FactCheckEd

FactCheckEd.org is an educational resource for high school teachers and students. It’s designed to help students learn to cut through the fog of misinformation and deception that surrounds the many messages they’re bombarded with every day. Our site is a sister to the award-winning Annenberg Political Fact Check, which goes by the Internet address FactCheck.org. and monitors the factual accuracy of what is said in the nation’s political arena.

FactCheckEd.org, About Us

I am always a little suspicious of these sorts of projects. First, there’s the red/white/blue ‘U.S.A.’ patriotic theme. Then there’s the implied ‘one left plus one right equals fair and balanced’ liberal nonsense. Still, I think this can be a useful way to help students move from fairly simple ways of thinking about issues to fairly complex ways.

Also, I have more and more respect for their sister site, FactCheck.org, which seems honestly willing to let the chips fall where they fall. Their coverage of the debates, for example, does a good job of contrasting the hype of the Democrats with the often outright lies of the Republicans. Neither strategy is respectable, but it’s a difference that does matter.

Clinton may have lied about sex, but the Bush regime has been dishonest and violent in an unprecedented fashion. They’re now the most unpopular administration since Nixon. The Democrats are feeling less timid, and are starting to stretch the truth. The truth makes the Republicans really nervous. Where are the real independents in all of this? Politics1 has this comprehensive list of everyone running, mainstream or otherwise.

About Ray Watkins

I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. I grew up in Houston, as a part of what we only half-jokingly call the Cajun Diaspora. At a certain point during the Regan administration, I had to leave, so I served in the Peace Corps, Philippines, from 1987-89. I didn't want to return to the United States just yet, so I moved to Paris, France, where I lived for three years or so. I then moved back to Austin, Texas, where I had received my Masters Degree, and (eventually) began a Ph.D., which I completed in 1999. I spent a year at Temple University and then accepted a position at Eastern Illinois University where I worked until May of 2006. I now work exclusively on line (although that may change) for Johns Hopkins, the Art Institute Online, and Smarthinking.com. I can be reached most easily via email: raywatkins [that 'at' symbol] writinginthewild.com

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