DADT: Gates wants to add 2.8K Special Forces and Employ 50K+ civilians but not protect the GLBT Service Members already sacrificing everything for US?

Gays and Lesbians are not people you can just "kick down the road" like a can of tuna in a street game of roller hockey, without expecting some sort of backlash.

Before his big budget announcement, Secretary Robert Gates stated "The President and I feel like we've got a lot on our plates right now and let's push that one down the road a little bit.", in an interview two Sundays ago with Fox News regarding "Dont Ask Dont Tell", which bars service members from proclaiming their sexual orientation and commanding officers from asking about it. However, the policy states that if it becomes known that a service member is gay, he or she is to be removed from the military. He went on to say, "the Pentagon will continue to enforce the existing policy...It continues to be the law and any change in policy would require a change in the law....We will follow the law, whatever it is." He also revealled that within the Administration "That dialogue, though, has really not progressed very far at this point in the administration."
(Source: Fox News)

Sadly, as I stated before, the Obama Administration is going to wait for the Supreme Court (Major Margaret Witt) and Congress to fight it out rather than getting involved and using up what little political capital they have left with the American public. Some in Congress stated back in 2008 that they wouldnt deal with the repeal of DADT until 2010, according to a report by QUEERTY, even though there is already legislation, that was reintroduced in the beginning of March. The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (HR1283), authored by Representative Ellen Tauscher (pic to right) of California's 10th District , with 137 cosponsors, is making its way through the Congressional process. The MREA after a month is currently held up in the House Armed Services sub committee on Military Personel. You may contact the 60 members of the main Committee individually, especially if they are in your District, and ask them to expedite this legislation through the process for the sake of all our men and women in uniform.



We have an estimated 65 thousand serving in silence and suffering the worst form of inequality and sacrificing their integrity and honour to assure our freedom and liberty. Another three thousand per year decide not to reenlist or enlist because of the discriminatory policy. The Congress is allowing the removal of 2 Service Members on average per day to be removed from their post for no longer living a lie. We owe them so much more than any talking pointes can conceive or contrive.

Meanwhile Democrats and Republicans are quibbling over whether or not the new Defense budget that is a 4% budget increase instead of a 15% increase, is in fact a cut or a 21 billion dollar increase in spending. Two weeks later the pundits, Congress, and military industrial lobbyist, are rambling on with no end in sight, as they try to save their pet projects in the budget proposal. Or the other distraction caused by Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma, whom while standing in the middle of one of our airbases in Afghanistan, claimed that the new budget and Secretary Gates is "gutting the military". When in fact, as outlined by CNN's Rick Sanchez (video) place, Senator Inhoffe is actually upset over a military factory in his home state loosing a contract because the plan would discontinue the production of the controversial decade old faulty designed and 87 billion dollar budgeted Future Combat System's vehicle component. Along with other pundits bitching about the discontinuation of the F22 fighter jets and switching the force over to F35 Joint Strategic Air Ships

The Secretary's announced budget besides, the detail of a 28 hundred troop increase Helicopter Crews and Maintenance and in Special Forces Combat Units and switching the 50 thousands in previous held Defense Department positions by independent contractors to actual government employees and civil service agents, also increases the Cyber Squadron from 80 to 250 students per year as of 2011, and immediately stops the reduction of forces in the Air Force and Navy. His budget also proposes to maintain planned increase Army Brigade Combat Teams strength to 547 thousand personnel and eliminate use of stop loss to maintain battle readiness.

Before we add all those people to the ranks, would it not be a good idea to have them all on equal footing?
I am tired of reading the horror stories of this failed policy in enlistment processes and everyday life.

It would also be easier to call people back whom have already left the service, either because of or as a result of DADT, and who decided to come out in their personal life only to be kicked out a second time under DADT when you call them back in to fill in the gaps, which has happened on 20 separate occasions that I am personally aware of.

You have 35 thousand people at a minimum who are willing to serve whom you removed from their Civic Duty, usually based on rumors, false accusations, and the United States Military's refusal to actually make a legitimate argument regarding us queers serving with honour or from being harassed within the scope of personal, religious, and political, biases or prejudices.

We have one more option to change this bastard child of a federal law, described by Aubrey Sarvis the Executive Director of the SLDN, whom asserted the the following on FRONTLINES:

Mr. President, if I may address you directly, you've got another situation looming ahead that also should come as no surprise. It is not the same order of magnitude as the global financial meltdown, but like that meltdown it is predictable and it has the potential to be exploited for political gain -- not your political gain but your opponents'.

