Fake News

Reference:

Fox News Interview With Fake Expert on Sweden Further Baffles Swedes

Trump's baffling 'Sweden' comment came from a Fox News segment

Trump’s Ban of Reporters at Press Briefing Isn’t Just Wrong, It’s Unconstitutional

What do Moderates read?

In this era of political partisan-ism, where does a moderate turn for the "truth". As an engineer I needed to research which ways the news skews.  Two summaries of media leaning provided me with an overview of the new news world:

1. SlothMark: A decent breakdown of all things real and fake news.
2. Pew Research Center: Media Sources: Distinct Favorites Emerge on the Left and Right

The first, by an imgur user named SlothMark, is skewed left as even I know that the New York Times and the Washington Post skew liberal.

The second, by the Pew Research Center, is an extensive analysis based on the audience attracted to the various sources. I'm especially intrigued by the graph showing the Ideological Profile of Each Source's Audience:

Looking at this graph, a few things occur to me:

1. No source is moderate.  (The WiseGeek provides incite to this phenomenon.)
2. The average respondent leans liberal.
3. The media that attracts liberal minded respondents is more evenly distributed along the ideological axis than the media that attracts conservative minded respondents. 

These observations led to looking at how respondents were determined to be liberal/conservative. The basis for this is their response to ten positions: Items in the Ideological Consistency Scale

Reviewing these ten either/or positions I find a kernel of truth on both sides. It also made me wonder where I would fall on the liberal/conservative axis.  Here is what I think about each of the positions:

1. I've worked in government positions and I know we were wasteful and inefficient but we also did a better job than people perceived (+/-). 
2. Ineffective and inefficient government regulation does more harm than good but government regulation is necessary to protect the public interest (+L). 
3. Some people do game the system, and it is not limited to poor people; poor people do have hard lives and we as a society should help them get unstuck from their hard lives, if possible (+/-). 
4. Our society, with government collaboration, should more effectively help the needy (+/-). 
5. People who can't get ahead today in the USA do have responsibility for themselves but they may be trapped by circumstances that they can't overcome by themselves. Racial discrimination is a reason why many people of color can't get ahead in some of our communities (+/-). 
6. Immigrants have always been both a burden and an asset for the USA, but in the long run they (we) have strengthened our country (+L).  [Without immigrants NONE of us would be Americans.]
7. The best way to ensure peace is through a combination of good diplomacy and military strength (+/-). 
8. Using the salaries of business executives as a barometer, some corporations make too much profit but in general many corporations make a fair and reasonable amount of profit.(+C)
9. Environmental laws and regulations are required for the longevity of a habitable environment. (+L)
10. Government should neither encourage nor discourage individual sexuality. (+/-)

Even though I see myself as moderate, I lean liberal. Based on this and the Ideological Profile of Each Source's Audience I'll explore:

• the Wall Street Journal
• Yahoo news
• Bloomberg
• CNN
• MSNBC

To experience both ends of the conservative/liberal spectrum, I'll scan:

• Breibart News
• Slate

Pied Piper

Inspiration:

In Congress, Republicans are quiet and meek as mice

I thought about doing mice caricatures, but I felt that would have been disrespectful for the Senate Republican leadership (plus I'm not real good at drawing mice : )

Senate Republican leadership positions:

• John Barrasso (Republican Policy Committee Chariman)
• Roy Blunt (Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference)
• Mitch McConnell (Majority Leader of the Senate)
• Cory Gardner (Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee)
• Mike Carpo (Chief Deputy Whip)

America First?

References:

What President Trump is supposed to be doing while he’s tweeting

The Lesson of Nordstrom: Do Business With the Trumps or Else

Revised Trust Allows Donald Trump to Withdraw Funds without Public Disclosure, by Rebecca Ballhaus, The Wall Street Journal, Apr 3, 2017

How the U.S. ethics chief took on Trump and became a reluctant Washington Hero, by David Montgomery, The Washington Post, Mar 30, 2017

National Security Council

National Security Council

References:

With National Security Council Shakeup, Steve Bannon Gets A Seat At The Table

The danger of Steve Bannon on the National Security Council

Bannon role on National Security Council under fire