It's A Technical Foul....Anti GLBT Ballot Initiatives pass across the Nation

We Are Currently Experiencing A Verizon Migraine! Apparently they cant hear anyone now. Please be patient as this forum will return to production shortly. Please be patient and have a queertastic Wednesday!

Congratulations go to Senator Barack Hussein Obama of Illinois, the next black President elect of the United States of America!

He joins such other American heroes of yore with African lineage and heritage as, Presidents Warren G. Harding (29th), Andrew Jackson (7th), Thomas Jefferson (3rd), Abraham Lincoln (16th), Calvin Coolidge (30th), Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower (34th), Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin (15th, under Lincoln's first term) and the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, who also was the Founder of the New York Post. (SOURCES: Endiana, We Declare, Dr. LeRoy Vaughn, Jim Blair)

In other news concerning the election:

Libertarians in Indiana have left 'marks for distinction' on national, statewide and local political races. Thank you to all those whom put their honour on the line to make our State a beacon of Liberty! The fight doesnt end here it is just beginning. I have two questions for you all. Does this years results help or hurt us for 2010? What can we as a Party do to improve upon the presentation of our message? While we are still waiting for actual totals to be in, here are the basics so far from the Secretary of State's website:

Now for the latest RESULTS!

They are still tentative but please right click here and open the new chart into a new tab.If anyone knows of updates to these lists enclosed please let me know promptly.Again to the Citizens of Indiana, thank you for your vote and all the support of the party for the people!

No votes? What happened?

There are several contest which do not have data yet on the Secretary of States website among them are Districts 37, 41st, 99th, and 100, and the twenty Counties of Bartholomew, Crawford, Delaware, Hancock, Harrison, Jennings, Madison, Marion (INDY), Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Noble, Parke, Posey, Putnam, Spencer, Tippecanoe, Vermilion, and Vigo. Folks this election may not be over we are still missing up to a third of the nationwide and statewide race results across the State.

CONCERNING NATIONWIDE
ANTI GLBTIQAS (Gay & Lesbian, etc.)
BALLOT INITIATIVES

Arizona Same Sex Marriage Ban Prop 102
passed, 99% reporting 56-44%

Florida Same Sex Marriage Ban Amendment 2
passed, 99% reporting 62-38%

Arkansas Initiive Act 1 Against Gay Couples
and Unmarried Persons Adoption of Children
passed, 99% reporting 57-43%

California Same Sex Marriage Ban Prop 8
passed, 99% reporting 52-48%

(SOURCE: CNN, H/t AB & WH @ BILERICO)

Fortunately I am told (still looking up the story) Connecticut voted down their Constitutional Convention. We wont have to worry for at least another twenty years, about an amendment in order to reverse the recent State Supreme Court ruling, legalizing Same Sex Unions which are slated to begin later this month. I will have more to add about this in a few hours....stay tuned!

this is worse than a divorce, I've lost half of my net worth, and I still have...

....without any further fanfare during these harsh economic times, these are my endorsements for the current general election cycle. I am going to start with the Federal side and then continue on through the State and then the Local but it will take me a few days to get them all written out so please be patient and check back every day to see this list below grow and the explanations written out. Being to the fact that this afternoon I am going to the dentist after twelve years I dont know how coherent I will be afterward so please bear with me as I separate my explanations out over the course of the next couple days. The full list and explanations will be done by Saturday. TEXT REMOVED (see below) Each of the office headers will forward to the post that explains the endorsement so you can bookmark this post to come back to in the next week.