In five weeks the House Armed Services Committee will begin hearings on your Defense Department budget for 2010. Senate hearings will follow. You have a choice. You can take the lead and put language calling for repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the legislative budget -- or you can wait until your opponents bring it up. The opposition, which may be loud and ugly, will be out to ambush you, Mr. President. Alarmingly, there have been no signs that your administration is prepared for that.

The principle, the truth, is self evident, Congress, and Mr. President, "All Men Are Created Equal". Allow us queers the ability to serve our country openly as equals. After all, we have already been there and are currently on the front lines and are treated as less than equal even after having given twice as much, including our partners and our children, whom aren't able to receive the same support an unmarried mother of three children, each of different fathers, would receive.



F6 Editorial Policy Statement

F6 has several resources and commentaries regarding GAYS IN THE MILITARY. As an issue of editorial policy, F6 will challenge any assertion that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is either Constitutional or proper policy in our great country, the land of the free and the home of the brave, especially in a place where all men are created equal!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another One Bites The Dust

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

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

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

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

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

So much for that bird taking flight.

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

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

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

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

On a lighter more environmentally friendly note:

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

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

LOCAL GOV & ECON FAILURE: Scandal Abounds! & Elected Officials Scoff @ Accountability!

*PLEASE NOTE THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED*

Brace yourselves for the ride of a lifetime on the F6 Political Ferry across our three rivers. Sometime after the 2008 General Election, I took a break from covering local politics, for two reasons a. everything going on in the national stage regarding GLBT Equality issues; and b. just needing a break to let some of the local chaos either rest or finish unfolding so I could have the entire picture to review and then comment on.

I have always enjoyed the fact that since I write a social and political commentary I have the liberty of waiting a week to cover a story, rather than shooting from the hip based on someone's whim. I always operate better when I am providing commentary before or following events, rather than reporting on the fly. I have three months worth of material and events to cover in review at a minimum, to get caught back up for the new year.

We will start with the more recent events on the County Council and then move to an ongoing scandal with the City Administration versus City Council and the State Board of Accounts.

COUNTY COUNCIL RENEGES ON PAY CUTS FOR COMMISSIONERS

In County government we had several seats up for review mainly the 1st District Commissioner and all three At Large County Council Seats in last years General Election. There were other offices up as well but they are the main players in the latest news coming from The City County Building. Unfortunately neither of the two Democratic candidates for the three County Council At Large were chosen by the voters and the Commissioners is still a Republican stronghold, which makes the events of the last month even more amazing.

In the middle of last month, rather than accepting the proposed pay increase, County Council voted 5-0 with 2 abstaining to reduce the Commissioners pay from $65,000.00 to $35,000.00 as of the 1st of July 2009. The idea was to force the Commissioners to rely on a Chief Of Staff or County Manager to direct daily operations on the Commissioners behalf, in order to prepare for further implementation of the Commission on Local Government Report Plan of two years ago by the General Assembly.

This actually is a prime example of bitch slap politics in our County Government. Unfortunately in a show of prime culpability in only having a two party system present in the County on New Years Eve during an emergency meeting the Council rescinded with 5-0 with 2 members not present the change. And now even with all the grandstanding by Council President Paul Moss and others, we are back to politics as usual in Allen County.

What is even more priceless is shortly after all these events unfolded we had two County Council Members, both Republicans, resign: Cal Miller, in the 4th District; followed by Paula Hughes, in the 2nd District. Miller and Hughes had two years remaining in their current term and will be replaced by a Party Caucus later this month.

UPDATE => Mitch Harper @ Fort Wayne Observed:
CAL MILLER was replaced by Larry Brown in caucus voting, he will complete the last two years of term and
PAULA HUGHES didn't get the job with State Dept. of Local Gov. Finance, so she will remain for her term.

THE ON GOING BATTLE BETWEEN FORT WAYNE CITY COUNCIL & THE MAYOR!

We need to back up to the findings of a audit report issued by the State Board of Accounts at the end of September. In order to explain that, we have to turn around back yet again, to the effects of the 2007 Municipal General Election, which gave us our current Administration, Council, and conflicts that are in need of serious mediation.

In 2007, Mayor Tom Henry was swept into office thanks to a political and financial multiple felony count indictment fraud scandal on the Republican ticket carrier. As I understand it, either shortly before or right after the election several of the previous Administration's key employees formed their own company, that then contracted with the City for 95,000 dollars for membership in the HIGH PERFORMANCE GOVERNMENT NETWORK, and then left their employment with the City.

