How Has the News Changed Your Daily Life?

[Yppej]

I used to use tap water for boiling food, but ever since the Flint water crisis I use bottled water.

How has the news influenced your daily actions?

[BikingLady]

I have a good though not the best supply of long shelf life foods and water stored, need more.

[Chicken lady]

For a while I was writing and calling my congressional representatives - until it became clear that one was doing just fine without me, one was never going to respond in any way, and one was going to continue to send me form letters that clearly indicated he had heard/read nothing I had to say. (Ie me:“please don’t set fires.” response: “thank you for your concern about fires. My goal is to serve you. Be assured I am setting them as fast as I can.”)

mostly the news news just frustrates me. I’m teaching a class about agriculture. In a normal world I would have my students listen to the president’s speech to the American farm bureau and discuss it. I watched the speech and realized I can’t do that.

[Williamsmith]

For a while I was writing and calling my congressional representatives - until it became clear that one was doing just fine without me, one was never going to respond in any way, and one was going to continue to send me form letters that clearly indicated he had heard/read nothing I had to say. (Ie me:“please don’t set fires.” response: “thank you for your concern about fires. My goal is to serve you. Be assured I am setting them as fast as I can.”)

mostly the news news just frustrates me. I’m teaching a class about agriculture. In a normal world I would have my students listen to the president’s speech to the American farm bureau and discuss it. I watched the speech and realized I can’t do that.

What about the speech led you to that conclusion?

[Chicken lady]

There are parts of it that are off topic in ways that my students are not mature enough to handle well. Too much class time and energy would end up focused on redirecting them to the pertinate parts and reminding them of the nature of civil debate. A situation which reflects current news coverage and the behavior of their elders.

so, actually I COULD do that, but only if I was willing to focus the class more on civics and debate and less on the agriculture part. The point of my class is not “what do you think about these policies?” It’s “what effect do you think these policies are likely to have and what behavioral responses are likely/reasonable for farmers”

ie, we don’t argue about crop subsidies, we look at the effect they have on price and acreage planted.

[catherine]

I upped my efforts to move to a place with less exposure to political fallout, i.e., nuclear war, riots. New Jersey is a probable candidate for Ground Zero in either an international or domestic attack.

This may sound drastic, but it was one of the factors in my decision to move this year.

[Lainey]

... (Ie me:“please don’t set fires.” response: “thank you for your concern about fires. My goal is to serve you. Be assured I am setting them as fast as I can.”)


Can definitely relate. But with our senators McCain and Flake both out of the picture soon, we might get a chance at normalcy here in AZ.

Although I do think it's an example of how politicians in particular can easily live in a bubble and only hear the feedback from their satisfied constituents. Or maybe their campaign donors are the only constituents they need to satisfy, hard to tell sometimes. Discouraging for sure.

[Lainey]

I upped my efforts to move to a place with less exposure to political fallout, i.e., nuclear war, riots. New Jersey is a probable candidate for Ground Zero in either an international or domestic attack.

This may sound drastic, but it was one of the factors in my decision to move this year.

Can relate to this too. My SO has property in rural PA. That's an area that I've had in the back of my mind as far as a possible re-location if the heat and drought situation here in the Southwest escalates beyond normal livability - maybe 1 or 2 more generations? There's already a small basic cabin and larger barn on it, so it would be doable.

[LDAHL]

I haven't been driven to doomsday prepping by the news. But I will change my route when they warn me about traffic jams.

[Float On]

Pretty much turned it off. I feel better.

[razz]

I chose to not have TV at all. No regrets at all. While I have a FB account, I only use it to access information from sites that I choose.

I choose what I want to watch and read online and carefully choose my sources making sure that I have diversity each day.

[Williamsmith]

I chose to not have TV at all. No regrets at all. While I have a FB account, I only use it to access information from sites that I choose.

I choose what I want to watch and read online and carefully choose my sources making sure that I have diversity each day.

Do you feel you are conscious of the effort social media sites like FB make to filter your sources, direct information that the algorithm thinks you are interested in or wants you to know? Al Gores Internet is a vast universe of information, much of it you never see because your search engines will not direct you there......unless you purposefully negotiate around the firewall. Does this sound too big brotherish?

[Williamsmith]

There are parts of it that are off topic in ways that my students are not mature enough to handle well. Too much class time and energy would end up focused on redirecting them to the pertinate parts and reminding them of the nature of civil debate. A situation which reflects current news coverage and the behavior of their elders.

so, actually I COULD do that, but only if I was willing to focus the class more on civics and debate and less on the agriculture part. The point of my class is not “what do you think about these policies?” It’s “what effect do you think these policies are likely to have and what behavioral responses are likely/reasonable for farmers”

ie, we don’t argue about crop subsidies, we look at the effect they have on price and acreage planted.