President and Vice President of the United States
Robert Barr of Georgia (L) and Wayne Allyn Root of Nevada (L)

US Representative
3rd District William Larsen (L)
6th District Michael Pence (R) i

Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
Andrew Horning of Freedom (L) and Lisa Kelly of Indianapolis (L)

Attorney General
Linda Pence (D)

Superintendent of Public Instruction
Kevin Brown (Write In)

State Representative
District 83 Herbert Jack Evans (L) recent article from the News Sentinel
District 84 Mark Wehrle (D)

County Treasurer
Maria Para (D)

County Council At Large 3
Paul Moss (R) i, Robert Armstrong (R), Susan Hoot (D)

FWCS School Board of Trustees
District 2 John Peirce or Donald Schaab
District 3 Jon Olinger i
District 5 Evert Mol

Judicial Retention Allen Co. Superior Courts
SC Civil: Dan Heath, No;
SC Civil: Stanley Levine, Yes;
SC Criminal: Fran Gull, Yes;
SC Criminal: John Surbeck, No;
SC Family: Steven Sims, Yes

Local Public Question.
Should the assessing duties of the elected township assessor
in the township be transferred to the county assessor?
Yes

Supreme Court Justice Retentions
Brent E Dickson, Theodore R Boehm, Randall T Shepard,
Yes to All of Them

Judges Retention
Carr L Darden, Thomas J. Fisher
Yes To Both

EDITOR'S APOLOGY AND CLARIFICATION: The original text that was removed read "If you have already voted early I have been told that you can nullify that by still going to the polls on election day." This was inaccurate information that was communicated to me on the fly by an Election Board employee. There was probably a failure to communicate all the way around however I still take full responsibility for the misinformation. The actual information, provided to me by another blogger whom has my heart felt gratitude, is as follows:

If a ballot (absentee or early) has already been issued to a voter, (they) cannot just show up and vote. Early Voting: Once you vote early you may not vote again period. If you went and voted on a machine, there is no way to know which ballot or vote was yours, so they couldn't rescind your vote if they wanted to. Absentee Voting: (They) either have to bring (their) voided ballot to the polling location with (them) or (they) need to come down to the Election Board and fill out paperwork that voids that ballot. That paperwork cannot be completed at the polling location.

Stay Tuned...there is more to come...including the annual Hunk of Flesh voting....

There is a shitload of stuff going on this Saturday!

(UPDATED 2x) There is more stuff going on this weekend around town than the total amount of crap coming out of Washington D. C. this entire election cycle. Sorry for the delay I always try to double verify F6 Community Events Listings. Below is a basic schedule laid out with links provided when available.

The question for this week is, "What are you going as for Halloween festivities this year?" and then the second is "What is everyone doing for Halloween?" Leave your comment below.

My ideal choice (as depicted to the right) is to go as ELEMENT, the Queer Love Child of Captain Planet and Gia aka Mother Earth but I dont have enough time to put it together and sense no one wants to see me running around in a sheer thong leather loin cloth either, we will yet see.

Things To Do In Fort Wayne This Saturday

10a FW O&BD's GET OUT ON THE RIVERS!
Canoe and Kayak Tour @ Johnny Appleseed Park
UPDATE: has now been delayed due to weather issues.
10a-7p Spirit Fayre – Mind, Body & Spirit Expo
@ Allen Co. Fairgrounds continues Sunday 10a-6p
10a-5p Indiana Snowmobilers Association
Annual Winter Outdoor Sports Show
@ Allen Co. Fairgrounds continues Sunday 11a-4p

10a-3p Democrat Party Early Voting Picnic and Rally
@ McMillen Park Pavilion (Oxford and Hessen Cassel)

If you haven't voted early yet the Democrats will be "offering free rides" to the Election Board. Sophia said in a recent email: "we have to work extra hard on Saturday to get people to vote early so that...we can be LOCKING in hundreds of votes...while they are wasting time at a rally!" This is actually bad rhetoric on their part. Keep in mind, that the polls close 2 1/2 hours before she speaks, but what do you expect from local Democrats, as long as it sounds good to them it is right!

6:30p Governor Sarah Palin's Road To Victory Rally
@ Allen Co. War Memorial Coliseum
(Doors Open @ 4p. There are no more tickets available.)

