- Computer technical help
DISCLAIMER: It is assumed that users are familiar with the
operating system they are using and comfortable with making the
suggested changes. I will not be held responsible if changes you make
cause a system failure.
- Annoyances.org.
Readers exchange problems and solutions for dealing with annoyances
(freeze-ups, sluggish performance, losing Internet connection) that pop
up for users of the various editions of the Windows (95/98/Me/XP)
operating system. I sought help here when my Windows 98 computer froze
up at the Windows start up screen. 7/15/05
- Ask Me For Help.
If you have a computer problem, try writing to Ask Me For Help and get
the free advice of other computer users, hopefully more expert than you
are. 7/15/05
- Backup using Windows XP accessory program. If Windows XP
was installed using the default settings, you probably do not have the
Windows backup program installed on your computer. It is essential that
you a good backup program to be sure to keep an extra, secure copy of
your documents in case your harddrive breaks down. For
information from Microsoft on how to get their backup program.
You'll need the installation CDs for Windows XP that hopefully came
with your computer. 12/15/06
- Beginners Guides: 99 Performance Tips for Windows XP. From PC
Stats.5/17/07
- BrightHouse
or Road Runner in Tampa Bay Florida -- get help on how to get your
email when you are away from home and don't have access to your own
computer, plus the answers to many more questions. I found especially
helpful how to set-up
your mail server using Outlook. Again, this only applies to
BrightHouse (RoadRunner) users in Tampa Bay, Florida. Can use live
chat for help. 12/14/06
- Buying a new computer -- advice.
- CD
drive tray does not open. I had this problem with my HP
Pavilion a1230n desktop computer. A CD got stuck in the drive and
the drive tray would not open no matter how often I pushed the eject
button. I freed the drive by using a paperclip as described at this HP
site. Be sure your computer power cord is unplugged before you try
this. I disclaim any responsibility if you ruin your CD drive or cause
any other problems. But what I did was follow the directions exactly in
the HP site with good results. If you have an HP
Desktop, this is one site you should know to solve your computer
problems. 12/14/06
- Clear-type.
Make the type easier to read on your laptop LCD monitor. For more
information from Microsoft
on Clear-type. 3/13/05
- CCleaner. According
to April 2007, page 35 of Maximum PC magazine, the free program
CCleaner "dumps Windows XP's useless detritus and clears out" other
unnecessary files. This program aims to rid your computer of all the
junk files that slow it down. 3/6/07
- Computer
Geeks.Com. Computer experts and those just learning ask for help
and share answers and tips attempting to solve computer problems. Special help
in removing spyware and viruses. 5/18/06
- Defrag and/or scandisk won't run. Try the advice in this
thorough article from PC Service Tips.
5/17/07 According to this next article, Defrag doesn't do anything of
significance to speed up modern computers. 23 Ways To Speed WinXP
Without Defrag 5/18/07
- Dell tells how to protect your computer from
hackers, spyware and viruses. Dell also gives you steps you can take to speed up your computer that seems to be running
so much slower than it did when you first got it. Advice here is
helpful for all computer owners, not just those who own Dell computers.
Similar information available from GetNetWise.
6/25/05
- Earth Village.
This is one site aimed at only those who are advanced computer users.
"...tech-themed website dedicated to providing its readers with the
latest tech news, product reviews, and bargains in a safe and friendly
online environment." Computer technies interested in sharing their
expertise with one another and the public offer help to enable you to
fix some of the problems on your computer. 6/25/05
- Kim Komando, radio
talk show host and columnists, departs her computer expertise on her
popular website. Includes links to her past columns. I especially like
Kim's computer tips. 3/20/09
- Macintosh
(Apple) computer club in Tampa Bay, Florida. 4/13/05
- Microsoft
Communities. People who use Microsoft products share information on
various topics. 5/26/06
- Outlook. If you use Microsoft's Outlook as your email
program, you should be concerned that if your harddrive fails, then you
could lose all the email messages you have received. This Microsoft
site tells you how
to make a back up copy of these saved email message. 4/28/06
- PCYouBuy offers Computer
tips and help. 3/13/05
- Power surges can damage your computer. PC
World magazine explains how to protect your computer. 9/7/05
- Printer problems? I kept getting
paper jams in my Dell inkjet printer. I got great advice from the site Fix Your Printer. The
advise told me to turn my printer upside down and shake it, and there
would be a good chance something would fall out that was blocking the
flow of the paper. I did just that -- and a ball point pen fell out. I
have no idea how it got there. Well, this site helped me with my
printer problem and maybe it can help you, too. The advice, by the way,
was free.5/15/09
- Reinstalling
Windows 98 or 95. Some of us still have older computers running
either Windows 95 or 98. Inevitably, when a computer gets older, it's
bound to run into problems that can only be fixed by reinstalling the
operating systems. This website gives you step by step instructions for
doing just that.
