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Fact checking the "Fact Checkers"
Topic Started: Sep 1 2012, 08:06 AM (1,120 Views)
Joan Foster

In a recent blog post, Rachel Maddow laments what she calls the "post-truth campaign." By this she means Mitt Romney's claim that the Obama administration has gutted welfare reform, which she calls a "ridiculous welfare lie."

As we noted in an earlier editorial, "Gutted," there is nothing ridiculous about the claim. In defiant contradiction of the 1996 welfare-reform law's Section 406, "Mandatory Work Requirements," the administration has announced a program to grant waivers to states that want to try "alternative" approaches. Those can include "multi-year career pathways" and "a comprehensive universal engagement system in lieu of certain [work] participation-rate requirements."

N.B.: "in lieu of." The administration is letting states substitute non-work for work. That is, indeed, gutting the work requirement.

Those who contend otherwise rest their case on a laughably thin reed: Obama administration assurances to the contrary. Their reasoning seems to be: (1) Romney says Obama weakened welfare reform; (2) the Obama administration says it hasn't; (3) therefore, Romney is lying.

Gosh, who could possibly argue with that?

Such naïve faith in White House assurances is rather touching (though we don't recall the Bush administration receiving such a generous benefit of the doubt). It is particularly touching when it comes to this president. Obama also has vowed to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay (he hasn't), and not to impose "any form of tax increase" on families earning less than $250,000 a year (several new taxes affect those making less), and to end Bush-era military commissions (they remain operative), and to forbid former lobbyists from serving in his administration (several former lobbyists now do), and to reduce the number of middle managers in the federal workforce (he has taken no action), and to give an annual "State of the World" address (he hasn't given even one), and to convert the White House vehicle fleet to plug-ins within a year (didn't happen), and . . .

Nevertheless, the Democratic Party faithful insist Romney is wrong because "the president said it, I believe it, and that settles it." Who says religion and politics don't mix?

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/rtd-opinion/2012/sep/04/tdopin01-gutted-ii-ar-2175328/
Edited by Joan Foster, Sep 4 2012, 10:35 AM.
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Joan Foster

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/israeli-ambassador-rebukes-dnc-chair_651629.html

Where is the "fact checking" of this Liar? There will not be any.
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Joan Foster


I really can't do much with this one beyond relaying the absurd particulars involved in PolitiFact's incredible conclusion that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker made a statement which was only "Half True" about unemployment in the various states in his speech last week at the Republican National Convention.

On August 17, the government's Bureau of Labor Statistics opened its monthly Regional and State Employment and Unemployment report as follows: "Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed or slightly higher in July. Forty-four states recorded unemployment rate increases, two states and the District of Columbia posted rate decreases, and four states had no change ..." The Associated Press's opening sentence in its coverage of the report's contents was: "Unemployment rates rose in 44 U.S. states in July, the most states to show a monthly increase in more than three years and a reflection of weak hiring nationwide." After the jump, readers will see the awful statement Walker made in Tampa:

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"Last month, 44 of the 50 states saw an increase in the unemployment rate."
PolitiFact's (cough, cough, wheeze, wheeze) "Truth-O-Meter" evaluated Walker's statement as "Half-True," because:

... many of the increases were so small that they were statistically insignificant. If something is statistically insignificant, that means it’s so small that you can’t be certain the change actually happened.
... And longer-term employment data, particularly the year-over-year statistics, shows that the labor market has improved, suggesting that the labor picture is more complex than Walker’s claim would indicate.
The web site's definition of "Half-True" is: "The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context." Walker's truthful statement merely repeating what BLS reported and AP relayed was made in a political speech, not an economic dissertation.

Following the illogic of PolitiFact evaluator Louis Jacobson, Walker would not (repeat: not) have improved his performance even if he had added the word "reported" ("Last month, 44 of the 50 states saw an increase in the reported unemployment rate"), because he still didn't address "statistical significance," and didn't tell us how great things were a year ago (as if that matters in a statement about one month's results).

I'll end this with a quote from Charlie Sykes at WTMJ in Milwaukee at his post entitled "Politifact Beclowns Itself. Again": "The Moral of the Story seems to be: What's TRUE for the media (and, as seen above, the government -- Ed.), becomes HALF TRUE when uttered by a Republican politician."

Exit question: Does the "O" in Truth-O-Meter stand for "Obama"?

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.



Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2012/09/04/politifact-beclowns-itself-half-true-evaluation-walkers-factual-claim-ab#ixzz25Wvj52P2
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kbp

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/09/04/the-dncs-bold-lies

The DNC's Bold Lies
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Kerri P.
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http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/fact-check-4-5-million-jobs-created-under-175621036--election.html
Fact check: 4.5 million new jobs created under Obama?

With the Democratic National Convention in full swing, a number of party leaders are attempting to boost President Barack Obama's re-election effort by asserting that 4.5 million new jobs have been created during his term.

Obama himself has recently claimed more job growth in the past 27 months than President George W. Bush created "during the entire seven years before this crisis."

"Despite incredible odds and united Republican opposition, our president took action, and now we've seen 4.5 million new jobs," San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro said in his keynote address at the DNC on Tuesday night.

