Beyond the Truth-O-Meter
Harrisburg mayoral claims and promises
Harrisburg mayoral candidate Dan Miller has consistently characterized the proposed recovery plan for the City of Harrisburg as "Tom Corbett's plan" or the "Corbett/Thompson/Papenfuse" plan to include Linda Thompson and Eric Papenfuse's support for it - and, obviously, to align them with an unpopular Republican governor. Is this accurate?
Friday, May 17th, 2013
IRS Not So ‘Independent’
The Internal Revenue Service is not exactly an "independent agency" as President Obama claimed during a May 13 press conference. In fact, it is a bureau of the Treasury Department, an executive agency within the federal government. And it is the president who nominates the head.
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Barbara Boxer’s claim that GOP budgets hampered Benghazi security
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif, tried to turn attention in the Benghazi controversy back to reductions in State Department funding. Do her claims hold up?
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
San Diego's Phantom Triple Border Fence
Checking that claim by Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer that "the two border sections with triple fencing outside San Diego reduced infiltration by 92 percent."
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
Joe Biden’s Productivity Piffle
Vice President Joe Biden falsely claimed that U.S. workers "are three times as productive as any worker in the world." He's not even close. By the standard measure for productivity, American workers ranked third in the world behind Norway and Ireland in 2011.
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
How many pages of regulations for ‘Obamacare’?
Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., offered such an astonishing figure — 33,000 pages of “Obamacare” regulations! — that we immediately wanted to know more.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Rep. Bachmann, Minnesota and same-sex marriage
Did Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., announce that she would leave Minnesota if the state legalized gay marriage?
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Benghazi Attack, Revisited
President Obama says the May 8 House hearing on Benghazi and subsequent reporting about it produced no new information. That's largely the case, but the president misrepresented some facts at his May 13 press conference in dismissing the House investigation as a "political circus."
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Obama’s claim he called Benghazi an ‘act of terrorism’
Once again, it appears that we must parse a few presidential words.
Tuesday, May 14th, 2013
Checking the Harrisburg, Pa., mayor's claims on business growth
Since the campaign season began, Harrisburg Mayor Linda Thompson has made some startling claims about the growth of businesses and jobs in the capital city during her tenure. Many simply don't believe them.
Monday, May 13th, 2013
Is Obama threatening to arrest governors?
Has President Obama threatened 14 state governors with arrest for forming State Defense Forces?
Monday, May 13th, 2013
The claim that Senate Democrats have produced a ‘balanced budget’
Is the Democratic-crafted budget plan “a balanced budget,” as Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said?
Monday, May 13th, 2013
Gun deaths in Arizona vs. troop deaths in Afghanistan
President Barack Obama said that twice as many people were murdered with guns in Arizona from 2001 to 2010 than were killed in combat in Afghanistan. Is that correct?
Sunday, May 12th, 2013
Arizona's governor and the deficit
Gov. Jan Brewer said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that she inherited -- and resolved -- the largest budget deficit in the country. Is that correct?
Sunday, May 12th, 2013
9/11 Hijackers and Student Visas
Lawmakers on both sides of the immigration debate have falsely claimed that “some” or “all” of the 9/11 hijackers were in the U.S. on student visas. Only one of the 19 hijackers came to the U.S. on a student visa. The rest arrived here on tourist or business visas.
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Court-Martialed for Sharing Religious Faith?
Q: Has the Pentagon recently declared that sharing one's faith is punishable by court-martial? A: No. The Pentagon merely restated its long-held policy that military members can "share their faith (evangelize)" but "not force unwanted, intrusive attempts to convert others to one’s beliefs (proselytization)."
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Coburn’s claim that violence in national parks has declined ‘85 percent’ because of guns
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., attached an eye-popping figure — 85 percent — to the decline in violent crime in national parks after guns were allowed. Could this possibly be true?
Friday, May 10th, 2013
Was Roman statesman Cicero a budget balancer?
Is a quotation from Roman statesman Cicero about balancing the budget, reducing public debt, and curtailing foreign assistance a genuine one?
Thursday, May 9th, 2013
The Benghazi hearings: what’s new and what’s not
Readers who are just tuning into the Benghazi story may be a little confused about what is new — and what is not. As a reader service, here’s an effort to help readers through some of the fog of charges and countercharges that emerged at the House hearings on Wednesday.
Thursday, May 9th, 2013
Will Tsarnaev be buried in Arlington National Cemetery?
Is accused bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev going to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery?
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
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