- Safe
Mode. Sometimes when your computer is running very slowly, the
problem may be that too many programs are automatically starting every
time you boot up (start) your computer. You might try running your
computer in Safe Mode which disables many of the programs that may be
slowing down your computer. If in Safe Mode, your computer continues to
run very slowly, than it's likely your problem does not result from too
many programs running at Start Up. 5/16/05
- Scandisk for Windows XP? Scandisk is not available for
Windows XP. Microsoft reports " you can use the Error-Checking tool in
Windows XP to check the integrity of your hard disk." See (1),
(2)
5/26/06
- Solutions
column by John Torro in the St. Pete Times. Weekly columns on
computer problems.11/4/2010
- Speeding
up your computer. Microsoft offers helps for making your sluggish
computer get some renewed energy. 7/10/05
- Spyware
removal programs reviewed. C|Net's Download.Com reviews ten popular
programs for removing spyware from your computer. I use three spyware
removal programs: Trend Micro Anti-Spyware, which I paid for, and two
free programs, Spybot -- Search & Destroy and Adaware SE Personal.
I was surprised to find that Download.com rated the two free programs
higher than the one I paid for. Download.Com provides links to all ten
of the anti-spyware programs reviewed. Adaware was rated best, Spybot
eighth, and Trend ninth. I try to cover all the bases by using all
three of these programs just about every week, and invariably, each
program discovers spyware not detected by the others.
Before running these Spyware removal programs, I am always certain to
use Windows XP's restore program (Start/All Programs/Accessories/System
Tools/System Restore) because there is always the possibility that I
may remove files identified as Spyware that are actually needed in
running important programs on my computer. For some cautions about
removing spyware, see the University
of Virginia.
For a good article on Spyware, see Alan Zisman.
5/10/06
- St. Petersburg Times (FL) provides computer help and
information from its technology editor Dave Gussow. The St.
Pete Times also has a blog
giving the weekly tech news, links, and comments. 2/15/06
- Start-up files. If you suspect that your computer may be
running slow because many unnecessary programs are automatically
starting up when you turn on your computer, you can see what these
start up program files are by clicking on Start/Run and then type in msconfig
in the open slot. Click OK. Before you select
any unknown files to disable in the System Configuration Start Up tab,
check out what the file is used for at one or all of these sites. You
don't want to end up disabling a start-up program that will cause
Windows to crash or in some other way foul up your system: SystemInfo Answers
that work 3/3/07
- System
Configuration Utility. In addition to the Earth
Village site above, you can also find out how to use the System
Configuration Utility here, but be sure to only attempt to use this
program if you are an expert computer user. Misuse can do more harm
than good. However, if your computer has started running so slowly, it
may be because you have unwanted programs running in the background,
using up much of your computer's resources. If you're an expert, you
can use this program to disable these unwanted programs from running in
the background every time you start your computer.
- Sometimes one or more of these automatic running programs
may slow down your computer and make it difficult for you to run the scandisk and defrag programs.
For more information on the System Configuration Utility, see Microsoft's
site. 5/16/05
- Tampa Bay Computer Society.
Meets monthly in Clearwater, FL. Offers free technical help to its
members. Even fixes computers without charge for members. Annual dues
$30. 3/13/05
- TechSupportGuy. Ten
years ago a fourteen year old computer nerd founded this website to
supply answers to all the computer questions he was getting from
friends and relatives. Now he continues to offer free advice. 3/1/09
- Toejumper.
Windows 95/98, XP, tips for speeding up your sluggish computer.