NOW FOR THE GHOULISH STUFF

10a-3p Creature Feature @ Botanical Conservatory with 50 cent hot dogs, popcorn, and drinks.
4p-12mid DID Downtown Fright Night which includes these events of interest:
3:45p Zombie Walk @ Allen Co. Public Library
8p-12mid ARCH Costume Ball @ Masonic Temple (21+only)
9:15p-11:15p “Rocky Horror Picture Show” @ Botanical Conservatory

HAVE A BLESSED SABBATH OF SAMHIAN AND SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS EVERYONE!

Now it is official! You can get screwed up the ass by Obama!

I had started Wednesdays post and was called out due to a pastoral emergency in another county and never quite made it back in time to finish writing the post out sorry about that.

As the credit crunch has hit an all time climax and candidates are clinching down hard to get every last minute vote I invite you to sit and ponder for a moment how hard you would like to get screwed if Senator Obama is elected, since almost everyone in the GLBT Community has jumped on his bandwagon. Is seven and a half inches long enough? (right click on pic to visit site) (HT Nathan Exposed) I am tired of trying to illustrate how badly his policy and socialist/marxist leanings will bend this country over the table. Are Citizens ready to refuse the privilege of having a voice in the way they are governed?

Yes! or No!? It is time for We The People to stand up and assert our rights and swear once again to, "mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor"!

How about just listening to this young man Cody Weber from Illinois, who has it pretty darn close to right on both McCain and Obama. I am putting this video up here is because Cody makes several awesome pointes about himself and his generation's mindset on politics as usual. We need to pay attention.



While I disagree with Cody on Obama being the lesser of two evils and there not being an option for the average voter, I still can choose to not vote for either McCain or Obama. I am voting for Bob Barr and Wayne Allyn Root the Libertarian Party candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. I invite you to take an honest look at the Libertarian Party and all other Third Party candidates and consider making your vote count and not just follow a trend or the status quota. Cody is right about somethings the two party system is mundane, it also was never meant to exist exclusively, and it is time to bring politics as we know it to an end.

EDITOR'S STATEMENTS REGARDING POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND WOMYNS ISSUES:

Over the last week I received some hate mail for my sarcastic commentary I had made in reference to Mrs. Barack Obama's visit to Fort Wayne this past Wednesday. Here is my official response to both the hate mail and the editorial policies of this forum as well as an explanation for the use of the quote in the title from Mondays post:

F6 is not a politically correct forum. Apparently no one that has complained watched The VIEW on ABC a week or so previous. I watch the show frequently for their Hot Topics discourse. The quote in the title of our previous post "less than one menstrual cycle away" came directly from one of the hosts of the show Elisabeth Hasselbeck as a uniquely feminine valid measurement of time.

As F6 is a social political commentary, political satire uses stereotypes in order to challenge their validity while still appreciating their humour therefore this quote being recycled is still in a valid line for usage within this forum. No offense to any particular female was intended however I will apologize for the offense being rendered but will not retract the original title nor apologize for its usage. Phrases and commentary like this (see example to the left) are as equally offensive but tolerated every day when people yell out queer or faggot and tell my community members and I to "acquire a thicker skin" and that we need to hide our basic affections not just our bodily functions.

This Weekend, Local GLBT Groups Are Hosting Democratic Federal & Statewide Campaign Events & Libertarians On Equality Issues & GLBT Persons (UPDATED)

God-des and She performs 8:30p.m. this Saturday Upstairs @ Columbia Street West

Hip Hop, R&B, Soul Artists Goddes and She (MySpace) from Brooklyn, New York (pic @ right with Jay Brannan), are the special guest headliners for a two day Democrat Making Change Happen campaign event by Fort Wayne PRIDE Committee, HRC Fort Wayne Chapter, and cross sponsored by Reality Magazine. Joining Goddes and She will be The Campaign For Change, and openly gay State Representative Greg Harris of Illinois, along with many other politicians or their staff to answer your questions.

