Bare Facts
Copyright 2000 Lake Edun Foundation, Inc.
Official Publication of the Lake Edun Foundation, Inc.
November 1, 2002
Box 1982; Topeka, KS 66601 Voice Mail: 785-478-BARN e-mail: benude@lakeedun.com Website: www.lakeedun.com
Chili Cook-Off & Other Activities
We have big plans for November 9 at our special place. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate! The last scheduled work day will take place from Noon until 4. Although we completed most of the winterizing at the last work day, there are a few things to do and lots of projects that tend to lend themselves to cooler weather.
Following the work, we will have a Chili Cook-Off. If you believe your recipe for Chili is particularly great, come prepared to defend it in an open competition. See if your concoction is the Best of Edun.
Finally, a sauna will put the finishing touches on a wonderful day. If the weather is good, don't miss this last opportunity of the year to enjoy our special place. Even if it is bad, that's good for a sauna!
Halloween Party Was Great!
Once again, Dave opened his home and extended his generous hospitality for our sixth annual Halloween Party. As Eduners who have attended in the past know, Dave's home is legendary and his hospitality is awesome.
The celebration commenced at the conclusion of our business meeting. Members munched on pot luck contributions from most in attendance and enjoyed good conversation with other Eduners. Before leaving, most took at least one dip in Dave's wonderful hot tub. Thank you Dave for being such a great friend to Edun and a generous host.
Annual Meeting
Members of the Lake Edun Foundation met for their sixth Annual Meeting on October 26. It began with a lively discussion of activities and accomplishments for the past year. Under John's leadership, we made some significant enhancements to our special place.
We had a discussion of our financial situation and future plans. Several of those present made generous contributions to our legal defense fund. Thank you to Big Mike and Letty. The importance of supporting our legal defense fund at this critical time was emphasized.
Finally, we held an election to the Board of Directors. Eleven Eduners agreed to serve on the Board and were elected. They will hold their first, organizational meeting on November 16. Let the board know if there is anything you would like considered for the next year's program.
Thanks to everyone who took part in our annual meeting. And a particular thank-you to the 11 who volunteered to serve on the Board for the next year.
** Bring Your Aluminum To The Lake * *
Many of us have been saving our aluminum either at home or at our business. With the end of summer, we will soon be taking a load to sell. Please help us by bringing your contribution with you next time you visit.
Accomplishments And Improvements
At the Annual Meeting, members of the board reviewed some of the accomplishments and improvements we made in the last year. When exposed on a regular basis, it is difficult to appreciate all that is done.
Dee held several coffee-shop talks and reached several prospective members. In addition, we had three very successful open houses. The consensus at the meeting was to hold more of these in the future. Dee also managed to make fairly regular contributions to Bare Facts.
John and ptMike reviewed some of the many enhancements made to our special place. They include: major improvements to Carver's Crossing; water diversion at South Beach to prevent sand erosion; repair of the water level riser in the dam which helped maintain our water level through the hot, dry summer; acquire additional picnic tables and replace the boards on all our tables; replace bridge #3; improve the shower; improve the parking lot entrance; install a new, opaque gate on stage road, spread limestone strains on trails, and many others. If you think back, you will realize how many improvements we now enjoy and take for granted. We have also begun some projects that will permit future enhancements including three test sites for various native grasses and removal of the old tower.
An Emotional Day-Thanks Susan and John
by Dee
Over the Labor Day weekend, 16 men and women gathered to listen to Susan D.'s personal experience with breast cancer and mastectomy. It seemed to me to be very uplifting for Susan to be able to talk openly with so many caring people. Everyone who came had such positive things to say to Susan for being brave enough to come forward like she did. I don't think she was quite prepared for that.
This was such a brave thing that Susan did to share with us, but I also want to give MUCH credit to her husband, John. John sat right by her side and has been by her side throughout this ordeal. I think that speaks volumes for the both of them.