These conflicts on procedure and accountability scream of willful deception on a part of both the previous and a rampant and continuing disregard by current Administration to avoid City Council review and oversight, all while the City is facing a multi million dollar budget shortfall over the next five years. Now of course right away most people would say former employees forming a company and providing services to their previous employer is an automatic a. fraud, b. conflict of interest, c. unfair bidding practice, and d. if this was done on the stock market, it would be considered insider trading. But wait it gets worse. Not only did said company hire itself to its former employer, its former employer's CEO the former mayor, is an invested member in the new organization, and its CEO too apparently.

It gets worse yet, Pat Roller, City Controller, whom was the one whom signed off on the purchase order on the last day of the old administration in 2007, without forwarding it to Council for review is indignant that anyone especially City Council would challenge her position of authority, "in making the best purchasing decisions for the City", which is where the whole audit report in late September comes into play.

Wait I'm getting the refuse cart before the jackass. Here is a short recap:

At the end of September of 2008, The State Board of Accounts issued a report (pdf) covering 2007 financial reports by the City and specifically cited this contract and further directed the County Prosecutor to begin an investigation based on "conflicts of interest", and emphatically stated that:

"We recommend this contract be approved by Common Council before any additional payments to HPG Network are remitted.We could not verify that the city received $95,000 in services for the year 2007 when the contract was only in effect for four days in 2007 (December 27, 2007 to December 31, 2007) and while the HPG Network employees were also city employees." (FWP)

The day after the State Board of Accounts issued their report the City turned around and issued yet another HPGN, contract again without City Council Approval. Then during an early December meeting with City Council to air out the grievances with the original contract, no mention was made to the City Council about the new contract by the Administration.

It was only until Jeff Pruitt, Publisher of Fort Wayne Politics, did more digging and finally, through a freedom of information request, found the second contract, probably by accident on the part of the City, and brought it to every one's attention. This notably upset Council Member Mitch Harper, 4th District, even further (AFW, video). Democrat Council Member Tim Pape, 5th District, tried to jump on the bandwagon of, "over the last 8 years the HPGN has saved the City tens of millions of dollars" in the long run.

Everyone is now rightfully pissed off at Pat Roller, City Controller, who is still denying any wrongdoing. Her statement during an exit interview can be read on pages 14-21 of the State Board Of Accounts Report in pdf format. As calls for her resignation increased, in September also, she agreed to resign at the end of the year (FWN). Maybe, maybe not! On the 6th of January, the Mayor announced that she will not be resigning after all (FWOB).

I personally feel that City Council should impeach Pat Roller and order charges to be pursued against her and whomever else is found to be involved in the appropriations scandal!

This is starting to kind of remind me of Chicago politics, but nothing could match that level of corruption. I'm still trying to figure out who actually got beat with the rubber hose harder. Oh, that's right, we the tax payers did. We are always getting the short side of any scandal but yet we keep electing these loonies into office. Bonus pointes are awarded to Council Members Mitch Harper, Karen Goldner, and Liz Brown, for trying to make Government be accountable to the people once again.

Source: Fort Wayne Politics|Fort Wayne Observed| Around Fort Wayne|
Fort Wayne News|Disenfranchised American|

F6 Command & Ops: Taking time out of your busy life to break into laughter 3x/wk by visiting a distant Outpost on 1 1/2 lane electronic gravel road!

Let's take a moment to uncover how well we did this past year.

One of the things that any web forum must do to have credibility in this day and age, is have at minimum a Site Meter. This allows other Blog Editors or Webmasters and Marketing people to see if your blog is worth linking to their web resource or if they wish to advertise or cross link to you and vice versa.

By reading this blog and others you can find out what is going on in the world or around you. If the blogger is worth their weight in Ferengi gold pressed latinum, then you will also learn how to make a difference in this world and make life better for the next generation.

Hopefully you will also find a way to laugh about it. If you must laugh at us, instead of laughing with us, that is okay too. Laughing is a good thing. Some say it is the best medicine. I would assert, it is the best way to shove the truth down someones throat while making them believe they thought the same way the whole time. Bad humour is why even the best preachers rely on a captive audience for fifteen to forty five minutes on a Wednesday and Saturday evening or Sunday morning services.

This is why I try to make you groan, either in bliss or agony at least once per post, while reading F6. This means that you will think for yourself and just take me at face value, all sarcasm, and commentary aside, even though I have been proven correct several times over.

Over the last couple of days, I have been trying to catch up on certain managerial tasks (which it should have been done already but with my computation machine taking a flying leap into a pile of flaming.....) like this end of year review for 2008. Here are the basic stats as we have computed them so far:

For the last five months we have been in the top 20 on BNN's Influence Index for Indiana consistently. Over the last year, F6 missed our goal of 14 posts per month, four times. We were ten short for the entire year. Anyone that knows me for a minimum of a year will soon find out I am numerically and homo phonically dyslexic. I can still balance a check book, sometimes; but give me complicated math or statistics, and you will soon figure out that any numbers I try to compute are going to need checked by at least three other people, to find out what eye did wrong. However based on the law of averages, and recognizing that somewhere in my brain, F6's Anniversary period from August to September were joined together in the averages count, we still maintained an average of 14.36 posts per month at eleven months of publication. It made cents to me.

