Archive for posts ‘ThinkProgress’

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FOX Bias Not Exactly Shocking

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why Media Matters and Think Progress are surprised that FOX News has six times as many opponents of healthcare reform on their shows as healthcare supporters. This is FOX’s m.o.

8/13/09 10:32 am | Comments disabled. | Permalink | Tags: , , ,

Freedom (of Speech) Isn’t Free

Dear President Bush,

As we loyal Americans all know, the president’s wartime powers under the Constitution gives the president the authority to do anything he feels necessary, even if it would otherwise be unconstitutional. There are some people in this country who, despite the fact that 9/11 changed everything, don’t realize that their hateful America-hating endangers our troops and strengthens the al Qaeda-Iran alliance. Therefore, I hope that you will use your unlimited constitutional wartime to authority to to rescind the following traitors’ right to freedom of speech:

Freedom isn’t free, not even freedom of speech. I hope you will take appropriate action against these haters.

Patriotically yours,

CrazyDrumGuy

4/1/08 7:00 am | Comments disabled. | Permalink | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

ThinkProgress Fact-Checks the State of the Union

Those of you who watched the State of the Union address on Monday night may be wondering, “Wow, are all of those things that the president said really true?” By now, of course, you should have already realized that the answer to that question is a resounding No.

If you’re having trouble discerning fact from fiction, the fine folks over at ThinkProgress have been fact-checking the State of the Union sentence-by-sentence. Some examples:

Bush said: “Over the past 7 years, we have increased funding for veterans by more than 95 percent. As we increase funding, we must also reform our veterans system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation.”

FACT — 1.8 MILLION VETERANS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE: “The new study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, estimated that in 2004 nearly 1.8 million veterans were uninsured and unable to get care in veterans’ facilities.” [New York Times, 11/9/07]
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Bush said: ” The Congress must pass liability protection for companies believed to have assisted in the efforts to defend America. We have had ample time for debate. The time to act is now.”

FACT — IMMUNITY ABSOLVES TELECOM COMPANIES OF VIOLATING THE LAW: Immunity “would wipe out a series of pending lawsuits alleging violations of privacy rights by telecommunications companies that provided telephone records, summaries of e-mail traffic and other information to the government after Sept. 11, 2001, without receiving court warrants.” [Washington Post 10/18/07]
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Bush said: “American troops are shifting from leading operations, to partnering with Iraqi forces, and, eventually, to a protective overwatch mission.”

FACT — IRAQIS ANTICIPATE TAKING CONTROL OF SECURITY BY 2018:
Iraqi defense minister Abdul Qadir “that his nation would not be able to take full responsibility for its internal security until 2012, nor be able on its own to defend Iraq’s borders from external threat until at least 2018.” [New York Times, 1/15/08]

FACT — CORRUPTION AND SECTARIANISM PLAGUE SECURITY FORCES: “Rampant corruption and lingering sectarianism” within Iraqi security forces are “major hurdles that Iraqi defense and police leaders must overcome in order to take responsibility for Iraq’s security,” according to Gen. James Dubik, head of the Multi-National Security Transition Command in Iraq. “[S]hortages of key personnel, equipment, weaponry and logistical capabilities mean that Iraq’s security forces will probably require U.S. military support for as long as a decade.” [Washington Post, 1/18/08]

Now, healthcare, FISA, and Iraq are some of Bush’s big-ticket political issues, so he’s obviously not going to stray very far from Republican talking points on any of those, so let’s take a look at what ThinkProgress has found on some less divisive issues:

Bush said: “Tonight the armies of compassion continue the march to a new day in the Gulf Coast. America honors the strength and resilience of the people of this region. We reaffirm our pledge to help them build stronger and better than before. And tonight I am pleased to announce that in April we will host this year’s North American Summit of Canada, Mexico, and the United States in the great city of New Orleans.”

FACT — KATRINA HAS SLIPPED FROM BUSH’S RADAR: In the 2007 State of the Union, there wasn’t a single mention of Hurricane Katrina or the ongoing Gulf Coast reconstruction effort. [SOTU, 1/23/07]
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Bush said: “I have submitted judicial nominees who will rule by the letter of the law, not the whim of the gavel. Many of these nominees are being unfairly delayed. They are worthy of confirmation, and the Senate should give each of them a prompt up-or-down vote.”

FACT — DEMOCRATIC-LED CONGRESS HAS CONFIRMED MORE OF BUSH’S JUDGES THAN DURING GOP CONGRESS: Despite the Republicans’ loss of control of the Senate, 40 of Bush’s judges won confirmation this year, more than in the previous three years when Republicans held the majority. [LA Times, 1/2/08]

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Much more can be found at ThinkProgress.

1/29/08 2:11 pm | Comments disabled. | Permalink | Tags: , , ,

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