Mr. Van Orden's Current Events Page

General News Resources:

From New Jersey “Hayadoin’?”

NJ.com – An online news-gathering site. NJ.com publishes stories from a wide variety of publications in the state including, The Star-Ledger, The Trenton Times and The Jersey Journal. The site contains links to many other NJ publications as well. NJ.com also hosts forum sites that have “lively” discussions about local politics in the state.

PolitickerNJ - The name says it all; a web site on NJ politics. PoltickerNJ calls itself the “virtual water-cooler for the state’s political elite – officeholders, news makers, staff, party leaders, fundraisers, journalists, government employees, interest groups and policy wonks”. The creators of the site pride themselves on providing “inside stories” and “inside information” regarding the political scene in the Garden State. Features such as “Wake Up Call” and “The Backroom” are appear to be “must reads” for the political set in New Jersey.

NJSpotlight – NJSpotlight describes itself as “an online news service providing insight and information on issues critical to New Jersey, with the aim of informing and engaging the state’s communities and businesses … [a] nonpartisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded” website.

NJTV – NJTV describes itself as follows: “Formerly New Jersey Network (NJN). NJTV is operated under an agreement with the state of New Jersey by Public Media NJ, Inc. (PMNJ), a newly formed non-profit subsidiary of WNET, parent company of award-winning public television stations THIRTEEN and WLIW21.”

News12 – A pay site (or you can access the site using the account number from your cable bill). News12 is a cable news outlet based in New York with coverage in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

From “The Center”

C-SPAN – “Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network”; considered by many to be best public affairs organization in the nation. Created to broadcast House and Senate proceedings, C-SPAN broadcasts many public affairs programs every day. Many programs, like Washington Journal (broadcast each day at 7 a.m.), have a nation-wide “cult-like” following. There are many links on the site to a wide variety of public policy and historical issues. Brian Lamb, the creator and CEO of C-SPAN (and occasional host of C-SPAN programs), received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. C-SPAN is non-partisan.

PBS News Hour – Like CSPAN, The News Hour is considered by many people to be the finest public affairs/news program on TV. The Public Broadcasting Service is a public media organization created by Congress in the 1960’s. PBS does not produce programs, but the network has hosted some of the most iconic TV programs in U.S. history (i.e. Sesame Street, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood). PBS news and documentary programs such as NOVA and Frontline are regularly sited as the best on television. The News Hour is considered to be non-partisan.

NPR – “National Public Radio” is a privately and publicly funded media organization created by Congress in the 1960’s. NPR is non-profit and accused of a “left leaning” bias. But, NPR reports on such a wide variety of issues and topics that it is difficult to place on this page. Even those who are critical of NPR admire the quality of their reporting and programming.

Roll Call - The leading newspaper for the House of Representatives and the Senate. Roll Call is viewed as a non-partisan publication.

Cook Political Report – Called “The Bible of the Political Community”. “Cook” follows political campaigns nationwide. The Cook Political Report is considered non-partisan.

Real Clear Politics – A website that is a clearing house for political reporting and opinions from all over the political spectrum. A great site for the those who just can’t get enough politics during the day. Because of the wide variety of articles, RCP is considered to be non-partisan.

Congressional Quarterly – As its name implies, Congressional Quarterly specializes in reporting on the news from Congress (House of Representatives and Senate). “CQ” is considered to be a non-partisan publication similar to Roll Call.

New America Foundation – A non-partisan policy think tank located in Washington, D.C.

The Nation – The oldest continuously published news magazine in the U.S. (est. 1865). The nation is alternately liberal and conservative in what is published and who contributes to the magazine. For this reason, it is placed with the non-partisan links on this page.

DemocracyNet - Free non-partisan voter information service created by The League of Women Voters and Grassroots.com.

Vote-Smart - A non-partisan civic organization dedicated to providing information to voters about candidates for public office. The Vote-Smart National Political Awareness Test (NPAT) is a great way to learn about what a candidate believes regarding issues that are important to voters. Unfortunately, many candidates are refusing to answer the NPAT … especially Democrats and Republicans.

Open Secrets – A non-partisan site that tracks campaign finance information. An interesting site if you want to find out who is financing the campaigns for our leaders in Trenton and Washington. Use the “Get Local!” link at the top of the page to see who has donated to campaigns in your zip code area.

NewsMeat – A website that is a “campaign donor search engine”. You can follow the money to see who is contributing to political campaigns and who is receiving the contributions. This site is listed as in “the center”, but it does seem to lean very slightly to the left. NewsMeat does not claim to be non-partisan like Open Secrets.

Newspapers.Com - Thousands of links to newspapers all over the United States and the world.  There are links to specialty publications too.  A fun site to surf!!

1st Headlines.com - This site has links to many of the WORLD'S major news-gathering organizations. There is a topic index as well.

