Adjusted Reality

Back Asswards

2006-06-05T08:12:00.000-05:00

So much for separation of church and state. This measure better not pass, or we might as well throw out civil rights and women's right to vote while we're at it.

May Day May Day

2006-05-01T15:07:00.000-05:00

If you haven't heard about the protests going on today, or you think they're stupid, you've been living under a bigoted, antediluvian rock. In case you seem to think these people should just go home, YOU try going to this website and see if you can figure out how to get a work VISA all by yourself. I can't and I've worked in a law office for 5 years.

Now imagine you can't read English but you can speak it. Or imagine you've just graduated from a U.S. high school and in all ways but one you are a bona fide American teenager. You don't even speak Spanish. Suddenly the U.S. government wants to pass laws that make it a felony for you to live in your homeland of the United States. Aren't you innocent? What did you do wrong? Why would they deport you to a foreign country when you pay taxes and work for a living, and don't break any laws except the one they just passed specifically against you??

I'd protest too!

Makes sense to me

2006-04-06T07:03:00.000-05:00

Behind every joke, fairy tale, folk story, or Biblical account must be at least some grain of truth. How else did the story start? A fascinating sci fi book that looks at such things is Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card. But if you want reality, read the linked article about a man who's about to get a whole lot of hate mail. Some idiots just can't read between the lines.

We all accept that Jesus was a man, and yet more than a man. Men cannot walk on water. But they sure can walk on ice! (I guess - technically - you could say ice is water, right?)

Can't wait to read this book!

2006-04-05T07:17:00.000-05:00

I have always loved history, but not just facts and figures. Oh no, I like to know about the people who went through what we now call "history". What was it like? Did they know the events they lived were going to be taught to children in schools? Tell me more than "a war was fought on here on March 2" blah blah blah. What were the soldiers wearing? What did they eat? Was it cold? Hot? Did that affect the outcome? Were they scared? Angry? Tell me about their lives. Was someone waiting for them back home?

Here is a book that promises all these things. Not only is it a personal account of one citizen's struggle through the Vietnam War, but it's that of a female surgeon. Very compelling stuff. However, near as I can figure, it's only been published in Vietnamese. Amazon doesn't have it. Anyone know more about this book? Does it come in English yet?

Words cannot describe...

2006-03-25T20:50:00.000-05:00

.. nor adequately express my gratitude and awe. I borrowed these pictures from the dealership's website. It has one minor flaw you cannot see... only smell but others might also call it a bonus. Heheheh

Who's really in urgent?

2006-03-24T08:12:00.000-05:00

I understand that reporters can sit down at their computer and crank out a story in a hurry but for the love of English, could ya run a spellcheck?? Especially when millions of people are going to read it? Check out the link. It was also linked on Yahoo's main page.

Funny how that works...

2006-03-23T13:49:00.000-05:00

I find it interesting to note that last week we heard how Bush's approval ratings are in the toilet, and this week, we hear that people are growing more tolerant (or at the very least, less intolerant) of gay marriage. Coincidence?? Or poor data?

Another Idiot on the Road

2006-03-20T13:20:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's me! Many people over the years have found it incredulous that I did not have, nor had I ever had, a U.S. driver's license. Even at 19 they were surprised. I've never had one revoked or suspended, because I've never had one!

Driving is not a right; it's a privilege. Yet so many people take it for granted every day, so much so that people do all kinds of things in their cars in the middle of traffic! One lady was arrested for taking both hands off the steering wheel to put on makeup on the most dangerous stretch of road in the UK. Are we in so much of a hurry that we can't do this crap at home?

How I got this far without driving is a long story. It was due to a combination of circumstance, luck, misfortune, ingenuity, and (you may not believe this one) patience. Despite fighting it tooth and nail, I guess I'll grow up now. The support I received the last few months to get to this point has been invaluable, memorable and humbling.