Thank you for that thoughtful response. I was an Agriculture major at Penn State and I must say that because of federal policies and subsidies...politics and agriculture are branches of the same tree. Sit in any dinner in rural America and one realizes conversation always circles back to Washington DC. I wish young people could be convinced that a small farm is a viable vocational pursuit and that chasing the large agribusiness is fraught with too many worries and concerns. Well, there has always been a few organic community farmers but I secretly harbor fantasies of WalMarts and big box groceries vanishing along with the global food product market.

But what was this thread about again? Oh, the fake news.

[Float On]

I wish young people could be convinced that a small farm is a viable vocational pursuit and that chasing the large agribusiness is fraught with too many worries and concerns.

There seems to have been a trend that direction don't you think? I can't tell you the number of small scale farming videos I've watched on youtube and I'm always seeing blogs, magazine articles, interviews with "the new small farmer". I love reading about how much produce can be farmed small scale. Farmers Markets are continuing to grow and the vendors in that 28-42 age range has seem to grown as well. Maybe this should be a different thread since it's not News but I find it more interesting than anything coming out of our national or state news (Missouri) right now. Our 120 acre farm was always considered small-scale and dad always had a full time job in addition to the farm jobs but it had room for hay fields, woods for personal timber and hunting, row crops (we rotated soybean, corn, etc), Christmas tree farm, food plots, personal garden, horses, dogs (raised hunting beagles), cattle (usually a heard of 40), we did sheep for a while (stupid), we did turkeys, we raised pheasants for conservation department. I currently have a huge interest in raising quail either on my own half acre or if I moved back to the farm. Currently the farm is mostly in various conservation programs such as restoring prairie grasses.

[frugal-one]

I haven't been driven to doomsday prepping by the news. But I will change my route when they warn me about traffic jams.

Small time thinking! Only worried about what affects you now and directly! Unfortunately, there are many others like this!

[frugal-one]

In response to OP... I read three articles yesterday that rankled big time. I will be happy when this administration is gone! Everything now is for the benefit of big business and the small guy can go to hell. One of the articles was ... In WI, wolves are on the endangered species list and WI doesn't plan on changing the law BUT have decided not to enforce it in any way. So poachers or worse can do what they want. Another was that they are going to allow strip mining .... basically getting rid of all regulations. WTH I should do as others are and quit paying attention to the madness! The other article was how they are talking about doing away with minimum wages, overtime provisions, etc. We are going back to 1937 when companies could do what they wanted! Disgusting IMO.

[Williamsmith]

There seems to have been a trend that direction don't you think? I can't tell you the number of small scale farming videos I've watched on youtube and I'm always seeing blogs, magazine articles, interviews with "the new small farmer". I love reading about how much produce can be farmed small scale. Farmers Markets are continuing to grow and the vendors in that 28-42 age range has seem to grown as well. Maybe this should be a different thread since it's not News but I find it more interesting than anything coming out of our national or state news (Missouri) right now.

It must be the community I live in that is really aging. Our farmers markets are populated by retirees from the railroad, state and municipal government and part time workers who subsidize their own health care in order to farm. However, I do see your point and think possibly this is a regional matter as I recall visiting Asheville, North Carolina and being impressed with the young “back to nature” crowd buzzing around. As well as the older yippies that sell their art in quaint shops and outlets. I’m an amalgamation of 60s hippie and 80s conservatism, which causes me some profound confusion at times.

[Williamsmith]

In response to OP... I read three articles yesterday that rankled big time. I will be happy when this administration is gone! Everything now is for the benefit of big business and the small guy can go to hell. One of the articles was ... In WI, wolves are on the endangered species list and WI doesn't plan on changing the law BUT have decided not to enforce it in any way. So poachers or worse can do what they want. Another was that they are going to allow strip mining .... basically getting rid of all regulations. WTH I should do as others are and quit paying attention to the madness!

Isn’t it really the over abundance of “information” which drives you to frustration, never mind sorting out the validity of it. I prefer to sit at the local breakfast joint and discuss the reasons why the County Fair lost money last year than to fret about the last wolf roaming WI. Not that it isn’t a concern.....it is just I can’t possibly process all concerns. We must be reasonable in our consumption of all things.....including news.

[ApatheticNoMore]

It has made me hopeless about life even beyond a degree that any of my upbringing and my circumstances would have warranted (and neither are great). I mostly can't think of anything much good about it.

[razz]

Do you feel you are conscious of the effort social media sites like FB make to filter your sources, direct information that the algorithm thinks you are interested in or wants you to know? Al Gores Internet is a vast universe of information, much of it you never see because your search engines will not direct you there......unless you purposefully negotiate around the firewall. Does this sound too big brotherish?

