12th Annual Week Long Initiative Crosses Blogosphere In Mass Dialouge And Contributions. SJR 15 Rears Its Ugly Head In Hoosier State!

*PLEASE NOTE THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED*

This week from Sunday through Saturday there is a cross blog initiative to petition for equal access under the law and the freedom to marry the partner of your choice, not the choice of the select few who assume that they speak not just to God but for him as well. [Queers United]

Now wait a minute, Bishops speak for God over there flock; doesn't that make you a hypocrite?

No because I don't claim to speak for God. That is what we call a messiah complex, or at best schizophrenia. There is a huge difference in being a Shepherd over a flock and a Leader of a political organization with religious overtones and presentation. One is true religion and spiritual practice the other is fundamentalism unleashed in all of its evil furry. I am proud to of had the opportunity for the former and abhor the latter on many different accounts.

As a Libertarian and an Independent Catholic, I believe that neither government nor the Church has the authority to regulate, license or restrict, personal relationships. As a caveat, I also as a Pastor, do not have to marry someone to other persons if I believe they are not ready for that encounter of ritual joining of two or more people and the unfurling of Sacramental grace on their lives together; but I don't have the historical authority to deny the relationship either, and that is where a lot of Pastors have gone cookie over their power structure that was inherited by Politicians contrition to the Church.

If the Pastor had a historical right to deny a relationship, Mary would not have been able to remain with Joseph, and both would have probably been stoned or beaten, by some accounts Joseph was beaten with a whip in Mary's place, because she told her story of meeting an angel and having the Word of God shoved inside of her uterus.

These truths that our Country were founded on are so profound that we have never been able to live up to them; but instead of continuing to press forward every year, we wait for a forty or eighty years and then make one strong push, then spend another twenty years trying to backslide to a more comfortable position. The basic creed and truth of These United States of America is Equality:

• We have never lived up to that ideal or truth;
• We have fought wars with ourselves to enforce it and preserve it;
• We have passed laws to bring it into common practice;

And yet through all of that We The People have still failed to attain it 230 plus years later.

• If we hold a truth to be self evident shouldn't it be visible in action not just words?
• Is it visible in any fashion and we just cant see it through our filters or biases?
• If all men are created equal than how can anybody deny another man's choice as to whom to love?

All humour and query aside, this debate is going to rage on for another decade or more, unless we come to some basic understandings as to what we believe as Americans regardless of religious or political affiliations, because our Country's collective life force, besides being on the line, needs to have the playing field leveled just a bit.

And now a message from our sponsor


Too Gay for TV Carls Jr Ad by randywombats Hat/tip: Wesley @ Swish Embassy

The economy is another place where we have failed to find equality, or at least equal access. Now because of piss poor decisions dating all the way back to almost 100 years we have found ourselves in yet another position of unstable policy, multiple trillion dollar debts, and absolute corruption by the powers that be (both Democrats and Republicans) because once again we failed to live up to what we wrote down over two centuries ago. The particulars are for another debate at another time, I only brought it up to show that the problem is systematic throughout this land not just one issue over here and another issue over there.

When one can be denied their very Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness over being attracted, not even having sex, just being attracted to a person of the same gender, identity or expression, than We as a People have failed to live up to our Country's creed and self evident truths.

So what is the answer?

The measure of an ideal is just that ideal, being able to measure the ideal out into a pragmatic application to the group dynamic will always leave some in dismay; however what we have done in this country is worse, we have allowed particular ideologies to take control of our truths and usurp them for the sake of power and money, and remain baffled when they fail and contagious when they just grab for *channeling Chris Crocker* more, more, more! power and oversight into our daily lives.

The debate on those issues have already shown themselves in the aftermath of Proposition Hate eer Eight in California last November, which comes up for judicial review on the fifth of March at the California State Supreme Court. Over the last several months the Christian and Conservative opposition, to allowing Equal Access Under The Law in California, by overturning a Supreme Court ruling, that allowed 18 thousand same sex couples to marry in less than 6 months with a ballot initiative, was finally dealt a landmark blow when the Courts forced them to release their donor list to the public so that an honest relay of information could take place and the public could find out who (read which Churches) influenced their vote and with how much money.

Get Involved In The Process And Make Your Voice Be Heard!

