A Justin Is Forever's Through These Eyes: ON BEING HELD

There are two things that I hope for the readers of F6: besides the general conversation, communication of ideas, and putting up with my ranting about politics, educations first goal is to have an affect on the way people think about different issues.

Through the educational resource that F6 is committed to present the second goal has always been more controversial in its display; that simply stated, people will realize the male body is beautiful, there is something intrinsically beautiful about men being able to express their love and affection for one another, without that intimacy being labeled as evil or sinful in or by society any longer.

That is the reason why F6 splits the line between showing the naked male body and the intimacy between men versus the exposure of male genitalia without explicit reasons in its editorial policies which can be viewed on our DISCLAIMERS AND COPYRIGHTS page.

Justynian is one of my long time friends on MySpace and writes a personal reflections blog called Through These Eyes. And what beautiful eyes they are! Recently "Justin" diverted from his normal routine and made a video of an entry he wrote last year entitled: On Being Held: In The Arms Of The Man You Love.

I would like to offer his post as F6's contribution to the conversation that a lot of local and statewide blogs have been having regarding homosexuals effect on society due to recent events. F6 has always challenged the assumption that we are all in it for crazy uncommitted sex with multiple randomness of partners and no regard for principles. But more importantly I would like to introduce you to this wonderful young man that I am honored to know, and who knows you may just get a few new ideas from him as well.



And as is the normal policy (when I happen to think about it) for those whom are on a slow connection or RSS feed and cant view the video here are the words:

On Being Held

I sleep with a pillow between my legs, a pillow in my arms, and a pillow behind my back. I tuck myself in so tightly in that I cannot move. I close my eyes and pretend.

I pretend that the pillows around me are the arms, legs, and chest of someone I love. Behind these eyes, and in these pillows, I find the comfort to fall to sleep each night.

Being Held

The first time I slept with my ex, I asked him: "Will you hold me tonight?"

"Are you serious?" he laughed. He was surprised with the request. "I'll try."

That night was probably the most uncomfortable night of my life. He was holding me in the most awkward position, and he hated it, too. His arm fell asleep several times, his muscles ached, and his desire to turn and get suited was forfeited.

But he suffered through because I requested it. And I suffered through because it's what I'd fantasized about every night since we met. He held me every night we were together thereafter. It became our favorite pastime. It was, for me, more intimate than sex. It was who we were.

He once hated to hold me. Today, he still calls and asks permission to come over not to have sex with me—but to wrap his arms around me. To drive forty minutes out of his busy way to just hold me.

Perfection

Out of a potential boyfriend, I ask four things: to be honest with me, to be romantic with me, to avoid breaking my heart, and to hold me.

That doesn't sound like much, but those are some big orders for many people. My ex nailed the holding part. That's about it, though. He hated being romantic with me, he lied to me, and he broke my heart worse than anyone in the world.

The fact that he held me so well, though—this is powerful enough for me to long for his presence still.

That's because being held means more to me than a 20-minute session with a climax. Being held means drifting to sleep in the arms of the man who holds your heart. And waking to someone who loves you enough to remind you every night.

Open Letter to BILERICO in response to Lets Talk About Sex

As mentioned in Sunday's post, I will be responding in part to the questions posed by Bil Browning in regards towards the controversy that began when the pictures of, now famous Big Brother 9 House Guest, James Zinkand, courteous of Dirty Boy Video weren't just posted but made available without censor if you just clicked the pictures into a new tab or window.

To repeat myself would seem frivolous at first, especially so soon after the original post. Unfortunately, I find it necessary to ejaculate the themes with confidence, so as to get the point across in reference and fidelity to our readership: F6 has a strict policy about, "no frontal exposure of male genitalia without explicit reason for valid illustration"; but I, as the Editor of F6, fully supports and defends Bil Browning in his work to keep access into the marketplace of ideas and the universal conversations, with full disclosure, open at all times.

Below are the synopsizes of his questions and my response to them will follow in normal paragraph format. To view the questions in their original context please visit Bil's original post on this topic.

Almost everyone who wrote (registered account users) clicked through to see those pictures of cum shots and erections and a bare ass. First I am not a registered user. I still clicked through to see if they were any different from the ones already available on the internet. Nope, they were the same; minus a couple that I had access to and used on my blog, because they didn't show direct frontal shots of either male's genitalia.

Is it okay to look at porn as long as you're outraged by it later?

That is the classic rhetorical question of the religious and those trying to appease their relationship with the Divine in front of other followers rather than just having an authentic on going relationship and conversation.

I cant recall the exact number of times I have heard people mortify themselves over three minutes of curious pleasure of their own body and mind; not even wanting to mention or consider expressing intimacy with their fellow person, regardless of gender! All of this is ingrained into our collective psyche because some out of date theologian monk scribe transcribed the word celebrate to celibate, and someone got a spiritual aversion to foreplay and intimacy when the but plug went to far in and got stuck during the turn of the previous millennium. BTW, That was a joke. I know for myself when I was less enlightened to the true journey of the Spirit and adventure that is this life, I was stuck in a similar pattern regularly of trying to prove my faith both to myself, others, and God. Thank Gawd I had a Pastor and mentor throughout my formative years teaching me the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the true nature of Divinity.

