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Wednesday, May 16th, 2012
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare in 1965. Political attacks about Medicare started even before that.

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare in 1965. Political attacks about Medicare started even before that.

The PolitiFact guide to Medicare attack lines

Barack Obama has slashed Medicare by $500 billion. Mitt Romney and House Republicans want to end Medicare. And a new board is going to ration care so Washington can waste more money. 

Believe any of that? You shouldn’t. 

But it’s what the political ads likely will be saying between now and Election Day in November.

We have some advice for voters sorting out the claims: Believe nothing you hear in a 30-second TV ad.

>>more

The Latest from PolitiFact Georgia

A scorecard separating fact from fiction

The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority "concluded that light rail in Cobb County would more than double commute time and would therefore be unsuccessful in alleviating traffic congestion."

"When we took office, let me remind you, there was virtually no international pressure on Iran."

Georgia crackdown on illegal immigration costs state farmers $400 million last year.

Crime rises in communities with casinos.

Each U.S. House member who voted to overhaul Social Security in 1983 was re-elected.

"The United States imprisons more than any nation in the world."

"When housing and transportation costs are combined, Atlanta’s cost of living -- typically perceived as relatively low -- ranks as 7th worst out of 51 metros nationally."

The fastest-rising expense in the U.S. Defense Department is health care.

Before the HOPE scholarship, "70 percent of the high school students who made 1400 or above on their SAT left the state of Georgia. Now, 70 percent of those stay in the state of Georgia."

Promise: Eliminate Georgia's marriage tax penalty

Update: New tax law fulfills campaign pledge for married couples

The average Atlanta resident "spends an extra $924 each year in additional gasoline and wasted time."

"We don’t allow filming inside of the City Hall unless there is a specific reason."

Under President Barack Obama’s watch, "oil production on federal lands has decreased 14 percent over the past year."

Georgia’s HOPE scholarship is "still the richest scholarship program in America."

"The federal government owns tens of thousands of properties that are vacant or underused."

"The ACLU has filed a suit to end prayer from the military completely."

A proposed regional transportation tax will last "a minimum" of 10 years, and has been approved to last longer.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not traditionally asked a lot of questions during oral arguments.

Georgia is one of three states that "effectively have no regulations whatsoever on lobbyists giving to legislators."

"[O]ver 200,000 ordinary citizens were given the opportunity to identify projects they preferred."

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PolitiFact Georgia is a partnership of
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and PolitiFact.com, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Web site of the Tampa Bay Times, to help you find the truth in politics.

Every day, reporters and researchers from the Journal-Constitution examine statements by Georgia elected officials and candidates and anyone else who speaks up on matters of public importance. We research their statements and then rate the accuracy on our Truth-O-Meter:

TRUE – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.

MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.

HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.

MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.

FALSE – The statement is not accurate.

PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.

For more details, see the Principles of PolitiFact and the Truth-O-Meter.

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