Troubleshooting start up problems. Directions for getting access to the
list of programs that automatically start up when you first turn on
your computer, and shows you how to remove front he start up list that
programs that may dragging your computer down. I found that even after
I had uninstalled McAfee's antivirus program, pieces of it still
remained in Start Up, causing my Windows 98 computer to keep the Mouse
icon-hour glass running forever. 7/9/05
- Tutorials on basics of using the computer, email, internet
exploration, and online shopping. From
the Buffalo and Erie County (NY) libraries. 4/12/05
- Virus removal. You just got the bad news that you have a
virus on your computer. Try following these steps for removing a virus
-- from North
Carolina Wesleyan College. 12/21/06
- Windows Support Center
by Jim Eshelman. Information on using and trouble shooting Windows
95/98 through Windows XP. 7/14/05
- American Civil Liberties
Union. Claims to fight to preserve individual rights guaranteed by
our Constitution and Bill of Rights. 9/15/05
- American
Spectator. Seems like a good source of political debate, but I just
came across this site and have not yet had the chance to examine it
closely. Wikipedia
does call the American Spectator an "conservative U.S. monthly magazine
covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and
published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation." 3/24/2012
- American Thinker.
From the site's About page: "The American Thinker is
devoted to the thoughtful exploration of issues of importance to
Americans. Contributors
are accomplished in fields beyond journalism, and animated to write
for the general public out of concern for the complex and morally
significant questions on the national agenda." I first became aware of
this site when a relative sent me a
link to an article in the site that discusses the Democratic Party
and the American Jew. Power Line
reports on the founding of the American Thinker in 2003. 10/18/06
- Bill O'Reilly,
controversial commentator for the Fox News channel. See his February 10, 2011
article on both his interviews with President Obama and former
President Bush. 2/17/2011
- Bob Grant, New
York City talk show host. When I lived in New York, Bob Grant was my
favorite talk show host. I remember so well Bob yelling at callers to
get off his phone. Even more than ten years ago, Bob was always
threatening to quit the talk show business because he was so disgusted
with so many of his callers, but more than a decade later, he still is
on the radio, stirring up his radio listeners. 5/6/08
- Born
into the cradle of war. A Wayne State college student writes a
fascinating story of revisiting Germany where she was born in 1944. The
student Erika Martin examines her early years growing up at the end of
the Nazis area and in Germany after the war. The controversy here
revolves around her attempts to determine to what extent the typical,
average German knew about the slaughter that went on in the
concentration camps. Ms. Martin points to xenophobia (hatred of foreigners) as the root of
so much evil in history and in the world today. 3/23/2012
- Capital Hill Blue,
published by Doug Thompson, journalist and photographer. Site claims
that "Thompson launched Capitol Hill Blue as the web's first political
news site, in 1994." From reviewing this site on September 28, 2005,
this site appears very critical of the Bush administration. Thompson shows and regrets that he proved
vulnerable to a phony source of information for some of his articles.
9/28/05
- Coast to Coast
radio show with George Noory. Stories of UFOs, ghosts, claims that
humans lived on the Earth millions of years ago -- and all kinds of
paranormal tales. Cynics laugh at Noory's guests, but others are
devoted followers, late night listeners, who find much to believe and
wonder about. One night I heard the show with an interview of Michael A. Cremo, co-author
of The Hidden History of the Human Race. Cremo claims
humans
have existed on the Earth for millions -- perhaps billions of years,
contradicting Darwin's theory of Evolution. Cremo claims that the
majority of archaeologists and other scientists may scoff at his
claims, but only because they are too stuck on and committed to their
views to consider Cremo's evidence. 3/24/012.
 Columnists
from the Washington Post, including my favorite Charles
Krauthammer. On the other hand, Oliver Willis offers a linked
list of who he believes are liberal
columnists. 2/28/2011. - Conservative, Republican viewpoint on the news, FreeRepublic.com. From
a liberal perspective, see Media
Matters. 9/23/04
- Conservative views of Ann Coulter, Newt Gingrich, Pat
Buchanan and others, from Human
Events. For contrasting views, see Media Matters "comprehensively
monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in
the U.S. media." Here are websites of newscasters and commentators who
many consider on the liberal side of the news: Rachel
Maddow, Keith
Obermann, Chris
Matthews. For links to many other
MSNBC commentators and newscasters ... 8/3/09
- Crusades. I read a book What's
Great about Christianity, by Dinesh D'Sousa. D’Sousa. The
author led me to believe that Jews were not victimized by the
Crusaders. But when I read another book God's
War, by Christopher Tyerman, the view here was that Jewish
communities were slaughtered by crusaders who on their march to free
what is now Europe from Moslem rule took every opportunity to kill Jews
along their route to Jerusalem. See, for example, pages 100 to 106 in a
section titled "The Jewish Pogrom of 1096." I also found these web
sources confirming that Jews often faced persecution at the hand of the
crusaders. (1)"The Crusaders came to liberate the Holy Land from the
"infidels" and woe
to any Jews who stood in their way." (2)"Crusaders
'exterminated by many massacres the Jews of almost all Gaul, with
the exception of those who accepted conversion.'” (3) From Fordham
University's website: "As they [crusaders] passed through Germany
on their way to Jerusalem this motley crew killed thousands of
'infidel' Jews in the larger cities such as Speyer, Worms, Mayence
[Mainz], and Cologne." 8/6/2008
- Cults.