Does curiosity outweigh prudishness?
You should Google this question some of the results are interesting.

A prude is one who is excessively concerned with being or appearing to be proper, modest, or righteous. See there it is again, with the standards of society and religion, it is all about the appearance of propriety. Although curiosity, beside killing a cat, is to know or learn, about people or things that do not concern one's person; or an object that arouses interest, as by being novel or extraordinary; or a strange or odd aspect of history, culture, class, and position.

Obviously the whole of Reality TV is a scandal that should be reviewed but not because of the contestant's past adventures in life but the vetting process that is used to find the participants and whether or not they are amateurs or professional actors/performers. Over the last three seasons of Reality Television there has been some stark revelations as to the selection, voting, and actual game process that has called into profound question whether or not the game show laws of the 1970's and the trust of the American consumer have been violated. If the law and the public trust has been rendered mute, why hasn't there been enforcement by the FCC and also why hasn't the industry been forced by Congress or the consumer to revise those laws and have some decent internal standards, instead of com se com sa. Much likened to the chagrin of locals' thoughts regarding Drag Pageants: The damn thing is rigged! Stop voting for your favorite contestants people and send a message to the producers that you want a valid dose of reality or at minimum an authentic competition. [Photo: RAY RANDELL @ Super Underwear Perverts]

Does gender factor in to this?

With the exception that women can hide or express their mutual intimacies easier in public, nope. Other sites like Queerty, OMG blog, and Proceed At Your Own Risk all put up eye candy and sexy posts. All three kick our ass in traffic and two of them are also political. If we put up eye candy posts (no genitalia exposed) and it were of men, women and trans folk, would that be okay? Yes! Where's the dividing line between eye candy and porn? Most would say that actual sexual acts not just an erect penis (Indiana law) is enough to label it as porn. However I disagree, because it is an issue not just of images of intimacy versus images just of sex but at what point does it become void of artistic intent, license, and criticism which is the academic litmus for porn versus erotic art.

Does eye candy drag down the site or add to what a lot of people obviously want? Every picture on my blog has been used to either assist illustration of: reporting the news, commentary, or in some way give graphic representation to content and resources shared. In that regard, by both legal and academic standard does not qualify as porn, but it can be considered by some to be offensive.

Is a four way intimacy or just sex? Can it be both? Does two men being probed anally by a third constitute as porn? Does images of boys just being boys and loving each other constitute as porn? Does it constitute as sex or just intimacy shared deeply between best friends?

So where does porn fit into the mix? Images of a four way sex scene while intriguing cant be just labeled as porn just because it is part or a clip from a porn movie. The problem in this society is that we have made physical sex the final action, the summit of the sensual experience, when we mark sex or more specifically the final cum splattering orgasm as the consummation of the act when in fact it is just a by product of the larger expression of intimacy and the deeper connection of love between hopefully friends at a minimum.

Do our readers consider us different than other queer blogs and websites? Yes. Thousands upon thousands of people came to see those posts. Yes I did and I referred other people to your post as well as my 350 visitors a week at least were being made aware too.

Is it worth momentary uncomfortableness by some readers to gain others? I have made my rules known. They have been posted, cited, quoted, cross linked, and bitched about in gay local blogs and traditional media circles. If the rules are made available and people can clearly see them being enforced without reservation and they still bitch that an image or certain level of image is there it becomes their tough cookie to deep throat without milk. The problem I think that most people had Bil is that the rules appear to seem not to apply to either you or certain others on Staff. The best thing that I could suggest, it to post a permanent link on the main page to your rules and disclaimers for an easy fix to the complaints and so that way everyone will know what to expect from BILERICO.

Most of the visitors to Abigail's post [...] obviously didn't stick around to look at other posts, but they did provide advertising dollars. I don't collect revenue for this blog so I can't really respond to that pointe. Does it matter that they showed up and left or is it just my posts that were more explicit? My post are always explicit but not always intimate or sexual there is a difference. Can we use sexy to bring the traffic but leave the reader with a virtual case of blue balls?

"That is a cool shade you got there honey. Would you like some help relieving the strain on your pork tenderloin? Here is some ice." ROFLMAO!

Or is what I have to say in the main column more important than comic videos? Bil to answer this part I have to go back to your previous question "If so, what's the difference?". I think the biggest plus for your readership is the diversity of contributions as a whole. On BILERICO whether it is a video clip, vlog, or just plain text, occasionally some with graphic images included as an aside, people can get a variety that they actually enjoy and anticipate. My preferences are at random. Sometimes about at a quarter of the content from each contributer I cant stand or think to myself, "What were they smoking today?" but as a whole the content is good all around with the varying tastes of your readers accommodated. I think to regiment a particular section or type of content to once every day/three days/week, etc. takes away from the randomness of the adventure that is the collective celebration of this life and our out and proud sexuality on your site.

As a community, we fight for freedom.

Breaks out singing Think Freedom by Aretha Franklin
like a good gay boi followed up with We Shall Be Free
by Garth Brooks because of the ghetto redneck queen in me.

