Another Speech, Another question...

[Cygnus X1]

Thanks to all who participated last time, we got a ribbon for it.
Toastmasters International, an organization deicated to public speaking
has a somewhat fixed format, so I am a bit limited this time. I wanted to just wing it with an unplugged guitar, but it won't fly for this speech.




The topic is "Inspire Your Audience", so it has to be a call to action.
I don't do notes, they don't work for me, If I have it in my brain, I can go.
I'm not saying here exactly what the speech will be, as not to bias opinions.
The speech isn't necessarily what you think it is.

So here's the question:

If you vote in public elections, then where do you find your information?
Friends, neighbors, media, or what? What sources do you trust, or avoid?

Thanks in advance. My best friend in the company has decided to join, and he will be speaking, also. He's a natural, and has won an award literally every time he's opened his mouth. I hope we can pull this one off.

[thetroy]

Listen to everyone, trust no one. Everybody lies, especially politicians.

Not very inspiring though...

[cdwillis]

Personally I get my information from the internet. Most college age people probably do the same, plus the daily show or colbert report.

[straycat]

Two shows and two hacks that know shit about politics.Those two ass clowns read Q-cards.
DS and CR aren't worth wasting time watching.IMO

[Cygnus X1]

Good comedy has a grain of truth to it, though.
If a comedian spouts off something that sounds ingeneous,
do you stop and consider whether it's actually valid or not?

[marcus]

Two shows and two hacks that know shit about politics.Those two ass clowns read Q-cards.
DS and CR aren't worth wasting time watching.IMO

Whats your beef with these shows? They aren't comprehensive, sure, and they lean a little to the left, but I have always found them to be fairly astute politically and quite funny. They also don't exclusively jab at the right, they aim at the left as well. Do you just not like their viewpoint, or have you found the information to be inaccurate?

I get my news mostly from the internet. I don't trust most TV sources as they tend to have their priorities all messed up. It seems to be more about ratings than about disseminating important information. And newspapers, who wants to deal with all of that paper when you can get the same stuff online?

[marcus]

Good comedy has a grain of truth to it, though.
If a comedian spouts off something that sounds ingeneous,
do you stop and consider whether it's actually valid or not?

If you are talking about the Daily Show here, I think you are largely missing the point. You are right, it is not news. It is commentary mostly - and funny at that. This is largely the role that Limbaugh, et. al. play on the right. He is not news either. Except, Limbaugh is less funny, lies more, is fatter, and does better drugs Oh yeah, and John Stewart has people on his show whom he disagrees with.

[rjohnstone]

I stay away from network/cable news and political internet blogs when it comes to politics.
Too one sided and opinionated and they always mix in personal or corporate agenda when reporting.
I look at things like past voting records in the senate or house (depends on the candidate) and watch the debates live.
The news networks and bloggers like to focus on sound bites and ALWAYS take things out of context or try and tell you how you should interpret a comment so that it feeds their agenda and not what actually was meant by the statement.

Everybody in politics lies and ALL of them are being "compensated" in some manner by some corporation or lobbyist firm regardless of what they tell you... start with that premise and you will be OK.

[Cygnus X1]

If you are talking about the Daily Show here, I think you are largely missing the point. You are right, it is not news. It is commentary mostly - and funny at that. This is largely the role that Limbaugh, et. al. play on the right. He is not news either. Except, Limbaugh is less funny, lies more, is fatter, and does better drugs Oh yeah, and John Stewart has people on his show whom he disagrees with.

We can go ahead and flame the entertainers ad nauseum. It will soon devolve into pointless arguments.

So...if you are getting news from the Internet, what are your favorite, or most trusted sites?

[Spivonious]

If you vote in public elections, then where do you find your information?
Friends, neighbors, media, or what? What sources do you trust, or avoid?

For national elections it's the Internet, usually each candidate's website. For local elections it's usually the newspaper, since they print up a "Voter's Guide" a week before the election. There are usually a few issues I feel strongly about and I look for a candidate that closely matches my opinions. If I don't know anything about the candidates I usually vote for the new guy (non-incumbent) or the third party guy.

I pay attention to the news (all sources - TV, newspaper, Internet) but I try to only listen to the facts and not the editorials. My opinion is my own and I want to form it from facts, not other's opinions.

[SouthPlatteDemon]

For bond issues and changes to law I use the booklet that the League of Women Voters publishes.

For politicians, I vote according to the party line.

[atomic charvel guy]

politicians all lie? fukk, I'm destined to be one of the greats if elected. I'll fix shit up around here.

[marcus]

We can go ahead and flame the entertainers ad nauseum. It will soon devolve into pointless arguments.

So...if you are getting news from the Internet, what are your favorite, or most trusted sites?

C'mon Cygnus, I like pointless arguments As for which sites I go to for news: NY times, Washington Post, Slate, and Wall St. Journal all have excellent news sites. I also go to the San Jose Mercury News site as I find it to be pretty good, and I used to live there, so I can keep up with the goings on out in Silicon Valley. Yahoo is OK, but is mostly just an aggregator.

I also go to Salon for my fix of news slanted to the left as well. I wouldn't recomment Salon to you, though, it would probably make fire come out of your ears They do have a little commentary from the right, but mostly the left.

As for other media, I like BBC and NPR.

[Cygnus X1]

C'mon Cygnus, I like pointless arguments
I also go to Salon for my fix of news slanted to the left as well. I wouldn't recomment Salon to you, though, it would probably make fire come out of your ears They do have a little commentary from the right, but mostly the left.

As for other media, I like BBC and NPR.

You know me too well, about jumping into the fray...it's a precious gift to be free to debate.

You might be suprised what I listen to. watch, and read.

More, people...I'm speaking tomorrow ( I hope...I'm an alternate).
Thanks.

[atomic charvel guy]

Basically all that matters is how the Yankees, Rangers, Jets, and Knicks do, how good was the talent roaming the streets of funland, and am I getting smoked tonite, which is a likely yes indeed. Speak about that stuff and you'll be fine.