Religious cults discussed by the Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance (Tolerance.org). I suggest you read first
the site's essay
on cults in general. Then check out its parent site Tolderance.org which is "a web
project of the Southern Poverty Law Center" that "aims to fight hate
and promote tolerance." I did a Google
search, looking only for edu sites (colleges and universities) on
the Southern Poverty Law Center to see if it is a reputable
organization. One
search-hit was a memo to graduate students in the Department of
Psychology, Northwestern University. This memo includes this statement:
"The widely respected Southern Poverty Law Center has now come forward
on the realities and causes of the terrible wave of hate crimes against
transgender and transsexual women now rampant in many U.S. cities."
10/6/05
- Daily Grail.
Articles, book reviews on the occult and other controversial subjects,
See an interesting review of this site by the independent student
newspaper of the Bronx High School of Science. 8/20/05
- Drudge Report.
Read this site with a skeptical view. Reporter Matt Drudge has been
accused of publishing stories without adequately checking out the
facts, but on occasion his articles have broken major stories.
8/3/04
- Da
Vinci Code. Dan's Brown best selling book has stirred up much
controversy. One controversy relates to the legal challenge that he may
have borrowed too much material from a earlier book Holy Blood,
Holy Grail. The question becomes -- is Dan Brown guilty of
plagiarism and/or copyright infringement? Here are sources that tackle
this question: 6/12/06
- March 13,
2006 article by Columbia University law professor Tim Wu.
- March
26, 2006 article by John Mark Eberhart in The Kansas City Star.
- April
7, 2006 article from Arts & Entertainment giving results of
lawsuit in England's High Court. Another
article also published on April 7, 2006 giving High Court verdict
in Sky News.
- Evaluating
controversial sources of information from the writing lab of Purdue
University. Includes evaluating bibliographic citations, internet
sources. Although this site in itself is not controversial, the
information on it will help you to evaluate and judge the credibility
of controversial sources. Includes links
to additional sources that will help you evaluate information on
the Internet. One especially good linked-recommendation is the article
by Hope T. Tillman, Director of Libraries at Babson College -- Evaluating Quality on
the Net. 5/21/05
- Facts or
Fiction -- or partial truths. Help in telling the difference. PolitiFact
is a helpful source from Florida's St. Petersburg Times. Big challenge
today (August 15, 2009) is to weed out the fact from fiction regarding
Health Care Reform, especially when we are bombarded by email messages
claiming to deliver the truth. See
article on "Are most forwarded email messages on political subjects
true?" 8/19/09
- ABC
News offers a fact checker resource related to President Barack
Obama's health care initiative. 8/15/09
- Fact Check from the Democratic viewpoint.
Paid for by the Democratic National Committee. Site titled "Know the
Facts about Barack Obama." 8/15/09
- Canadian
Health Coalition. Canadians overwhelmingly support public health
care. 9/15/09
- David Axelrod, Senior advisor to President Obama, sent
out this
email to perhaps millions of Americans on August 13, 2009. 8/15/09
- Factcheck.org. Sponsored by the Annenberg Public
Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. 10/18/2012
- The Fact Checker. From the Washington Post. 10/18/2012
- Huffington Post
site has article titled "Fact
Check: Distortion rife in health care debate. 8/15/09
- President Obama may be willing to drop
necessity of government run healthcare. 8/16/09
- Politifact.com. From the newspaper the Tampa Bay Times. 10/16/2012
- Results
of Google Advanced Search restricted to the last 24 hours on all
these words together: fact check health care reform. 9/15/09
at 11:42 AM.