Statewide, Indiana Equality is reporting that, Indiana Family Institute's Eric Miller, Micah Clark and Company [Website][Veritas Rex] have managed to get House Joint Resolution 7 & 8/Senate Joint Resolution 15 reintroduced in the General Assembly three weeks ago as mainly authored by Representatives Eric Turner and Dave Cheatham and Senator Marlin Stutzman.

In two days on Wednesday, 11th of February, @ 9A the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to hear testimony from opponents and proponents of the Senate Joint Resolution 15 (SJR-15). The hearing has been temporarily delayed but could still take place. Passage of SJR-15 by this committee will keep this harmful legislation in play. If approved by the electorate, SJR-15 will forever write discrimination into the Indiana Constitution, affecting thousands of Hoosier families.

Call the Indiana Senate switchboard: 1-800-382-9467. Ask the members of the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee to vote NO on SJR-15. Afterward call your Representative @ 1-800-382-9842 and ask them to do the same on the following pieces of legislation: HJR 7 and 8. Last, enter into the conversation and forward along this information to your friends and family and tell three other people your story and sacrifice for all of us to be free to love any one we choose!

UPDATE: Indiana Equality (17th of February 2009) is reporting that the Indiana Senate Republican Caucus voted not to consider Senate Joint Resolution 15 during the 2009 session of the Indiana General Assembly. Proposals identical to SJR-15, were also introduced in the Indiana House of Representatives. Speaker B. Patrick Bauer has previously announced House Joint Resolutions 7 and 8 would not be considered during the current legislative session.

TTD In Da Fort: Take your Partner on free date? ART OFF MAIN Opened @ Masonic Temple; Cultural/Community Credit Program to be reformatted in 3 months.

One of the things that F6 is fond of promoting is community events and cultural forums, especially those which are at a greatly reduced cost, or with certain hours where it is open to the public to attend for free. As a typical rule anything over twenty dollars a person F6 does not promote, unless it is just that phenomenal, or GLBT related, and then we must promote it.

The Downtown Improvement District and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art have done exactly that in each category with their latest ART OFF MAIN project hosted by Comcast, Fort Wayne Metals, and WMEE 97.3FM. The event opened last night from 6-9P @ The Masonic Temple on East Washington Blvd. at the intersection of Barr Street with an open reception and fashion show. On Saturday the 14th, St. Valentines Day, there is a $75/per couple Art & Heart Dinner which includes dinner by Club Soda, two drink tickets, live entertainment and admission to the ART OFF MAIN exhibit. Spaces are limited so if this is something that interests you call 260-420-3266 an reserve your table.

Now as for the rest of us who are just trying to get by and have to scrape just to get a double cheeseburger at McDonald's. There are also four opportunities for us to take our significant others out on the town for a romantic date even for just a couple of hours. Today and tomorrow from 12N-4P as well as Wednesday the 11th and Friday the 13th from 4P-8P the exhibit is open to the public for free, yes free! At 2P today there is also a theatrical performance and tomorrow, also @ 2P, there is a Home Grown Bead & Candle Shoppe demonstration.

Take the opportunity to expand your horizons, explore the rich culture that Fort Wayne has to offer. Impress your partners with your astute thinking and frugality all at the same time! And then afterward you can still afford to take them to Subway and split a five dollar foot long or to Wendy's for two chocolate or vanilla frosties and junior bacon cheeseburgers or five piece chicken nuggets, which also comes to about five dollars. Both restaurants are just around the corner from the Temple.

This way you get diner and date all for five dollars and it will only cost you a little bit extra for a baby sitter. If you have no relatives that will give you a break and do it for free, I can recommend a wonderful single mother of two, Grace Strahm, personally (pictured to the right, during the Save Maumee Earth Day Project, last year), and you may contact her via MySpace or email directly. As a reminder, this year the River Cleanup will happen on Divine Mercy Sunday, the 19th of April, from 11A-5P @the Pemberton Dike off North Anthony Blvd.

To follow up on a previous post The Fort Wayne Museum of Art has free admission on Wednesdays and the first Sunday of the month from 12N-5P. As an aside, and please pardon the queening out, but this is for all of my Pagan and spiritually sensitive readers in the regional area, and anybody willing to travel:

HELLO! What a better time then a Friday the 13th to be in the Masonic Temple touring an art exhibit, okay!.