Why are we so afraid of penises? Even though the natural inclination for men is to wear as little as possible it is because we have been taught to cover our minor selves from a very early age. Why are we so afraid of vaginas? Even God is a little afraid of vagina (no offense ladies this is just for sarcasm):

God talking with Adam and Steve: *with anger
"Dammit why did you boys let her go up there to wash off?"
Adam: "God why are you getting so angry?
Steve: "I thought you wanted us to do what the squirrels were doing."
God: "Yes, sons I did!" *lightning strike
"But now I am never going to be able to get that smell out of the fish!"

Gay, lesbian or trans - most of you were pissed off I'd posted those pictures. I think it was because it wasn't what they expected from you. Keeping this in mind, what would have happened if another Editor of BILERICO ran the same experiment you did without notifying all the contributers and you personally? How would that make you react?

Do we fear what others (like the religious right) will say about us?

"The Religious Right is neither!"

Why the double standard of celebrating sexuality while condemning examples of sex?

There is a double standard I couldn't tell with what is on television these days. More people came to see the sexy posts than Clinton or Obama's guest posts. What does that say about our community's priorities? Not much. Is there a ranking system where I can't be political and horny - maybe even both at the same time? I have a sex drive and a mental cartoon running in the back of my brain at all times it seems like the politicians are the only ones fulfilling their fantasies, as of late. So yes, you can be both political and horny! [Photo: Beni Sage]

In conclusion, finally! What does it say about the place of porn in our society? I love queer adult themed shows, pictures, videos, and films. When they are produced responsibly and not just for the sake of a buck it can be a good thing for education and reduction of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. I think that we forget as we grow older that a lot of us learned what intrigues us (Gymnasts, Swimmers, Superboi, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'Connell, Chad Allen, spanking frat bois) in intimate situations and how to do certain things by viewing adult content, or at least having random discussions about the freaky things one finds in comic books, Greek mythology, online, or with close friends.

That is what BILERICO is to me, a place where close and not so close friends, communicate intimately and invite everyone to participate in the adventure of our queer lives together.

[EDITOR'S NOTE:]
Photo Credits will be up as soon as I verify them. I think they came from FLIP FLOPS BOY

What a hell of a post for Palm Sunday: Politics and Sex is Reality?

Going to the Chapel of Love...
... and we still can't get legally married in Indiana!

So of course every Gay and Lesbian Hoosier is jumping up and down because Senate Joint Resolution Seven aka, the "Indiana Marriage Protection Amendment" died emphatically for at least another four years. As most are now better aware of the process, in order to pass a Constitutional Amendment in the Crossroads of America it must be heard by two consecutive separately elected classes of the General Assembly before it can be put to a referendum vote of the Citizenry at a general election.

Even with the last minute attempts by certain PACs to throw their weight around the Statehouse, certain members of the House stood firm to actually take care of the real business at hand, property tax relief. Due to some very brave legislators it was stopped in committee procedures and never saw the light of day on the House floor. Thanks go especially to State Representative Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City), Chairman of the House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee.

So what is the tax value of my redneck multilevel dream home? [Photo Credit: John Good @ Left In Aboite]

So about the "bipartisan cooperation", which is an attempt at humor in its self, found capping the assessed tax value of property at increments of one, two, and three percent respectfully depending on the type of properties as the General Assembly's last minute grandstanding close to this session so they would not have to return for a special session as threatened by Governor Mitch Daniels.

Meanwhile they raised the Sales Tax another percent. In Allen County alone that will make our total sales tax eight percent (because of the out dated one percent Food and Beverage Tax that is still being collected for the Memorial Coliseum) plus the modified expenses of doing business in Allen County and across the State which will be passed on to the consumer, never carried by the business.

So much for being able to eat a
good dinner for five dollars.

What is really sad is that the final legislation carried specific provisions for Lake and Saint Joseph Counties, which the State Supreme Court already ruled unconstitutional in a few other matters; and so therefore, within a year we will probably be back to the same old bullshit with a different colour and cause. Once again the politicians have screwed over the Citizens and no one seems the wiser.

Allen Co. GOP tries to breathe deeply and comes back with a head cold.

On this past Wednesdays post which was a tad late also, as this post is for Saturday as well, sorry about that, I mentioned some of the crazy things going on in the local GOP headquarters and with the Party Chair as a whole. To all fairness and credit I must give Steve Shine time to respond and he did so in his State of the Party Address.

Love Client and Big Brother number Nine

There of course is the story of now defamed New York Governor, Eliot Laurence Spitzer, who tried to cover up an lurid affair with a high end twenty two year old prostitute (with more aliases then I have names) by asking a bank to disguise a ten thousand dollar transaction made to the 'sponsoring organization' which in turn tripped a mechanism in federal law for mandatory reporting of income and launched a federal inquiry which caught the former hard nose, long arm on moral values crimes, in a wire tap investigation, which then led to his demise. Pending threats of impeachment and the general celebration by people he had prosecuted in the past under the guise of protecting the public, he got snared by the very same laws he helped pass.

That is in my honest opinion the ultimate irony of judicial review!

