My sources of information since Trump came to disgrace our country have been the UK Guardian and the FT since I lived there 25 years and still go back and forth. Last year I started subscribing to Substacks such as this one plus 5 others. Stopped subscription to NYT and Washington Post which I thought were reliable.
I'm still subscribing to the online versions of the New York Times and Washington Post and L A Progressive, as well as The Guardian. I had to give up The Economist, unfortunately. It's just too expensive.
Speaking of The Guardian . . . Look for First Dog on the Moon - The Guardian - Australia. You will probably enjoy meeting Brenda, the climate activist civil disobedience penguin.
Vincent, I have my problems with Al Jazeera,NPR, PBS, CBS Daily Kos and Democracy Now, as the news that they seek tp publish, and the emphasis and content are biased via the ideology and bias of the left (and in NPR's case corporations especially as retards fossil fuels and global warming)
Amy Goodma and Juan Gonzalez )Dmocracy Now)are old line Marxist, as is Katrina vanden Heuvell and her Husband.,, Stephen Cohen of the nation.
I am not a Marxist because Marx was not a socialist, he wasa proto libertarian, and I know that Gold as a standard of value leads to a perpetual depression.
Religions are ideologies, and Marxism is a religious ideology,one has to swallow, believe and pledge fealty to the tenants of the faith, it is as ,much a cult as Trumpism or any religion.
It is the same with libertarianism and free marketism
One is expected to swallow eveyrthing as gospel. Democracy Now, whose staff is overwhelmingly Muslim, calls it genoicde and the left is hit on the knee with a rubber mallet and reflexes like Pavolov's dog.
Noam Chomsky,Christ Hedges, all of them, the same.
I don't acquire by opinions, beliefs I have none, I arrive at my opinions by the use of critical thinking
Trump calls the media the enemy of the people, the FBI the same, and the left reacts and either defends the media and FBI or stays silent, and thus assents to Trump.
But the media is the enemy of the People as is the FBI, the media has constantly attacked and scapegoated liberlas, ridiculed global warming and made Trump President.
The FBI instead of investigating and warning congress of the threat from the right, spent and spends its time investigating the left, antifa and BLM among others. It is a right wing conservative organization, as is DOJ, and the cabinets that are suppose to regulate corporations have been captured by those regulations and nothing has changed under Biden.
I am not on the side of the leftist media, and I don't believe the corporate media, I get hundreds of news letters in my inbox daily, I read or skim all,and I have filters, I filter out bullshit, bias and propaganda.
I don't let anyone do my thinking for me, I don't believe, I think. And I got be jerked around emotionally by my short and curlies (pubic hair).
If it is an example of your critical thinking, please explain why there is little-to-no substance? No reference to any observable facts? All I see in it is labelling people according to their alleged adherence to various ideologies.
That does not, in my book, qualify as mature, critical argument.
Perhaps you would care to take a deep breath and try again.
Your opinion is yours Vincent. You see what you want to see. Should I perform according to your requirements I would have to write a book, or at least a 100 mage TL:DR monograph.
I have presented my readers digest version of why I don't subscribe to left wing and right wing orthodoxy, I do not have to justify it to you or anyone else, It stands on its own.
The fact is that this medium - designed for short attention spans - is not really suitable for mature, critical argument. It is much more built for snappy reflexes.
Having reached a full three score and ten, plus a little, I find my reflexes aren't what they used to be!
Why isn't your name in the Guiness Book of Phenomena? I should have heard of someone who is 165 years old. If my math is right, you may remember the day Lincoln was shot!
I have enjoyed sparring with you a little. Thank you.
You mentioned Noam Chomsky, my favorite living philosopher. Does he attract you or repel you?
Shit, I meant 4 score and 5, I divided 80 by 10 instead of 20.
I was a fan of Chomsky, until he revealed himself to be a Russophile, and that translates into Putin. He isn't the only one on the left though.
Putin is an enemy of humanity, a murderous tyrant, engaged in genocide of the Ukraine culture and people, he jails and murders political opponents, journalists and sends out assassins into foreign countries to kill threats and what he deems traitors,
Yet Chomsky and other "leftists" are on the side of Putin, there excuse calling America Imperialistic and accusing America of starting the war.
It is like the fictional Jesus "he" had me with the Sermon on the Mount, but lost me when he told his apostles to bring before him those that would not have me reign over them and slay them, and when "he" said,sell your cloak and buy a sword., and when "his" apostle Paul said that women should be silent and if they wish to learn anything ask their husband.
I nibble at pies, I eat a piece of pizza and pie, but don't eat the whole thing. It is the same with ideas, philosophers, ideas and ideologists.