The other thing that I began working on the year before last, is development of a Cultural Studies Community Service Credit Reserve Program, CS3Rivers for short, where someone receives a credit voucher for community service ($1-2/hour), which can then be used for admission and snacks at a local theatre or sports venue to catch play or a game of any one of our many semi professional and professional sports teams and performance troupes along our three rivers. It is a slow process finding the support mechanisms and networking with the different organizations around town. I serve on the Board of a Non Profit that is willing to charter the program; so over the next three months or so, I will be working to flush out the plan and get it in motion. If anyone wants to help with this program contact me via email or leave a comment below. And please note this program is a joint effort headed by my Pastorate, F6 Queer Views Of Life Along Our Three Rivers, and Heartland Communities, Inc.

UPDATE: After visiting the ART OFF MAIN Exhibit @ The Masonic Temple on Friday the 13th, Those whom are 21 and over @8P can stop by After Dark Night Club 1601 South Harrison (5 blocks from the Grand Wayne Center) for "A Legend In My Own Mind" Cabaret Show hosted by DellaLicious with provided accompaniment by Mark Sampson to benefit ATF's Jack Ryan House & Community Harvest Food Bank.

Obamanation Part II: I thought Joe "Say It Aint So!" Biden was the only one with a propensity to plagiarize or steal others ideas out from under them?

Above is a video excerpt of a news conference, reported on by Political Intellegence, in which "President Obama is backing up his outrage over Wall Street pay with action today, announcing plans to put a $500,000-a-year limit on the salaries of CEOs whose companies dip into the government's financial rescue fund. Firms that want to pay executives more than $500,000 would have to use stock that could not be sold until the firms pay back the government." (Source: Boston Globe)

Oh how sweet, He is looking out for the little guy and holding Wall Street and the Banks accountable. In all actuality it was Democrat Senator Claire McCaskill from Missouri who actually introduced that legislation a week ago in spite of her own party. She was also one of the driving forces, on the Democratic side of the isle, in trimming the pork from the House version of the AERA that is in the Senate now and being talked about in the press. All I'm suggesting is to give credit where it resides, and this time it came not from the Oval Office but the middle of the Heartland. Here is a video below via CSPANJUNKIE from last week.



Here is a quick time line of the controversial credit given or lack there of:
29th of January: Obama refers to the actions as SHAMEFUL decrying the bonuses by Banks & Wall Street
30th of January: Speaking from the floor, Senator McCaskill introduces legislation capping salaries at level with the President if they are receiving Federal Bailout assistance. Calling the bank and wall street executives idiots and saying that they are throwing sand in the faces of the American taxpayer
31 January: President Obama holds weekly address that mentions new plan of accountability next week by Tim G of the Treasury with no specific mention of the salary cap whatsoever. [LINK]
04 February: Timmy Geithner and President Obama hold press conference outlining plan for CEO pay cap rules with no mention of Senator McCaskill's original legislation five days previous. [LINK]

At the very beginning of his remarks during the press conference Wednesday and continuing throughout, President Obama gave credit to Tim Geithner for all his hard work when it was Senator McCaskill that began this policy shift. What is really sad is that Obama's policy shift and assumption of authorship of this idea allowed for one hundred thousand dollars more than the pending legislation introduced by Senator McCaskill would have allowed. Is that because Wall Street and the Banks could not handle such a severe cut so they tried to circumvent the legislation from being passed? Either way it is still sad to see. Obama's policy shift according to reports still allows for extravagant spending as long as it is posted on the company website for all to see and also allows for higher salaries than half a million dollars if they get approval from shareholders and file the proper forms with the Treasury.

This is political plagiarism by its prime stake holders and the people we elected to serve us at its worst! And is it just me or does Robert Gibbs the White House Press Secretary remind anybody of George W. Bush in the way he answers questions and the mannerisms deployed when he doesn't want to answer a question honestly? Now we are learning more of the Obama Administration's choices for Cabinet and high ranking positions are more tainted than Al Capone Gang and the New York Mafia combined.



This Administration was suppose to be the Change You Can Believe In and all we are seeing is, pardon me for saying this, is the stereotypical racist acronyms come to light. Mr. Obama, you are not the HNIC nor were you the CHANGE candidate for some Township Office or City Council seat, you have been elevated to the highest office in this land! Please respect it and use the office for the good that is America's legacy, not this constant corruption and convoluted power grab that we are seeing unfold. You may have won an election; but any man who truly has power over a group of people, knows that authority is given by humbly approaching the office to which they were given, earning the respect of the people they serve, who then allow that person to rule with them for a period of time, anything less is tyranny and deserves to be removed from power (Declaration of Independence).