The vlog gossip show Blog Monkey from Sean Haines and Allan Murray over at OMOVIES in Episode Seven did some pretty funny commentary on this and that David Hernandez, whom was voted off this week on American Idol, formerly stripped and danced as well as tended bar at two different gay male establishments.

Along with the rest of Reality Television

Some of the other Reality Television queer scandals and rumors from come from Joshuah, James, and Neil over at the Big Brother House. Neil Garcia who left some pretty revealing pictures on his own myspace account had to leave the show and separate from his "partner" earlier in the season, but as was found shortly after to be recording some information video clips on WeHoPediaTV regularly. During one of the more extemporaneous moments, not shown on the telecast but on the live feed and widely circulated around the internet, Joshuah Welch, slated as Neil's partner originally, and James made some pretty questionable statements (2:45 mark of the 1st video) about using cocaine during anal sex (booty bumps) and safe sex practices inside the context of a committed relationship which put half the gay blogosphere up in arms; and the other half saying, "Thank God someone finally said it like it is." (TowleRoad)

"I do bareback with my boyfriend. We've both been tested for HIV and we're both negative so it's cool. I only do that with my boyfriend. I don't do that on a random one night stand. That's too risky... (Joshuah Welch)"

James Zinkand, who was just voted out then voted back in a BB coup, the supposed straight punk house guest has been revealed to be a gay adult film star with some awesomely randy pictures floating around of his huge and hung horse. "He is also one of the stars of an upcoming East Village-based gay soap opera Dirty Tricks (co-produced by Dirty Boy Video and Naked Sword). The online-only soap is scheduled to be launched sometime this month. (cite)"

The posting of the pictures also created a controversy on The BILERICO Project when the pictures from Dirty Boy Video weren't just posted but made available without censor if you just clicked the pictures into a new tab or window, which is a common practice on most upscale gay blog servers.

Now of course, F6 has a strict policy (main part below) about, "no frontal exposure of male genitalia without explicit reason or valid illustration"; but I, as the Editor of F6, fully support and defend Bil Browning in his constant diligence to keep the conversation open and, with class, attempt to provide full disclosure and access (even when using questionably graphic or erotic images) into the marketplace of ideas. Bil listed a set of questions partially in his own defense but also to go deeper into the dialog of what it means to be a complete queer community. F6 will provide its answers to those questions in a separate post by Wednesday as an open letter to Bil Browning and the rest of BILERICO's contributers and readership.

"This Blog, F6, contains graphic images, and some can be construed as male erotic art; however, every precaution has been made that no frontal exposure of male genitalia will take place without explicit reason for artistic license or valid illustration by F6 of written content within the provisions of: the community service by, and general commentary of, F6. The graphical and written content of F6 will expressly promote the beauty of the male body and spirit with natural expressions of intimacies sometimes between two or more men. F6 may at times be perceived as offensive, perverse, lewd, and down right blunt; but at all times, any content of F6 is for the education of the reader, and does not in anyway, legally constitute as pornography."

There is more to talk about. This post has given a whole new meaning to corn fed beef, woof! I might make a non scheduled post before Wednesday but until then I hope you all had an awesome Saint Patrick's Day (which was transfered by the Western Patriarch of Rome to the 15th so as not to conflict with Holy Week, blah!). May y'all have a peace filled Holy Week, and enjoy the celebrations of the neo-pagan Sabbath of Ostara (19th) followed up with my favorite three day season Paschal Tridium, and the Solemn Octave (8Days) of the Resurrection!

F6 EDITOR'S NOTE:
MY APOLOGIES TO MR. WELCH FOR MISSPELLING HIS NAME ORIGINALLY.
F6 EDITOR'S UPDATE:
Additionally anyone who wishes to follow Crazy James' tour may add him on MySpace

One score and twelve years ago....What an adventure it has been!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLD BEAR

Thirty two years ago this morning I was shoved out of my mother's womb three months and a day early. I was a two pound, nine ounce bundle of flesh that was seventeen inches long. I couldn't figure out what God was thinking when He came down and commissioned me from my mothers womb and then said "Now get out into the world." instead of letting me stay in this nice warm sack of fluid for another ninety three days. This is my five minutes of paying tribute annually to my mother and father.

Since I am my mother's first born she sucked down on the anesthetics and ended up passing out half way through delivery. My father, in regards to the minor miracle in front of him, responding to the intensive neo-natal conflicts of my premature birth did two things that have the highest honor in my life. They will forever reign in my life no matter what happens or what people say about me personally and professionally. Thirty minutes after I was born I was baptized and given my father's name, the highest glory he could give me, and then handing me back over to God in prayer and the doctors for health and safety. My mom woke up three days later.

ABORTION AND THE SOLEMN FEAST OF HOLY INNOCENTS AND MARTYRS

Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents (citations from my homily: Jeremiah 31:15, Matthew 2:16-18, Assumption of Moses 6:2-6) within the Octave of the Incarnation (Catholics take 8 days to celebrate Christmas Day and Easter Day, similar to Chanukah) . Therefore the issues of premature termination of any life has a very special place in my own history. I am for life from conception to natural death. Technically I was born at the very end of my second trimester. And yes if you do the math I was suppose to born on April Fools Day. Evil is not the opposite of Good it is any thing that takes away from our lives and living them for good will towards our fellow members of creation.