So in actuality what are you saying?

The total results factor in both time and reality. We missed the mark a third of the time. We still met the mark when all circumstances were taken into account.

Wait a minute, that sounds like U. S. Government Accountability Standards at practice here.

Well F6 is a social and political commentary; if it works for them, it can work for me too, lol!....moving on....

Sometime in March, F6 finally did add Site Meter widget to the Main Site and the Links Page. Since that time until the beginning week of this year here are the stats on visitors this year, followed by an average for nine months, and Site Meter's projection by Month:

F6 MAIN:Ttl: 37,887 A/M 4209.66 Prj A/M 3,517
F6 LINK:Ttl: 3,181 A/M 353.44 Prj A/M 719
Total of both: 41,068 A/M 4563.1 Prj A/M 4,236

Now before anyone panics, I don't actually accept advertising revenue as a general rule, it would take away from my objectivity in this forum. I do however believe strongly in the barter system and fair trade forms of market economics, and capitalism.

What would be really awesome is that, if even ten percent of my monthly readers took note when I do promote something because I find it intriguing and cool, and you then decide to try it out, could you also tell the company you heard about them from F6, so maybe I could get thrown a bone or three for the experience, pretty please. Better yet, also leave a comment, so I can receive some feedback too, thank you.

I also encourage non tax deductible donations through the PayPal link somewhere on the left to further the work of equality and liberty of F6, OLRM, and three other organizations I serve with in the local area. We currently have three types of ad banners sizes and varied locations available and you can contact me via the information on the bottom of The Disclaimers & Copyrights Page for more information.

On a last note, the preliminary test of going to three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday), while not quite getting out of the Shipyard with out loosing the main support beam in the process, went better than expected. So our goal for this year is twenty posts per month.

I thank you all for enjoying this adventure and beseech to you and yours, Blessings Along The Journey this year!

Indiana and Michigan dont know where each other are and other news of govenment gone amuck! amuck! amuck?

*PLEASE NOTE: THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED*

Yes you heard correctly loyal readers, according to a recent post over at Indiana Law Blog, sourcing a story from The Associated Press, Michigan told Indiana that after four years it cant figure out where the 104 mile long border is between the two States. They lost most of the wooden survey markers due age and degradation over time. Whom was the idiot, even back in 1827, that decided to mark out the Border of the State with wooden stakes? Especially in this climate, at least use concrete and metal to begin with.

Apparently the only thing signifying where the border is a possible few marker posts and one lone confirmed marker they found in the middle pointe of the border. Here are some statements of interest from the article:

• Michigan in 1900's reset its borders with Wisconsin and Ohio.
  
• Professional surveyors can only recover & confirm originals.
  
• Those that are lost can only be replaced by a joint action of the Indiana and Michigan legislatures or, if those bodies cannot agree on the border's location, the U.S. Supreme Court.
  
• Once that happens, property that for years was believed to lie in one state could turn out to be in another, creating quandaries regarding property and income taxes, police jurisdictions, school districts and numerous other matters.
  
• When the state line is re-established, it could end up moving north or south up to a few hundred feet

Why did Michigan wait until an entire century later to refortify its border with Indiana? Also another statement from the personal interest profile part of the story, The State of Michigan does not charge income tax on disability checks but Indiana does. Isnt that just wrong? The very nature of a disability check is already a. taxpayer money and b. a reduced rate of income so why are we charging people income tax on very little to begin with, they can barely survive on disability income. Yet we say as a State we want some of it back?

Sounds a little hypocritical to me. Then again I am a Libertarian and we dont believe in high taxes or income taxes or government assistance. Which I do disagree with The Party on the last one in most situations. Poor relief doesnt belong primarily in the Churches either because of historical and current ritual abuse and proselytizing. It belongs in the Township level of government but as Citizens never fund it fully, well that is another discussion for later.

Can you spare an extra three thousand dollars a year?

Anyhooch on to more local matters, Fort Wayne City Council approved yesterday the City budget for 2009 in a 7-2 vote which only cut 2.5 million and pretty much left us screwed with a projected 9 million dollar deficit for the year after. So one way or another the City budget will have to be trimmed excessively when it is dropped back on the table next year otherwise the taxpayers will get the rim job of a lifetime in the next five years to come. You can find additional coverage on Around Fort Wayne.

