John Boehner, phone home. Or at least check the Ohio Department of Transportation’s highly informative Web site before talking about state road projects on TV.
Last week, Rep. Boehner, the House Republican leader who hails from the Buckeye State, released a video featuring a bloodhound purporting to sniff out jobs created by the $787 billion stimulus package that took effect in February – and finding none. Boehner followed that up with a July 5 interview on “Fox News Sunday,”
Year: 2009
July 8, 2009
When the clock hits 34 minutes and 56 seconds past noon today (7/8/09), the time and date together will be 123456789.
Source: Politico.com
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of June 29 – July 6
This week, readers sent us kudos for what we do, questions about sorting out conflicting health care claims, complaints about our coverage of President Obama’s citizenship, and inquiries about political fundraising.
July 7, 2009
President Gerald Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. in 1913. His name wasn’t legally changed to Gerald R. Ford until 1935.
Source: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum
Same Inaccurate Claim on Oil Imports
In a July 6 interview with Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, President Obama repeated his false claim that the U.S. “import[s] more oil today than ever before.” When Obama first said this in February during an address to a joint-session of Congress, we wrote that the president had gotten his facts wrong. We said then that oil imports peaked in 2005 and have “substantially” declined since.
That’s still the case. This chart from the U.S. Energy Information Administration,
July 6, 2009
In July 1776, an estimated 2.5 million people lived in the United States.
Source: Census Bureau
July 5, 2009
At 26, Edward Rutledge of South Carolina was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin, age 70, was the oldest signer.
Source: Independence Hall Association
ACLU and Cemetery Crosses
Q: Is the ACLU suing to have cross-shaped headstones removed from military cemeteries?
A: The ACLU has filed no such suit, and it hasn’t sued to "end prayer from the military" either.
July 4, 2009
In 2007, $4.7 million worth of American flags were imported by the United States, the vast majority of that amount ($4.3 million) from China. The U.S. exported $2.4 million in U.S. flags that year, with half going to Mexico.
Source: Census Bureau
July 3, 2009
There is a greater than 1 in 4 chance that hot dogs and pork sausages served at picnics this weekend in the U.S. originated in Iowa.
Source: Census Bureau