- Schwitzer Heath Care blog. Gary Schwitzer is identified
as connected to the University of Minnesota School of Journalism &
Mass Communication.Criticizes single source, unsigned "documents"
as being unreliable. 9/15/09
- Tax Policy Center.
If political candidates make statements about how much their policies
or project would cost the tax paper, this is a good site to check out,
Urban Institute and Brookings Institution. 10/18/2012.
- Truthout. Another site that aims to search out the truth of political statements. 10/18/2012
- White
House under President Obama's administration responds to questions
on health care reform. 8/15/09
- Yahoo. I typed this question into the Yahoo search
engine and got these hits: Is
Canadian health care better than US health care? 8/15/09
- Free
exchange on campus. On March 30, 2006, I received an email from the
American Federation
of Teachers, that National union that my Statue union (NYSUT) is affiliated with
recommending the site Free Exchange On Campus. I reviewed the site and
concluded that it is, indeed, informative on the importance of
preserving and fostering academic freedom on college campuses. The Free
Exchange on Campus website is critical of David Horowitz, the author of
the The Professors, subtitled "the 101 Most Dangerous
Academics in America."
- Flying Saucer
reports from around the world. Fact or fantasy? 8/3/04
- Free Thought
Radio. Hosts radio talk shows that oppose traditional religions.
4/27/07
- Glenn Beck. TV Fox
and radio commentator. Frequently attacks what he views as the
"Radicals on the Left." Color of
Change aims to strengthen "the Black America's political voice."
As of August 14, 2009, its website provides a form to calling Beck's
advertisers to drop him. 8/14/09
- Goldberg, Bernard.
Author of four best selling books, including A Slobbering Love
Affair which I just finished reading. In this book, Goldberg
takes the view that the vast majority of newspaper reporters not only
favored but slanted their news to support the Presidential candidacy of
Barrack Obama. Several book reviews: (1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
5/23/09
- Hannity, Sean.
Conservative radio and TV talk show host. 2/17/06
- Hiram Bingham IV Debate. Haram Bingham is considered a hero
by some for his work in behalf of saving Jews from Nazi persecution
during the Holocaust. Others, however, take issue with this view and
hold that Bingham at the end of his life was an anti-semite and a
Holocaust denier. Source
1. Source
2. Source 3 (Scroll
half down this web page until you come to the section Raiders of the
Lost Ark) 2/20/05
- High speed
railroad -- a good idea or a train load of trouble? Robert
Samuelson's view in the Washington Post. More on the same topic
from the New
York Times. 2/20/2011.
- Immigration -- legal and illegal. On July 14, 2007, I heard
Salem College professor Aviva Chomsky speak at Feed Your Head Books
about her latest book They
Take Our Jobs! and 20 other myths about immigration.
After hearing her speak and purchasing her book, I wanted to get more
background on the subject before tackling the book. A
great site I found gives three contrasting views on immigration.
This is a great source to get a quick overview of the different
arguments for and against the current immigration controversy. 7/14/07
- Intelligent Design is stirring much controversy today as
its supporters want taught in the classroom a theory that the design,
order in the universe cannot be explained by evolution alone but
reflects an intelligent force (God) that controlled the evolutionary
process. The
New York Times gives a comprehensive picture of this controversy.
11/18/05
- International
Responsibilities Task Force of the American Library Association's
Social Responsibilities.The authors of this site promote it as
"Alternative News, Analysis, and Commentary." Provides links to many
sources that seem to be anti-Bush administration.2/15/06
- Israel/Palestinian conflict
- Google hits on the words history
Israel Palestinians. Now doing the same Google search but
limiting myself to hits updated in the last three months as of July
20, 2006, and all from edu domains -- American
colleges or universities.
- Masada
2000.org. From a Zionist, pro-Israeli perspective, the background
of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.7/20/06
- Middle East Research and Information Project. A
primer on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Broken up into 14
sections including Zionism, British Mandate, UN Partition Plan.
Unfortunately, only goes up to the year 2000, but still this website
seems a very good source for background to the current conflict. 7/20/06
- Mideast: On Target.
On a trip to Israel in 2005, I met Elliot Chodoff, one of the founders
of this website that discusses the Arab-Israeli conflict. Also offers a
newsletter that you can receive regularly through your email program.