Here is the official video for their hit song LICK IT, aka DO THAT PUSSY RIGHT:



Here are the complete details for Making Change Happen
Location: Columbia Street West Banquet Hall
135 West Columbia St. Ft. Wayne IN 46802
There will be a cash bar. Doors Open 7p; Performance 8:30p Enter off of Harrison Street.
Tickets: Ages 15 and up $15 non-HRC members, $10 HRC members, $5 students w/valid ID.
RSVP please to Linda Bentz via email or phone. All proceeds go directly to HRC.
The fun continues 2p Sunday @ Allen Co. Democrat Party HQ @ 1920 Bluffton Rd, w/dessert.

We all know that life isn’t the way it should be for people who are GLBT. We also know that real change is possible - that it can be better. So now what?

We begin by electing fair-minded, equality candidates to office - from Barack Obama, Jill Long-Thompson, and Michael Montagano, right through to locals Kevin Knuth and Maria Parra - all of whom have reached out to us, fight for us, and who genuinely care about us as human beings. These people have consistently put their beliefs in action, and now it’s time for us to do the same.

~Linda Bentz, HRC FW Lead, (Reality Magazine, volume 2, issue 9, page 3)

Please Notice: in the article/press release excerpt above she listed only Democrats which is not a complete list of candidates for equality up for election this November, just the ones HRC FW & FW PRIDE want to support. That, in my honest opinion, is a violation of their Non Profit status with the State of Indiana.

How Libertarians Handle Equality Issues & Assure The Rights Of GLBT Persons

The problem with the above scenario, which repeats almost every election cycle in some regard, comes into play because, while Libertarians are pro equality, we operate under a different paradigm based on the individual's merit versus a collective privilege. Even though we strive to reach the same goals, it seems like die hard Republicans or Democrats can't handle the philosophical differences/challenges of just treating all persons as individuals, with the self evident truth that they were created equally and entitled to a free life with full liberty and the ability to pursue their own happiness with whomever or however many persons they choose to share it with in common bonds. The Libertarian Party Platform specifically reads in regards to marriage equality,

"government does not have the authority to
define, license or restrict personal relationships."

This self evident truth, of all persons being created equal, was declared by our Founding Fathers in The Declaration of Independence, which is also encased in the very beginning of the United States Code under Organic Laws of the United States, and just needs to be properly interpreted by The Supreme Court, and applied into law by The United States Congress, and enforced by the Executor of the Constitution and Commander In Chief.

The problem wont be solved by new laws but by first cleaning up and throwing out the unconstitutional laws that already exist. Then we can worry about adding new laws to the books. If we don't clean up the books soon, we might find ourselves having to write a new constitution though. That is a process that no one wants to go through and I don't think we have the courage to do so either.

Wouldn't it be better to preserve this nation rather than watch it die slowly and outside of our control?

Take a moment and think about it before you decide which candidate is just the lesser of two evils. Take a moment a think about what a third party candidate can bring to the legislative table and the marketplace of ideas. Diversity for one is for all equality!

RESOURCES: To visit LP of Allen Co. website or blog; or the LP of Indiana website; or the LP National website. To find out more info about OUTright the GLBT Caucus's website or blog. Here is the most current list of all LP Candidates up for election for voters to choose locally.

Take A Moment If You Dont Mind?

Take more than a moment and pray for our nation, our fellow citizens, and our leaders, in this time of crisis and chaos. As we have passed the Sabbath of Mabon and the Solemn Triumph of the Cross, and approach the Festival Rosh HaShanah, may we give thanks for the bounty we have been bestowed previously; and have enough humility to ask for mercy. Don't forget to also ask for wisdom, that we make the right decisions. On the 4th of November, make sure your decisions will secure the blessings of liberty for our posterity forever and ever. AMEN!

Reminder: The deadline to register to vote is the 6th of October.

Nationally Republicans continue to screw the pooch and get away scott free

They continue to live their fantasy while telling us queers and fags that we are the immoral ones. How self righteous and "holy" can you get without shooting your self for hypocrisy? I have been holding off on posting this until I read the following via TowleRoad:

Bet you almost forgot about him. An investigation has been ongoing since Foley stepped down over his inappropriate online communications with underage pages, and two federal law enforcement officials told the AP they were expecting no charges:

"The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, said the results of a state investigation would be announced Friday. They said neither state nor federal charges were expected, although an FBI investigation has not been closed yet."