So. . .Anyone selling a car? Free to good home? :)

So crazy, So sowwy

2006-03-08T13:55:00.000-05:00

I've been crazy busy lately. News has been slow, except for that part where the President thinks it's okay to let other countries have a controlling interest in our U.S. Ports. I believe in free trade and free speech, but I also believe FDR did a lot of good for this country when he started public resources. Our ports should be public, not privately held. Duh!

But on another note, I have something fun! Take my questionnaire, then make one of your own! Find out about your friends! This is not a chain letter. :P

BOYCOTT SOUTH DAKOTA!

2006-02-24T20:33:00.000-05:00

Why I'm boycotting South Dakota RWH-style. Nothing but stupid men and half-dead buffalo there anyway. Roe v. Wade, like all law on the books, is not sacred, but it was monumental! It established women had right over their own bodies. You know, like they're people too? What right does a body of men have over what a woman does with her body? Especially if a man (who could be her brother or father!) raped her and put her in this situation!

I am especially scared when they start spewing words like

"I think the stars are aligned," said House Speaker Matthew Michels, a Republican. "Simply put, now is the time."

NOW IS THE TIME?? Are the aliens coming next? I should finish that bomb shelter. Sheesh.

Under Renovation

2006-02-23T08:51:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I've figured out how to add a picture. Since my blog should reflect my life, I'll be making some renovations around here very soon! The beliefs won't change but perhaps the package will be prettier. One can only hope, right? :P

Biggest Liars

2006-02-09T08:16:00.000-05:00

These events have got to be the biggest lie ever propagated. The puppeteers were just looking for some excuse, no matter how trivial, to start a bigger war. The scary part for me is that the loudest puppeteer of them all, Iran, may have developed nuclear weapons! Neither side can back down without losing face here, creating a lose-lose situation. Do we capitulate and appease, supposedly denying free speech (although I don't believe defaming someone else's religion is what free speech should be all about) or do they blaspheme against their One True God? There is no good answer. The question we need to be asking ourselves is,

Can we avoid sparking World War III ?

Ya Missed Lady!

2006-01-31T11:46:00.000-05:00

I was appalled to read about another angry ex-postal worker "going postal," but after reading the next headline, I understood her frustration. Or perhaps I was projecting my own. Meh. And if you wondered why Wal-Mart prices weren't quite low enough and why the healthcare sucks, now you know. Imagine how low they could go without guys like Tom Coughlin around? Although, considering what tight sticklers Wal-Mart corporate is, this guy deserves some recognition for sneaking off with even a penny. And for his next trick, he will be breaking out of Fort Knox.

(Mal)Adjusting

2006-01-24T12:47:00.000-05:00

Expect some changes, lotta movin', little shakin'.... But go not gently into that dark night, my friends. Feeling a little vaklempt. Hillary has been made into a patsy for telling the truth. Discuss amongst yourselves.

Fairer sex?

2006-01-20T12:10:00.000-05:00

Although men can knit too, they are physiologically meaner than women, proving my personal belief that men start wars and women bury the children. Maybe, as they say, the US really could be ready for a woman president, but NOT THIS ONE. Do female leaders do better, or worse? Or do they have to believe and act like a man to hold those positions against other men (thereby gaining the reputations of "bull dikes," and the like)? Why can't sexy women be powerful without seeming cheap, yet high power male executives become idolized as sex symbols? Food for thought!

And in other news, I say hurrah to some common sense in our court systems, but I'm afraid Bush's new and improved S. Ct. will strike this one down, I'm sure.

We wanna die! We wanna die!

2006-01-13T08:02:00.000-05:00

I've heard of people protesting against a lot of things, but why are they protesting against an indoor smoking ban? Do they not read? Oh wait, New Jersey you say? They probably don't even know what fresh air is. Personally I think they should pass federal indoor smoking bans, and while they're at it, please increase the penalties for selling tobacco to minors. The stuff is nasty, and it keels joo. If there were a vote to eradicate tobacco from the earth, I'd check "Aye".

Sleeper Agent or Just Asleep?

