Not Just an Opinion

“Such a message as that, I am sure I should mangle and mar it; If you would have it well done, I am only repeating your maxim, you must do it yourself, you must not leave it to others!”

- John Alden to Miles Standish in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s The Courtship of Miles Standish.

Though you might not trust a media reporter to deliver a marriage proposal for you, you probably unwittingly trust them with quite a few life-altering subjects.  They are the people that are supposed to find out what’s going on so you don’t have to.  The have access to primary sources as history is being made.  They ought to report the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as far as they are able.  But they ultimately interpret and translate to you what happens as they see fit.  Wouldn’t you rather cut through the patronizing opinions and interpret the news for yourself?

Digging deeper than opinion.  Divulging fact instead of fiction.  Discerning the truth that really matters versus the convenient lies.  That was supposed to be the job of the news media, but we’ve decided to pick up where they left off a long time ago.

GIVE ME THE FACTS, MA’AM. JUST THE FACTS, WITH NO SUGAR ON TOP…

Not Just An Opinion is an online database designed to help you find out the truth for yourself.  For a variety of controversial topics taking place in the world wide media, NJAO will present an entry citing the major opinions regarding the subject side by side, and then present what is not just an opinion: the raw, un-tampered facts and evidence that is currently known.

SO, WHO EXACTLY CAME UP WITH THIS BIG IDEA?

In June 2007, Eric Novak and Paul Suarez set up a website for Christian writers to discuss controversial topics in a meticulous and apologetic way.  Amanda Read was one of the original panel of six writers.  Unfortunately, the website never fully launched and its domain www.notjustanopinion.com went idle.

In December 2008, Eric asked Amanda if she would like to take the notjustanopinion.com domain off his hands.  She agreed, deciding that it was about time NJAO fill an important niche.  Instead of being a place for only controversial talk, it is now set to be a truth-seeking fact database.

HOLD IT…DID I SEE THAT WORD “CHRISTIAN” UP THERE?

You certainly did.  In order for something claiming to be online fact-checking database to be legitimate, the minds behind it must first be completely honest about themselves.  If they are hiding their worldview and connections, then they’re most likely up to something other than fact checking.  No reporter of any sort is a droid that is perfectly unbiased.

I (Amanda Read) am first of all a follower of CHRIST who believes the Bible to be the inerrant WORD of YAHWEH and I have very intellectual reasons for being so.  I’m also a homeschool graduate and college student Majoring in History and Minoring in Political Science at Jacksonville State University.  I’m an American; my father’s family is originally from the South and my mother’s family is originally from the North.  My father was in the U.S. Army, and I was raised in Texas, California, New York, Germany, Uzbekistan and Alabama along with my seven younger siblings.  So yes, I know about views other than my own.  I have a passion for historical research, science, screenwriting, filmmaking and art.  I want to bring a historical trend to journalism - when I write about current events, I always include historical connections to give readers a more complete picture of the workings of the era in which they live compared to the precedents before hand.  I really do want to find out facts.  There is no real satisfaction or security in dwelling upon news that is likely inaccurate.  You can read more about me at www.amandaread.com.