Needless to say, it was a very positive and emotional day. Everyone went away with a totally new perspective on breast cancer and mastectomy and how to lovingly help your partner through a rough time.
DON'T FORGET
Activities designated HN are sponsored by Heartland Naturists
Nov 9; Sat; 12-4; Work Day
Nov 9; Sat; 4-7; Chili Cook Off
Nov 9; Sat; 7-9; Sauna
Nov 16; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
Nov 30; Sat; 4-6; Thanksgiving Leftovers Potluck
Nov 30; Sat; 6-8; Sauna
Dec 14; Sat; 10-12; Board of Directors Meeting
Dec 14; Sat; 7-9; Sauna
Word From The Prez
by John Ritter
IT WAS A GREAT YEAR
The LEF year has closed on a very positive note. The projects, equipment upgrades and social events that were planned have all been accomplished.
The success that we have enjoyed this year was only realized through the dedication, skills and willingness to work shown by all the volunteers, board of directors, grounds keeper, secretary and treasurer.
Elsewhere in this issue of Bare Facts is a list of some of the projects that were planned and completed this year.
Thankyou for a great year and permitting me to represent LEF as your president.
Wales Profits From Naturists
RICH continental nudists are being lured to Wales - where they can roam the countryside away from prying eyes. Tour operators say they hope to exploit the worldwide growth in eco-tourism by bringing wealthy Dutch, German and Scandinavian naturists to North and Mid Wales.
Already groups of British nudists are going free-range - and say Wales is the perfect place to strip off. Civil servants and doctors were among those who have made recent trips to Mid Wales, the Lake District and Scotland.
Bill Strange, 48, who runs Wilderness Walks, based in the Canary Islands, believes attitudes are changing and that Wales is well placed to exploit alternative tourism. He says: "But for the weather, Wales is the perfect destination for discerning continental naturists. It has superb countryside, fantastic beaches, wonderful culture and an improving reputation for accommodation and food.
Clothes-free walkers, known as "jog-glers", are already known to be taking to the foothills of Snowdonia and the Brecons in groups of up to 40. Others prefer naked rock-climbing and fell running, while lone naturists check the calendar to go "moonlight rambling" in southern Snowdonia. To avoid crowds, many gather on weekdays and carry smocks for rapid cover-up in case they encounter "textiles" or "ano-raks" - clothed walkers.
David Martin, a mountain leader and nudist, believes there is increasing acceptance of naturism "away from the beach". In July he took a walking party on an eight-mile weekend hike through the Welsh countryside near Harlech and has also led groups in the Brecons and the Black Mountains. There are an estimated 500,000 naturists in Britain and most traditionally holiday abroad or cram into UK nudist camps and beaches.
Mr Martin, 57, who runs the Coast and Country Club, Yorkshire, said: "There is quite a lot of naturism in Wales, especially West Wales, and I suspect there is a lot of solo rambling - individuals who walk along canals, or stroll out under moonlight. Wales is a wonderful place for this but can be rather cold - we rarely go higher than 1,000ft. On all the naturist walks I've been on, I've never had any objections. We get a few giggles, but no one has ever said 'that's disgusting'."
The Plight Of Kansa
Next time you visit Topeka, be sure to drive through the downtown area to admire the new statue that has been placed atop our capitol dome. It is a beautiful bronze statue of a Kansa Indian, reported to be representative of the inhabitants who roamed this area for centuries before Europeans arrived. Evidently, even the Kansa Tribe, who were moved to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) over 100 years ago, is pleased with both the statue and its choice.
At 22' 2" in height, the statue is at once graceful and noble. As a Kansan, I am pleased the State has finally replaced the light bulb which has marked the peak of the dome for so many years. However, as one interested in history and its accurate telling, I am offended by the violence this fine piece of art does to the memory of the Kansa.
