This week, readers sent us comments about our new FactCheck Quiz, the debate on federal workers’ pay and our findings about Nancy Pelosi’s claim on fiscal discipline.
In the FactCheck Mailbag, we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Kudos on the Quiz
I think this is a great idea [FactCheck Quiz]. It’s a tool I can use to test my understanding of what’s going on. I found my answer on one of them to be wrong — handy to have a link to explain further.
Patricia Marino
St. Louis, Mo.
Love it — but could use running stats on your page of the respondents’ scores broken down by their usual news source, political leaning (left/right) or party affiliation. What do you think? Who uses your site more to help them make their decisions? "Liberals" or "Conservatives"?
Tony Norris
Gig Harbor, Wash.
I got only one of three answers correctly. But I was pleased that each of the wrong answers had responses to explain my choice, plus the opportunity to choose another answer and get that one wrong, too. Keep it up.
Hal Wicke
New York, N.Y.
The quiz is a great idea. Thanks.
Don Bluhm
Milwaukee, Wis.
Fun. Should be a bit longer, 7-8 questions.
Steve Jost
Dunkirk, Md.
I like it. Everyone throws out figures and sometimes you can’t remember who said what! Thanks for your efforts.
Ro Blake
Sonoma, Calif.
Case Not Made
Looking over your article ["Are Federal Workers Overpaid?" Dec. 1], the second headline said, "Both sides in great pay debate are misleading the public." I’ll admit some bias on the subject since I’m a federal worker, but in reading your piece, I didn’t really find support for the headline saying "Both" sides were misleading the public.
While it’s clear the Republican politicians and conservative "think" tanks you mentioned are misleading the public – the only "other side" mentioned that provided any data was OPM, BEA and BLS. While you addressed the data you discussed from them as not being usable to make a full determination, I don’t think the case was made that OPM, BEA and BLS "are misleading the public."
Clayton Seufert
North Charleston, S.C.
Who’s Splitting Hairs?
I understand what the writer of the letter ["Any Benefit Cut Is a Cut," Feb. 15] is saying, but I believe that he is splitting hairs in that a statement like that is force-fed to the people with an unrealistic gravity. The article ["DCCC, Crossroads Usher In 2012 Campaign," Feb. 8] merely served to put things into perspective, as a way to deal with the exaggerated negative marketing. To those who live in a black and white world, yes, it is a cut. To the rest of us, it’s kind of like, C’mon…get real.
Ron Campos
Lubbock, Texas
Don’t Blame Pelosi
This ["Pelosi Pablum on ‘Fiscal Discipline,‘ " Nov. 10] is right-wing trash. Basically your factchecker is blaming Nancy Pelosi for the entire deficit during her years. What your factchecker does not understand is that the deficit was built primary in 2001, 2003 (tax cuts and wars began) and the Medicare expansion of 2006.
ALL BEFORE NANCY WAS SPEAKER
Yet your factchecker assigns those costs to Nancy. This is completely false. I can no longer use your site as a reference if this is the fantasy you are promoting.
Patrick Thompson
Campbell, Calif.