Who to Believe? – News Sources – The Most-Biased and the Least-Biased – Part 1

Blog No 134

July 27, 2021

READING TIME: 12 Minutes

By Mack W. Borgen

Author, The Writings of a Lifetime (2021); Dead Serious and Lighthearted – The Memorable Words of Modern America (Three Volumes) (2018-2019); and The Relevance of Reason – The Hard Facts and Real Data about the State of Current America (2 Volumes) (2013). As Advertised in The New York Review of Books and Recipient of Eight National Book Awards

For a “cleaner,” non-email presentation of this and my other blogs, go to  https://www.mackwborgen.com/  and click the “Blogs” tab.

SOMETHING WELL SAID

“COVID-19 is now a vaccine preventable disease. Previous generations stepped up to control viruses such as polio, smallpox, chicken pox, and measles.

Now it is our turn to roll up our sleeves.”

Dr. Dan Brennan, MD, Noozhawk, Santa Barbara, CA, July 19, 2021.

QUICK FACTS

ALLOCATIONS OF WEALTH IN AMERICA 

THE TOP 1% OF AMERICANS  

NOW HAVE 16 TIMES MORE WEALTH  

THAN

THE BOTTOM 50% OF AMERICANS.

1%………………………………………………………………………………50%50%50%50%50%50%50%50%50%0%50%

Personal Note: Many years ago, I wrote my law school thesis on the possible advisability of a wealth tax. The basis for this proposal was that both personal and corporate income (and the income taxation thereon) can be easily deferred, re-characterized, and avoided. As a society, we can think about this for a couple more decades — or we can just ask Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates or examine the corporate tax returns of Amazon or a couple of thousand other wealthy individuals and highly profitable, non-tax-paying corporations.  It should also be noted that (except for the end of the 19th Century), there is now more wealth disparity than EVER before. In fact, the wealth disparity in America between the rich and the middle and lower income families has been increasing every year since the early 1980s.     

• CORPORATE TAXES

In the 1950s, the corporate share of federal tax revenues was 35%

Today, it is 7%.

Globalism, political influence, and beneficial tax legislation work.

For some.

–

 NATIONAL COMMUNITY, MEDIA BIAS, AND WHO TO BELIEVE

Part I

Most Americans accept themselves as members of some community. Hopefully, most Americans also still view themselves as a member of society itself. Usually without loud objection, we accept – even if we don’t always embrace — the theory of “social contract” which was espoused centuries ago by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Under the theory of social contract, we implicitly agree with each other to cooperate and participate for the betterment and protection of society.

I have written often before about the concepts of society and the need for community. Partly, a sense of community is necessary merely because there is no realistic alternative. For example, try as one may, wealthy Americans cannot hide forever behind their gates or escape to the Hamptons. Even though Bezos and Branson can travel up to space for a few moments, they then have to come back. And I recognize that it is at least theoretically possible to go “off the grid.” In fact, there are a number of people in my home state of Montana who try to do so. But few of them succeed. Most remain “off the grid” for only about a year – or, more precisely, for only one winter. Deep snow, boring food, no Internet, and the long cold nights have a way of bringing people “home.” But that is a story for another time.

Thus, ideally, it would be best if we, at least partly, view ourselves as “Americans” — members of our national community. However, it seems that more Americans are narrowing their definition of community. More Americans view “their community” to include only those who live nearby; those who lead a similar lifestyle; those who are members of a group or organization; or those who hold similar political or religious beliefs or have similar religious, racial or ethnic identities, or gender orientations. More and more, it is the divisions amongst us which seem to prevail. More and more, it is the divisions which drive our lives — and blur our vision.

Because of this splintering of our national community, the very definition of “American society” is becoming more elusive. It is obvious that this author believes in – and openly promotes when given the opportunity – both the advisability and the necessity of our national community. Our highways connect us. Our economies are intertwined. Our futures are shared. Our “national” defense is relied upon by all of us. And neither guns, decency, commerce, Covid, nor climate change recognize state lines or the other supposed boundaries of our divided nation.

Thus, it is suggested that our national community be recognized and that some semblance of social contract be maintained. And although America has not (yet) adopted any form of mandatory public service, it would be desirable for Americans to recognize — even amidst the tugs and pulls of our daily lives – some of the obligations of our social contract. One of those obligations is to at least try to keep informed. 

But that has become horrendously difficult in Modern America. Even the definition of “media” is elusive. The boundaries between “news,” “opinion,” and “commentary” are hard to find. Too often, words are driven by agenda. Stories are aired, posted, or printed for a purpose. And in the hustle and scuttle, “truth” gets buried or lost — oftentimes, intentionally so.

It is both tragic and consequential that the “he said / she said” dramas of television now dominate our news cycles. Too often, “says who” is the dismissive response to even the above-the-fold headlines of our newspapers. But why should good and decent Americans have to be buried under de facto propaganda? Why are we left to fight off clickbait headlines? Why is it our job to decipher the subtle non-difference between “misinformation” and “disinformation?”

And so, in the forthcoming Part II of this blog, this author is going to try to list — once and for all – the most responsible and truthful news sources. I also will identify the “Most Biased” and “Least Biased” news sources – Internet, television, newspapers, and magazines. My summary will be based upon numerous and cited studies, sources, and writers. Give me luck. I will try.

For all of us, it is (high) time we know where to look and whom to believe.

PLEASE –  ORDER COPIES OF MY BOOKS

Eight National Book Awards

Best Nonfiction Books of the Year in Three Separate Categories! 

— U.S. History, Current Events, and Reference —  

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