It is so hard to find decent discourse on the Internet. Why is this too much to ask, considering the assumed potential of the web? I want to be informed of news without constant worry of hidden agendas and inaccuracies. I also want to read the opinions of intelligent, thoughtful people to:
1. Challenge my own ingrained positions – it will either confirm my leanings or provide me new perspective, but it better be damn well-documented and well-stated.
2. Learn something new, connect some new dots for me. If I’m not learning, I’ll become as stagnant and rancid as the other purveyors of rhetoric.
3. Find the truth. I believe in my heart that truth is often found in the middle. For example, one side may make an outrageous claim. The other responds with valid reasons for their outrageous behavior. The whole story is not found on one side or the other but squarely in the middle where the two meet. And additional pieces of truth may come from other third parties, other “sides.”
This is arduous work, this truth seeking. And finally I’ve found some help! The June 2010 issue of the Mensa Bulletin asked Mensans to select their favorite websites. I have been playing on the four listed under News & Politics for the last hour! I can’t wait to tell everyone I know about them!
1. www.factcheck.org Awesome! Example: Did Obama turn down foreign offers of assistance in cleaning up the Gulf Oil Spill? No. Five were accepted, one rejected... They’re calling bulls*** on both sides.
2. www.alternet.org Story links today offer “Why Do We Feed Our Kids Crap?” “Anyone Noticed That We’re Turning into a Nation of Blood-Sucking Vampires?” and “100,000 Americans Die Each Year from Prescription Drugs”
3. www.aldaily.com Link offerings include “The Culture of Exposure” (excellent essay on McChrystal), “Rent a White Guy” (Chinese companies hiring stand-in white guy management types), and “After Big 1979 Spill, a Stunning Recovery” (a really different take on what’s happening in the Gulf from historical perspective)
4. www.drudgereport.com A mixture from several sources, updated hourly. Most people already have this one on their ticker.
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ReplyDeleteFactCheck.org
A Project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center
Now where have I heard of the Annenberg Center before.
Hmmmm.
Bottom line - This is not the time to become "less" cynical.
Yeah, but did you read their "fact check" response on that! LOL! I think it was under FAQs or something.
ReplyDeleteI took exception to many of their responses, actually, but found them to be essentially a good source. Their wording cracks me up! For example, we find this allegation to not be true because it's mostly false...(IF its piece of truth aids the case of a conservative). Do you see what I mean? You have to use your bulls*** meter still, and just look at the raw data, not the presentation. And they document who they talked to and what they read, so you can process that, too...
Don't worry, I'm as cynical as ever!