10/3/06
- MidEast Web. A
brief
history of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A quick look at this
Website makes me think that it attempts to give a balanced view. From
its About page: "MidEast Web was started by people active in Middle
East dialog and peace education efforts. Our goal is to weave a
world-wide web of Arabs, Jews and others who want to build a new Middle
East based on coexistence and neighborly relations." For information
about its founders and
supporters...7/20/06
- Neturei Karta Intl.
Jews United Against Zionism. This group of Orthodox Jews oppose the
establishment of Israel. Some of their rabbis met with President
Ahmadinejad of Iran . Wikipedia article on
this group. Another Jewish
group opposed to Zionism. Two other
Orthodox Jewish groups call Neture Karta a disgrace for meeting
with the Iranian president. Israel's
chief rabbi also condemns Neturei Karta. Links to recent articles
in the Jerusalem
Post about Neturei Karta.
- Israel
Insider. On June 14, 2009, I received an email from a good friend
recommending this site which he said he reads daily.
- Israeli leadership
has taken a stand on the consequences of withdrawing from Iraq. 4/20/07.
- 2010 top Top ten anti-Israel lies from the Simon
Weisenthal Center. You can download a pdf booklet at this site.
7/1/2010
- Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist. His Rainbow/Coalition website
and commentaries on civil rights and political issues,
from 1998 to the present.9/15/05
- Life after death. Down through the centuries, mankind has
wrestled with the question if the human personality, spirit suvives the
death of the body. James Park on the University of Minnesota lists
several books that he thinks does the best job wrestling with the
- John Loftus, a
St. Petersburg, Florida resident, is a former Justice Department
prosecutor who once had the highest security clearance, enabling him to
learn of secret, controversial issues, including Nazis war crimes. He
now investigates and reveals how terrorists operate. 3/23/2012
- Krasko, Genrich L. Professor Krasko, although a retired
physics professor, has written much in a philosophyical vein, tackling
such topics as finding meaning, purpose in life. See his book, for
example, This
Unbearable Boredom of Being: A Crisis of Meaning in America. You
can also read an excerpt of this here.
- Krauthammer,
Charles. His articles published in the Washington Post. Especially
interesting column on President
Bush's final interview with White House press corps. 1/11/09
- Liberal
columnists. Links to liberal columnists given by Oliver Willis. And
a link to Oliver Willis
home page in which he refers the reader to articles critical of
Conservatives. 6/12/09.
- Liberal
versus conservative. On June 12, 2009, a Google search on "Liberal
vs Conservative" brought up these links.ight be helpful for those
trying to learn the differences between liberals and conservatives
explained by a variety of sources.
- Life after death. Down through the centuries, mankind has
wrestled with the question "Does the human personality, spirit,
individuality in some way survive death?" James Park on
the University of Minnesota website gives what he considers the best
books tackling this question. 1/20/2011.
- Mark Levin. Talk show host of his own radio program, Mark
Levin blasts Bill O'Reilly for attacking conservative talk show
hosts. Levin's own website.
4/9/09
- Media Research Center states as its purpose to expose bias in the media. But it looks to me that it focuses on liberal bias in the media. 8/9/2011
- Michael
Savage, talk show host, considers himself an independent thinker,
critical at times of both Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and
liberals. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with him, Savage
will certainly stimulate your own critical thinking. 5/22/05
- Media Matters.
Claims to be a non-profit organization "dedicated to comprehensively
monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in
the U.S. media."
9/15/05
- Michael Medved,
conservative talk show host and movie critic. Dozens of his past columns online.
3/1/06
- Michael
Moore. Controversial director of the movie Fahrenheit 911.
9/28/05
- MoveOn.org.
Political action organization that seeks to organize average Americans
into a powerful political force.
- National
ID cards, the pro's and con's, from Baylor University.
- National Public Radio.
Government and public funded radio shows, free of commercial
advertisements. Emphasizes cultural, educational program that many
would consider too intellectual, too sophisticated for the average
American. For a thorough description of NPR, see Wikipedia.
