From time to time we come across bits of political malarkey or other items that don’t quite rate a full article. Starting today, we’ll collect these tidbits in a new, occasional feature we call "Extras." Palin: "Who makes a decision like that?" In a Nov. 6 appearance at a no-cameras-allowed fundraiser, Sarah Palin criticized moving the words "In God We Trust" onto the edges of some new $1 coins: "Who calls a shot like that? Who makes a decision like... Click to Read the Full Post
Q: Was the suspected Fort Hood shooter an "advisor to Obama’s homeland security team" or a member of his "transition team"? A: This is another false e-rumor. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was merely an audience member at some public events of a university-sponsored group that offered unsolicited advice to the new administration. Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Q: Has the Obama administration started a program to use "taxpayer money" to give free cell phones to welfare recipients? A: No. Low-income households have been eligible for discounted telephone service for more than a decade. But the program is funded by telecom companies, not by taxes, and the president has nothing to do with it. Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Q: Are the Obamas doing away with the White House "Christmas" tree and banning ornaments with religious themes? A: The traditional Christmas Tree will remain, and an e-mail claim about ornaments is unsubstantiated. Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Q: Was Obama reading an anti-America book written by a Muslim? A: No. The book, a New York Times best-seller, is about America’s role in a new global era. The author, a leading journalist, is a Muslim but describes himself as "not a religious guy." Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Summary The Republican National Committee claims in a new Web ad that Democratic health care plans propose taxes on "charities and small businesses. A doctor’s tax. Taxes on your health insurance. Even a tax on medical supplies." It’s perfectly true, as the ad says, that "hundreds of billions" in taxes are being proposed – spread over 10 years. But the ad exaggerates and misleads in a number of ways: It makes a downright false claim that ordinary wheelchairs... Click to Read the Full Post
Q: Does Obama have an unprecedented number of "czars"? A: "Czar" is media lingo, not an official title. But our research shows that George Bush’s administration had more "czars" than the Obama administration. Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Slate writer Tim Noah ‘fesses up to, and dissects, his erroneous telling of an anecdote about an Illinois man whose insurance company canceled his coverage while he was in the middle of chemotherapy. Noah’s July 27 column – which said, wrongly, that "the delay in treatment eliminated [the man's] chances of recovery, and he died" – was the source for President Obama’s careless repetition of the story in his health care address to Congress on Sept. 9. In an earlier... Click to Read the Full Post
Q: Did Obama loan $2 billion to Brazil’s oil company to benefit China and George Soros? A: The president had nothing to do with the loan, which the Export-Import Bank approved for Brazil to buy U.S.-made equipment and services. Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Note: We are retracting one of our Sept. 10 criticisms of President Obama’s speech on health care. We said that he "overstated the degree of concentration in the insurance industry." We have continued to research the subject, and the following information turned up by our reporter D’Angelo Gore has led us to change our judgment. While the president may have overstated the findings of one study, we have now found others that show market concentration at least as severe as... Click to Read the Full Post