2006-01-12T08:09:00.000-05:00

You decide!

Geekin Out

2006-01-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

Like, no way. I found a new website and I am totally geeking out. Some of you may remember I scored 97% on an online test of "How nerdy are you?" (4% higher than AO) and well, you get the picture. If ever you want ideas for what to buy me for gifts, look no further.

Here are a just a few:
T-shirt with the molecular symbol for caffeine.
Power strip without the strip (it's not called a squid for nothin!)
Water-powered calculator or clock (only THE most expensive item you couldn't buy in AD&D)
Suction cups that speaker-fy anything
One handed keyboard
An LED ant farm!

Need I say more?

Glad I'm not the only one

2005-12-07T07:57:00.000-05:00

This headline caught my eye only because it looked like Yahoo News had picked up an editorial from RIGHTWING HOWLER except it's not his genre.

IS GEORGE BUSH THE WORST PRESIDENT -- EVER?

Likely RWH would call this more liberal media lying and crying. However, I think there are some very good points here, all of which may be backed up by cold hard facts.

. . . historians [have] said -- and it should be noted that some of the criticism about deficit spending and misuse of the military came from self-identified conservatives -- about the Bush record:

He has taken the country into an unwinnable war and alienated friend and foe alike in the process;
He is bankrupting the country with a combination of aggressive military spending and reduced taxation of the rich;
He has deliberately and dangerously attacked separation of church and state;
He has repeatedly "misled," to use a kind word, the American people on affairs domestic and foreign;
He has proved to be incompetent in affairs domestic (New Orleans) and foreign (Iraq and the battle against al-Qaida);
He has sacrificed American employment (including the toleration of pension and benefit elimination) to increase overall productivity;
He is ignorantly hostile to science and technological progress;
He has tolerated or ignored one of the republic's oldest problems, corporate cheating in supplying the military in wartime.

I think RWH should take a good hard look at that last one: "corporate cheating in supplying the military in wartime" - one thing our leader should never do is turn his back on our armed forces. How do you defend that? What is your justification?

The next president is going to have a big mess to clean up in this country and I for one can't wait until January 20, 2009 when our lives can get back to normal again.

Perhaps an insanity plea would be better

2005-12-07T07:41:00.000-05:00

So you've all heard that Saddam is digging in his heels and declaring his trial court unjust. What criminal hasn't? But now he's just blubbering.

Saddam . . .complained that he and the seven other defendants were tired and had been deprived of opportunities to shower, have a change of clothes, exercise or smoke.

"This is terrorism," he declared.

No honey, that's called prison. But don't get too comfy; you're about to get the needle.

Bit Torrent a Bit Short

2005-11-23T07:54:00.000-05:00

This article might interest those Bit Torrent fans out there. Hollywood got to them, too! I didn't hear anything on the radio news but I found one tiny little article on Yahoo. I wonder if it's just that the MPAA carries less weight than Metallica. Does this mean we have to sit through more of those "don't hurt the little people" ads before the movie? These people make so much money - whether building sets or filming them - that I have little sympathy when they cry over things like Bit Torrent. They still get credit for doing the movies; they just don't get as many royalties. What happened to the time when it was about art for art's sake? Now it's just all about the money.

Cleanin up the streets

2005-11-11T07:57:00.000-05:00

Discovered a few interesting articles this morning. Apparently, there have been many significant archaeologic finds in the Middle East published just this week.

All made possible by deposing a dictator who made tourists disappear. Now imagine what we'd find if that region was as safe as say, Kansas. Proving once again that razing the region to the ground is not a viable answer (much as we might want to).