That statistic was echoed by virtually all of Tuesday night's speakers, including first lady Michelle Obama, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who previously served as Obama's chief of staff.

However, CNN fact-checked that claim and found it to be "not the whole picture." Instead, CNN found that there has been a net increase of just 300,000 nonfarm payroll jobs since Obama took office. And if you count government jobs, there are actually 400,000 fewer people working today than in January 2009.

When Democrats use the 4.5 million jobs number, they're referring to jobs created after the economy bottomed out in January 2010, one year after Obama took office. That time frame excludes the worst job losses, which took place in 2009, and which many Democrats argue were the result of Bush policies.

CNN concludes: "The figure of 4.5 million jobs is accurate if you look at the most favorable period and category for the administration. But overall, there are still fewer people working now than when Obama took office at the height of the recession."

Still, a historical analysis of job growth percentages shows that Obama still fares better than some recent presidents. As of July, Obama is averaging +0.84 percent annual job growth in his term. That places him ahead of Bush, who saw +0.51 percent growth in his first term and -0.84 percent in his second term. Obama is also tracking better than George H.W. Bush, who presided over +0.69 percent growth during his one term in the White House.

However, Obama's job growth percentages trail far behind those of some other recent presidents, including Bill Clinton (+2.60 percent and +1.60 percent), Ronald Reagan (+1.75 percent and +2.53 percent) and even Jimmy Carter (+2.30 percent).
Edited by Kerri P., Sep 5 2012, 03:19 PM.
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kbp

Kerri P.
Sep 5 2012, 03:17 PM
That's like leaving the liabilities off the balance sheet.
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wingedwheel
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Not Pictured Above
0bama is going to hand pick numbers to spin as a positive. It's going to be up to Romney to continually bring up the number of people unemployed and on food stamps. He is going to have to explain how the unemployment numbers are bogus and bring up the labor force participation rate. He will have to hammer home low sells numbers and high gas prices. There is other stuff he has to hit on too. He can't let 0bama define what this election is going to be about. He needs to dictate it himself and go on a offensive.
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Joan Foster

Now is this in any way R spin. This woman is a liar. She is lying about an issue that is important to many Americans. She is deliberately deceiving in order to get votes and then allow Obama to INSTEAD do as he pleases.

No comment from the media? This is ACCEPTABLE?

http://theconservativetreehouse.com/

Debbie Wasserman Schultz just stepped into the entire fiasco and made it one hundred times worse !

Yesterday the DNC Chairperson,  Debbie Wasserman Schultz, stated to CNN the reason Jerusalem was no longer recognized as the capital of Israel in the DNC Party Platform was because the platform….

“was simply following what the Obama administration policy is”…


Today, in a bizarre floor vote the platform was rapidly changed by the DNC to return the language of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel back into the platform. When asked why the turnaround Debbie Wasserman Schultz claims:

…”the change was to reflect the Presidents policy on Israel”.


Even the liberal CNN panel was shaking their head recognizing that Debbie Wasserman Schultz was tying herself into pretzel like contortions to deny the obvious.
Edited by Joan Foster, Sep 6 2012, 09:57 AM.
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Joan Foster

Anybody fact check this hypocrite? I think WE are doing great at stopping lies. If only the MSM was not in the tank.

.....

Addressing the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night in Charlotte, N.C., California Attorney General Kamala Harris told a crowd of 20,000 that she wants an “America where opportunity is open to everyone … where everyone plays by the same set of rules.” The first big boost to her career, however, came not because of her legal prowess but because her boyfriend was California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen once called Harris “the Speaker’s new steady.” He went on to become the first black mayor of San Francisco.

As Brown’s time as speaker drew to a close in 1994, he named Harris to the California Medical Assistance Commission, a job that came with a $72,000 annual salary. Brown had previously appointed her to the state Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

She “was described by several people at the Capitol as Brown’s girlfriend,” the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.

Although that job paid nearly $98,000, Harris’ term was set to expire in five weeks when Brown tapped her for the Medical Assistance Commission slot. That body met only monthly and the $72,000 position was not consider a full-time job.



Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/09/06/at-dem-convention-kamala-harris-demands-opportunity-open-to-everyone-but-had-special-career-help-from-powerful-boyfriend/#ixzz25jHcTVPs
Edited by Joan Foster, Sep 6 2012, 05:00 PM.
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chatham
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No one should be surprised when any politician speaks in public Its like they own the government and we pay for it. I think it was that way before our revolution and the same before the french revolution.... EH?? lol
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Joan Foster

The headline news when I log on to my Ipad is a "fact-checking" article...comparing "Romeney" and Obama. Guess they don't "check" their own stuff...

:roflmao: :roflmao:
Edited by Joan Foster, Sep 10 2012, 03:52 PM.
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kbp

Joan Foster
Sep 10 2012, 03:52 PM
The headline news when I log on to my Ipad is a "fact-checking" article...comparing "Romeney" and Obama. Guess they don't "check" their own stuff...

:roflmao: :roflmao:
That's up to par!
Edited by kbp, Sep 10 2012, 04:48 PM.
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