I am not going to make this too political; however I must address this, especially on my birth feast. I am against abortion however I am also pro choice, only in one regard. That is, the fact that if abortion were not legal, I as a member of the clergy, would be celebrating double the amount of funerals (both mother and child). I do believe though that abortion needs to be pulled out of the private clinics and needs to be a ethically guided and medically sound procedure. That just is not guaranteed in a private clinic setting. By requiring continued after procedure medical care and ethical guidance we can greater limit the ramifications of a termination on both the body and mind and soul of the individual whom has made the most tragic decision of their and someone else's life and the biological father's honor. We need to restore the father's right of choice in the decision as well. He contributed half of the byproducts (23 chromosomes and 30 minutes of hard labor) to form this new life, he should have some say in its future, 'possession should not be nine tenths of the law'.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE BLOG

If you take time to notice by actually viewing my blog directly (not through an RSS feed, or whatever else people use to scan this from a distance) I found out (totally on accident mind you) how to put certain things over on the main column above and below the blog entries. I hope you like some of these changes just remember to scroll down a little bit off of the main page to view everything. It is not quite done and completely updated or shuffled from one category to another but I will be finishing it up over the weekend.

Why did the sidebar link categories change?

This was done in an effort to clarify better what people are looking for. Before all the personal, political and news, commentary blogs were for the most part in one of two groups of link lists "what all d fagz r talkn bout!" and "3 rivers blogged down". One of the major complaints I received is people were getting dizzy trying to figure out which blogs they wanted to view because they couldn't always tell what type of blog it was. The new blog link list have new titles and a description underneath to better explain each category. Certain blogs have been reassigned to other categories completely that more appropriately align to the content of the blog. For instance Scott and Brian's or Blake's blogs are completely related to local sports and therefore are under all the links to "support 3 rivers athletics" while Undies Drawer has been placed under "don we now our gay apparel" I hope that these changes will help people use the resources that I am trying to provide to our greater local and queer community members.

The Fort Wayne blogs have been broken down into three main categories:
+ bare it all along 3 rivers (news & politics blog roll)*new*
+ 3 rivers blogged down (personal blog roll)*revised*
+ coming together on 3 rivers (community organizations, public interest blogs)*new*

(GLBTIQAS) blogs have been broken down into three main categories as well:
+ what all d fagz r talkn bout! (gay and lesbians, etc. personal blog roll)*revised*
+ is 1 penis and 2 testicles worth 1,000 thoughts? (pictorial and graphic blog roll)*new*
+ queer community and culture (national perspectives blog roll)*new*

[EDITOR'S UPDATE: Please see the post from 05 March 08 for further updates on formating]

What are some of the other things that you have toyed with on F6?

One is adding a third colour to the blog for subtitles and emphasis in actual posts, but the jury is still out on that one. Trying to find colours that coordinate well with the existing scheme is a bitch and a half sice I am working with two opposites initially. The background has been grayed out a little bit so as to give the appearance of recycled paper.

The three quotes and the Jay Brannan video player have been moved to the main column of the profile for people to have an easier time viewing them or picking which video to watch.

Tracking oneself across the blogosphere or letting your readers see where you've been.

In addition, I have added as a new idea in response to "New Media New Rules" and the "Civility Code" from a few months back is a link list entitled "what I did say!" which is a list of the fifteen latest comments of mine on other people's and/or organization's blogs. This is an effort to challenge especially the local authors and everyone to be more accountable for their activity across the blogosphere as well. One last benefit to this decision is that now when I leave a comment I can go back and check directly on a response from others or the author/editor of the original blog.

The links to my comments on other's blogs are listed in the following format:
1. international date (yyyymmdd)
2. the first two initials of the origional blog's authors name (Eric White=EW:)
3. followed by the acronym for the origional blog (Kody's blog is KT:TV for Tinnel Vision)
4. next is a synopsis (three words max) of the title of the original blog
5. lastly in parenthesis is the order in number of the comment that you posted eg:(6)
As a note of courteousness if you do set one of these up make sure to set the link list to "Reverse Sort Alphabetically" in order to view the list in the proper order.

The only slight downside to this link list of my comments elsewhere is everyone else can read them as well. Sometimes people don't realize they are dealing with two different persona's when reviewing the crassness of my blog (and the historical series that was F6's original old media venue) versus my personal or pastoral commentary on other blogs and sites. I challenge everyone to take time to think about the possibilities and provisions for improving your surrounding community and the communication between neighbors. Whether friends or enemies, specify or at least declare your biases and predispositions when writing; remember also, facial features aren't usually illustrated well in written commentary.

[EDITOR'S UPDATE: This feature was discontinued after 2 months. It didn't work as intended, became cumbersome to keep track of , and some blogs don't allow links to a single post.]

CLARIFICATION AND APOLOGY

And that leads me to my clarification and apology then the closing of this post. In my review and follow up of the New Media New Rules forum held on the twentieth of this month, I referred to Rachel Blakeman and Nathan Gotsch in what some would assume is a demeaning manner.