Cows for Brains

2005-11-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

The attached article did not surprise me but it did make me sad. Americans seem to be so revulsed by homosexuality that they are blind to the people they hurt, just as we have been (and continue to be) blinded by race and gender. If history has taught us anything, it's that banning people and activities just makes them worse. Reference the Roaring 20s when a U.S. Constitutional ban on alcohol funded the mafia and organized crime; and the riots of the 60s and 70s due to racial segregation. That's just our country's recent history. The sad truth is that a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage would pass in this country today, simply because the majority of our voting body is made up of ethnocentric, uninformed WASPs. Witness the last election. However I honestly believe that should a President be stupid enough to put a Constitutional amendment on the ballot on this issue, history will rue the day, just as we hate ourselves for banning alcohol and women's and minorities' rights to vote.

Roe v. Wade a Minute!

2005-11-01T08:10:00.000-05:00

Unless you've had your head in the sand, you've heard that Bush has actually nominated a judge to fill the empty seat on the S.Ct. However the anti-abortion groups throwing confetti seems like one more sign the Apocalypse is on its way. If Scalito successfully throws out Roe v. Wade, I'm moving to Canada. For example, "Alito upheld a requirement for spousal notification in an abortion case more than a decade ago." He was the only dissenting judge. What kind of ethnocentric moron thinks it's a good idea to tell the possibly angry and gun-toting husband about his wife's (possibly soon to be ex-wife's) abortion? Why not just hand her a death sentence while you're at it?

And then, "Earlier this year, with O'Connor casting the deciding vote, the high court threw out a death sentence that Alito had upheld in the case of a man who argued that his lawyer had been ineffective." Talk about irony that he's taking her job. Some would call that a bone to pick.

I hope the hearings and confirmings tear this guy apart, but sadly, I think he'll take the office right next to Roberts. How does that song go? O' Canada, O' Canada...

Big and Blogger Than Ever

2005-10-28T06:55:00.000-05:00

Apparently those old fuddy-duddys in the big white building are taking more notice of blogs these days. Even writing their own! "Blogging is the new talk radio." Does that mean we're also headed for boring extinction? I have also read a few articles recently about lawyers starting their own blogs too. They are trying to term them "blawgs." *groan* And this article also makes up a new word to describe blogs as a media source: blogosphere. Exactly what is wrong with the word "blog" that you have to add -osphere to the end? We don't call it radiosphere, TV-osphere, or earthosphere. The term blogosphere smacks of misunderstanding. Like calling an install a download, or complaining that the Internet is down. Really?? The whole Internet? Quick! Someone call the Pentagon! The Internet is down. *sigh*

Always take the high road

2005-10-25T07:33:00.000-05:00

The title of this article alarmed me at first because we all know what religion can do when it goes too far. However, corporations owe their allegiance to the law and the all mighty dollar. Therefore, in order to remain profitable and legal, they must always have some controls and some leniency. So long as their policies are applied consistently, this article makes me feel better. So sure, let the Christians spend their lunch hour praying together, just like the women's group, the softball team, and the young VPs. However I have to draw the line if or when these groups block qualified non-members from advancing in their careers or from getting justice. One hopes that increased understanding will foment increased tolerance, but unfortunately, that's not always the case.

Breathe Like a Fish?

2005-10-19T07:02:00.000-05:00

Assuming this is not a hoax (which it could be), it would be quite an achievement if it worked. Even if this inventor is not the one who makes the final product work, his ideas may provide groundbreaking inspiration for others. Articles like this one remind me why it is we can't just raze the whole region to the ground and start over.

Science v. Politics

2005-10-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

This started as a comment but as it was growing too long here's your new post.

Dear Jim:

Your argument is flawed. Your first mistake was associating Marx with Soviet Communism - Two very different ideas. Yes, the Soviets claimed to base their ideas off Marx but in practice, they didn't even come close. In a nutshell, Marx theorized that feudal states, driven by economics, grow into capitalist societies. He based this theory off historical accounts of the Dark Ages (feudal states) compared to his political environment (capitalist industrialists of the 1800s). He theorized that those capitalist societies would eventually evolve into communist societies, when the workers realized they were being exploited. He theorized that because the value of an item is the cost of raw materials plus labor plus cost of losses and two of those three factors are fixed, the only way to make profit is to pay laborers less than what they're worth. Eventually the workers catch on and revolt, which may even happen through democratic means.

