Sunday editor
The latest Truth-O-Meter items from Charles Gay
"Connecticut has the fifth toughest gun control laws in the country, including an assault weapons ban that bans 35 different weapons."
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."
The Keystone oil pipeline "would employ 20,000 people in the United States."
"The latest unemployment numbers have shown that nearly 315,000 Americans have simply given up hope when it comes to finding a job."
A database police use to look up wanted suspects excludes certain warrants issued by Atlanta Municipal Court.
On letting Occupy Atlanta protesters stay in Woodruff Park.
The newly created state Immigration Enforcement Review Board "can actually prosecute, and get them [violators] into jail, if we bring in the attorney general."
"Since 1970, the Clean Air Act has reduced toxic and health-threatening air pollution by 60 percent while our economy has grown more than 200 percent."
Recent stories from Charles Gay
Call the doctor! Truthiness in critical conditionTruthiness was in critical condition at PolitiFact Georgia last week. Our team published three fact checks in a row on health care. The first from presidential hopeful Herman Cain on CT scans flat-lined. One by U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia on Internal Revenue Service agents and the health care overhaul was DOA. Another by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about hospital care survived and is in good condition. Even on issues outside of health care, truthiness looked at least a little bit puny. A claim by Donald Trump that the U.S. no longer builds bridges needed major surgery, as did a statement by MARTA’s chairman that the transit system is getting safer. Want to comment on our findings? Hit the "like" button on our Facebook page to join the discussion. You can also follow us on Twitter.
Truth-O-Meter sniffs out cheesy claimsThe Truth-O-Meter spent last week searching for holes in politicians’ statements. And boy, did we find some cheesy ones. In fact, we found one about Swiss cheese from U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland. It paired nicely with a Mostly True statement about alcohol that we ran the following day. It was a PolitiFact Georgia version of a cocktail party. The festivities were brief. We marched on to cover statements on immigration and federal fiances. One from President Barack Obama stank like a slab of Limburger cheese. Join us on Twitter and Facebook to comment and read our latest updates.
Truth-O-Meter stuck on Half TrueThe Truth-O-Meter spent much of the past week stuck on Half True. Hope as we might that politicians and pundits would be beacons of truth, they struggled to get things right on everything from mammograms to the federal budget. In one case, both Democrats and Republicans fumbled on the same issue: foreign money in U.S. elections. And in one case -- taxes -- a Republican got it mostly right. Want to comment on our rulings? Try us on Facebook or Twitter. Here's how things went down:
Politicians had a rough time with the truthThe truth and politicos were strangers last week. The Truth-O-Meter ruled Half True and worse on statements about "dirty" campaign contributions, stimulus spending, the community center and mosque near ground zero, and sexual deviance. And our Flip-O-Meter, which detects whether politicians have shifted their opinions, found that a gubernatorial candidate inched away from his ideal of running a "civil and polite" campaign. Here's how the politicos fared:
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. Email the Georgia Truth-O-Meter with feedback and with claims you'd like to see checked. If you send us a comment, we'll assume you don't mind us publishing it unless you tell us otherwise.