According to the latest statistics one in a hundred Americans are incarcerated today. Yet at the same time according to another report, which I have not been able to verify, as to the character of who exactly makes up Congress. Here are the numbers just related to financial issues of the 500 plus members of Congress:

• 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses;
• 71 cant get a credit card bad credit;
• 19 accused of writing bad checks;
• 7 have been arrested for fraud;

We put these people in charge of overseeing the financial regulation and trust them with the well being of our Country, when they refuse to live under the enforcement of the very laws they pass, it is very interesting to consider whom we actually have put in charge of everything and are trusting to stimulate the economy, writing the laws.

There may be a part three but not till next week, unless something major breaks out.

Obamanation Part I: Biden said that he would get tested within his first six months of office. Where R Da 30K more Troops in Afghanistan coming from?

In my last post I very clearly flipped the bird @ the Religious Right, well now Vladimir Putin of Russia and the National Security Advisor of India have done the same to American efforts in the War On Terror, eeh no wait what are we calling it now, that would be too provocative (We The People)! The attached video is an interview Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC via FIREDOGLAKE @ YouTube. Hoosier Pundit provides more information on the stories below:

In a setback to the escalating U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan, the president of Kyrgyzstan said Tuesday that his government will shut down the American air base in his country. U.S. officials say that the Manas Air Base is vital to plans to send an additional 30,000 American troops to Afghanistan, a linchpin of President Barack Obama’s efforts to pacify the country.

The announcement by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev came in Moscow, not in his own capital, and shortly after the Russian government reportedly agreed to lend Kyrgyzstan $2 billion, write off $180 million in debt and add another $150 million in aid. Although the Russian government didn’t release a statement about the decision, the timing and place of the announcement indicated that the Kremlin had been involved.

In another news story, India has warned US President Barack Obama that he risks “barking up the wrong tree” if he seeks to broker a settlement between Pakistan and India over the disputed territory of Kashmir. MK Narayanan, India’s national security advisor, said that the new US administration was in danger of dredging up out of date Clinton administration-era strategies in a bid to bring about improved ties between the two nuclear armed neighbours. Mr Narayanan said in an interview with CNBC TV18:

“I do think that we could make President Obama understand, if he does nurse any such view, that he is barking up the wrong tree. I think Kashmir today has become one of the quieter and safer places in this part of the world.It’s possible that at this time there are elements, perhaps in the administration who are harking back to the pre-2000 era."

The first article continues: ....The problem was never in Krygyzstan. Biden predicted that world leaders would challenge Obama and his inexperience within the first few months of the administration, but they’ve already started to line up in the first few days. Iran launched a satellite on an ICBM to show they could go ballistic once they have nuclear weapons. North Korea reportedly has set up another ICBM for a test to threaten Seoul. Now Russia has flipped an ally in the war on terror — and all of this in the first 14 days of Obama’s presidency.

Another One Bites The Dust

First we reported on Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico stepping away from his nomination as Commerce Secretary under the Obama Administration, due to a Federal Investigation over government bond issues. The new nominee is Republican Senator Judd Gregg, from New Hampshire for Commerce, as revealed today during yet another press conference (Video: CSPANJUNKIE). Then we all learned about Tim Geithner, the Treasury Secretary's tax evasion history for four years, but he was still approved by the Senate.

I was originally okay with his original explanation, given the personal circumstances; however what I am not okay with is, that when he was informed of the issue for two of the four years, he resolved the issue at hand but did not resolve the other two years until much later when he got bitch slapped for them. That makes it a case of holding your cards to your chest politically and praying they don't find the extra Queen under your sleeve, rather than just 'fessing up and dealing with the consequences.

Tim still earns the Hunk of Flesh award for January, he is slick enough to get through the Senate approval process unscathed. He is kind of hot and geeky all at the same time, especially for being in his late forties, it makes one wonder what is under the suit and tie.

To top it off, former South Dakota Senator, Tom Daschle , now a lobbyist for Alston & Bird a health care law firm on K Street, came up for a vote as the Secretary for Health and Human Services, and it was revealed that he too had a current one hundred and forty thousand dollar tax evasion problem that hadn't been resolved until it came to light.

