Awareness

Monitoring News Bias

You want to know the “truth”, right? As such, surely you spread your reading across news sources of varying political perspectives, right? One can only hope your quest for truth is, indeed a quest and not self-administered salve to soothe intra-psychic fears about your future and the future well-being of those you hold dear. “Truth” is larger than that.

Should you venture into the wild, attempting to get differing perspectives on current events, how can you know if what you are reading is valid? If understanding the political leaning of any given site is important to you, check out Media Bias / Fact Check.

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Summer Plans for the Tea Man

We introduced Guisepe Spadafora, the Tea Man, several months ago. Guisepe and his traveling Tea Bus continue to spread hope, to lend a hand and to spur community organization in several western U.S. states. If you are not familiar with his work, take a look at his website or the videos and news coverage of his endeavor (which has been on-going for more than a decade!).

Guisepe is putting together his plans for summer 2017 and would like our input as noted below.

I want to know where we should visit, whom we should see, and where we should serve tea.
Second, I am looking for a place to call home base for the summer in Colorado. Where can Edna, myself, and Ally plug into that wants good company, a handy man, and a community organizer?
Thirdly, I am looking for a good project or two to plug into for a month or two. I would love to help fix or build anything, especially if it has to do with small-scale, mobile, off-grid, low-cost, DIY, eco-friendly, and reclaimed projects.

Guisepe is the kind of person who infuses the phrase “we, the people” with real, tangible meaning. Thank you, Guisepe!

If you really want to help us become Us, explore Guisepe’s story. Take it as a model of personal initiative in the name of us all. If nothing else, you might simply find the inspiration that sparks an idea of change for yourself.

A Win for Investigative Journalism

In a previous post, seekingGood highlighted the need for more investigative journalism. ProPublica has voiced a similar concern. As the first online site to receive the Pulitzer Prize— ProPublica is known for the depth and thoroughness of its stories. However, the articles posted by ProPublic can be challenging for the average reader. Enter Vox. As reported by ProPublica, Vox, a news and opinion website noted for its explanatory journalism, has teamed up with ProPublica to provide visual access to their material. This might help clarify the message of more complicate stories. Sharing resources and research, the ProPublica-Vox collaboration can only be a good thing for investigative journalism and, ultimately, for us.

Net Neutrality

Net neutrality—the right to access all Internet content freely without your Internet provider slowing down or even blocking content at its whim—is fundamental to our democracy. As communities across the United States fight to speak out on contentious political issues, the citizenry needs to know that government-subsidized monopolies like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon aren’t dictating which website we can access. ~Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

Net Neutrality - from Ars Technica.PNG

(Image from Ars Technica)

You have probably heard the flap about John Oliver and the FCC. While his comedic delivery might be entertaining for some, his recent video presents details of a potential threat to all Internet users. The threat involves a proposed alteration of current laws governing the behavior of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). If the change is enacted, net neutrality might be in danger.