The figure shows a Kansa Indian dressed in head-feathers and a loin cloth, shooting an arrow at the heavens. However, the earliest records by Europeans to this part (indeed, almost any part of the New World) clearly record that unless conditions dictated otherwise (winter for example), the natives were naked.
While I appreciate the modesty and discomfort most in our state seem to have with the human form, I believe we do a great disservice to the historical record by re-writing history to accommodate this mass modesty.
Random Thoughts & Reflections
Why is it? Recently as a publicity stunt at the grand opening of a new boutique in Vancouver the store gave free yoga outfits to the first 30 prepared to shop naked. Of the 30 winners, 26 were women while only four were men. Why is it that so many of the men in our society claim they can not get their wives or lady friends to join them when they come to our special place?
Will, it finally happened. A French woman became frustrated with security at the Evansville (Indiana) Regional Airport. Evidently the security woman had to use a hand scanner on her bra area. When she had to scan the area a second time, the French woman choose to accommodate security by removing her sweater, shirt and bra. She was promptly arrested for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and indecent exposure. So much for trying to make the job easier for security.
Time to change our lock. Members will find a new combination to the lock on the gate enclosed with this issue.
With the approaching winter, we will be taking our sign down to keep it from being ravaged by the weather and vandels. Look for it again in the Spring.
In August, the manager of the Saskatoon (Canada) Regional Psychiatric Centre decided to try some unconventional therapy. He
planned a barbecue for the inmates in the aggressive behavior unit. Leaked photos show the inmates partying naked in a make-shift
hot tub, climbing trees, and barbecuing filet mignon. The article did not indicate the outcome of this experiment except that the
manager had been suspended without pay pending an investigation.
Military Developing Naked Gun
We have recently learned that the military has been working for a number of years on a weapon that can be used to control a rioting mob without killing people. They are now getting close to a solution: A laser that can be fired from as far as a mile away and will vaporize clothes and stun its target without killing anyone.
We are not clear if the target is stunned by the impact of the laser or the sudden realization they are naked. In any event, we believe it should be field tested on the residents in the vicinity of Lake Edun.
Items We Need
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Actor Takes Moral High Road - Really?
In a recent interview, Actor Greg Serano disclosed that he will not curse or do nudity in his film roles. He claims this moral high ground because he wants to be a good example for his kids. It is interesting that his recently release film is a made for cable horror movie. It is heavy on gore, blood, and sexual content. Evidently Mr. Serano doesn't have a problem with his children watching this type of horror.
Clearly Greg Serano has not done his research on the impact adult non-sexual nudity has on children. Once he finds out how beneficial it is to childhood development, he should insist all his roles be cast nude.
To be free, one needs constant and unrelenting vigilance over one's weaknesses. A vigilance which requires a moral energy most of us are incapable of manufacturing. We relax back into the molds of habit. They are secure, they bind us and keep us contained at the expense of freedom. To break the molds, to be heedless of the seductions of security is an impossible struggle, but one of the few that count. To be free is to learn, to tell yourself constantly, to gamble. - Robyn Davidson, Tracks
Speech by Charlton Heston at Harvard
Editor's Note: Charlton Heston addressed the topic 'Winning the Cultural War' at the Harvard Law School Forum, February 16, 1999. While our causes differ, we share a common appreciation for the value freedom plays in daily life. Here is the text of that speech:
I remember my son when he was 5, explaining to his kindergarten class what his father did for a living. "My Daddy," he said, "pretends to be people." There have been quite a few of them. Prophets from the Old and New Testaments, a couple of Christian saints, generals of various nationalities and different centuries, several kings, three American presidents, a French cardinal and two geniuses, including Michelangelo.
If you want the ceiling re-painted I'll do my best. There always seem to be a lot of different fellows up here. I'm never sure which one of them gets to talk. Right now, I guess I'm the guy.
As I pondered our visit tonight it struck me: if my Creator gave me the gift to connect you with the hearts and minds of those great men, then I want to use that same gift now to re-connect you with your own sense of liberty ... your own freedom of thought ... your own compass for what is right.
