Why Jones, why?

I have found myself having many thoughts on politics, religion, and many other thing... the type of things that I don't think are appropriate for our family blog. I find myself wanting to communicate these thoughts to my friends and family, and have been trying through channels like Facebook. Unfortunately, Facebook doesn't lend itself to the type of discussion I would like to have: intelligent, thoughtful, and non hateful. I wanted to have more control as to who reads and responds to my musings, and the manner in which I will accept those responses. So I have created this blog, and will be inviting you, my friends and family, to read my thoughts on diverse subjects. I invite you to respond with your thoughts. There will be some ground rules.

1) I feel very strongly that the key to having an intelligent stance on any issue is to first research the facts before coming to a conclusion. I will do my best to research my thoughts, to provide a factual basis for my opinions and stances. There, of course, may be some subjects that this is not possible (issues of faith or religion being an obvious one), but I will do my best. I ask you to do the same.

2) I feel that having an intelligent conversations hinges on being respectful toward each other. With that in mind, hateful, insulting or demeaning attitudes, and postings will not be tolerated, by myself or by anyone else. I will warn an individual once, and that is all. After that, you will no longer be welcome here.

3) I feel that sometimes, oftentimes, people simply can not agree with one another. I also feel that there is nothing wrong with this. To try and force our thoughts or feelings onto our fellow man demeans them and us. I will not demand that you agree with me on any issue, and I ask that you do me the same courtesy.

So, yeah, that's it. It's an experiment, and we will see how it works.