Washington Correspondent, Knoxville News Sentinel and Scripps Howard News Service
The latest Truth-O-Meter items from Michael Collins
Says U.S. Rep. Stephen Fincher "breaks earmark pledge."
Says in U.S. Congress, members "don’t even have to be on the floor for debates or votes."
"The United States already has the highest corporate tax rate in the world."
"Congress as a whole is less popular than it’s been since polling was invented."
"The average age of members of the House of Representatives is 57 years old."
"Fewer than 10 percent of those in the House are what anyone would classify as wealthy."
Congressman Scott DesJarlais "is spending his one year anniversary on vacation -- only working 6 days in all of January."
"Studies show that if we opened one reserve in Alaska now, in five years, gas prices could be at $2 a gallon."
"Congressman Phil Roe hands out $1.3M government check" from a federal program that "he voted against."
Recent stories from Michael Collins
Who to blame for the price at the pump? Tough to saySummer is coming, the general election is cranking up and that means the price of gas will be talked about. A lot. Find out why explaining it -- and figuring out who to blame for it -- isn't so simple.
Who to blame for the price at the pump? Tough to saySummer is coming, the general election is cranking up and that means the price of gas will be talked about. A lot. Find out why explaining it -- and figuring out who to blame for it -- isn't so simple.
Lamar Alexander's wind claim: Is it for the birds?For Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, there are lots of reasons to loathe wind power. The East Tennessean loves his unobstructed mountain views and much prefers the consistently reliable power output from nuclear reactors. And lately he has been claiming that wind turbines lead to a yearly slaughter of birds. His claim about turbines being "a Cuisinart in the sky" for birds reflects at least one estimate, but others show lower numbers. And there's this -- among manmade hazards, wind turbines play a tiny role in bird deaths.
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