Dedicating the memorial at Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln said of America, "We are now engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether this nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure."
Those words are true again. I believe that we are again engaged in a great civil war, a cultural war that's about to hijack your birthright to think and say what resides in your heart. I fear you no longer trust the pulsing lifeblood of liberty inside you ... the stuff that made this country rise from wilderness into the miracle that it is.
Let me back up. About a year ago I became president of the National Rifle Association, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. I ran for office, I was elected, and now I serve ... I serve as a moving target for the media who've called me everything from "ridiculous" and "duped" to a "brain-injured, senile, crazy old man." I know ... I'm pretty old ... but I sure thank the Lord I ain't senile. As I have stood in the crosshairs of those who target Second Amendment freedoms, I've realized that firearms are not the only issue. No, it's much, much bigger than that. I've come to understand that a cultural war is raging across our land, in which, with Orwellian fervor, certain acceptable thoughts and speech are mandated.
For example, I marched for civil rights with Dr. King in 1963 -- long before Hollywood found it fashionable. But when I told an audience last year that white pride is just as valid as black pride or red pride or anyone else's pride, they called me a racist.
I've worked with brilliantly talented homosexuals all my life. But when I told an audience that gay rights should extend no further than your rights or my rights, I was called a homophobe.
I served in World War II against the Axis powers. But during a speech, when I drew an analogy between singling out innocent Jews and singling out innocent gun owners, I was called an anti-Semite.
Everyone I know knows I would never raise a closed fist against my country. But when I asked an audience to oppose this cultural persecution, I was compared to Timothy McVeigh.
From Time magazine to friends and colleagues, they're essentially saying, "Chuck, how dare you speak your mind. You are using language not authorized for public consumption!"
But I am not afraid. If Americans believed in political correctness, we'd still be King George's boys-subjects bound to the British crown.
In his book, "The End of Sanity," Martin Gross writes that "blatantly irrational behavior is rapidly being established as the norm in almost every area of human endeavor. There seem to be new customs, new rules, new anti-intellectual theories regularly foisted on us from every direction. Underneath, the nation is roiling. Americans know something, without a name is undermining the nation, turning the mind mushy when it comes to separating truth from falsehood and right from wrong. And they don't like it."
Let me read a few examples. At Antioch college in Ohio, young men seeking intimacy with a coed must get verbal permission at each step of the process from kissing to petting to final copulation ... all clearly spelled out in a printed college directive.
In New Jersey, despite the death of several patients nationwide who had been infected by dentists who had concealed their AIDS - the state commissioner announced that health providers who are HIV-positive need not. .. need not ... tell their patients that they are infected.
At William and Mary, students tried to change the name of the school team "The Tribe" because it was supposedly insulting to local Indians, only to learn that authentic Virginia chiefs truly like the name.
In San Francisco, city fathers passed an ordinance protecting the rights of transvestites to cross-dress on the job, and for transsexuals to have separate toilet facilities while undergoing sex change surgery.
In New York City, kids who don't speak a word of Spanish have been placed in bilingual classes to learn their three R's in Spanish solely because their last names sound Hispanic.
At the University of Pennsylvania, in a state where thousands died at Gettysburg opposing slavery, the president of that college officially set up segregated dormitory space for black students.
Yeah, I know ... that's out of bounds now. Dr. King said "Negroes." Jimmy Baldwin and most of us on the March said "black." But it's a no-no now.
For me, hyphenated identities are awkward ... particularly "Native-American." I'm a Native American, for God's sake. I also happen to be a blood-initiated brother of the Miniconjou Sioux. On my wife's side, my grandson is a 13th-generation Native American ... with a capital letter on "American."
Finally, just last month ... David Howard, head of the Washington D.C. Office of Public Advocate, used the word "niggardly" while talking to colleagues about budgetary matters. Of course, 'niggardly' means stingy or scanty. But within days Howard was forced to publicly apologize and resign.
