The Supreme Court’s caseload has sharply increased in recent decades. Whereas in 1945, there were only 1,460 cases on the docket, today that number is more than 10,000 per term.
Source: Supreme Court
Year: 2009
Georgia Arms
Q: Did the Obama administration shut down a Georgia ammunition supplier? Is it trying to create an ammo shortage?
A: Georgia Arms still is doing a booming business in reloaded military cartridges. The Pentagon quickly reversed a move to stop selling spent casings.
Obama: U.S. “One of the Largest Muslim Countries.” Not!
President Barack Obama claimed that the U.S. is "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world" in terms of population. That strains the facts mightily. The U.S. Muslim population probably doesn’t even rank in the top 50.
Obama’s remark came in a June 1 interview with French TV correspondent Laura Haim:
Obama: June 1: Now, the flip side is I think that the United States and the West generally, we have to educate ourselves more effectively on Islam.
June 4, 2009
The term of the Supreme Court begins on the first Monday of October and lasts until the preceding day the next year.
Source: Supreme Court
Virginia Myths and More
One thing for certain in the race for Virginia’s governorship is that Bob McDonnell is the GOP nominee. As for the Democrats, three candidates are still vying for the nomination. That means plenty of battles on the airwaves. And a few of the Democrats’ ads don’t pass the fact-checking test …
Mind-meld: Sotomayor and Conservative Luminaries
We’ve just updated our recent Ask FactCheck item on Sonia Sotomayor and the Second Amendment to reflect the latest news: A ruling by three judges on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreeing with her judgment that the amendment doesn’t apply to state and local governments.
The decision in National Rifle Association v. Chicago takes some of the air out of the argument, put forward by the NRA and others, that Sotomayor is anti-gun rights.
June 3, 2009
The 100-watt incandescent light bulb will be banned in the U.S. starting Jan. 1, 2012, under energy legislation signed by President Bush. The law bans 75-, 60- and 40-watt bulbs by 2014.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Sotomayer First ‘Hispanic?’
Q: Would Sonia Sotomayor really be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court?
A: Depending on your point of view, the late Benjamin Cardozo might be considered “Hispanic.”
Tax Cut Ads Clip Some Details
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced on June 1 a radio ad and robo-call campaign against several congressional Republicans for voting against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. the stimulus bill). However, the attacks don’t tell the whole story.
For instance, the ad aimed at Republican Rep. Peter King claim that he "opposed an $800 tax cut and opposed creating or saving 215,000 New York jobs." But King, like many Republicans, never said that. Rather,
June 2, 2009
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters say there is a 70 percent chance of having nine to 14 named storms in the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, which is June through November. Of those, four to seven could become hurricanes and one to three could become major hurricanes.
Source: NOAA