Well not summer, but July.

As a progressive, as someone who kind of despises the current political direction of our government, someone who can’t stand the inane, confusing, misleading, factually incorrect and outright lies made by our president on a daily basis, someone who leaves messages for my senators and representatives Congress (which – despite asking for letters and other communication about their votes, thinking on topics I care about, and other issues – I have received none communication back – I’m looking at you Senator Porter – thanks for writing me off as a constituent), and someone who reads a ton of news each day, its been a frustrating couple of months.

So what do I do?  Well July is my month off from work.  I’m also taking a month off from politics.  I’ll still read headlines, and read local news, but I’m taking July off from engaging in political news or discussion.  At least as much as I can.

Think of it as a mental health break.  I’ll spend July reading books, maybe (hopefully) hiring a few teachers – which is ironic since it is my month off of work, fixing things around our house (bathroom sink – fixed!), maybe drawing again, and exercising.  And take a cue from my cats and just relax.

I’ll re-engage in August.

I will say this political climate of the last two years has made me re-think how I get my news.  I’ve gone from only consuming free news (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Politico, etc) to paying for my chief news sources.  From reading websites, to reading actual newspapers and dailies.

I subscribe to the Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, Skeptical Inquirer and PBS.  I also listen to NPR and the BBC.  I know the Washington Post definitely has a left leaning slant, but is factually accurate.  The Christian Science Monitor is centrist, and has a global view.  Same with BBC. Skeptical Inquirer and PBS are not necessarily news (at least in how I consume them), but rather for science discussions and documentaries.

Surprisingly not jumping to immediate reactions, and reading articles written at a later time, with thought, is way easier to digest than ’emerging stories’.   These newspaper sources, non-biased sources like the BBC, and dailies like the Christian Science Monitor, are also way more factually accurate than quick reporting stations and sites like CNN, Fox, and MSNBC.

Also, as an interesting end-note, my hometown newspaper, The Post Star, is apparently one of the least biased newspapers in the country.  Yeah… That’s an odd statement.