Is Anyone Out There?

Assuming you're reading this, you may have noticed that I have posted some links over there --->
on the right hand side of my page. I figured that I'd take a bit of time to splain what those are.

1. The first one is CounterPunch, which is written by Alex Cockburn. I used to read this on a fairly regular basis. Not sure why I haven't kept up with it, but I will be reading it more often now. I like Mr. Cockburn, even though I don't always agree with him, because he says what is on his mind and will aggressively his statements with relative ease. Not many people can do that successfully. I think what sets him apart from many is that he tends to base his opinions on observations of fact. That's cool with me.

2. The second one is FAIR. The acronym stands for Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting. Kind of self-explanatory. In my view, fairness and accuracy is something that is sorely lacking from today's mainstream media. Unless, of course, you happen to be Keith Olbermann. Then you can pretty much do no wrong, but I am engaging in hero-worship there and I must digress. The mainstream media (you know, ABCCBSNBCCNNFOX) tend to get wrapped up in whatever agenda it is that they happen to be pushing at the time. Then there's that nasty habit they have of engaging in speculation. They like to say what they think happened before anyone actually knows what happened. That's a bit annoying. Oh, and let us not forget (or forgive) the fact that they spend way too much time discussing what the Paris Hilton's, Britney Spears' and Lindsay Lohan's of the world are doing. Honestly, why does anyone care about any of that garbage?

3. The third is Media Matters. Now I like them because they hold the mainstream media accountable for what they say. Anytime Bill O'Reilly opens his fat and slanderous mouth and vomits whatever the contents of his addled brain are and then tries to deny it, Media Matters is there with the evidence that he said it. I like this. Most people don't have the time to call snakes like him out on the carpet, much less take him to the proverbial woodshed. I, for one, am glad that Media Matters is there to do it for us. They archive everything and it's all there for the average person's perusal. FANTASTIC!!

4. The fourth link is Project Vote Smart. This is a great way to get a handle on how your Senator or Representative votes on the various bills that come before them. I have to warn you, though, Project Vote Smart is only good for the "whats" and not the "whys". In other words, they list what they voted on and how they voted on it, but they do not delve into why they voted the way they did. I encourage each of you to look into why your Senator or Representative voted yea or nay on a particular bill. It requires a little bit of effort on your part and for that I apologize. However, why not take a little time out of your day to actually take part in the democracy that you are lucky enough to live in? Trust me when I say that you will eventually be glad that you did. I compare Democracy and rights as muscles. If you don't exercise them, they will atrophy and wither.

5. The fifth link is Congress.org. Yes, that congress! This is where you can get all of the information on how to contact your Senators and Representatives. You can also contact the President, the Vice President, Supreme Court Justices and State and Local officials. All of the information is there. It also contains a good bit of the information that Project Vote Smart has. In addition to that, it also has a breakdown of what politician has accepted what contribution from what group, along with what committees they belong to. It's neat!

6. The sixth link is Common Dreams. It is more editorial than anything. However, there are a lot of interesting facts in there that are not found in the mainstream media in general. Great writers with great stories espousing their respected opinions!

7. The seventh, and final, link is to one of my personal and longtime favorites, What Really Happened. Now, I usually take what is on there with a grain of salt. I do this because many of the articles there are actually blog postings. This does not mean that they aren't true by any means. It just means that, when you read the articles, you have to go and research for yourself about the ideas contained within the article you are reading. For instance, many articles come from Alex Jones' InfoWars or PrisonPlanet. I like reading Alex Jones and I did enjoy his documentary TerrorStorm. However, I find him to be a tad sensationalist and bullish at times. That's not to say that he isn't telling the truth at all. That's just my way of saying that, should you read his articles, you should keep your mind focused, your eyes open and see through the overt sensationalism. As the old saying goes: "There's a grain of truth to every rumor".