USA Politics

I think it's fair to say that Fox News and MSNBC slant their stories; their commentators are biased, and (with rare but notable exceptions on each station) are nowhere near the stuff Travis posted.

Fox News RADIO however is atrocious.
 
LooseCannon said:
I think it's fair to say that Fox News and MSNBC slant their stories; their commentators are biased, and (with rare but notable exceptions on each station) are nowhere near the stuff Travis posted.

Fox News RADIO however is atrocious.
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Pretty much what I was about to say. I can't stand either network, I'll happily get my news somewhere else.
 
About the only news I watch on TV is the local morning news (generally the FOX station because they do not cut away to the Today Show, etc) .. mainly for local news, the weather, and traffic ... and something to have on in the background while I am getting ready in the morning.

The rest comes from internet news sites, with the exception of huge events, I will flip on the TV for that. I prefer reading myself versus have someone read it for me in an abbreviated fashion.
 
I go through politico, searches I have saved on Google News, the Dallas Morning News, the Ft Worth Star Telegram, and ESPN daily. There are a bunch I take a look at sporadically or I'll read a local paper depending on the news. For example, I have been following the Detroit bankruptcy, so I have been reading the Detroit papers pretty regularly lately.
 
Forostar said:
Serious?

I mean, we know Travis' way of posting and now he wanted to know our opinion on some sites. Is that so bad? I thought he was questioning his own sources and wanted us to help him.

Of lesser importance: does it matter if it's Facebook? Do you claim everything on Facebook is bull?

Alright then Travis. I don't think the message was that you have to go. Remember:

To be honest, an own opinion is often based on something you learn from an event or a whole lot of events (via media or from someone else). You need to be informed. And sometimes you need to back up something. And now we have it out in the open: I guess it's the first time that I have seen such outspoken warnings vs quoting or basing opinion on Fox News and stinking people and their sites (which are often conservative / right winged). As a hater of hate spreading I am happy to see this happening. Fuck this unlimited freedom of speech, we have our limits thank you.

The main point is; be open to discuss matters with us. Let's dive into content. It will be tough because you will be forced to find other sources. Let's get to work and good luck.
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Thanks very much for you defensive words Foro, but the only types of posts I enjoy making in this thread are the types that most on here speak out against. I personally choose to agree with those sites and see Obama and this government as something horrible and evil who want do destroy this country, however as you know, most on here disagree with that. Because of that, I more than likely will not be posting in this thread. Also, I have completely stopped following all of those pages I listed on Facebook because seeing the content on those just temps me way too much to re-post it here.
 
You're welcome Travis. And quite honest about telling how problematic this is for you, if I may say so. Thanks for explaining.


I am quite classic when it comes to news: on TV I often try to catch the "news hour" (by NOS: Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation) in the late evening. It's on now; a good balance of news, backgrounds, interviews and sports. Also parliamentary coverage. Good to satisfy a news consumer like me. In a way it "forces" me to follow what goes on every day. I hear the skeptic saying: yeah, you think you know what goes on but much more is happening in the world. To them I say: I focus less or hardly on local news so I am more focused on international (and national) matters than when I would only watch a local TV station, or no TV at all. I want to be aware and feel a vibe. Listening to and seeing items made by experienced professionals does more to me than only reading sites and papers. I still don't own a smartphone so when I am out of the house I don't visit websites.*

I can't judge the other countries that much as the people who live in them but I am very satisfied with mine when it comes to news. Holland is focused a lot on European news (more than the BBC who relatively spend more time on the UK; in a way logical because they have a big nation, and because they are an island ;-) but also on American news and other fronts in the world.

A newspaper or site can give lots of background but its own background can reflect on the way news is chosen, omitted and written. I feel that's not the case, or at least less with the NOS. I honestly feel that the NOS really fulfills this part of their mission: ....The NOS upholds the highest journalistic standards of accuracy, reliability, neutrality, pluralism and impartiality....