This is the same Senator who back in 1998 said, "Make no mistake Tax Cheaters! Cheat us all and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter." and is now asking us to overlook these very recent infractions and subversion of the law. Senator Daschle, given his previous elected offices, which he lost in 2004, after serving in Washington D.C. since 1978, was viewed as a critical appointment, since he would give the Obama Administration pull in the Senate to get the Nationalized Health Care Package passed later this year.

So much for that bird taking flight.

President Obama reportedly slumped over the podium and expressed dismay over the entire tax fraud Nominees scenario, "I screwed up. I take full responsibility for it. And I'm taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.". Tom Daschle "withdrew" his name from consideration as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Nancy Killefer, Obama's Performance Czar nominee, has withdrawn for the same reasons also. Afterward President Obama held a interview tour with the five major networks regarding this and other controversies. The following is excerpted from his interview with Chris Wallace on FOX NEWS:

WALLACE: Did you or anyone else in your administration tell Tom Daschle he had to step down as your nominee?
OBAMA: Well, you know, I'm not going to go into the details of it, but as has been reported, Tom made the decision that he was going to be too much of a distraction to carry out what he's so passionate about, which is health care reform. What I did tell him was that I take responsibility for this mistake. I mean, I think that Tom took responsibility for the mistake on his taxes. I think it was an honest mistake and I made the assessment — I made the judgment — that he was the best person to achieve health care reform and bring people together.
But, you know, what became clear to me is that we can't send a message to the American people that we got two sets of rules: one for prominent people and one for ordinary people. And you know, so I consider this a mistake on my part, and one that I intend to fix and correct and make sure that we're not screwing up again.
W: Well, the reason I ask is because yesterday in this office you were asked whether you supported him and you said absolutely.
O: Yes.
W: And it becomes clear from your answer that you played a role in the decision for him to
OBAMA: No, no, no, no, no. I don't want to — I don't want to misstate the issue here. Tom made the decision here. He called me and indicated this was his decision.
W: Would you have continued to back him?
O: Well, I don't want to get into hypotheticals, Chris. Here's what I'll say: I think Tom is an outstanding person. I think this was an unintentional mistake on his part but a substantial one, and there's no excuse for the mistake. He took responsibility for it.
Ultimately, I have to take responsibility for a process that resulted in us not having an HHS secretary at a time when people need relief on their health care costs. And so, you know, this is a mistake, probably not the first one I'm going to be making in this office, but what I'm absolutely committed to doing is fixing it, getting a highly qualified HHS secretary, and then making sure that we start providing some health care relief to families who so desperately need it.
W: On your first day in office, you signed an executive order on lobbyists.
O: Right.
W: That you said marks a "clean break with business as usual."
O: Yes.
W: And yet, in less than two weeks, you have signed waivers to allow the hiring of lobbyists to be deputy secretary at the Pentagon, deputy secretary at HHS and chief of staff at the treasury. Is that a clean break?
O: Well, that's three out of hundreds of appointments that we've made.
W: That is three of the top jobs that are really important.
O: Well, but let me say this, Chris. We disclosed these ahead of time. We set a very high bar, and everybody acknowledges that we have the toughest standards not only of people who have lobbied previously and the restrictions on them working in this White House, but also going forward, and those rules will still apply.

EDITOR: You can read the entire rough draft transcript and/or watch the interview via video.

So, we have Obama's Treasury pick getting in and these others hitting the road after setting the Administration up for a Public Relations nightmare. I thought the preinaugural vetting process which included the infamous 62 page questionnaire to be filled out by all people applying for a position with the new Administration, was suppose to have stopped this all ahead of time. This is what we call a consistent critical failure. After signing some of the most strongest employee ethics and lobbying restrictions, the Obama Administration then had to turn around and issue up to seventeen different waivers so far to high level individuals in all parts of government. So much for change you can believe in, it is politics as usual.

On a lighter more environmentally friendly note:

Perez Hilton is reporting that the latest issue of Vanity Fair, has embraced a green initiative, and recycled their cover picture of President Obama from July 2007 to their latest issue, with just a change of background and text.The photograph was taken by Annie Leibovitz.

Wilhelmina, a character of ABC's Ugly Betty, would have a cow if they ever reused a cover on MODE! The Political Cartoon regarding Tom Daschle is by Gary Varvel of the Indianapolis Star. Stay Tuned for Part 2.