Currently as the budget stands now at just above 130 million dollars, at 250 thousand (men, women, children) that breaks down to about $520 per resident each year. This means the City currently spends $2600 per year for a five person household. In the next five years (as projected) they want to raise it at minimum another 20 million dollars or $80 per resident or $400 per household.

This is ridiculous folks our local government doesnt need to be this bloated. They should be able to operate on half of that amount easily, Im even willing to agree to two thirds, but seriously, $2600 - $3000 for an average family, and they dont even get to spend it! This is what happens when you just choose between the lesser of two evils rather than making a clear choice for limited government and increased personal freedom. Next time you get the chance, vote with liberty in mind. I do have to give mad props to Councilpersons Brown and Harper for standing up to the Henry Administration and the Democrat members of Council on this piss poor budget plan.

I have more to write about in regards to local government. There are few updates on the Harrison Square project and how another necesary component is failing yet again. You can catch up on the Harrison Square stuff via F6's Feeds & Jump Page with the blogs that are linked to in the right column. They have already covered the recent debacles with Harrison Square in detail.

There Is No Rest For The Weary!

Apparently there is also now a law suit brought by three City Police Officers against the Chief for failing to honor compensated time and overtime. On top of it, as reported by other venues, if they win the City not only will have to reimburse them for all the hours denied respite; but also by virtue of their contract, the fine to the City is doubled and the Officers receive a windfall while the City is in the middle of a budget crisis.

Suit claims city denies comp time to police
Rebecca S. Green The Journal Gazette
14 November 2008

Three Fort Wayne police officers sued the city in federal court, alleging violations of fair labor laws in how the city handles officers’ overtime. Officers Jeffery Burkholder Sr., Martin Grooms and Sofia Rosales seek overtime pay, liquidated damages and a declaratory judgment for violations that have occurred over the past three years, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Fort Wayne.

The Fair Labor Standards Act allows police departments to pay employees overtime by granting compensatory time off with full pay instead of paying cash. Under the law, employees have the right to take the compensatory time off whenever they choose, according to court documents. Employers must grant an employee’s request to use the compensatory time within a reasonable time if it will not disrupt the operations of a public agency, according to court documents. “Under the (Fair Labor Standards Act), mere inconvenience to the employer is an insufficient basis for denial of a request to use compensatory time,” the lawsuit reads.

Fort Wayne uses compensatory time to pay its police officers, but the three officers filing the lawsuit allege the city violates the law by imposing arbitrary staffing requirements allowing the “arbitrary approval or non-approval of compensatory time,” according to court documents. “The plaintiffs’ compensatory time requests have been denied because granting the requests would require the payment of overtime to another officer,” according to the lawsuit.

Police Chief Rusty York was surprised by the lawsuit Thursday because the issue had never been mentioned by the police union, the Patrolman’s Benevolence Association, he said. The officers’ interpretation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and how time should be granted are at odds with the way the police department has traditionally handled the issue, York said. “Usually the union would mention it to us or file a grievance before a suit is filed,” York said, adding that there are union elections scheduled for today. Union head Greg Cassel referred questions about the lawsuit to the attorney for the union, Richard E. Beers, who would not comment regarding pending litigation....

Topher Time: two for the price of one

How Not To Save The US Economy

Lesbian Republicans Need Love Too




Christopher finally had time to sit down and draw over the last week and sent me four in a row here are the first two. I hope you enjoy and feel free to comment, he likes it when you comment his work. As always too see a clearer image of each cartoon right click and open into a new tab pretty please.

Bridges To Bliss And The Boondoggles Buffet

So this post is late, my apologies; but I wanted to make sure I have my cite references and facts correct, before I post it. Before I continue where I left off on Saturdays post about local politics and a general review and update of previous stories covered on F6 I want to cover with a little more depth a story I mentioned on the last post which is relatively new on the blogosphere.

The local Redevelopment Commission issued an RFP two months ago (pdf) for their latest project to tear apart a perfectly good parking lot that is across the street from the County Jail, directly south of a major events venue, and is less than two blocks away from the City County Building and Courthouse in order to put in yet another strip of restaurants in downtown Fort Wayne. There are several reasons why this is a bad idea and why their overall failure to realize the diminishing return such a process would promote along with continuing to use and follow a blueprint that was written out back in 2002 is ridiculous.