- Moslems against
terrorism. A site promoting the view that Moslems should condemn
terrorism, including suicide bombing. For background information on our
struggle against terrorism, refer to links provided by Holmes
Community College in Grenada, Mississippi. 3/26/05
- Obama, P:resident. Two contrasting views. I have received
countless emails criticizing President Obama. So I did some research to
find reputable sources that support President Obama as doing a good job
and reputable sources that contend he is doing a poor job. By
"reputable", I mean sources from a .edu (education) domain, columnist
published in well known newspapers, and talk radio or TV hosts having a
large audience. Check out these sources to help make up your own mind.
I tried to ensure that all these sources were recent -- online as I
write this, on February 17, 2011. Here's an interesting source that
invites readers to give opinions on both sides -- createdebate.com.
- Doing a poor job
- From the RightScoop website, talk show host Mark
Levin says the President is "destroying this country." Hear sound
clip from Levin's show. Levin's own website. His own
website says "Mark Levin is known as a constitutional lawyer
and a nationally syndicated broadcaster." 2/15/2010
- Obama's failed foreign policy, from The Republican Guru.
- Doing a good job
- First, a link to a Google search on Obama
great president.
2/17/2011
- A student from Penn
State University considers meeting President Obama one of the
greatest experiences of his life. The student's article is followed by
comments. 2/17/2011
- Even though this source is a little off topic --
focusing on Nancy Pelosi -- but since she's known as an avid Obama
supporter, I've included it here: "Experts rank Pelosi among greatest
House speakers." Article
from AOL news posted on the website of the Catholic University of
America. Article dated Nov. 10, 2010.
- Obama
supporters argue that this site offers refutation of criticism
voiced by Jerome Corsi in his book Obama
Nation. Also a Huffington
Post article by Joseph A. Palermo criticizes Corsi's book. 9/2/08
- Open
Mindedness. A great essay, I think, on the importance of being
opened minded. Especially applies I think to those who are politically
liberal or conservative and who do not even consider the views of
others who have a different opinion. 5/26/06
- PoliticaFact.com.
Sponsored by the Florida St. Petersburg Times, this site uses a meter
to rate statements from politicians, lobbyists and others who
generously give their opinions on what's going on in Washington, D.C.
Let it be known that
many readers often do take issue with the objectivity of the St.
Pete Times reports as facts, especially concerning the Arab/Israeli
conflict. On November 12, 2010, the St. Petersburg Times call ProPublica "an independent,
non-profit investigative newsroom". 11/12/2010
- Political parties: Democrats,
Republicans,
Libertarians. 8/14/09
- President Obama's official White
House site. As of August 14, 2009, this site explains the
President's views on health care reform. 8/14/09
- Primer Action Center.
Reports on the Middle East crisis. For contrasting view, see the Cairo, Egypt Times. 8/4/04
- Rachel Maddow blog. For liberal, pro-democratic and pro-Obama commentary, Rachel Maddow is an excellent source. 3/24/2012
- Religious
controversy. Hardly a subject could be more controversial than
religion. I have a special interest in examining both sides of
religious questions. In this section of my Controversy category, I will
spotlight sites that tackle controversial religious questions. What
questions do I select? Whatever interests me.
- Did Christ's resurrection as described in the New
Testament actually take place? A debate between Michael Horner and Dan
Barker from the Freedom
from Religion website. I recognize that the name of the source
where this debate is published suggests a pro-skeptic view, but I think
if you examine the transcript of the debate you will agree that both
sides of the issue are fairly presented. 9/14/09
- A growing number of Conservative
Jewish synagogues are including music in their services -- music that
includes not only the organ, but guitars, too, as well as other
instruments. How are congregants reacting to this change? From
J. Weekly. From My
Jewish Learning. From Washington
Jewish Week. 9/14/09
- Rhine Institute (An
Institute for the Study of Consciousness) at Durham, North Carolina.
Research on reincarnation, ESP, healers. 2/12/08
- Rush
Limbaugh, popular radio talk show host, gives his views on
political issues. Rush has been labeled a stanch conservative, ardent
supporter of the Republican party and President Bush. But visit this
site to make up your own mind.5/25/05
- Savage Nation.
Radio conservative talk show host Michael Savage stirs up much
controversy. USA
Today in 2003 reported that Savage was fired by MSNBC in 2003. See
these sites for different views on Savage: (1) , (2) , (3) , (4) , (5) .4/9/09
- Sean Hannity, the
conservative voice on the Hannity and Colmes TV show. For his partner's
liberal views, read Alan
Colmes site. Colmes includes a link to a test that could
help to determine if you are liberal or conservative -- or something in
between. 5/22/05
- Skepticism. Offers views that attempt to overturn beliefs
in Flying Saucers, ESP, vampires, zombies, ghosts, etc.