CNN – “Cable News Network” (CNN) is a U.S. based broadcast news company. CNN is seen in 100 million U.S. households and in over 200 countries world-wide. CNN was the first all news TV channel (started in 1981 by billionaire Ted Turner, who also started Turner Broadcasting Service, TBS). Fox News (U.S.), Deutsche Welle (Europe) and Al-Jazeera (Middle East) were created to compete with CNN. Since CNN is seen in almost every region on the Earth, it is a very influential news service.

Bloomberg – Bloomberg was created by NY City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to report on financial news. However, Bloomberg covers a wide-range of topics and is seen as one of the nation’s leading news gathering organizations. Michael Bloomberg is not allowed to run the company as long as he is the mayor of New York City. He ran as a Republican, but is increasingly seen as an independent (no ties with Republicans or Democrats). Many people believe that his company operates in a similar manner. Therefore, Bloomberg is “in the center” for now.

Associated Press – The Associated Press (usually just called “AP”) is an American news gathering cooperative. Newspapers and television stations subscribe to the Associated Press, and then use AP stories in their newspapers and TV shows. More than 1,500 newspapers and 5,000 televisions stations subscribe to AP. Many of the stories printed in the N.J. Herald are AP stories. AP has an international staff of reporters in 120 nations world-wide. AP is one of the largest news gathering organizations in the world. AP was created in 1846.

Reuters – A world-wide news gathering company based Britain (but, it started in Germany in the 1850’s). Reuters started as a financial news service, but has expanded coverage over the years to become a general news service company. Reuters competes with AP to provided world-wide news coverage.

United Press International – Usually called “UP” or “UPI”, United Press was one of the largest news gathering organizations in the world. However, the company was sold in 1993 to a group of investors who changed the company’s focus, and made it a much smaller organization. Still, UPI is a major source of news articles world-wide.

LexisNexis News – The leading “search engine” for topics and people in the news.

From “The Left”

Center for Strategic and International Studies – A non-profit organization studying current and emerging global issues. CSIS has more liberal than conservative policy makers listed as members. CSIS has a more liberal view of foreign affairs than the Council on Foreign Relations (see the link below). CSIS publishes a number of regional and policy specific journals.

The Brookings Institute – One of the oldest public policy “think tanks” in the U.S. Brookings conducts research on many issues in order to create policies that will “strengthen American democracy”. The Brookings Institute has a liberal reputation, but it does support conservative points of view as well.

Buzz Flash - A liberal online newsletter. The site has a great list of links for liberals.

Washington Post - The leading liberal newspaper from our nation's capital.

New York Times – Considered to be the leading liberal newspaper. Even with its “liberal leanings”, the New York Times is considered by many people to be the best newspaper in the U.S. and one of the best news publications in the world.

New Republic - The leading liberal weekly news magazine.

The Huffington Post – “The Drudge Report” for liberals. The editor, Arianna Huffington, was once married to Michael Huffington a conservative republican who served in the House of Representatives from California in the 1990’s. She was a writer for the TV show “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher”, a forerunner to “The Daily Show”. Even though she was married to a conservative, her website is unapologetically liberal.

Politics Daily – An online newsmagazine. Politics Daily is described as a "political news magazine for the general reader." The magazine has liberal roots but tries to be in the non-partisan category. The articles on Politics Daily have ties to The Huffington Post, and seem to represent opinions from across the political spectrum. However, most of the content appeals to people who reside on the left side of the political spectrum.

The Daily Beast – Similar to the Huffington Post. Liberal news and commentary. Newsweek magazine and the Daily Beast are one company.

Slate.com – One of the first, and many say one of the best, online news magazines. Slate is unapologetically liberal.

The Root – An online magazine devoted to issues in the African American community. The Root is associated with the liberal online magazine Slate.

MSNBC.com – The leading liberal cable news channel. “Hardball with Chris Matthews” and “The Rachel Maddow Show” are must see TV for liberals.

Politico – The fastest growing news organization devoted to politics and campaigning. Ties to MSNBC make Politico a liberal news and opinion site.

From “The Right”

Council on Foreign Relations – A non-profit organization studying global issues. This organization publishes a journal called Foreign Affairs. Many leading liberal and conservative policy makers are listed as members of this organization. CFR has more conservative view of foreign affairs than the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

American Enterprise Institute – A conservative public policy group devoted to “capitalism, limited government, free enterprise and individual liberty”. AEI policy ideas influenced the Bush administration. Former Vice-President Richard Cheney and Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz were members of AEI. U.S. policy in Iraq and Afghanistan (in the Bush and Obama administrations) has been heavily influenced by individuals associated with AEI.

The Drudge Report – This online news site has a “cult following” in Washington. The editor, Matt Drudge, is often the first to report on political stories and therefore has a strong following in Washington D.C. The Drudge Report is considered to be a conservative site.

Free Republic - A conservative online newsletter. Good list of links to other news organizations and a great list of conservative links.

NewsMax - A conservative online news organization. The conservative answer to the liberal news site Buzz Flash.

Washington Times - The leading conservative newspaper in our nation's capital.