The current plans without an overall review intial turning this ground level, flat fee ($2 per day), parking area into a 4 story multi tenant, Restaurant Row, with even more condominiums, that will cost at minumum 3.5 million dollars right next door to two historic restaurants in the area, Don Hall's Gas House with Japanese Sushi Bar & Drinking Lounge on the River and Club Soda which is in the old Wayne Textile Building. Parking in that area is already severely limited because a good portion is restricted by either any Event's Vendors or Performers and the main free parking is technically owned by the restaurant's that already exist near the location of the "planned new development". What parking is left during the week is used by people whom cant afford to pay to park or are handicapped and are going to be spending a longer period of time within the City-County Government Complex and cant risk there health by walking back and forth to their car to feed a meter.


There are several other things wrong with this plan and the overall parking issues in down town as a whole.

First the current plan

1. We dont need more restaurants in downtown yet, and truthfully we dont need more development of a perfectly good parking lot either.

2. This is the cheapest parking lot in the area and the next non metered paid public parking for 4 blocks from the City County Building and 5 blocks from the Jail is at two dollars an hour with a maximum per day of seven.

Just north of this parking area and Head Waters Park is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge which will be undergoing a complete renovation also.

Second the FWRC

1. Some one needs to direct the Redevelopment Commission to stop offering a tax abatement as the first line of luring potential builders into one of their new tangled projects. Please reference article 7 of the RFP.

2. When the FWRC is putting the scandal and corruption (as noted by previous projects and the City's lack of forthrightness to provide the CITIZENS let alone City Council full and accurate details) right into the documents themselves (Article 13 of the RFP) it is time for the Citizens to stand up and demand an account for their tax dollars and order City Hall to cease and desist.

• 13:6 A list of teams submitting proposals may be made public, however because this project is designated as a real estate negotiation and contents are confidential, actual proposal contents will not be made public, to the extent allowable by law.
• 13:7 Communication regarding this process with other local officials is strongly discouraged in order to protect the integrity of the selection process.

So lets look at the overall area...

There is no other public parking in the area that is non metered besides the CCB Parking Garage (number 14 on the map) and costs seven dollars a day max.

Metered parking is restricted to two hours to the pointe that Parking Enforcement Officers now chalking tires to tell whether someone has been at a metered space for longer than two hours, which I consider subjectively harassment.

Additionally, we already have a crap load of restaurants in that area; why add more at tax payers expense? Because they want to spend taxpayer dollars as if it is a Cart Blanche ticket to make the City vital when in fact neither is the end result. Traditionally there is diminished return on the investment and more than likely in five to ten years half of those businesses will be out of the City Pet Complex especially when their tax abatement go away when Libertarians take over a majority of the City's elected offices in three years!

Lastly lets look at job creation.

Most restaurants wont be paying their employees 150% over Federal Minimum Wage so City Council will probably again override their own rules (McDonald's and Subway) when it comes to accepting an abatement proposal. So the taxpayer get screwed twice up the ass without the benefit of lube or a reach around; once for the substandard jobs, and two for the fact that the businesses wont be paying their share of the property taxes.

These new 15 -25 jobs to begin initially with the standardization of prices in public parking venues will be a great part time position for welfare parents to get back into the workforce all while they sit on their ass and collect money from us, as we can once again afford to do our business in downtown since we are then not getting wracked over the cement barricade to park our cars for several hours at a time.

So what should be done?

1. Eliminate Parking Enforcement and transfer the Officers to Nieghborhood Code Enforcement. Handicap parking enforcement can still be handled by a volunteer squad of citizens.

2. Standardize Parking Fees in PUBLIC lots and garages between .25 and .50 cents per hour all day every day and no nights and weekends free. This will add plenty of jobs to the economy and at a resonable rate of pay.

3. If tax payers payed for the garage or lot to be built they shouldnt have to pay to park there that includes on street parking, the Memorial Coliseum, and the Library.

4. Reset or review the 2002 blueprint and stop all further development according to the old plan until it is completely upgraded.

5. Force the Redevelopment Commission to be transparent in all dealings and process negotiations. Force City Council by active protest to direct FWRC to stop issuing incentives for development without authorization directly from that body on a case by case basis.

6. Be very weary folks the next thing coming down the pike is bicycle and moped registrations and paying to park them as well downtown.

stuff you just cant make go away

SEPARATED AT BIRTH TWINS GET MARRIED
(who says fraternal twins aren't drawn and connected to each other- nudges Josef with elbow)

In London, twins who were separated at birth and adopted by different sets of parents later married each other without realizing they were brother and sister. The brother and sister were granted an annulment after a high court judge ruled that the marriage had never validly existed.

The identities of the twins and details of their relationship and marriage have been kept secret, but it was known they were separated soon after birth and never told they were twins. They only discovered they were blood relatives after the wedding.