As columnist Tony Snow wrote: "David Howard got fired because some people in public employ were morons who (a) didn't know the meaning of 'niggardly,' (b) didn't know how to use a dictionary to discover the meaning, and (c) actually demanded that he apologize for their ignorance."
What does all of this mean? It means that telling us what to think has evolved into telling us what to say, so telling us what to do can't be far behind. Before you claim to be a champion of free thought, tell me: Why did political correctness originate on America's campuses? And why do you continue to tolerate it? Why do you, who're supposed to debate ideas, surrender to their suppression?
Let's be honest. Who here thinks your professors can say what they really believe? It scares me to death, and should scare you too, that the superstition of political correctness rules the halls of reason.
You are the best and the brightest. You, here in the fertile cradle of American academia, here in the castle of learning on the Charles River, you are the cream. But I submit that you, and your counterparts across the land, are the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord Bridge.
And as long as you validate that ... and abide it ... you are - by your grandfathers' standards - cowards. Here's another example. Right now at more than one major university, Second Amendment scholars and researchers are being told to shut up about their findings or they'll lose their jobs. Why? Because their research findings would undermine big-city mayor's pending lawsuits that seek to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from firearm manufacturers.
I don't care what you think about guns. But if you are not shocked at that, I am shocked at you. Who will guard the raw material of unfettered ideas, if not you? Who will defend the core value of academia, if you supposed soldiers of free thought and expression lay down your arms and plead, "Don't shoot me."
If you talk about race, it does not make you a racist. If you see distinctions between the genders, it does not make you a sexist. If you think critically about a denomination, it does not make you anti-religion. If you accept but don't celebrate homosexuality, it does not make you a homophobe.
Don't let America's universities continue to serve as incubators for this rampant epidemic of new McCarthyism. But what can you do? How can anyone prevail against such pervasive social subjugation?
The answer's been here all along. I learned it 36 years ago, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., standing with Dr. Martin Luther King and two hundred thousand people.
You simply ... disobey. Peaceably, yes. Respectfully, of course. Nonviolently, absolutely. But when told how to think or what to say or how to behave, we don't. We disobey social protocol that stifles and stigmatizes personal freedom.
I learned the awesome power of disobedience from Dr. King ... who learned it from Gandhi, and Thoreau and Jesus and every other great man who led those in the right against those with the might.
Disobedience is in our DNA. We feel innate kinship with that Disobedient spirit that tossed tea into Boston Harbor, that sent Thoreau to jail, that refused to sit in the back of the bus, that protested a war in Vietnam.
In that same spirit, I am asking you to disavow cultural correctness with massive disobedience of rogue authority, social directives and onerous law that weaken personal freedom.
But be careful ... it hurts. Disobedience demands that you put yourself at risk. Dr. King stood on lots of balconies. You must be willing to be humiliated ... to endure the modern-day equivalent of the police dogs at Montgomery and the water Cannons at Selma. You must be willing to experience discomfort. I'm not Complaining, but my own decades of social activism have taken their toll on me. Let me tell you a story.
A few years back I heard about a rapper named Ice-T who was selling a CD called "Cop Killer" celebrating ambushing and murdering police officers. It was being marketed by none other than Time/Warner, the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world. Police across the country were outraged. Rightfully so - at least one had been murdered. But Time/Warner was stonewalling because the CD was a cash cow for them, and the media were tiptoeing around it because the rapper was black. I heard Time/Warner had a stockholders meeting scheduled in Beverly Hills. I owned some shares at the time, so I decided to attend.
What I did there was against the advice of my family and colleagues. I asked for the floor. To a hushed room of a thousand average American stockholders, I simply read the full lyrics of "Cop Killer" - every vicious, vulgar, instructional word:
I got my 12 gauge sawed off
I got my headlights turned off
I'm about to bust some shots off
I'm about to dust some cops off...
