I am not sure who said this, could be Will Rogers, Mark Twain or Harry Truman, but my father used to tell me there was a famous quote which went something like this "Everything I need to know I learned from the papers."
I like to read the newspaper online. Not that I am into the whole green movement, (I have not been convinced that there is such a thing as global warming) but I just can't seem to justify spending the money for something I am only going to read some of. With the online paper I can read just what is of interest you me and not have to throw away resources. I do buy my hometown newspaper because I do enjoy reading that for the local news.
Every once in awhile when I feel the need for a good laugh, I will read the comments people write to the stories in the online version of the paper. It proves to me time and time again that people tend to be somewhat stupid at times. They jump to conclusions, make wild assumptions and generally talk without knowing what the hell they are talking about. I know this is hard to believe but you don't get the full story when you read the newspaper. Especially today,
I think at one time newspapers were pretty unbiased, as were the TV newscasts. There were editorials, and news outlets would each have their own slants on the editorial pages, but by and large the "news" was, to quote Fox News "Fair and balanced." I don't think that is true today. Stories are slanted to which ever way the editors and publishers lean politically. I actually enjoy trying to guess which way a paper leans by dissecting a story.
Of course back in the "good old days" the news could have been and probably was just as slanted and biased as it is today but since the flow of information was so much less you really had no way of knowing. Today with this whole Internet thing you can research any subject and get tons of information on any one subject. But even with this you need to look at what you read with a jaundiced eye. (I have always wanted to use that phrase.) You have to look at who is writing what you are reading and remember that it is someones opinion and not necessarily fact. Like this blog, it is my opinion, I state that in the header. When I write something it is what I feel about the subject. I don't claim to be an authority on anything, I don't claim to know the whole truth and nothing but the truth, only what I believe to be true.
Why am I bringing this up? I have no idea and that is the truth. Just trying to write my weekly quota of entries.