- Slavery. For all my adult life, I had thought that when
Lincoln emancipated the slaves, the path was cleared for blacks to make
progress, free to reach financial equality with whites. How mistaken I
was! The Emancipation Proclamation was only the first step in a long
journey toward equality. I learned in Douglas A. Blackmon's book Slavery
by Another Name that thousands of "freed slaves" in the
South were only imprisoned and their services sold to steel, mining,
and turpentine factories where they became indentured servants,
chained, whipped, humiliated as much as any pre-Lincoln slave had
endured. Blackmon's book is well documented. He has a website, too, to
supplement and update his book at www.slaverybyanothername.com.
11/10/08
- Smoking Gun.
Owned by Court TV. Claims to uncover documentation exposing
controversial issues. 5/16/05.
- Spirit of Change,
newspaper-type publication about alternative, new-age health
treatments. 7/7/06
- Spiritualism. Can the living communicate with the dead?
Good introduction to this field is Raymond Buckland's The
Spirit Book ( Encyclopedia of clairvoyance, channeling and spirit
communication), copyright 2006. Wikipedia
describes spiritualism.Skeptically.org
offers articles on spiritualism. Tricks of fraudulent
mediums once exposed led to the decline of spiritualism. The Skeptics
Report -- for more on fraudulent mediums in the 19th and 20th
centuries. The Skeptics
Dictionary pokes holes in the integrity of mediums -- those who
claim they can communicate with the dead. Biographical information
about the author of the Skeptic Dictionary. In checking out online
resources on spiritualism, I stumbled across the Tampa Bay
Skeptics site which holds special interest for me because I am from
the Florida Tampa Bay area. Still another source, this one from California Tampa Bay Skeptics.
- Tony Snow.
Radio commentator on the Fox Network. I first heard Tony commenting on
the news on February 3, 2003 and found him very interesting. 2/3/0
- Sun -- England's
most popular tabloid newspaper. 8/3/04
- TruthDig.From the
publisher: "The purpose of our new Web magazine is to provide you with
insightful and accurate reporting on current subjects and on issues
that need to be brought to your attention." 10/22/06
- Unclassified
government documents from the National Security Archive at George
Washington University. These documents made available to the public
thanks to the The
Freedom of Information Act . See, for example, unclassified
documents on the Bay of
Pigs Invasion. 2/25/06
- Unexplained
Mysteries. Paranormal, conspiracy theories. Includes articles on
UFOs, reincarnation, ghosts, and voodoo. 3/26/06
- WikiLeaks. Released
to the public confidential documents regarding our participation in the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Uses anonymous sources. 10/26/10
- Crime
Fighting
- Background check from Intelius.
This in NOT free. Can do background check including criminal records
for both State ($19.95) and Federal ($49.95) records. See this facts page about
this site. Check out reviews of People-Search sites that provide
information ranging from phone numbers to criminal records -- from MediaChoice,
Inc. - People Search. 5/20/05
- CIA Central Intelligence
Agency 8/4/02
- Crime Library.
True stories of famous criminals, including information on how science
helped to nail the most dastardly villains. 8/4/04
- Crime Tracker
from Tampa Bay (Florida) online. Crime statistics, amber alerts, sexual
predator and inmate search, stolen car information, missing
children.4/16/05
- Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Information on current cases such as the ongoing FBI investigation of
the the Centennial Park bombing in Atlanta. Also information on the
FBI's most wanted. 8/4/02
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Offers reward for most wanted. Provides
links to information on sexual predators, missing children, amber
alert, background checks, unsolved homicides, stolen property and more.
3/25/05
- Homeland Security. 8/4/04
- Identity theft.
°Federal Trade Commission
shows you what to do if you think your identity has been stolen.
°Protecting yourself from Identity Theft from the attorney
general's office of the State of Pennsylvania. Includes information
on contacting the four major credit agencies.
°Links to several sites from the U.S. Department of
Justice. 5/21/05
- Most wanted criminals. Help capture
Americas most wanted. 8/4/04
- 9/11 Commission's Report.
8/4/04
|