Take Voltaire for instance. So much of what he says rings true and is quotable, but there is a lot of bullshit. Same with Nietsche.
I consider intellectuals, philosophers, ideolgists as a supermarket, walk the aisle pick and choose, and walk by the packaged poison.
Where are we, then? Are we staring at the abyss as it stares back at us? Or are we in Pangloss's best of all possible times in the best of all possible countries in the best of all possible worlds?
I can't say, but I know this. I was born and lived through the best possible times, unless a miracle happens, and I don't believe in miracles, it is all downhill from here. And although when young I wanted to live forever. I see it as a blessing that I am 85, and with my genes a prediction, that (not withstanding an accident some disease or a recurrence of my lung cancer, that I will live to see an 100 or more. And truthfully I am not sure I want that.
I know this, no one has the answers, in fact no one has any answers, existence is one long struggle. And some folk,like the billionaires, hedge fund investors, Wall Street Trades , Lawyers, military get off on that, the struggle is what invigorates them,like fire fighters they and others run towards struggle, conflict, danger not away from it.
Let's not envy the billionaires, hedge fund investors, Wall Street Traders, Lawyers, and military. When world agriculture collapses under the stress of global heating, they are going to discover that their money is not edible and their oil is not potable.
Actually, you may want to reconsider associating the military with your billionaires and other malefactors. As a former third-class quartermaster in the Navy, (1967-1969) I can testify that there is a lot more hard work and a lot less wallowing in privilege than you might think. (Once, partway back across the Atlantic, our power plant failed and we were wallowing in the swells for a day or so.)
Perhaps you are thinking of the big cost-plus suppliers of massively expensive planes, ships, etc.
Mr Farrar:
That's a lot to absorb! Thank you.
You have done us all a favor.
Now, the question is -- knowing how the world of journalism really works, where does the average citizen turn?
Are Daily KOS and Democracy Now! and al-Jazeera and The Guardian reliable alternatives? How about NPR and PBS?
And the next question -- What is the likelihood that any reliable alternatives will survive a second Trump presidency?
\Vince S
My sources of information since Trump came to disgrace our country have been the UK Guardian and the FT since I lived there 25 years and still go back and forth. Last year I started subscribing to Substacks such as this one plus 5 others. Stopped subscription to NYT and Washington Post which I thought were reliable.
Rusalka:
I'm still subscribing to the online versions of the New York Times and Washington Post and L A Progressive, as well as The Guardian. I had to give up The Economist, unfortunately. It's just too expensive.
Speaking of The Guardian . . . Look for First Dog on the Moon - The Guardian - Australia. You will probably enjoy meeting Brenda, the climate activist civil disobedience penguin.
Example:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/01/brenda-the-civil-disobedience-penguin-is-back-the-great-barrier-reef-isnt
\Vince S
The guardian is owned by an independent trust not by media moguls and in that sense is pretty independent.
Vincent, I have my problems with Al Jazeera,NPR, PBS, CBS Daily Kos and Democracy Now, as the news that they seek tp publish, and the emphasis and content are biased via the ideology and bias of the left (and in NPR's case corporations especially as retards fossil fuels and global warming)
Amy Goodma and Juan Gonzalez )Dmocracy Now)are old line Marxist, as is Katrina vanden Heuvell and her Husband.,, Stephen Cohen of the nation.
I am not a Marxist because Marx was not a socialist, he wasa proto libertarian, and I know that Gold as a standard of value leads to a perpetual depression.
Religions are ideologies, and Marxism is a religious ideology,one has to swallow, believe and pledge fealty to the tenants of the faith, it is as ,much a cult as Trumpism or any religion.
It is the same with libertarianism and free marketism
One is expected to swallow eveyrthing as gospel. Democracy Now, whose staff is overwhelmingly Muslim, calls it genoicde and the left is hit on the knee with a rubber mallet and reflexes like Pavolov's dog.
Noam Chomsky,Christ Hedges, all of them, the same.
I don't acquire by opinions, beliefs I have none, I arrive at my opinions by the use of critical thinking
Trump calls the media the enemy of the people, the FBI the same, and the left reacts and either defends the media and FBI or stays silent, and thus assents to Trump.
But the media is the enemy of the People as is the FBI, the media has constantly attacked and scapegoated liberlas, ridiculed global warming and made Trump President.
The FBI instead of investigating and warning congress of the threat from the right, spent and spends its time investigating the left, antifa and BLM among others. It is a right wing conservative organization, as is DOJ, and the cabinets that are suppose to regulate corporations have been captured by those regulations and nothing has changed under Biden.