What you are not all aware of is my internal mental animation. I have a cartoon that plays in the back of my head (hence my warped humor or views on certain things) and I see people and events in cartoon format as well as how they appear in reality. This skill comes from teaching preschool for several years. There are only so many ways to illustrate "pigs flying off a cliff" to three, four, and five year olds.

The first time I met Rachel was after the general election this year at the Thirsty Camel. She came in, sat down in a slump, and strained her neck veins to raise her head after a very hard fought election cycle; therefore my mind recorded an image of her in both reality and in animation format and it stuck, hence the mule reference. My apologies for not having clarified the terms of endearment. Now that I have somewhat explained the process with Rachel let me just say that certain actions or illustrations done by Nathan reminded me of a combination of a kangaroo and a jackrabbit (picture provided) with a cute little cotton tail bouncing into the vegetable garden and tearing it all to shreds. I wont even go into the notion of my wanting to see him in clip on rabbit ears and fur lined bikini except to mention them briefly (all puns were intended) in this forum.




I hope you all have enjoyed the thoughts and perspectives I've shared thus far. I look forward to the adventures over the coming few months and enjoy the continued Cross Blog Debate and conversation with each of you.

Blessings Along The Journey!

MRev. Kenneth White, Jnr., Editor,
F6 ~ Fun Fag FAQs From Father Fozy
http://frfozybearftwin.blogspot.com/

New Media New Rules: Summary Follow Up From Fr. Fozy

In an effort to show fair and balanced views since noone else has commented on this post I am going to post an cyclical update now that all the 'verdicts are in' across the greater Fort Wayne blogosphere. If I missed someone, let me know and I will throw you into the bone pile.

In the meantime taking the words directly from the mule rather than the rabbit I can refer you to Rachel Blakeman 's commentary and her direct account of events and final analysis. Nathan and Rachel did a wonderful job setting up everything and I have to give props where they are due. Now as for speaking for the rabbit, I will let Nathan chew his own carrot on this one and refer you as well to some comments over on Mitch Harper's Fort Wayne Observed.

Additionally, Kevin Leininger along with some other old and new media had their own perspectives to chime in across the electronic super highway, which were quickly resisted on several fronts for many different reasons. Of course Dan Turkette in true AWB fashion had a few comments of his own to throw into the frey on Fort Wayne News/More Than Corn. Neigh do I blame him for his perception of the events that transpired. I would encourage anyone to read the comments to all of these posts for a full perspective and the consensus of the Fort Wayne blogosphere.

I also feel that since my original post was a copy of a comment on one of these many posts, and therefore bloated by my natural sarcasm, I need to highlight the actual points I was trying to make so no one misunderstands my thought process and criticisms of the event as it happened.

+ While the initial premises that established the idea for a local Blogger Network are noble, they can also become elitist fairly quickly. Anytime you have organizations within a community try to umbrella themselves there is always going to be a shift in the atmosphere.

+ Sometimes anonymity is the best recourse to the truth because there is no perceived bias.... Certain people have to use pseudonyms in order to preserve there independence. Traditional or old media gives credit and status to anonymous or pseudonymous authors or sources.

+ Allowing comments is neighborly and shows humility in the ongoing conversation of the blogosphere. The Cross-Blog-Debate is refreshing to say the least and a vital part of getting a consensus of the blogosphere.

In True F6 Style: My 100th Post: Breaking "The New Media Rules" One Right After The Other

[EDITOR'S NOTE:] This is a copy of my comment on Eric White's The Centerline regarding the New Media New Rules event and panel forum hosted last night by the new Fort Wayne Blogger Network and the three main political parties in Allen County.

This is why I avoided the event like the plague that I new it could potentially become. It would have been nice to know that almost everyone was going out afterwards to chat around at a bar or local diner, that is my type of forum or roundtable discussion. While the initial premises that established the idea for a local Blogger Network are noble, they can also become elitist fairly quickly.

eg: "If you don't meet these standards you aren't one of us and you should just shut your blog down now.", etc.

Anytime you have organizations within a community try to umbrella themselves there is always going to be a shift in the atmosphere. That is why, this particular forum shouldn't have happened in my honest opinion untill after the holidays and untill all current local bloggers were brought into the discussion as to the ideals of the group let alone invited to the event.

Regarding the three "DO KNOTS" introduced at the meeting: I have certain expletives to express, and two to illustrate, which involves proving that the sun doesn't shine from that vantage pointe, that I will not do in your forum for you might have to edit my comments since they were not posted under a pseudonym, lol!

I am a classically trained journalist and commentator. I think I know what's proper and improper decorum are when it comes to dealing with any subject and I will be d****?D if I am going to have some *edited*.....*still editing*...done..., telling me what to allow or not allow on MY forum!

1. No annonymous bloggers

- Sometimes anonymity is the best recourse to the truth because there is no perceived bias or rush to judgment of the authors intent or own bias, just the facts and the expressed opinion. You cant tell if they are on record liberals, moderates, or conservatives.

