The last time the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won the gold medal was in 1980 in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Source: U.S. Olympic Committee/Associated Press
Month: February 2010
February 27, 2010
Feb. 28 is the deadline for individuals and corporations to donate to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti and claim those contributions on 2009 tax returns.
Source: IRS.gov
Summit Extras: Medical Malpractice
Yesterday we filed our lengthy report on the Blair House health care summit. But there were a few claims we didn’t have a chance to investigate, such as this exchange on medical malpractice.
A key Republican proposal for any health care overhaul effort is so- called "tort reform" that would limit the potential liability awards in medical malpractice cases. We found at least a dozen references to it throughout the transcript of yesterday’s session. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner asked: "Why can’t we do something about the biggest cost driver,
February 26, 2010
The highest medal count for the United States in the Olympic Winter Games is 34, which the U.S. team attained in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
Source: U.S. Olympic Committee
Health Care Summit Squabbles
We tuned in to watch the president’s health care summit at Blair House today — all six-plus hours of it. And we weren’t surprised to hear some factual missteps in the discussion: Sen. Lamar Alexander said premiums will go up for “millions” under the Senate bill and president’s plan, while President Barack Obama said families …
February 25, 2010
In the first Olympic Winter Games, in 1924, the Canadian hockey team won all five of their games and outscored their opponents 110 to 3.
Source: Vancouver Organizing Committee
More Pre-Summit Hype
A group partly supported by the Service Employees International Union is out with an ad that criticizes insurance companies and asks: "If health reform fails THEN what?" The Foundation for Patients’ Rights TV spot highlights the well-publicized rate-hike (as high as 39 percent) that had been planned by California’s Anthem Blue Cross — and which was postponed after public criticism from the Obama administration. But the ad also includes this shaky claim about the insurance industry: "2.7 million Americans were denied coverage"
Health Care Summit: We Rebut A Pre-buttal
The conservative American Future Fund has released an attack ad in anticipation of President Obama’s health care summit with Democrats and Republicans at the Blair House on Thursday. The group said the ad would air on cable television during the week.
It says that the president and liberals want to build on a health care bill that includes "Backroom Deals" including a "Cornhusker Kickback" and a "Louisiana Purchase."
The "Cornhusker Kickback" claim is outdated. That was a nickname given by Republicans to an exemption within the Senate-passed health care bill.
February 24, 2010
The first Paralympic Winter Games were held in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.
Source: Vancouver Organizing Committee
Just the Facts 2010: E-mails
In this week’s webisode, our second since rebooting the vidcast, host Christine Nieves looks at some false chain e-mails about Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin. We first wrote about them during the 2008 presidential election, but the lessons in debunking are timeless. We use them as examples to review …