As a refresher, the Mark Foley scandal in seven minutes, click here.

Now for the rest of the post regarding the Republicans versus GLBT people at their National Convention:

Gay Sex At The Republican Convention
DNA Magazine, Australia

Those conservative Republican folks are winding up their convention, having nominated a man 7 years past retirement age as their presidential candidate, and a moose-hunting, ex-beauty queen as the vice presidential candidate. As this hilarious video from Jon Stewart's The Daily Show likes to point out, a lot of these Republican types are hypocritical closet-cases...

A new deck of cards portraying hypocritical US Republican politicians caught in gay trysts, one being in a public toilet, is bringing a whole new meaning to having a 'straight flush' or a 'queens full'. Some of the prominent hypocrites featured in the deck include Congressman Mark Foley, Senator Larry Craig and Washington State senator James West. Larry Craig was famously caught tapping toes with an undercover officer in a public toilet at a US airport terminal. Mark Foley brought disgrace to himself and his party when he was found to have had an improper relationship with an underage male page. All these men have in one way or another spoken out and voted against gay rights and pro-gay legislation, whilst hiding and even after (in Craig's case) having been discovered to have their own homosexual tendencies. You can buy a deck of the cards here.

GOP axes delegate guide over gay listings
PageOneQ

The Virginia delegation canceled an order of a publication it planned to hand out to visitors at the upcoming Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, because it included a six-page section for gays and lesbians, KSTP reported. 150 copies of the "Secrets of the City" guide, printed by The Rake, http://rakemag.com/ were ordered by the campaign for Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling to hand out to delegates as gifts on arrival at the convention, which starts on September 1.

"I am so terribly sorry to do this," Bolling's political director Melissa Busse wrote to The Rake, "especially when the both of you have been so 'out of your way' helpful, generous and easy to work with. But, we need to cancel the order for 150 of the 'Secrets of the City' guidebooks...having a section dedicated solely to GLBT (sic) will be a BIG problem for many of our folks. We simply can't hand them out."

A PDF copy of the guide in question can be viewed at this link, courtesy of KSTP.

Now aside from the fact that unequivocally I feel that they made the wrong decision by both McCain and Palin and while I am on record as saying if I were left with only two choices I would have to vote for them over Obama and Biden hands down. Fortunately I am not tied soley to those statements. Because we do have a third option, the best option, and that is Libertarians Robert Barr and Wayne Allyn Root our Party's candidates for President and Vice President of the United States. Unlike their traditional two party opponents, they are even willing to meet the gay community half way. I ask each of you, my courageous readers, to take an honest look as well.

Bob Barr is for the repeal of Dont Ask Dont Tell:

Dont Ask Dont Tell refers towards Gays and Lesbians serving openly in the military. He wrote an opinion editorial in the Wall Street Journal back on 13th of June regarding this exact subject following the widely broadcast Republican debates. Here is an excerpt:

First, true conservative political philosophy respects the principles of individual freedom and personal privacy, particularly when it comes to what people do in private. The invasive investigations required to discharge a service member are an unconscionable intrusion into the private lives of American citizens.... Second, and on a more practical level, the ban on gays openly serving in our armed forces is hurting a military that is stretched thin, putting further strain on an institution conservatives claim to love. The U.S. has fired over 11,000 people under the current policy, and in the process has lost over 1,000 service members with "mission-critical skills," including 58 Arabic linguists.... Third, the gay ban wastes money. According to a Blue Ribbon Commission made up of academics and prominent defense leaders including former Defense Secretary William Perry, the gay ban has cost taxpayers over $360 million, and even this figure did not include many of the actual costs of rounding up gays and lesbians, firing them and training their replacements....