- Certain people have to use pseudonyms in order to preserve there independence. I respect that and so does any other classically trained journalist or editor. If the traditional or old media gives credit and status to anonymous or pseudonymous authors or sources than who are a bunch of new elitists to say that it is no longer valid, poppycock!

Q: What do people think I am: liberal, moderate, or conservative?
A: None of the above. I am a Modern Traditionalist.

2. No Comments

- You have pretty much covered everything I was going to say, except for one last thing which ties in with number three; in that if I missed a point on an issue or item, some one can come up from behind, wrack me up side the other head, and say, "let go of yourself for a minute and take a look at this over here!".

- (I am about ready to violate number three) Thankfully, Charles Langley over @ AD FONTES, has done that for me several times recently, not the wracking just the redirecting.

+ I personally feel that allowing comments is neighborly and shows humility in the ongoing conversation of the blogosphere.

3. No Blogs should talk about other Blogs

Oh just give me a pile of cow manure to throw at this one.

- Agreeing or disagreeing with a colleague (which is what we all are) is part of the Academic process and good Editorializing and Commentating. To allude otherwise flashes in the face of historic journalism in a multi forum old media town like ours.

- If editors from opposing view pointes couldn't dialog with each other in print Win Moses might not have been reelected Mayor back in the mid eighties after his little campaign finance scandal with the Sheriff, nor would we have known that Kevin Knuth once asked for Tom Henry to resign from public office back in the mid nineties. The Cross-Blog-Debate is refreshing to say the least and a vital part of getting a consensus of the blogosphere.

BTW- I will be copying this comment over to my blog now since it is so long and you can delete it if you choose since I "have nothing new to add to the post" wtfwts.

Thank you Eric! May you have an awesome Octave of the Incarnation also!

Blessings Along The Journey,
Fr. Fozy Bear

Photos are From Matt's Dick Junkie.
To find more JUSTUS BOYZ clothing under your holiday bush next year visit their website.

I know. I am running behind the times! County Government?

The discussion is what the Commission On Local Government has to say about County Government.

"County governments should be led by a single county executive and a stronger county council, to whom professionally qualified administrators should report and be accountable. Create a clearer, more accountable structure with fewer elected officials. Better coordinate public safety services."

1. Establish a single-person elected county chief executive.

2. Establish a single, unified legislative body for county government. Expand legislative membership to ensure sufficient representation for included rural, suburban and urban populations.

I actually don't have as much of an issue with this as I thought I would. The only problem I could foresee would be making sure that everyone in the county felt represented on the county council and the only way to solve that would be to make the council districts respective to the townships (eg: one seat per township minimum) with certain modifications of a second seat for population counts in certain ones like Wayne, Washington, Aboite, St. Joesph, and Adams Townships (they encompass Fort Wayne and New Haven). In Allen County that would give us a twenty five seat council minimum. Then of course the City government would feel left out and God forbid if we ever fully went to a unigov system because every other city and town would be throwing a temper tantrum about not being heard at all or the fact that they were now part of Fort Wayne.

3. Transfer the responsibility for administering the duties of the county auditor, treasurer, recorder, assessor, surveyor, sheriff and coroner to the county executive. Transfer the varied duties of the clerk to the courts, to the county election board and to the county executive. Establish objective minimum professional qualifications and standards for certain county administrative functions.

Now this is where I am going to clash with this report whole heartedly and as boisterously as Saint Augustine's swine (St Jerome). Certain of these elected positions are not just office positions they are a political checks and balances that were established for a reason and should not be fucked with no matter what may sound efficient and responsible for the future.

How many people are aware that the Coroner is the only one who can arrest and remove from office the Sheriff or County Prosecutor? He is the Chief Medical Officer of the County; much like the charachters of Drs. Leonard Horatio McCoy, Beverly Crusher, Katherine Pulaski, Julian Subatoi Bashir, and The EMH Doctor (ST: OS, TNG(2), DS9, and VYGR,) of the STAR TREK sagas. You knew I would have to throw one reference in somewhere, right?

These positions are suppose to be the publics way of achieving a balance of power within the County by putting people of trust and honor in "lesser" positions in order to watch over the public interest as a whole and keep the main players in balance. Plus the last thing we need is to reverse that law that was already established to limit a Sheriff's term in office to twice consecutive terms. If the position is appointed someone could retain the office for decades. Second as it is the Sheriff's Constitutional Authority to confine and enforce and serve the courts the Sheriff is also the one who balances overzealous County Prosecutors and Legislatures by ordering the non enforcement of incorrect laws or burying of warrants until they can be mediated.

Certain positions like Surveyor, Auditor, Recorder, and Treasurer I can see being made Executive appointments; however the Assessor's position, should still be a retained elected Executive Office holder.

By appointing any of these main positions rather than allowing the voter to choose you are making government no longer either we, by, or for the people, and in essence allowing one person to bring in whom ever they choose that isn't executive it is dictatorial. If this part of the plan is ramrodded threw the General Assembly, like Governor Daniels likes to do, it should at least be modified so that the modified per Township County Council has to approve by Major Majority all appointments and require only a Minor Majority to impeach either the single County Commissioner and his appointments or all other elected and appointed positions within the County proper.