It got worse, a lot worse. I won't read the rest of it to you. But trust me, the room was a sea of shocked, frozen, blanched faces. The Time/Warner executives squirmed in their chairs and stared at their shoes. They hated me for that. Then I delivered another volley of sick lyric brimming with racist filth, where Ice-T fantasizes about sodomizing two 12-year old nieces of Al and Tipper Gore.
"She pushed her butt against my ...."
Well, I won't do to you here what I did to them. Let's just say I left the room in echoing silence. When I read the lyrics to the waiting press corps, one of them said "We can't print that." "I know," I replied, "but Time/Warner's selling it."
Two months later, Time/Warner terminated Ice-T's contract. I'll never be offered another film by Warners, or get a good review from Time magazine. But disobedience means you must be willing to act, not just talk.
When a mugger sues his elderly victim for defending herself ... jam the switchboard of the district attorney's office. When your university is pressured to lower standards until 80 percent of the students graduate with honors ... choke the halls of the board of regents. When an 8-year-old boy pecks a girl's cheek on the playground and gets hauled into court for sexual harassment ... march on that school and block its doorways. When someone you elected is seduced by political power and betrays you ... petition them, oust them, banish them. When Time magazine's cover portrays millennium nuts as deranged, crazy Christians holding a cross as it did last month ... boycott their magazine and the products it advertises.
So that this nation may long endure, I urge you to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the great disobediences of history that freed exiles, founded religions, defeated tyrants, and yes, in the hands of an aroused rabble in arms and a few great men, by God's grace, built this country.
If Dr. King were here, I think he would agree.
Thank you.
Support the Lake Edun Legal Defense Fund
GENEROUSLY!
Uncovered Opinions
By Dave Bitters
Kansas's major-party gubernatorial candidates are scrambling to persuade voters that they can maintain government services despite declining revenues.
Tim Shallenburger promises a hat trick by "…making our schools and universities the best in the nation" (according to his web site), by meeting budget shortfalls without raising taxes and by creating a new cabinet-level agency. Kathleen Sebelius promises a rabbit out of the hat by initiating "…an agency-by-agency review of government programs" (according to her web site) and by increasing public school funding by $400 million over several years without a tax increase.
If you listened to any of their debates you might have gained the impression both candidates are thin on details.
Certainly $50,000 - $100,000 a year is a drop in the bucket in an $8 - $9 billion budget. But what if the state could realize this amount practically cost-free?
I showed how in an article titled "Free our beaches - the case for nude beaches at area lakes" in the New Times, a Kansas City newspaper. I offered a 3-point plan that would increase use at a swimming beach in Clinton State Park: (1) Amend the park regulation prohibiting nude swimming and sunbathing; (2) Move the buoys 50 yards further into he lake (to discourage gawking boaters); (3) Replace the
No Nude Swimming and Sunbathing" sign with one that says "Attention: Beyond This Point You May Encounter Nude Sunbathers." The physical layout of the beach makes it a natural for this modest experiment in bringing Kansas out of the 19th century.
This would generate howls of protest from cultural conservatives, of course, and embarrassed giggles from those unfamiliar with nude recreation. But the open-minded will find that reality differs considerably from perception, particularly when government is a partner rather than an adversary of naturists. Check the web sites of Haulover Beach, Gunnison Beach, McGregor Park (Hippie Hollow) or Wreck Beach.
The park regulation that prohibits nude swimming and sunbathing had considerable vocal opposition and no visible popular support when a state official imposed it in 1980. Today park officials probably would change policy only after much hand-wringing. But the resulting revenue benefits are there for the taking. It's the sort of efficiency Shallenburger promises and Sebelius's review should bring to light.
We'll see whether either candidate picks up on this idea. If they don't, we'll have a handy litmus test with which to gauge the sincerity of their rhetoric.