Bob Barr is for repeal of the second part of the horrible Defense Of Marriage Act:

Even though he originally coauthored it, he stated the following during his acceptance speech at our National Convention "Standing before you, looking you in the eye, the Defense of Marriage Act, insofar as it provided the federal government a club to club down the rights of law-abiding, American citizens, has been abused, misused and should be repealed," (Source: SOUTHERN VOICE). In other words, the way it has been utilized is not the way it was intended by Congress. Bob Barr continued this thought process in another venue and as part of his official platform:

"The federal government should neither regulate personal relationships nor discriminate against individuals for their personal preferences. Laws regulating marriage should be left to the states, precisely where the Constitution places the issue. Regardless of whether one supports or opposes same sex marriage, the decision to recognize such unions ought to be made by each state rather than imposed as a one-size-fits-all mandate by the federal government. Any federal laws that prevent states from determining their own standards for marriage should be repealed; the federal government should not define marriage, whether by statute or constitutional amendment. In this way, every state would remain free to determine for its citizens the basis on which marriage would be recognized within its borders, and would not be forced to adopt a contrary determination legislated by another state."

I have stated this before and I will state this again: As a Gay American and a local Religious Leader, if former Congress member Bob Barr of Georgia is truthfully willing to meet my people half way, then I will do the same. That is the least I can ask from a candidate compared to the the other two saps on the political stump who aren't even willing to keep their answers, to my Community members' questions, straight.

To visit the OUTright Libertarians our (GLBT) Caucus Website or Blog, Click on the links.

From geeks to seeds: Going Green? How to get the most out of your choices.*UPDATED*

Wednesdays post is a bit late because I had to fact check three things before I felt comfortable posting. Todays post is all about you choosing to make everyones life better, improve the environment, help to clean the shit out of our three rivers, and it all starts behind your bedroom door.

Recently F6 was contacted by Fiona King @ Nerds Do It Better (not promoting just citing) and was referred to their fact sheet written by Jessica Hupp that suggested ways to create a more green and eco/environ-healthier sex life. These are some of the twenty seven pointes followed by my commentary, as indicated via the (~) sign. Feel the excitement of going green!!!!

Setting The Mood

* Dim The florescent Lights ~ "What's a gay domicile without having a regulator dial"
* Take advantage of the cold; warm each other up or vice versa
~ cuddle by the fireplace or burn pit out back; soak and, or have sex in the jacuzzi/hot tub.
~ break out the kool aide/juice ice cubes and rub them all over, or just serve over vodka, or gin.
* Natural Aphrodisiacs, Wines, Fair Trade Chocolate ~ strawberries are my favorite addition.
* Wear green friendly lingerie ~ Save the ground, switch to organic, nutrient rich fabrics.

Sex Toys

* Use vegetables and fruits for sex toys
~ although just ensure safety from food allergies please wrap a condom around it before hand!
* Use silicone, metal, or glass sex toys.
~ not vinyl, use faux leather, spandex/lycra, rubber.
* Buy for Durability and Dispose of toys properly
~ Well made items will last longer. Repair it first.
* Use a safe lubricant with a condom!
~ Note gay men DO NOT want to use a condom
or lube with spermicide for anal sex.

For your family as a whole

* Take baths and showers together (see picture above)
* Use organic soy, beeswax, or palm oil candles at the dinner table
~ It saves that florescent bulb; it calms everyone down together; easier to scent.
* Buy Bamboo or Hemp bed sheets @ Target
~ They are renewable; offer a silky, slippery feel;
~ Sure to increase your ecological awareness!
* Put away your large plates ~ When eating at home use salad plates reduce portions.
* Increase intake of organic fruits and vegetables

Most men also need to know "pineapples makes the cream so sweet!, not of wheat."! I know what your thinking. You can understand the idea of high quality, organic, cotton underwear in traditional styles but you are still having a bit of trouble grasping your mind around the idea of designer under garments, essentials wear, and active-sports wear being made from alternative fabrics like hemp, bamboo, and eucalyptus. But yet, you are okay with polypropylene for your winter weather protection?

