What sources from 'your own side' do you tend to ignore?

Yeah ... I think that on web forums and the like, its about the only way to go, and it doesn't really take long to get a feel for it. Agreement/disagreement, no matter how spirited, ain't all that much of a factor, IMO, but absurdity, most particularly incessant, repeated absurdity as characteristic style and substance of member's interaction, generally leads nowhere but to yet more absurdity.

I tend to get my news from the mainstream media, NY Times, etc. I don't read blogs particularly, though will read what they have to say if referred to them. I'm not for them or against them, I just don't put as much faith in Daily Kos, etc, as the AP or NY Times.

One fellow I have become extremely suspicious of is Lawrence O'Donnell, a legal pundit.This is the fellow who had all these reasons it was inevitable that Rove would be indicted. The reasons all seemed to make sense to a legal layman like myself, but look what happened.

In fairness to O'Donnell, it is conceivable that Fitzgerald conducted his investigation in an unusual manner and that in most investigations someone who volunteers to testify to a grand jury AGAIN would get indicted. Perhaps. But O'Donnell seemed so sure, that as far as I am concerned he has two strikes on him and until I see several accurate O'Donnell predictions occurring in a row, I label his analysis as extremely suspect.

I tend to ignore brown sauce - preferring tomato - unless it's cheese on toast!

But I will also ignore lee and Perrings Worcester sauce - unless inbibing a Bloody Mary...


x

Aren't you the one that has whined on a couple of other threads about not seeing any news of the Iraqi Army's progress, specifically their ability to conduct military operations without the assistance of multinational forces?

Now we know why. :wink:

I avoid all commentators and editorials, period. I can form my own opinion without help. I used to watch all the news broadcasts, but then news became a 24 hour staple on television. Before retirement, I read the LA Times and the local Torrance paper, "The Breeze", to stay abreast of what the public was reading about politics in LA County ... most of it was bosh, and I knew better than to believe one word in 100. I faithfully read Scientific American, Nature, The Smithsonian, and a host of other specialty periodicals covering a wide field. A big part of my days were filled just reading that sort of stuff. In retrospect, I don't think all that effort to stay abreast of the world was worth it. Often the best information I got came from janitors who cleaned offices, secretaries who liked to prove how much they knew, and disaffected clerical people who wanted revenge against perceived injustices ... and even then, multiple sources were essential to offset personal prejudice and willful blindness.

I retired and canceled all of the periodicals and newspapers. I stopped making a point of following broadcast news, and now I watch it in passing, or when there may be a story of interest. I like the weather reports, though lately I'm content to look out the window. I'm sure that I'm unaware of a lot, but I don't feel I'm really missing very much. If something important happens, someone will tell me about it ... and if its interesting enough, I might do a bit of research. I like my information to be as high in quality as possible, so I like first person reports when the person and their personal biases are known to me, or serious printed material (i.e., books and reports written by serious, specialists who go out of their way to remain objective). To cater to popular tastes and fashion is suspicious, and I'll generally pass.

What is essential is to know what you believe before the world makes up your mind for you. What is of real and enduring value? What are the characteristics of serious people whose information can be relied upon. What will an idea, project ,or goal cost and how will it be paid for? What is worth sacrificing for, even to the death? What can be thrown away with no real loss? What is the potential for suffering in any set of thoughts, words and actions, and will short term suffering result in less suffering in the longer-term? What human weakness screwups have to be allowed for? It is especially important, I think, to bear in mind our propensity for greed, avarice, lust, anger, jealousy and will to dominate. My own weaknesses have to be watched carefully, and still I fall prey to them on a regular basis. Oh well .......

On A2K I regularly scroll past the lunatic fringe, and honestly most of that seems to be associated with the left/liberal side of the aisle. On the other hand, I always read postings by Setanta, JLNobody, Blatham (though we agree on virtually nothing political), Walter, and a host of others who don't come instantly to mind. I read most of the conservative posters, though sometimes a viewpoint, opinion, or off-hand remark sets my teeth on edge.

The recent attack on Holland I though was particularly unfair, and meant more to cause anguish than to shed light. I loath racists of every stripe, but there is much less of that now than there was 20 years ago and the changes since the mid-20th century have been revolutionary. I really hate the messiness and waste associated with War, but war, and violence is a fact of life and should be conducted seriously with eyes wide open. I'm strongly prejudiced in favor of loyalty to the Constitution, the United States and its government. Those whose words and actions show hatred for our country while supporting our enemies do not impress me with their insistence that they are the real patriots.

