An Experimental Life

Karl Rove says McCain is lying, and McCain on the economy? Well... read for yourself. Stranger than anything I could come up with. Read more >>

Apparently not.

According to the latest ad from the McCain campaign, it seems that McCain thinks that teaching young children how to avoid sexual predators is a bad thing, and character assassination is perfectly honorable. Read more >>

(I'm quite tired right now, so please feel free to point out any errors I may have made in grammar or in fact. Make sure you check your facts before you try to correct mine, though.)

This is not merely an opinion editorial. Everything here is based on verifiable facts that you can check for yourself.

Of course I recognize that the majority of the far right will consider this an unwarranted attack (Funny, considering they don't believe in warrants--that was a pun, by the way.) But then, the far right generally considers repeating the words of their own people in context, pointing out facts in context, calling them on it when they're caught lying or imposing double-standards, having the temerity to ask for substantiation of their claims, or indeed to ask any uncomfortable question at all, attacks from biased folk who want to destroy America. In fact, the far right rants publicly about "attacks" upon their candidate and his running mate that never actually happened. (How desperate must one be to rely on such tactics?)

From whence do I get my information? Well for starters, I'm one of those people who watch CSPAN (you know--the channel that frequently has live cameras and mics on the floors of congress) to see first-hand what goes on, and who makes an effort to watch speeches by presidential candidates and other major political figures. (If you miss a speech you can generally find them uncut and unedited online.) I go to government sites like senate.gov to fact-check, and liste to both McCain's and Obama's dialogs to learn what their positions are and listen to what they say about each other.

This article will focus mainly on the lies, distortions, and double-talk of Senator McCain and his camp--not so much because I support Senator Obama, but because the McCain camp is the camp playing dirty politics. Indeed, the bulk of the McCain campaign seems to be, "Obama BAD," and McCain and his supporters don't mind blatantly lying in order to make that point. It is no more partisan to point this out than to point out that the Earth revolves around the sun.

Now that my long-winded preamble is done, let's get to the meat, starting with some of the most recent and blatant lies, distortions, and double standards (and it'd take a book to address all of them, so this is just a taste)... Read more >>

In my last essay on this topic, I discussed the futility of telling someone with a mood disorder to snap out of it. Eventually we'll get to treatments, coping, and other stuff for people with mood disorders like bipolar disorder and unipolar depression and their friends and family, but first, I want to talk about what it's like from the inside. Read more >>

(This is the first part of what will eventually be a series of essays on bipolar and unipolar disorders, including treatments, both synthetic and homeopathic, and tips on coping with these illnesses for both sufferers and their friends and loved ones.)

Mental illness is often misunderstood and stigmatized, which is one reason I'm very open about having bipolar disorder (also called manic depression)--As long as people are ashamed of mental illness, the stigma will continue. Our illness does not define us, but it is a part of our daily lives, and those close to us (or who want to be close to us) need to understand our illness to deal with us, just as we need to understand and learn how to deal with them and the things that affect their lives.

Here is part one of what friends, family members, and loved ones need to know about mood disorders like bipolar disorder (manic depression) and unipolar depression. Read more >>

(Although I am writing about the Netherlands here, much of this essay applies to other countries, as well--The United States, for instance")

"Tolerance" does not mean tolerating bigots, and some of the alleged "victims" of intolerance are among the worst offenders. This is not to say that there are no honest victims--but many seem confused about the meaning of the word, and their hollow claims of unfair discrimination cheapen and belittle the experience of those who live under genuine persecution. Read more >>

I met a legend once. I have met several others since then, but Ray was the first. Read more >>

So let's debunk some of the lies... Read more >>

I hear a lot of would-be fiction writers say they "don't believe" in studying writing, fearing that doing so will force them to write by some preset formula and destroy their "personal styles." Nothing could be further from the truth. If you look at some of the greats--who have wildly divergent styles--you will find that they almost universally studied the craft. Until you begin studying the craft, you can't call call yourself a serious writer any more than you could call yourself a neurosurgeon without going to medical school... Read more >>

I won't pretend that I have the answer to the illegal immigration problem, nor do I deny that a problem exists, but those who claim that the proposed illegal immigration bill offers amnesty for illegal aliens or "threatens our sovereignty," are way off base... Read more >>