The concept intrigues me, and I suspect the overall quality of NewsTrust featured articles will be quite high. My intense interest in politics began during the era of U.S./Soviet citizen diplomacy (1982-88), and ever since I have found the drama of international relations fascinating. Full exposure to the Soviet reality demanded that I question my leftist roots; today my philosophy is more objectivist/libertarian.
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One need look no further than a collection of NewsTrust reviews to find substantive evidence of what this article calls ""motivated reasoning" — pursuing information that confirms what we already think and discarding the rest. I believe that overcoming the natural human tendency to engage in motivated reasoning should be central to NewsTrust's mission.
This story rambles too much to make its point. For the reader who knows nothing of Wikipedia (who might that be?), it could offer valuable insights. However it fails to ask the question in the tagline, "Is it the end of Wikipedia?" I was unable to locate discussion relevant to this question, and I was on the alert--perhaps I should study the article, but there lies my criticism.
I have been a Wikipedia editor for several years, a primary editor on perhaps ten articles and a contributor to sixty more.
I believe Ted Sorenson is correct in his assessment, however I am still not sure what we should do. My liberal friends were just as united in their hawkish desire to invade Afghanistan and depose the Taliban as they were united in their dovish aversion to invading Iraq and deposing Saddam Hussein. With perfect 20/20 hindsight, perhaps both military adventures would better have been avoided, but we do not have the luxury of returning to 2002-2003. When we abandoned Vietnam, a major ... More »
Sorenson ventures his opinion that the war in Afghanistan may be unwinnable. If he is correct, should our assumption match his, that unwinnable ... More »
An informative article that conveys both the character and experience of Matthew Hoh and the situation on the ground in Afghanistan. What the article does not provide is adequate context: Why did the United States, after 9/11, decide that invading Afghanistan and deposing the Taliban was so essential? And, if it was so essential eight years ago, why is leaving now a viable option?
Unlike most Americans I was not convinced that our invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11 was a good idea. There is no question that we needed ... More »
This report from Gallup is useful as a statistically-based snapshot of the current American ideological scene. Since the report comes directly from Gallup, its main weakness is that it lacks the perspective that multiple sourcing could provide. A big plus is that this poll analyzes the "Liberal," Moderate," and "Conservative" labels according to specific issues.
As always with such polls, I find it difficult to self-identify with any of the three groups. My conservative friends see me as suspiciously ... More »
A fresh look at what it might mean to live "off-the-grid" during the 21st century. With a vastly expanded natural gas supply (courtesy of 3-d seismic imaging and hydro-fracturing--please see link), in-home power plants, and advanced lithion-ion battery technology, the world's energy delivery systems are poised for a real revolution during the next decade.
A very "The New Yorker"-ish analysis of the fine balance Obama must strike in his criticism of Fox News Channel--probably not a good idea to let Fox's obstructionist jibes go completely unanswered, and certainly not a good idea to use Executive privilege in an attempt to muzzle Fox.
This two-minute video tells this very important story with admirable brevity. The drama that has unfolded during the past week, with the White House's all-out assault on FOX News, is unprecedented--with the possible exception of Nixon's assaults on The Washington Post. A heartening story of how the other news networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN) stood together with FOX to affirm freedom of the press in America.
A particularly disjointed clip from Glen Beck's Tuesday, October 20, 2009 show. Beck attempts to ride Samuel Adams' coattails, to ill effect. That a considerable portion of Obama's support derives from the uninformed is beyond dispute--yet the same can be said of the support George W. Bush enjoyed. This clip adds almost nothing of value, and I can see nothing to support Beck's assertion that "Obama wants to keep us dumb."
With long exposure I have become fairly inured to the faults of those who reside on the fringes, whether Left or Right. In fact this week I have ... More »
This story provides an overview of green energy development, with a special emphasis on China's growing role. It also highlights what is largely a vacuum in U.S. leadership in this area--something that could easily be rectified by a concerted effort from the Obama administration.
