NOTE: A few hours after this article was published, metaphysicalbridge.com was redirected to another site. I don't think this article had anything to do with it, but who knows?

I've stated many times that what makes skeptics special is not what they believe in, or what they DON'T believe in, but that they're always willing to change their opinions in the light of new evidence. That said, I'm a bit upset with a site I recently found. There is no new evidence here.

Metaphysicalbridge.com claims to offer free readings about the missing and unsolved crimes. The main site is merely a modified version of shopping cart software, which leads me to believe that their main priority might actually involve the selling of their woo-woo products rather than actually helping people with their "gifts."

Here's their disclaimer:

This site was designed to bridge the gap between the metaphysical realm and life as you know it. If you are visiting our site, you may have a need, question, or simple curiosity about what we are about.

We can accept emailed pictures of you, loved ones, etc... to work from or you may email us any other information that may be helpful to us.

Email requests for our impressions will be conducted as quickly as we are able, provided and published free of charge. We request you be patient and check back often.

Remember that while we are gifted, we are still only human, just as you are. We will never be 100% accurate, but the impressions we receive will be our own, and they are freely shared for whatever they are worth.

Thanks for confirming that I'm human; I was beginning to wonder. CJ and Geri say they are "gifted," and yet they lay claim to the inherent fallibility that relieves the rest of us from being perfect. So what makes them special? I can give readings and say "I'll never be 100% accurate." But you know, if I'm vague enough and use a little bit of common sense, I'll be accurate some times, and after some external confirmation is received, I can point to that and say, "Hey, I was right! Behold how generous I am to share my gift with you!"

So why am I so angry with these particular performers? They're not particularly unusual, but their callous attitude towards the missing disgusts me. They offer to give readings that, by their own admission will be unreliable, to friends and family of the missing. Here are some of the things they've said:

Well, my initial impressions on Trenton are that I believe him to still be alive, and I feel like a custody issue is involved here. I also believe that he was loved deeply by whoever abducted him. This could also be clouding my perception that he is alive. He was/is comfortable with whoever he is with.

Next:

I get the impression that Trenton is gone, but not as in having passed gone. Too, I believe he is with his father, which is NOT the father who is searching for him. I see his mother (now deceased) with her head in her hands, torn......not knowing WHICH man is really Trenton's father, but knowing that things are out of control for her. There was also a sense that she knew that what she was doing was wrong and a fear that the father searching for Trenton would learn that she hadn't been completely faithful to him......Sadly, IF Trenton has passed on, dna tests will not help bring closure for the father that is searching since the dna will not match

OK, one of you is wrong, possibly both of you. And I ask, what good do you think you're doing? Trenton's website reveals that the last person he was seen with, his mother, committed suicide two weeks after he went missing. Maybe you could just let the police do their jobs and keep your wild useless guesswork to yourselves.

One more case:

I feel that Tara was strangled/suffocated by an acquaintance that had asked her out, or that wanted a serious relationship with her, but she politely refused. He then set the fire to cover his tracks.

The article on Tara reveals that she was found dead in a burning apartment. Police work determined that she was murdered before the fire was set. Thank to the psychics, we now know that it may have been someone she knew! Or maybe even someone who wanted a romantic relationship with her! How would we have ever guessed that?!

Feh. Honestly, I'm just fed up with these self-important buffoons pretending to be "gifted" and deigning to bestow their gifts upon us. I say again: SHUT UP. We don't need your help, we don't want your meddling, and the world would be a better place if you'd spend your time picking up litter off the roadside rather than spewing these vapid "readings."