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE ON YOUR CHECKS
"Motherfucking fuck is just another fucking word.
The idea the word is dirty is to him fucking absurd."
(Jay Brannan ~ On All Fours)

A man who wrote a vulgar message on the memo line of a check he used to pay a $5 parking ticket has apologized in writing, leading police to drop a disorderly conduct charge against him. The man sent the check after receiving a $5 parking ticket. He calls it "a temporary lapse of judgment." Clerks were offended by the message, and the disorderly conduct charge was filed because the comment was obscene.

A lawyer for the man said his client would have prevailed if he went through a trial. "The F-word isn't what it used to be," the attorney said, because it doesn't have a sexual connotation anymore and so can't be considered obscene. However the man has agreed to pay the parking fine and court costs.

NEW JERSEY SIGNS ON TO ELIMINATE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
(you idiots - The Constitution was written that way to provide a fail safe for the people!)

Yesterday New Jersey became the second state to enter a compact that would eliminate the Electoral College's power to choose a president if enough states endorse the idea. New Jersey’s governor signed legislation that approves delivering the state's 15 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The Assembly approved the bill last month and the Senate followed suit earlier this month. Maryland had been the only state to pass the compact into law. The measure could result in the electoral votes going to a candidate opposed by voters in New Jersey, which has backed Democratic presidential candidates since 1988.

The compact would take effect only if enough states agreed to it. The compact has also passed both houses of the Illinois Legislature and has been approved by one legislative house in Arkansas, Colorado and North Carolina. Governors in California and Hawaii, though, vetoed bills to join the compact.

TEXAS STUDENTS SUSPENDED FOR REFUSING HAIRCUTS
(at least if the youth were native they could fight under religious protections)

Four Kerens, Texas teens were suspended from school Tuesday for refusing to get their hair cut over the Christmas break. The students had been warned that the district was cracking down on dress code that hair cannot extend beyond the collar in the back. They had been allowing the students to bind their hair, but that practice became “inconsistent.” After several complaints from parents in the small rural town south of Dallas, school officials decided to eliminate the hair-binding loophole. Students were told to go to the barber over break or face the consequences. Persistent insubordination could go as far as a disciplinary alternative school placement, according to the school.

Strict dress codes are common in Texas, and have been upheld by challenges which went as far as the Texas Supreme Court. Students at the high school are also prohibited from wearing sleeveless shirts, excessively tight or baggy pants, mismatched socks, "disruptive hair styles" and "unnatural" hair colors, according to an 86-page student handbook.

FBI WIRETAPS DROPPED DUE TO UNPAID BILLS
(the Patriot Act was pissed on from within the Administration. So why renew it Mr. Souder?)

Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time. A Justice Department audit released yesterday blamed the lost connections on the FBI's oversight of money used in undercover investigations.

In one office alone, unpaid costs for wiretaps from one phone company totaled $66,000. In at least one case, a wiretap used in an investigation "was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found. These wiretaps are used in the government's most sensitive and secretive criminal and intelligence investigations, and allow eavesdropping on suspected terrorists or spies. More than half of 990 bills to pay for telecommunication surveillance in five unidentified FBI field offices were not paid on time.

The faulty bookkeeping was blamed, in large part, on an FBI employee who pleaded guilty in June of 2006 to stealing $25,000 for her own use.

(That isn't an explanation. Does anyone else belief that a twenty five thousand theft accommodates for the almost a thousand bills going unpaid?)

THEY SAY THERE IS ANOTHER RECALL: TRAILER BICYCLES

(This is on here to show solidarity with a fellow local blogger @ Fetchy's Bantering. Eric's recent fiasco with his Schwinn Indoor Trainer disintegration over the New Years holiday causing plentiful damages to his house and scraping him but thankfully not his sister and pets.)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of about 7,000 InStep “Pathfinder,” Schwinn “Run About,” and Mongoose “Alley Cat” Trailer Bicycles—single-wheeled children’s bicycles that connect to an adult’s bike by a coupler. The coupler connecting the children’s trailer bike to the adult’s bicycle has welds that can fail, posing a fall hazard to children. There has been one report of the coupler failing, resulting in a fall and abrasions to the rider.

The items were sold at bicycle stores and retailers nationwide from January 2007 through August 2007 for between $80 and $120. The items were manufactured in China (can we expect another execution?) Consumers should stop using the trailer bicycle immediately and contact the firm for a free repair kit.

For additional information, contact Pacific Cycle toll-free at (877) 564-2261 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit www.instep.net, www.schwinnbikes.com, or www.mongoose.com

Capture The Moat

This was found on Fort Wayne Observed's.
Please feel free to caption the picture in the comments.