In many ways China (and, increasingly, India) have the advantage when it comes to implementing new technologies. That advantage has to do with the ... More »
How refreshing--"a one-page, easy-to-read list of fees." It is simply incomprehensible why we can't mandate that every hospital, every physician, every healthcare participant provide such a fee schedule to every prospective patient. Modern, effective healthcare at one-third the cost...yes! The Singaporeans must be on to something.
Recently a good friend collapsed without warning and was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital. She was given a blood transfusion, and she was ... More »
About the best article I have ever read regarding the likely impact of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Reporter Michael Gross goes to great lengths to get an accurate on-the-ground appraisal of the current military state of mind regarding gays.
It is way past time to get rid of D.A.D.T. This policy was outdated at its inception, and fifteen years later a more appropriate description might ... More »
Okay, unlike some others I believe Matt Taibbi's story, and I forgive him the story's lack of documentation--after all, how much documentation is possible when the agencies responsible for digging out the facts refuse to do so? The evidence of wrongdoing is so widespread that one tires of those who demand more proof to get the investigative ball rolling.
Right about the time the events described in this story came to light, I became aware that an enormous power struggle was shaping up that would ... More »
A remarkably myopic look at Fox News Channel. Commentator Jacob Weisberg assumes that Fox's rightward tilt results from a disingenuous desire to boost ratings, when it more likely springs from a philosophical perspective that is so foreign to Weisberg that he takes refuge in cynicism. What is surprising is that he employs the "un-American" mantra usually reserved by the Right.
Any study of the American press, from the late-eighteenth century forward, will reveal that ideologically-driven, "irresponsible" journalism is the ... More »
A good story describing a nationwide European healthcare system that is LESS socialized than medical care in the United States.
As usual "This American LIfe" brings fresh perspective to a contemporary problem--in this case the national debate on health care. Learned a great deal, and will never again look at the problem in quite the same way. I particularly enjoyed the fact that host Ira Glass completely transcends partisanship in this wonderful presentation.
Not quite a breaking story, but close. Author Evans-Pritchard reports on the latest developments regarding the impact of new technology on the world energy crisis--specifically enhanced extraction of methane gas from shale and methane beds. The author makes it clear that this new development will likely have far-reaching economic and political ramifications, especially in Russia since that nation has become dependent on high oil prices to fund its recent resurgence. This article ... More »
Remarkable that as staid an organization as the BBC is finally facing the truth about how murky the science is with respect to anthropogenic global warming. This article gives a fine overview of the facts, pro and con, which should confuse those who pretend certainty on this issue.
Eleven years is a long time not to see increases in global temperature, especially since the anthropogenic model predicts rises in temperature ... More »
Well...what can I say? Beck is a jerk, as Jon Stewart aptly demonstrates. The real shame, however, is that the public is so thirsty for the point of view Beck represents that they are willing to drink from shallow waters. If the mainstream were more willing to explore the issues Beck takes on, potential demogogues like Beck could never gain a foothold. Love Jon Stewart, but dismissing Beck as an irresponsible clown fails to address the fact that, more often than not, he ... More »
Jon Stewart's piece reminds me very much of the entertaining video collages that were often put together during Ronald Reagan's presidency. Reagan ... More »
A very clear description of the German health care system, which finds its roots in early sickness funds begun under Chancellor Bismark in 1883. A big surprise was that the Germans introduced their system to the Netherlands, Belgium, and France--under Hitler! Despite this inauspicious beginning, the German system of public insurance was so popular that each country decided independently to retain it when WWII ended. This article accurately describes the workings of the system and ... More »
I lived in Belgium during the early 1960s when the suffering Europeans had endured under Hitler was still very fresh in people's minds. Our school ... More »
This story omits key facts. In particular, the story omits data from Earth's more recent history--not 3,000,000 years ago or 122,000 years ago, but a mere 700 to 1,200 years ago. We know that much of the planet was warmer then, during our "Medieval Warming Period" and before the beginning of our "Little Ice Age." The average temperature, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, was approximately 1 degree Celsius warmer than it is today. Advocates of the theory that global warming ... More »
My own personal discipline is to access a wide variety of news sources, with a special emphasis on those sources that I find uncomfortable, even ... More »