Friday, January 30th, 2015

Statements we say are Half-True

Half-True

Wider latitude

Anita Perry

Anita Perry

Only "four countries in the world… allow abortions after 20 weeks" of pregnancy.

Half-True

Right spirit, but...

Barry Smitherman

Barry Smitherman

According to an article in the Economist magazine, Americans are "guaranteed" to live above the poverty line if they graduate from high school, keep their first job for over a year and get and stay married.

Half-True

Bookends two out of 140-plus months

John Currie

John Currie

Unemployment in Texas has risen over two percentage points with Rick Perry as governor.

Half-True

Only for students scoring well

Jason Isaac

Jason Isaac

Pending a federal waiver, the 2013 Legislature "eliminated the overtesting of students in grades 3-8 by decreasing the number of tests from 17 to 8."

Half-True

Confidential backup makes this hard to judge

Steve Munisteri

Steve Munisteri

There "are 500 registered Republicans moving" to Texas "every day."

Half-True

Less in a few years--and it's complicated

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

"Every year, more than $40 million are leaving Missouri for the Lone Star State."

Half-True

Relied on 1998 estimate

Wendy Davis

Wendy Davis

Says that each year, about 25,000 American women become pregnant through rape or incest.

Half-True

IRS workers object to bill, not "Obamacare"

Jeb Hensarling

Jeb Hensarling

Says "the acting chief of the IRS said he – and the majority of IRS employees – would rather stay with his current" health "plan than switch to Obamacare."

Half-True

Some, not all

Leticia Van de Putte

Leticia Van de Putte

Says residents of Texas and San Antonio can be fired or denied jobs because they are gay.

Half-True

Cherry-picking time

Facebook posts

Facebook posts

"Texas ranks: #1 in worker deaths, #1 carbon emissions, #50 in high school graduates, #50 in funding for mental health patients."

Half-True

Parents parted after more than a decade of marriage

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Says Wendy Davis, "born into difficult circumstances," was the daughter of a single mother and a teenage mother herself.

Half-True

'Invaders' from Japan

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz

Says Americans "invented ‘Pong,’ ‘Space Invaders’ and the iPhone."

Half-True

Caution advised

Veronica Escobar

Veronica Escobar

Says El Paso is the "safest city of our size in the nation."

Half-True

On eve of war, opposed secession, not slavery

Rick Perry

Rick Perry

Says Sam Houston opposed slavery and as governor said Texas should not leave the union over slavery.

Half-True

Study: 21 percent of region's economic oomph

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Says that according to a report, "the tech sector now drives more than one-quarter of Austin’s economy."

Half-True

Muddier than said

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Says "we" have put more boots on the U.S.-Mexico border "than at any time in our history, and illegal crossings are down by nearly 80 percent from their peak in 2000."

Half-True

Not when adjusted for size of workforce

Jim Marston

Jim Marston

Says Texas leads the nation in fatal industrial accidents.

Half-True

Possible, not certain

League of Women Voters of the Austin Area

League of Women Voters of the Austin Area

Says opponents of proposed Austin school district bonds say the district’s "debt load doubles with these new bonds."

Half-True

Redefining Central Texas

League of Women Voters of the Austin Area

League of Women Voters of the Austin Area

Says proponents of a bond package for the Austin school district say the district has the second-lowest bond tax rate "among the Central Texas area school districts."

Half-True

One way yes, the other no

Trey Martinez Fischer

Trey Martinez Fischer

Says that since 1975, redistricting by Texas lawmakers has always been found in violation of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.