Come come, WS, is your bias that bad. Talk about fakes news and misinformation! I had never heard the phrase "Al Gore's internet" so checked with Snopes since I try really hard to fact check statement and they state: FALSE

"Despite the multitudinous derisive references to the supposed quote that continue to be proffered even today, former U.S. vice president
Al Gore never claimed that he “invented” the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way. The legend arose from critics and pundits who plucked a relatively credible statement Gore made during the course of an interview, altered its wording, and stripped it of context to make it seem a ridiculously self-serving falsehood."

That said, i only use FB to check a few sites who have a FB page for notifications about coming events about once every 3 months or so. Yes, there is control by many striving to tell me how to think. There is a lot of knowledge out there in the rest of the world beyond FB. This post sounds a little snarky to me but i really am perturbed with 'false derisive' comments.

[Chicken lady]

Williamsmith, I don’t know your age, but did you know a Dr. Clinch?

[Williamsmith]

I was there from 1977-1979......my advisor taught apiculture. I took the beekeeping class but I regret to say my memory of my time there is more than a bit foggy. I do not recall Dr. Clinch.

[Chicken lady]

He was long gone. My husband’s grandfather. Also cows.

[Alan]

"Despite the multitudinous derisive references to the supposed quote that continue to be proffered even today, former U.S. vice president
Al Gore never claimed that he “invented” the Internet, nor did he say anything that could reasonably be interpreted that way.
"During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet." ~ Al Gore, 1999

I think Snopes is splitting hairs on this one.

[Williamsmith]

I’m sorry, did I say “invented”? No, but if I had said anything it would have been “created” like Al did. And I do agree with Snopes.....I have always found Al Gore to be “relatively credible”. A tip of my tinfoil hat to you Razz. Keep the faith.

[Williamsmith]

He was long gone. My husband’s grandfather. Also cows.

Im sure he was an interesting and a fine man!

[catherine]

I was an Agriculture major at Penn State and I must say that because of federal policies and subsidies...politics and agriculture are branches of the same tree. ...I wish young people could be convinced that a small farm is a viable vocational pursuit and that chasing the large agribusiness is fraught with too many worries and concerns.

I have hope. I personally see more young people, at least in my circles, interested in farming. My CSA/Permaculture/Wellness Center that I've been a part of for 4 years was created by a handful of really bright young Rutgers grads. One of my pet causes is NOFA (https://nofanj.org), which supports the training of young farmers. I agree with Williamsmith that the more we can "grow" the small young farmer, the better off we'll all be.

[frugal-one]

Small time thinking! Only worried about what affects you now and directly! Unfortunately, there are many others like this!


Isn’t it really the over abundance of “information” which drives you to frustration, never mind sorting out the validity of it. I prefer to sit at the local breakfast joint and discuss the reasons why the County Fair lost money last year than to fret about the last wolf roaming WI. Not that it isn’t a concern.....it is just I can’t possibly process all concerns. We must be reasonable in our consumption of all things.....including news.

You both are of the same mind. If everyone thought like this nothing would ever get done.

[rosarugosa]

I do actually read my local weekly paper, and I would say my news consumption aligns with the ideas in this recent post on Get Rich Slowly about Circle of Concern vs. Circle of Control. I am primarily concerned with matter that affect me and that I might reasonably be able to control or impact. I hear a lot of people expressing great angst about what is going on in the world, but not necessarily taking any action, so what is the point?

http://www.getrichslowly.org/2018/01/09/becoming-proactive/

[goldensmom]

How has the news influenced your daily actions?

The news not at all but weather forecasts may determine if I go to town or not.

[ToomuchStuff]

Lets see. There was fear that we would have issues with the year 2000. So I kept an extra paycheck out in cash, so I didn't have to deal with crowds of packed idiots, as the banking system knows what panic and fear can do to an economy.
I've avoided going through DUI checkpoints, because I don't drink and have multiple ways I could drive.
I've made sure to have a snow shovel and salt ready.

I think this is all pretty common stuff that is the most useful of any news stuff.

[iris lilies]

For three days I have heard bits and pieces about someone having sex with his hairdresser. i just figured hunh oh, whch local politican has been forced out of the closet? I didn't listen to an actual newscast on the radio and have not looked at the newspaper for 3 days( where this is headline news.)

Finally, yesterday, I listened to a local radio newscasts in full. Ooops! Our governor had an affair just two years ago, before he was in politics but while he was gearing up to run. Of course this is huge news for most of America because, well, it is about penises and their recreational activities, always scintillating. There are small details that are more disturbing than where the penis was recreating. But the woman involved does not wish to participate in the media take down and without her, I dont see how criminal charges can be a serious threat. But we shall see.

Floaton, continue on in your news blackout, you arent missing anything in this gubanatorial shendig.