Only in Fort Wayne do you see this or a cop trying to jimmy his own squad car open while it is sitting at the bus station. And people complain about living in Fort Wayne, come on there is humor all around you in this City, take time to stop and laugh a while it will all be better in the morning! Oh and by the way people, Happy Halloween!

There is more to come out (no pun intended) tomorrow, stay tuned, muwahahah!

Car plunges into 8-foot Calhoun hole

By Rebecca S. Green The Journal Gazette

A 61-year-old Fort Wayne man found himself the unwanted center of a lot of attention late Wednesday morning after he drove his car into an 8-foot hole on a closed downtown street.

Charles Farrell turned from Washington Boulevard onto Calhoun Street, thinking the road had been reopened. Instead he drove his silver Chevrolet Lumina into the hole right as the downtown lunch crowds hit the streets.

With cell phone cameras snapping photos and passersby debating how Farrell’s car would be salvaged, Farrell stood impassively on the curb in front of the Hilton Hotel as crews worked to pull the car out of the hole.

Safety officials from Brooks Construction, which is doing excavation work on the street, said they were taking statements from witnesses about how Farrell was able to turn onto the street. Barrels are placed at the Calhoun Street and Washington Boulevard intersection, but they are spaced wide enough apart to allow construction equipment to pass in between, officials said.

The car was eventually removed from the hole and a high-voltage electrical line running under the street was undamaged, officials said.

Farrell was also uninjured, with the exception of a small cut on his left hand.

Photo credit Tim Bristow

Another way the State of Indiana wastes our money

(Lafayette, Indiana - AP) Cameras at six Indiana attractions will soon give online viewers a glimpse of fall color. The state's "leaf cam" Web site updates images of the six locations every 15 minutes.

Cheri Daniels, the wife of Gov. Mitch Daniels, says the leaf cams might help Hoosiers decide where they might want to go for a day trip to see vibrant leaves.

So far, though, the leaves are mostly green. Leaf Cams are at the Lafayette Municipal Golf Course, Hilltop Cabins in Brown County, Conner Prairie in Hamilton County, Spring Mill State Park in Mitchell, Fort Harrison State Park in Indianapolis and the French Lick Resort Casino.

Check out the Leaf Cam by clicking here.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved.

Story from News Channel Fifteen
Hat Tip to the Fort Wayne Uniblogger
Photo credit FlipFlopsBoy

Specialty Plates

I don't know if this is for real or not but it would be a nice alternative to the "IN GOD WE TRUST" plates (which I still believe is not constitutional), but what annoys me even further is we still cant get a GLBT "PRIDE/EQUALITY" specialty plate.

And now from what I have been hearing is that the "IN GOD WE TRUST" is now the official default plate. So for those of us whom despise the religious rhetoric and the particular legislators that gave us this monstrosity, I say, "BOOT 'EM OUT!".

There is no reason why "IN GOD WE TRUST" should be issued by the State as the limited fee issue plate. It is not a saying of Indiana, it is not a tourism motto, it is not an organizational sponsored plate. The plates should not be something that would cause offense based upon religion. What about all the Pagans and Atheist or non theists like Buddhists? Then there is also the issue of, "Which version of, "God" (read: Jewish~Christian) you do in fact "Trust In"?".

People should not be forced to choose a specialty plate in order to keep from being offended every time they look at their own car. We are the "Crossroads of America", this smacks in the face our well known "Hoosier Hospitality", and I never thought that after "Wander"ing around the "Amber Waves Of Grain", I wouldn't want to come "Back Home Again" to "Indiana".

"INDIANA" is going to be the new issue plate in 2009. Come on people. Why must we go back to the dark ages of license plates? We have such a strong tradition now of beautiful works of Hoosier Artist (and specifically up and coming artist) that just makes this===> a travesty and a disgrace to the historical application of identifying vehicles on the road.

I don't know about you but on road trips one of the things my family, friends, and fellow boy scout troop members used to do was play 'guess the county' (and way back when) you could also guess the city/town of origin, based on the letters and numbers displayed. Oh well, I am just being nostalgic, I guess.

And btw, two other things, before I forget: 1.) issue front bumper license plates as well, so that way I am not harassed in other states (Ohio and Missouri); 2.) and put the "www.in.gov" back on the plate. It is beneficial for getting out of parking (I don't speed!) tickets and other stuff, since other jurisdictions think they are government property signifying plates! What the clergy decal or cassock and collar doesn't solve the current license plates do, lol.

Hey I wonder if we could get a specialty plate for "CLERGY"? That way I no longer have to post the decals on three places of my car. Oh wait, that would violate the principle of Separation of Church and State. And "IN GOD WE TRUST" doesn't?

TRF plate picture borrowed without permission from: Fetchy's Bantering