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!

Poll Results part 1: Clotheslines In Back Yard - Im All For It!

During my semi/bi-weekly perusal of all local blogs was a discussion about private residents clotheslines and HOA covenant legal battles that I recently ran over at The Good City. Scott Greider asked some simple questions in relation to the whole acceleration to a green society movement within the local blogosphere, and as a concerned neighbor, "Should (we) encourage the unsightly but environmentally-friendly practice of clothesline-drying? Or promote a more “beautiful” city by mandating the more sightly, but less environmentally-friendly use of electric (or gas) dryers?"

Knowing of course my own experiences while living at my maternal family estate many years ago, and the controversy surrounding some of my more festively coloured undergarments and essentials wear, I still am a fan of line drying over wasting electricity and an extra two dollars per load at the local laundry. There will always be situations which call for having a smaller dryer available at home but there is no reason to have a full size dryer even with a larger family. My one friend saves seventy five cents per load at home that is air dried.

This is a prime example of the issues surrounding a living-in-common community. Rather than having a full to over sized washer and dryer in every home, we would be allowing for private enterprise to have those things available for a moderate cost which an individual person only would need occasional access to for the monthly washing of blankets or more seasonal cleaning. Plus by returning to a scenario where in people had to encounter each other to do basic life functions, like laundry, we might indeed become more friendly to each other and, as Scott Greider and John Swerens wish to promote, a good city. One other opportunity missed by not going to a laundry facility is the opportunity to check out some really hot bois and possible find new friendships or your future partner(s) in romance.

Daily or weekly clothes maintenance issues can be resolved much more economically and environmentally sound by using the mini or stackable washers and dryers which would also reduce land use since use of said stackable would remove the need for a laundry room in every house. Of course by line or air drying clothes one would save gobs of money and reduce the environmental foot print immensely and your clothes would actually last a little bit longer as well.

As much as people across the nation or locally want to complain about the unsightliness of clothes wisping in the wind on a rope and two or three wooden clips why isn't that same aggravation applied when looking above the intersection of Lima Road and Fernhill Avenue with the eight rows of power lines skirting across the horizon view and zig zagging in every direction. If you want to beautify the city lets start by systematically burying our power lines on major roadways and then move to the residential neighborhoods.

Fellow bloggers have been going back and forth on certain issues for several months now that are president to their own perspective: plastic or paper versus canvas or other reusable materials and tap versus bottled water to name a couple. The only difference now is, everyone has a common reference pointe to apply in their own daily practices or gripes with the new Grassroots Green initiatives and handbook, sorry, coupon book.

The biggest issue with going green frankly is the true cost is initially very expensive if not planned out properly. Living an environmentally based lifestyle isn't just about recycling or bio-fuels it is also paying a fair wage to the people that provide the services or products, that means no more fifty cent newspapers while also actually taking the time drive downtown and place the old ones in the bins on the side of the building. If we truly went to a fair market green society, milk would now cost five to seven dollars per gallon, give or take an ounce here or there. I like my two dollar fifty cent gallon of cow juice, dammit!

The thing to do, gentle readers, is to not try to 'go green' all at once though some would try. As with any spiritual discipline, an environmental discipline must be developed slowly and methodically in order to be considered authentic and a true conversion process. Pick out ten things that you can do today to become green and implement them daily over the next six months. In six months review, improve where necessary, and then pick ten more, etc.

[Final Notes:]
There are text links which will lead you to other blogs mainly Kody Tinnel's, Dan Turkette's, and Rachel Blakeman's as well as an article in TIME written by Elizabeth Salemme on 21 November 2007, fyi. The First Photo is from Aussie Bum Underwear. The Second Photo is copied with gratitude from Beautiful Magazine and is an original piece by Michael Breyette from Studio1088.