He thought communism was the future of all capitalist societies. One could almost make an argument that with the advent of the Internet and the increasingly informed public, that revolt has already started across the world. How much of the President's behavior today is his own and how much is in response to public pressure?

However, a communist state as Marx proposed has never been done. It's a little too utopian to work. What Lenin and Stalin created was a dictatorship where they claimed to be helping the people. It is properly called Leninism. What they tried to do - in Marx's terms - was to skip directly from feudalism to communism, which doesn't work. Marx didn't propose Leninism should happen, and he didn't openly support violence.

If you do some research on Stalin, you'll find he grew up in Georgia, which has been a volatile arena since before Stalin. It was ripe for revolution. It's still ripe for revolution today. Stalin had a grudge with the government, he was a psychopath before making himself dictator, and he was very very shrewd. He rose to power by knocking off his competition, and once he got to power, he continued to murder his own people. Yes, during Stalin's reign of terror, millions of citizens died. But it is not attributable to Karl Marx.

Darwin never proposed anything to do with materialism or godlessness. By all accounts, I think Darwin believed in God. What you fail to acknowledge is that Darwin and all other true scientists strive to look at the world objectively. That means you do not allow preconceived notions to dictate your answers. Objectivity is why Lamarck was wrong about giraffes and Darwin was right.

Further, Darwin never proposed "higher" and "lower" animals. Animals are themselves. To call them "higher" or "lower" suggests a non-existent hierarchy of importance - a purely human concept akin to calling a snake evil for eating a mouse or a cat good for looking cute. Animals are a certain way because of the environment in which they became adapted, through purely random means. What worked in that environment was passed on; what didn't died. That is the basis of evolution. It is objective and can be proven through the fossil record and modern day examples.

You can even do experiments to prove it. Take a bacteria strain. Put it in three different petrie dishes with three different conditions (plain, antibiotic A and antibiotic B). Grow it for a few weeks or even months. Your end result will be 3 different bacteria strains, all very similar but one will be resistant to A, one to B, and the other unchanged. Rotate them. You'll develop a bacteria resistant to both antibiotics, because the ones that survive reproduce. The ones that don't, die. They evolve. Right before your eyes!

The concept that one type is "better" than the other is patently false. None of them are better or worse than the others. That is a socialist theory put forth by Herbert Spencer, who bastardized Darwinism by coining the phrase "survival of the fittest." People took that to mean "best" as though evolution is the development of better and better creatures, or progress. That's not the case at all. Darwin simply said that if something can survive to pass on its genes, then its genes will get passed on. If you study insects, you'll see thousands upon thousands of different ways to get food and procreate in a single environment.

In short, Jim - Get a clue pls k thx.

Enlightenment to Dark Ages

2005-10-17T15:30:00.000-05:00

If you've read your history or watched a couple Discovery Channel specials, you know that some ancient civilizations believed the earth was round. Yet Christians condemned Copernicus and Galileo for telling them it wasn't flat, like "God" said so. Almost 200 years ago, Charles Darwin stated there was no scientific, rational way that the millions and millions of different species on earth (both past and present) were put here like it says in the Bible. He described a rational way that all these creatures might live on earth and why some of them look similar. His work was concurrently validated by other intelligent minds who came to the same conclusion. Scientists have tried and failed to prove any other intelligent theory to explain how a million creatures and plants with different fossil ages, adaptations, and locations might come to be found. Do proponents of intelligent design (an oxymoron to an extreme) think God just created us a giant treasure hunt to amuse us?

Read the USA Today article, and especially read the results of the survey to the left. What does it tell you that SEVENTY PERCENT of those who believe in a literal translation of the Bible are in the under $20K household income bracket? Not to suggest that poor people are stupid, but it is a reasonable assumption that people with more money get a better education, i.e., better educated people believe in Darwin's theory of evolution. And if this argument's not about religion, then it must be about intelligence, and you know how much I love stupid people!