Wall Street Journal – Like the New York Times, “The Journal” is considered to be one of the nation’s great newspapers and one of the best newspapers in the world. Primarily a publication about financial news, the WSJ covers many topics and has the reputation of being a conservative newspaper. In 2007, the WSJ was purchased by Rupert Murdoch who is the owner of Fox News.

National Review - The leading conservative weekly news magazine.

The Weekly Standard – A weekly conservative news magazine founded by well-known conservative commentator William Kristol. William Kristol appreas regularly on Fox News.

Fox News – Created in 1996 (by billionaire Rupert Murdock) to compete with CNN. Fox News is seen in over 100 million U.S. households, and has the most popular news shows on American cable TV. Fox does have an international broadcast (seen in over 50 nations), but it is not as widely distributed as CNN. Fox says that their reporting is “fair and balanced”, but most people consider Fox News to have a conservative point of view. Fox programs such as “The O’Reilly Factor” and “Hannity” are must see TV for conservatives.

RedState – The most widely read conservative blog in Washington, D.C.

The Hill – A congressional newspaper that covers events in Congress in a manner similar to “Roll Call”. The Hill focuses more on lobbying, business activities and political campaigns. Originally, The Hill was in the non-partisan section of this page, but The Hill has increased their focus on issues favored by conservative readers. Frequently, reporters from The Hill provide background stories for Fox News. Therefore, The Hill has been moved to “the right” section of this page.

International News Organizations:(Region in parenthesis)

SITE Intelligence Group – (Middle East) SITE seeks to educate the public about the history, ideology, tactics, and methods of Islamic terrorists. This organization went bankrupt and then reorganized under different “ownership”. SITE is listed as a “dot-org” site on the Internet, but it is a “for profit” group. How reliable is their material? I don’t know, but the old SITE was very good. For now, it is presented as an interesting site with information not usually found in the “western” media.

MEMRI – (Middle East) MEMRI is considered to be a conservative non-profit organization that is influenced by Israeli military intelligence. MEMRI has been accused of “cherry picking” anti-west, anti-American and anti-Israeli reports from the Arab media in an effort to support conservative Israeli policies in the Middle East. The accuracy of MEMRI’s Arabic translations has been questioned as well. That said, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) explores the Middle East through the region's media. MEMRI takes articles printed in Arabic and translates them into English for western readers. MEMRI is a window into the everyday lives of the people living in the Middle East. Meyrav Wurmser, co-founder of MEMRI, published a research paper in 1996 calling for the removal of the Hussein regime in Iraq. She was a Middle East advisor for former Vice-President Cheney.

Al-Ahram Weekly – (Middle East) A weekly online news magazine published by the leading newspaper in Egypt. This publication is considered to be heavily influenced (censored?) by the Egyptian government led by President Hosni Mubarak (who has been President of Egypt since the late President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by members of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1981). Egypt is considered to be a “moderate” nation in the Middle East and is a U.S. ally in the region.

Al-Hayat – (Middle East) This newspaper from the Middle East "is regarded as by far and away the best and most intensely read Arab newspaper". It is considered to be a liberal paper with leanings toward the west and Saudi Arabia. But the opinions expressed are from all over the political spectrum.

Al-Arabiya English – (Middle East) One of the most widely read newspapers in the Middle East. Al-Arabiya is seen as more friendly to the “western perspective” of events in the Middle East. Al-Arabiya receives much of it’s funding from Saudi Arabia and competes with Al-Jazeera for readers in the Middle East. http://www.alarabiya.net/english.html

Al-Jazeera English – (Middle East) “The CNN of the Middle East”. Many people in the U.S. believe that Al Jazeera supported Osama bin Laden and helped al Qaeda broadcast messages to terrorists all over the world. While that may be true, it doesn’t change the fact that many people in the Middle East obtain their news from al-Jazeera every day. Al-Jazeera receives much of it’s funding from Arab Gulf States who compete with Saudi Arabia for leadership in the Muslim world. Al-Arabiya is a rival to Al-Jazeera in the Middle East.

Daily Star – (Middle East) The Daily Star is published in Lebanon, Beruit. It is considered by many people to be the leading English language newspaper in the Middle East. Daily Star reporters, such as Rami Khouri, occasionally appear on American news programs.

BBC World News – (Europe) British Broadcasting Corporation World News. Many people believe that BBC World News operates the world’s best news gathering organization.

The Economist – (Europe) A British weekly news and international affairs publication. The name implies that “The Economist” focuses on fiscal and trade issues. However, it is essentially a weekly newsmagazine. In my opinion it is very good, and when compared to similar U.S. publications, non-partisan. Coverage of international events is particularly good.

Deutsche Welle – (Europe) International news broadcasting company based in Germany. Deutsche Welle (usually called “DW”) competes against CNN in Europe. DW-TV is the satellite news program produced by Deutsche Welle. DW-TV is broadcast in four languages. DW radio broadcasts in 30 languages world-wide.

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