The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Marco Rubio says he never voted to increase taxes Marco Rubio is all of the sudden a darling of the American conservative movement in his U.S. Senate primary against Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Consider his bona fides: Rubio opposes publicly run health care and is against abortion. He has been highly critical of the president […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | Chain e-mail says those on public option will have to get microchip implant It's a recipe for a great conspiracy theory: a big health care bill, an effort to centralize medical records and a new microchip that can be implanted under your skin.Just add outrage and stir!A chain e-mail warns darkly that an "imp […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Recovery.gov assigns statewide education jobs to one congressional district The Obama administration has promoted its Web site Recovery.gov as a bold new step in government transparency and a convenient way for voters to see that the economic stimulus program is working. Some Republicans say the site is a bunch of unreli […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Nonexistent congressional districts were on Recovery.gov. They're gone now. The Obama administration has promoted its Web site Recovery.gov as a bold new step in government transparency and a convenient way for voters to see that the economic stimulus program is working. Some Republicans say the site is filled with […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Boehner claims that the Senate health care bill includes an abortion fee Republicans have found another flaw in the health care bill: They say Democrats are trying to impose a monthly abortion fee on anyone enrolled in the public health care option."Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) massive, 2,074-page bill […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Sen. Mike Enzi says Senate health care bill will leave 24 million uninsured Republican Sen. Mike Enzi, whom Democrats had once hoped to woo for bipartisan support of a health care bill, attacked the version put forth on Nov. 18, 2009, by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. "Like the Pelosi bill, the Reid bill is gove […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | The public option was not discussed much during the campaign Democrats hoping to pass health care legislation through the Senate need 60 votes to begin consideration of the bill and, ultimately, to pass it. That means every Democrat and the two independents who generally vote with them need to approve. One of those indep […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Barely True | Hatch says Senate health care bill is longer than 'War and Peace' They are both epic works of literature. One begins like this:"Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infa […]
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Chain e-mail claims Obama closed offshore tax safe havens We got a chain e-mail recently that purports to list 90 accomplishments from President Barack Obama's first six months in office. Unlike most chain e-mails we get, this one was signed by its author, Robert Watson, a professor of American Studies at Lynn Univers […]
As usual, the inbox is bursting with strong opinions from our readers. It's been awhile since our last mailbag, so look for a second installment on Sunday.The House of Representatives' health care bill and abortionWe received a few letters from readers who said we missed the boat with our coverage of health reform legislation in the U.S. House of R […]
The Obama administration has promoted its Web site Recovery.gov as a bold new step in government transparency and a convenient way for voters to see that the economic stimulus program is working. Some Republicans say the site is a bunch of unreliable propaganda.Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller ridiculed the site in a newsletter Nov. 19, writing about how […]
They are both epic works of literature. One begins like this:"Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist—I really believe he is Antichrist—I will have nothing […]
We got a chain e-mail recently that purports to list 90 accomplishments from President Barack Obama's first six months in office. Honestly, most of the chain e-mails we get are of the anti-Obama variety. This one is decidedly positive. It also breaks with the tradition of all-capital letters, liberal use of exclamation points and, in a serious breach of […]
An amendment to the House health care bill continues to inspire political passions, driving a wedge between abortion-rights supporters who are outraged at what they consider a major loss for women's rights, and Democratic lawmakers who fear seeing their long-awaited health care reform effort stalled due to the debate.The amendment -- a last-minute addit […]
When Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska before her first term was over, her father said she wasn’t quitting the public stage. “Sarah’s not retreating,” he said. “She’s reloading!” Her new book Going Rogue: An American Life shows she has plenty of ammunition. Palin settles scores with the media and Republican […]
UPDATE: Nov. 16, 2009 We've gotten an early copy of Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue, and will be putting it to the Truth-O-Meter over the next few days. So far we've examined the following claims, which were similar to items we've published previously: * Palin is correct that when he was a candidate, Barack Obama said his cap and trade pl […]
Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who favors abortion rights, said that "progressives are really angry" because they believe poor women should have the choice to get an abortion if they want one. "On the other hand, we have to acknowledge that the House of Representatives is not a majority prochoice," Sanchez said. "And I've told that to a […]