I don't ignore any sources--i just make distinctions between alleged "news" and opinion, and take salt with my reading as the situation requires.

My god! I thought I had it bad. Frankly I cannot abide a TV playing anywhere making noise, unless I'm in front and concentrating.

I have avoided getting myself on any mailing list or news alert system. That's to avoid garbage and because there's so much I wish to learn about and I think I have to self-direct that process. There's a potential negative here of missing stuff that falls outside my scope or imagination, but you can't have everything.

I don't visit any blogs other than where I might get directed to one, but that's pretty rare. One exception over the last two weeks...I've begun trying to check Josh Marshall each day.

The one site I find absolutely invaluable, but which I have to be somewhat careful with as regards rhetorical flourish, is Mediamatters.

??!! Goddamn. I would have been there in a flash had I known. If anyone begins another, please inform me immediately.

I don't visit blogs at all. Blogs do nothing but peddle yet another opinion, and when i've had the misfortune to have rashly decided to read any blogs, i've not seen an opinion expressed which i had not already encountered elsewhere. The only value to reading opinion pieces comes from reading the opinions of well-informed people, and even that is no guarantee that the opinion formed has not been influenced by what the author wishes to believe, as opposed to what the information points to. I just don't understand the fascination with blogs.

The Dog knows i am sufficiently opinionated on my own not to need to canvass the opinions of others. If anything were offered which might lead me to learn something, it might be worth my while. However, with thousands and thousands of blogs out there, finding one which is truly valuable is a "needle in a haystack" exercise. My attitude toward the policies of the state of Israel, for example, has changed 180 degrees in the last 30 years--but that did not occur because i imbibed uncritically someone else's opinion.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Timber. When reading what someone has posted on A2K, I always consider the source -- both the poster's known bias and the source quoted. And this holds true across the board -- Left to Right.

I visited DailyKos fairly often when the 2004 elections were hotting up -- he was especially good at synthesizing various polls, just presenting information.

But in general my news comes from the paper versions of the NYT and the New Yorker, with online forays for more details and the occasional click-through from Yahoo news (Yahoo's my home page) or a news search for something I'm interested in (what Obama's been up to recently, for example).

The way I heard it, in the early morning hours there was a massive air drop south of the capital, while 7 armored divisions crossed the borders. I think the attack came from Germany, and they are currently detaining many Dutch citizens. There was something about the need for re-education and forced labor to pay for the cost of the short war.

Seriously though folks, I was referring to the recent dust-up between the other Bernie and Nimn (I think it was). As the exchange heated up, Bernie said some very mean things about Holland, i.e., drugs, prostitution, etc. On course, Nimn was insulted as he/she had a right to be. Bernie was clearly in the wrong, and probably didn't believe half of what he said about how decadent the Dotch are. If he did believe such nonsense, Bernie needs to read more history of the Netherlands and he will likely have more respect.

I'm up earlier than usual this morning, so forgive my tendency to ramble. Ordinarily, as you all know, I'm very concise, direct and to the point.

Damn. I'm even more sorry now. The Two Bernies. What a team we'd have been. None could stand before us. Rampage through Holland (he'd capture nimh...I'd grab women) then sweep through Berlin.

From your countryman, Mr. Mountie:

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin[/im]

Yes. I'm almost finished my half of our stratergy.

Let me link you folks to a really wonderful interview. This doesn't fall under the heading of sites/sources one finds questionable but rather the best of the best. I found this through my very favorite site that I check each day, arts and letters daily.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,druck-433327,00.html

Sierra, if you have some reports of the Iraqi army victoriously engaging the insurgents on their own, with no assistance from the US forces, please post them. If you feel this thread is not the place, you can always post the reports here or in the thread linked there.

I eagerly await your response.

Counterpunch sounds close. I'll have to look for it now.

KW - life is about choices. You choose to be kept unaware by limiting yourself to what you call the "mainstream media - NY Times, etc.". You also seem rather proud of it.

Stick with the Times and stay in the dark, then. But, please, stop whining about things of which you know nothing.

Translation: SS can't link a reliable source for you.