Lookin for love in all the wrong places

2005-10-14T06:51:00.000-05:00

Yea, I ran for president too.

Word of advice: South Carolina's not a good platform for presidency, but they'll pay for your retirement!

Dear God,

2005-10-13T07:08:00.000-05:00

Please come down and speak to your wayward followers who take other men's interpretations of your divine will so literally. Explain to them that their forever is your lifetime, and that they and all who go after them will never live long enough to see just one of your days. Tell them you are here and still listening, in your purest form, because they no longer believe in you. They only believe what other men have told them. They have distorted your Word and your Love in their quest for power. Your subtle hints are not loud enough. They no longer remember You.
Amen.

Inspired by a quote from this article:

It is important to many creationists that man and dinosaur lived simultaneously because they believe there was no death in the world until Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. If the Genesis story is false, they say, then there would be no need for Jesus Christ to redeem the sins of the world.

Thus, at the Museum of Earth History, Genesis dictates gentle, vegetarian dinosaurs sharing Eden with Adam and Eve, whose vaguely Polynesian appearance represents all races, according to a guide. Another exhibit confirms that dinosaurs, like all land creatures created on Day 6, were on Noah's Ark. The exhibit maintains that the ark could accommodate them because it was huge--450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high--and only smaller, adolescent dinosaurs were put on board.

Such literal interpretation is essential, Sharp said, because "if we lose Genesis as a legitimate scientific and historical explanation for man, then we lose the validity of Christianity. Period."

Equalize or die!

2005-10-12T09:29:00.000-05:00

I'm glad that someone has finally stepped up to the plate and vilified violence against women throughout the world. "The world will never eliminate poverty until it confronts social, economic and physical discrimination against women," announced the UN. "Inequality is economically inefficient, it is a violation of human rights and it is a hazard to health." Every animal species on the planet recognizes the female's fundamental necessity to the survival of the group except people. While I seriously doubt that any of the perpetrators will read this article, care much, and/or change their ways immediately, recognition often leads to education, and education to change.

And just because I found this picture mind-boggling. The caption says those are LIVE ducks.

OMG, He read a book?

2005-10-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

You know, instead of reading about flu outbreaks in Spain, we could have just introduced him to Stephen King. At least he wrote about current day populations in the United States. We already got this one mapped out, big guy.

The New Enemy

2005-10-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

They may look innocuous enough, but that tryptophan will kill ya.

But seriously, I recognize that bird flu has become an epidemic in Asia but thus far, only for birds and people who live with them. Do we really have to slaughter millions (yes MILLIONS - over 400,000 in Russia alone) of innocent ducks, geese, chickens, and stray dogs??? Why stray dogs? I have not heard of one case whatsoever where this disease was passed to dogs, cats, or even fleas.

And what do we do next year when the virus is still out there but people are still getting it, because they're still living with chickens? Can we maybe focus on the real, long term problem of poverty - Not just the short term destruction of life? And more importantly, will I have to pay more for my Thanksgiving turkey?

So it begins...

2005-10-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

This story explains so much! He's not an idiot at all - He's just ordained by God. However did we doubt you? Perhaps it was the overspending? No, no that can't be it. Your wonderful choices for Court? Maybe. Perhaps your love of science and progress? Have I made my point yet? Unfortunately, there's one thing preventing us from Nixing you, and that's the old axiom that the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know. However dumb the man may be, at least we know his heart's still beating.

Love is letting go

2005-10-05T15:01:00.000-05:00

Today I listened to an angry mother berate her child against listening to, learning about, or in any way whatsoever being involved with anything she might consider related to "satanism, goth, or witchcraft." Having researched all three subjects myself, I know them to be mostly harmless in and of themselves. Satanism - the mainstream version - is a joke. Evil is what you make of it. What I consider evil may be very different from what you believe. I define evil as any willful act that intentionally inflicts harm on another when other options are available. Yes, that means I believe in deadly force when bodily harm is imminent and unavoidable. However, hurting someone because it makes you feel better - negatory ghost rider.