Taken directly from RIPS MySpace blog:

If someone told you they had a great line of underwear, made from Eucalyptus (and no, scratching & sniffing doesn't work), that those underwear were the Eco-Friendliest underwear on the market... plus naturally stays odor-free... plus feels like silk (we think of it as nature's luxury fabric)... plus helps to keep you cool in hot weather/warm in cool (perfect wearing all year around)... and simply looks great (while wearing)....would you not be just a little intrigued?

When we were looking at fabrics for RIPS Performance we looked at them all, felt them all, and just kept coming back to Tencel (which is made from the Eucalyptus) because it just felt like it would make perfect underwear and activewear. THEN came the fun part and that was finding out how very special it was. Amazing point here - you can make ten t-shirts from Eucalyptus using the same size piece of land that you can make one t-shirt from Cotton. Add to that the Eucalyptus doesn't need any pesticides and requires 100 times LESS water than cotton. Is that not the perfect fabric? So there you have it. Whether you are looking for Eco-Friendly or simply great underwear - check out RIPS Performance. Besides, if Koalas can't resist a good Eucalyptus, how can we?

Why hemp and organic cotton underwear though?
(from RAWGANIQUE)

"Because...it takes one-fourth of a pound of chemicals to produce 2 pairs of conventional cotton men's boxer shorts. Annually, 275 million pounds of pesticides are applied to the conventional cotton plant, which must be the most environmentally destructive crop ever. The pesticides and chemicals used in the growing and processing of conventional cotton can enter the human food chain via cotton seed oil used in processed foods.

Contamination of ground water is directly linked to pesticide and fertilizer use on conventional cotton crops. Nitrates found in these fertilizers are found to cause "blue baby syndrome" in infants. Conventional cotton underwear is also processed with chlorine bleach. Dioxin--the most toxic chemical known--is a carcinogen that is derived from chlorine bleach and is responsible for hormone disruption and a host of other ills."

Which leads me to refreshing more local issues, news, and events. My regular readers will remember when I bitched about the City wasting 500,000 Public Works dollars for matching funds for the bike trail system in order to earn "feel good" national press. During the last episode of Oprah's Big Give this season the City was spotlighted for "raising" a million plus dollars for a revamped bike trail system that is already privately funded! As I stated previously, The City, should have dedicated that money to actually cleaning up the rivers before having the citizens ride around them any further.

Most readers will remember F6's promotion and coverage of Save Maumee's Earth Day Project near Hosy Dam last month too. Save Maumee doesn't just do one work project a year; the work continues every day. The vision of a future where our children can go take a dip in the river and within the next twenty years we might just be able to have a public beach again is possible.

What is in our rivers that makes them so polluted?

E. Coli. and bacteria from combined sewer overflows (CSO's), geese, cattle and pig farms. There are 249 active NPDES permitted discharges (permitted legal discharges) and 44 CSO discharge points in the St. Joseph/Maumee watershed. Additionally there are illegal point source discharges such as tiles discharging septic tank effluent that exist in our watershed. According to Joe E. Johnson there has been 50 potential CSO discharges between July 2007-April 2008. Research shows the EPA will allow five per year.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO) problems present in the Maumee will reflect on the wildlife also! DO means simply, the content of oxygen in the water is so low that native wildlife cannot exist in it! PBC’s heavy metals from large corporations, and factories stemming all the way from the rust belt time of 1920’s -1950’s still loom in the Maumee today and the Maumee continues to be a dump site in 2008. Indiana also used to have a natural "water filtration" system because we had twenty five percent of our land mass covered with wetlands. With the removal of 85% of the wetlands within 4 generations, our natural "water filtration system" is devastating to our rivers!

How does planting trees and native grass seeds help river water quality?

Dissolved Oxygen problems can be alleviated by creating shade, thus increasing Oxygen in the water. All this will create the beautiful aesthetics of pristine waterways for Fort Wayne's future! The number one pollutant in our watershed is dirt (erosion/sedimentation). Plantings today provide a "rain-garden" type area so plants will drink up the rain water which produces enzymes, absorbs bacteria - and “eating” bacteria out of water rather than letting it just runoff into the river and helps reduce the pollutants in the water down stream all the way through Ohio to (one of the Great Lakes for those whom may not be aware) Lake Erie.