Leave the Clerk of Courts alone (*channeling Chris Crocker, not really*). Most County Election Boards are either overwhelmed or incompetent and sometimes both.

4. Retain a local government role for property tax assessment under a county assessor who is required to meet professional qualifications and appointed by the county executive.

The Assessor's position, should still be a retained elected Executive Office holder who is then responsible for all appointed (jointly with the County Commissioner) Township Assessors. The County Assessors are responsible for how much each of us pay in property taxes and there needs to be someone at the top of local government that the people choose. Again it goes back to a checks and balance both politically and for the people. The County Assessor should also be the Chair of the County Tax Levy Board in my honest opinion.

5. Create a county wide body to oversee the provision of all public safety services.

This one could get just a little tricky because that also encompasses fire safety which falls under Township jurisdiction not just city government. And I think I will make a separate post about this because the young men and women whom volunteer with fire, medical, and first responder services are very dear to my heart. I have not a problem with having a County Board on oversight, general administration, and purchasing power improvements; but services and the ability for an average citizen to still be able to serve, needs to be considered above any generalized or definitive improvement towards administration. The city departments need to bring back volunteers and first responders. The State needs to give permission for all VFF, EMT, and FR the permission to burn both red and blue or red and green as well as the use of sirens.

(*Insert silently homosexual innuendos*)

6. Consolidate emergency public safety dispatch by county or multi-county region. Require that new, local emergency communications systems be compatible with the Project Hoosier SAFE-T statewide 800 MHz communications system.

DUH!!! Should have been done already *edits slurs* IDIOTS!!!

7. Transfer the responsibility for all funding of the state’s trial court system to the state, including public defenders and probation.

The Libertarian Party of Allen County's Secretary, Douglas Horner, is a Fugitive Recovery Agent and a licensed Bail Bondsman in the State has some interesting thoughts on that so I will defer with conjunction to his comments if he ever writes them out. One of the biggest issues I have is that the crime equity is not balanced across the State and there should be a level list of fines and responsibilities for each particular offense of the penal code that applies across the board. Also judges and prosecutors need to stop with frivolous fines and judgments and quit screwing people up the ass without the benefit of lube or a reach around for a simple mistake, temporary moments of stupidity, or just bad luck. The courts have lost a personal touch and need to be smacked around a little, like having their slush fund taken out from underneath.

One major additional note that I have been bitching on about for years which recently has received some more press and scrutiny: Judges or anybody else in the "judicial system" and their immediate family should be banned from having ownership in any company (AADP?) that provides services to the citizens by court order. That is a major conflict of interest and a violation of unreasonable sentencing which also borders on cruel and unusual punishment (sometimes before even a conviction in the case of juveniles), all in the name of a profit margin, that is WRONG!!! *!!!blows!!!steam!!!out!!!of!!!ears!!!* It is time for this callous blister in Fort Wayne to be shut down once and for all and never used ever again.
Further information: (JG article) (Website)(MySpace)(You Tube)

8. Move the funding of child welfare from counties to the state.

Well since they are already planning on doing a privatization plan anyway and taking away the local offices and mount the corruption of services provided to the hilt, you might as well take over the financing as well. While you are at it, please remove the policy in the Code which allows for illegal immigrants to file for benefits without being documented and forwarded to the Bureau of Citizenship Immigration and Naturalization for review. They should be taken into custody and processed for becoming citizens, not given benefits without legal standing!

[Editor's Note:]

This is just the beginning of my ramblings. I need to take a moment and give Charles M. Langley a nod for providing the AADP commentary on his blog AD FONTES. There will be further updates to this post as I continue to read the report from the COLG and develop further ideas and thoughts on these very complex issues and recommendations. Stay Tuned.

Poll Results part 2: Local Government: What should be done?

In a series of posts starting this Monday I am going to try to lay out some of my concerns and ideas regarding the recommendations recently by the Commission On Local Government, and some of our local bloggers amongst the frey, which involve the future status of County, Township, Municipalities, and Education governmental design. I have decided after trying to scratch out my ideas, complaints, and thoughts, as well as alternatives, that these are to complex in issues to write out any of it in just one or two posts.

The future of local government really deserves to have a single forum where everyone could write out their ideas and recommendations without bitting each others head off or pulling out eyes or hair in the process; but since the likely hood of that happening is wishful at the outset, I will post what I have to say per item and let the cross blog debates speak for other individual's analysis and thoughts. I would like to note as an aside that fellow bloggers have been bringing up some awesome thoughts and issues and recommendations from practical, hands-on, perspectives. I just wish there was a way to get everybody's opinions linked together in one place for ease of reference for the politicians and the public as a whole.

As proven before, blogs can change the current flow of the marketplace of ideas for the better or worse in actual formation and application of policies and procedures.

Map of Allen County's Townships copied from The Centerline. Thank you, Eric!

DISCLAIMER: As I am on record, through other sources and platforms, as to have announced considering an exploration of my candidacy for certain elected offices, which said offices are contained in this and certain future posts: I am clearly aware of the potential for bias in these articles and wish to convey these articles or posts are personal and professional commentary and not to be construed in any way as political campaigning. Thank you.