Not much can be said for goth these days. You're more likely to run into chivalry. It seems to me that it used to be about being different and unique, but places like Hot Topic have turned into mainstream. Now it just means wearing black and piercing your tongue. Didn't we used to call that "punk"? Or "biker"?

Wicca (witchcraft for those uninitiated) as I understand it, is a benign, spiritual religion. Just because they call their prayers "spells" instead of prayers doesn't make it evil. That is of course, unless you really think God created an entire universe in 7 earth days.

Where you'll find me

2005-10-05T07:44:00.000-05:00

Perhaps it wasn't obvious in my first post, but I'm a sucker for the kids' school fundraisers. Cookie dough, girl scout cookies, wrapping paper, you name it. Could be some latent disappointment that I myself was never able to get much doing those, or it could be that I can actually see where the money goes. Those childless people who complain about paying taxes for schools need to open their eyes to who runs their country.

But anyway, fundraisers you say? Yes, fundraisers. About two months ago, I attended an info-session at my office put on by two very nice women from the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society (LLS). And after emotionally scarring me for life with heart wrenching photos and stories of children and friends with leukemia (a deadly form of bone cancer), these women extracted from me a promise to help them in their cause - namely, I volunteered for the Hyde Park version of Light the Night this Saturday.

On that note, this link is a shameless plug for donations. Not only did I sign up, but I signed up AO too. Although he hasn't gotten any donations, he still wants to attend. All in all, I'd say he's pretty a good sport.

Who am I? Why are we here?

2005-10-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

Let me begin with a brief introduction. I have started this page at the behest of my significant other after I repeatedly bogarted the comments on his blog to his great annoyance. However, unlike AO, you won't see as many monkeys on my site because we all know that monkeys at keyboards cause typos. Feel free, however, to laugh at the monkey on my shoulder.

I have also begun this website in an attempt to express some of the frustration I feel towards the sheer stupidity I see in the news today and the lack of common sense and common decency portrayed therein. You may consider this a political commentary or a social one. It may vary, and I'm not here to change your mind - just to make you think about it.

I chose the title "Adjusted Reality" after engaging in a few enlightening textual bouts with a classmate over right and wrong. After a point I considered the end of the discussion - and after which I had stopped writing about the dead horse - this classmate's continued posts included jeering comments goading me to continue arguing with him. This experience taught me that it's awfully unfair to argue with someone lacking spellcheck and a high school education. But I digress. Adjusted Reality refers to me adjusting what you may consider "reality", as well as the fact that the way I see the world - as I am coming to learn, much to my chagrin - greatly differs from the mainstream.

Now, a few ground rules and FYIs. What you are about to read (assuming you got this far) may very well piss you off. It may hurt your feelings. And I will not apologize for that. I can only hurt you so far as you let me. If your beliefs are so firm that bending them breaks you, this is not the website for you. You won't like it here. I hope to create a place for free intellectual debate. That means no mud slinging and for the love of Webster, please read what you write so the rest of us can too! If the comment I cannot read, then you must delete!

You will quickly learn that I am a firm believer in equality, common sense, and compassion for others. I have a soft spot for animals and children, and a low tolerance for cruelty. I believe in God as a force in all of us, not as a supreme vengeful being outside of reality. I believe that anyone who badmouths bipartisan politics needs to take an economics course and any history course about dictators. I am heterosexual and I don't believe in making second class citizens based on sexual orientation. I believe that organized religions are good when they help and support people but evil when they use religion as an excuse for political and material actions. I believe everyone has to find God for himself in his own way, and when I use the term "God" I also mean every other term for "God" that man knows (unless specifically stated otherwise).

I think that about covers the basics of who, what, how and why. I don't know the when yet, and you're here so you already know the where. And if you read all the way to the end, congratulations! Consider yourself a well adjusted free thinker.