Grasses will help to settle out or suspended sediment in the water; the trees will help to hold down the soil that could be washed away because there is nothing to hold down the barren soil when the water comes rushing in when we have a rain event. By using natural Riparian seeds, projects like these will eventually will help with flooding too, eighty five percent of wetlands in Indiana no longer exist, these restoration practices will aide in replenishing wetland species and activity right here in Fort Wayne!

These practices of planting Cottonwood trees (which drinks up water like a cotton towel) also eliminates standing pools of stagnant water left over when the river water recedes - thus controlling West Nile! West Nile is spread by mosquitoes that hatch in standing, pollution ridden water.

What can you do to help clean up our rivers?

Don’t pour ANYTHING down the storm drains

Don't pour medication, grease, cigarette butts, condoms, tampons, or ANY garbage down the toilet or sink. It will end up in your drinking water! Only bodily waste matter, toilet paper, minimal amounts of cleanser please! BTW try not to flush if you only urinated, save water.

Eliminate standing water in your yards and uncontrolled run off of rain water from your house or control with strategic rain gardens.

Incorporating a compost pile and consistently recycle or reuse products reducing your footprint in the area.

Vote with your wallet! Change the market by changing your purchase habits. Here are three actions under the Libertarian ideal of free markets regulating best practices that need to be initiated by everyone:

Hold government officials to the fire for not cleaning up their mistakes. Write to city, county, state, and national elected officials, tell them you will not vote for them in November unless they do something to move forward with all of our concerns and dreams for a beautiful city.

Do the same for businesses. Tell businesses to change the way they package goods and provide services or else you will discontinue your patronage of their establishments and purchasing of products.

Support organizations that share your concerns. Joining in will help to bring forth successful restoration efforts in our watershed. Take Hoosier River Watch Training “a volunteer water quality monitoring program,” with the St. Joe River Watershed Initiative at the USDA offices. Sign up to become a Hoosier River Watch Volunteer!

The next class is on the 31st of May see F6's Google Calendar for more information. If you don't have any idea of where to begin your own campaign, start within your circle of friends and sign a petition. Have river clean up days where you get your family and friends to join the fun. Contact Save Maumee for some suggestions and a shit load of resource information they also have some awesome connections across the county. Abigail Frost, the founder of Save Maumee Grassroots Organization can be reached @ 260-417-2500 or savemaumee@yahoo.com.

There is more information to cover but I think that is enough of going green and cute bois for one post. I will post more environmental news and updates in two to three weeks.

[EDITOR'S UPDATE: Local Rain Garden Initiatives]

The strategic "green infrastructure" resolutions that were mandated for the City by part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding the over 50 potential CSO's incidents mentioned above (6th section) were reported, reviewed, and commented on the same day as this post @ Fort Wayne Politics by Mike Sylvester and Jeff Pruitt (two posts, last one w/video). I will yield to their coverage rather than making a separate post during this weekend as originally intended. Otherwise, it would seem like I am the only one beating the drum about the City wasting money on frivolous, or in this case, poorly planned projects....

*pardon me for a moment while I pull out my soap box*

I do however just have to pointe out the obvious: If the City had not spent the 500,000 dollars to match money donated to the privately funded bike trail system for a five minute spotlight we could have funded some of the Rain Garden Initiative and still had 160,000 dollars minimum left in the Public Works fund for other projects. To boot, the City tried to hire an out of State firm when we have plenty of organizations here able to do the job, as the three cited above in this original post. Thanks goes to City Council for standing up and saying, "NO!". Now it is time to let the citizens, City Departments, and Grassroots Non For Profit Organizations locally come together and put a real plan in place! The rain gardens are a good place to start but they are not the only answer.

*steps down off soap box*

Thank you for putting up with my ranting and bitching.

However the votes are tallied: This is my salute to the local Squirrel Society and Operation Chaos within the GOP