*Of course I also visit news sites: Besides nos.nl (still teletext included, sorry: ancient habit!) it's mostly news.bbc.co.uk. The latter especially when it suits me to share things with you guys, but it also serves as a portal to get deeper into UK related matters if I'd like to. Ah, I also use Google and Wikipedia which knot together many other sources.

I hardly want to spend money on newspapers, also because I do read some free ones in the train while going to work.
 
It is nice that there are so many sources out there ... many are good .. but the challenge is to sort the good from the crap. I will say that even some slanted sources can fall into the good category depending on how they present information. The obvious would be think tanks and their publications, but there are thoughtful conservative and liberal sites out there ... the majority (just based on the sheer number) are crap.

I have mentioned reason.com a few times, it certainly has a libertarian slant, but I think does it the right way and is done with thought behind it.
 
I get a lot of my news from Reddit. A lot of that site has a big liberal bias, but I don't mind. It's really just a convenient way to get a bunch of different sources. Washington Post, Huffington Post (Though I'm not a big fan), Guardian UK, AP, Reuters, Politico...are sites I come across the most. The bias doesn't bug me too much, they're pretty good with getting the information out, I can formulate my own opinion from there.
 
I think I'm going to go back to what I used to do which was completely avoiding political news because you know what? With everything going on with the president and out government, my life has remained completely the same. It hasn't been affected in any ways what so ever. And if it has, I sure haven't noticed it. My life is the same no matter what happens. So for me, there's really no point in following any of it since it will probably never have a direct impact on my life.
 
Fine, I'll tell you guys how I form my opinions.

I generally don't trust the German media enough to be able to draw my information from one single source. When I say that, I really do mean information, as in, reported facts. I read media watchblogs a lot, and what I have seen exposed over the years has completely disillusioned me, leading me to doubt virtually every fact that is reported. So what I do, if I really feel I want to be informed about something, I check it on several news outlets of which I know that they use different sources. If all report the same thing, then I believe it. With international news, I generally don't consult German media at all. Of course, experience has taught me that I can put some trust on certain outlets concerning certain things. But I keep being wary. For background, I only rarely read what is written in news media, but prefer to do my own backup checks. I have two major academic libraries and an entire internet at my disposal, after all. Incidentally, I don't watch TV at all.

So that's how I obtain information and facts. When it comes to forming my opinions, the first thing I do is see what columnists and journalists write in media outlets that have traditionally stood at the end of the political spectrum contrary to mine. In other words, I try to find well-founded opinions that I can expect to disagree with. I think that is the best test for my critical thinking. I almost never really read opinions from "my" political position, because I think that is pointless. I only do that when I'm at a loss to find rational arguments for or against something; ironically, that is usually when I disagree with those opinions, too.

So, you say, that takes a lot of time. Yes, it does. It takes a shitload of time. And I don't usually have that sort of time. My consequence is, that I don't have very many political opinions, because I can't found them properly. And of those few that I do have, only a tiny number are actually strong opinions that I would go out defending - mostly, I prefer to state them and see them discussed, ready to change them when I feel convinced.
 
Oh, there is an entirely different subject I'm wondering about and I thought this would be the best place to ask.

It's about abortion and people who are pro-choice. What I'm wondering is why don't they choose adoption instead of abortion? The only time I would be for abortion is if the mother was going to die as a result of the baby being born or if a woman was raped. But as far as just a woman just deciding she doesn't want the child, why doesn't she still give birth and then put the child up for adoption instead of having it aborted?
 
Perhaps you should first explain why you hold the positions you hold on abortion; keep in mind that each answer from each person is going to be different.
 
Travis The Dragon said:
Because I believe that every child deserves a chance at life and since adoption is an option, why not choose it instead of abortion?
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Well, there's the physical and mental trauma of pregnancy, the stigma of adoption/pregnancy, financial situation, lack of adequate medical care, and some people sure don't want a parasite inside them. 90% of fertilized eggs are expulsed from the female body during a regular menstruation cycle. Zygotes aren't special if they aren't wanted, at least in some way. But that's my thoughts.
 
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