Where I Get My News

Some of you may be wondering how I keep track of all these issues I write such hard hitting commentary on. With the internet, of course, there's a seemingly never ending number of news sites and blogs that cover any given issue. I check some news sources every day, when possible, first thing each morning.

To start with, Rational Review News Digest, is in my e- mail inbox when I first check it in the morning although I usually save it for reading after I check my other news sites. RRND is a digest of about half news and half commentary that goes out Monday thru Friday, Monday usually being an online only edition. A title with a brief synopsis of each news item is included and articles can be from any place in the world and just about any source. RRND is free although they make occasional fund raising pitches.

Next, after checking my other e-mail, I go online and the first news stop is the CNN web site to check on any breaking news or other items of interest. I also take time to check out their daily opinion poll although I think it somewhat silly they often ask a complex question and only offer two choices for answers.

Then, off to World Net Daily, to see what they have in news and commentary. This site used to have a bit of a Libertarian bent to it and often featured comments by Harry Browne and others. They still do but they often aren't headlined items anymore. Seems more and more that this site is moving further toward the Religous Right side of things, which isn't to say that Libertarians don't share common issues with the Religous Right as we do with all other sides of the political spectrum. Still, some articles and commentary are of interest to me.

Next stop for commentary is Lew Rockwell's web site. This site updates Monday thru Saturday and is mostly commentary although an occasional news item is included. New items are, strangely for a political site, usually about food or archeology. Still, I often find those interesting as well. I've been disappointed with the content the last few weeks as some of the commentary I haven't found of much interest but he regularly features some of my favorite commentators such as Anthony Gregory, Charley Reese or Harry Browne, just to name a few.

Next, Anti War.com. This site, updated seven days a week, has news and commentary from just about every newspaper in the world and covers the entire globe. It was a real breath of fresh air during the beginning of Gulf War 2 when the U.S. media were mostly just an outlet for the White House and Pentagon. You find much more info on world events when you can look at news from other countries. Not all news articles are necessarily "anti war", either, or even about war. News on the War on Terror and Patriot Act and such are often included.

After that, I check my bookmarked blogs and then go eat breakfast while reading the hard copy version of the Times Standard. If nothing else, I read the TS if only to see what anyone else might be saying on the editorial page. I also use it to find subjects to comment on in this blog.

Back to the computer, I check the inbox and find the daily news and opinion digest from the Sacramento Bee. This is nice cause I often find news or opinion that my other news sites might not have been picked up from the Bee. Click on the link and you go to the story, if you're interested. The Bee's Dan Weintraub is one of my favorite commentators on state issues. He also started a blog, recently, that I check at least once a day. It has news/ commentary flashes that are often quite insightful.

Then I have a few news sites bookmarked I check in the same order: CalNews.com has a collection of state and national news and opinion and I go there every morning. Calnews definitely hails from a conservative point of view but, news is news. Occasionaly, they might have a CalNews.com editorial but mostly news and commentary is gleaned from other papers. My only complaint is they often have seven or eight articles on some breaking issue, like some political scandal, from a bunch of different papers when one or two might suffice.

The Eureka Reporter is next, to see if they covered anything the Times Standard didn't. They seem to only update their page every two or three days, though. Maybe that's cause they only publish their hard copy three days a week? Not a lot of news of interest to me, on the web page, but the local letters and other commentary is often interesting and might give me something to write about here.

I usually just check the letters to the editor section of the Ukiah Daily Journal. They don't seem to update their page often so I don't spend much time on that site.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat does update their page regularly, although every now and then I'll find only the prior day's news and commentary. I usually check their headline news and then any editorials I find interesting and then read the letters to the editor.

Last, of the daily regular stops, is the San Francisco Chronicle. I check their headlines and then the editorial page, read the letters to the editor and I'm done with my morning news except for the Rational Review News Digest still waiting in my inbox. Of course, there's a few other news digests I receive, either daily or weekly, but I'll comment on them some other time.