I am not on the side of the leftist media, and I don't believe the corporate media, I get hundreds of news letters in my inbox daily, I read or skim all,and I have filters, I filter out bullshit, bias and propaganda.
I don't let anyone do my thinking for me, I don't believe, I think. And I got be jerked around emotionally by my short and curlies (pubic hair).
Mr Farrar:
I find your reply disappointing.
If it is an example of your critical thinking, please explain why there is little-to-no substance? No reference to any observable facts? All I see in it is labelling people according to their alleged adherence to various ideologies.
That does not, in my book, qualify as mature, critical argument.
Perhaps you would care to take a deep breath and try again.
\Vince S
Your opinion is yours Vincent. You see what you want to see. Should I perform according to your requirements I would have to write a book, or at least a 100 mage TL:DR monograph.
I have presented my readers digest version of why I don't subscribe to left wing and right wing orthodoxy, I do not have to justify it to you or anyone else, It stands on its own.
Mr Farrar:
Good!
That is actually a pretty satisfactory rejoinder.
The fact is that this medium - designed for short attention spans - is not really suitable for mature, critical argument. It is much more built for snappy reflexes.
Having reached a full three score and ten, plus a little, I find my reflexes aren't what they used to be!
\Vince S
Same here,having reached 8 score and 5, I've lived through 10 decades
That’s a pretty impressive age for sure.
My mistake I divided 80 by ten instead of 20, in a hurry, and didn't want to sound like Lincoln (too much)
Mr Farrar:
Why isn't your name in the Guiness Book of Phenomena? I should have heard of someone who is 165 years old. If my math is right, you may remember the day Lincoln was shot!
I have enjoyed sparring with you a little. Thank you.
You mentioned Noam Chomsky, my favorite living philosopher. Does he attract you or repel you?
\Vince S
Shit, I meant 4 score and 5, I divided 80 by 10 instead of 20.
I was a fan of Chomsky, until he revealed himself to be a Russophile, and that translates into Putin. He isn't the only one on the left though.
Putin is an enemy of humanity, a murderous tyrant, engaged in genocide of the Ukraine culture and people, he jails and murders political opponents, journalists and sends out assassins into foreign countries to kill threats and what he deems traitors,
Yet Chomsky and other "leftists" are on the side of Putin, there excuse calling America Imperialistic and accusing America of starting the war.
It is like the fictional Jesus "he" had me with the Sermon on the Mount, but lost me when he told his apostles to bring before him those that would not have me reign over them and slay them, and when "he" said,sell your cloak and buy a sword., and when "his" apostle Paul said that women should be silent and if they wish to learn anything ask their husband.
I nibble at pies, I eat a piece of pizza and pie, but don't eat the whole thing. It is the same with ideas, philosophers, ideas and ideologists.
Take Voltaire for instance. So much of what he says rings true and is quotable, but there is a lot of bullshit. Same with Nietsche.
I consider intellectuals, philosophers, ideolgists as a supermarket, walk the aisle pick and choose, and walk by the packaged poison.
Mr Farrar:
Where are we, then? Are we staring at the abyss as it stares back at us? Or are we in Pangloss's best of all possible times in the best of all possible countries in the best of all possible worlds?
Is it even possible to know?
\Vince S
I can't say, but I know this. I was born and lived through the best possible times, unless a miracle happens, and I don't believe in miracles, it is all downhill from here. And although when young I wanted to live forever. I see it as a blessing that I am 85, and with my genes a prediction, that (not withstanding an accident some disease or a recurrence of my lung cancer, that I will live to see an 100 or more. And truthfully I am not sure I want that.
I know this, no one has the answers, in fact no one has any answers, existence is one long struggle. And some folk,like the billionaires, hedge fund investors, Wall Street Trades , Lawyers, military get off on that, the struggle is what invigorates them,like fire fighters they and others run towards struggle, conflict, danger not away from it.
I was one of them, till I no longer could.
Mr Farrar:
Let's not envy the billionaires, hedge fund investors, Wall Street Traders, Lawyers, and military. When world agriculture collapses under the stress of global heating, they are going to discover that their money is not edible and their oil is not potable.
Actually, you may want to reconsider associating the military with your billionaires and other malefactors. As a former third-class quartermaster in the Navy, (1967-1969) I can testify that there is a lot more hard work and a lot less wallowing in privilege than you might think. (Once, partway back across the Atlantic, our power plant failed and we were wallowing in the swells for a day or so.)
Perhaps you are thinking of the big cost-plus suppliers of massively expensive planes, ships, etc.
\Vince S