Staff writer
Ciara O'Rourke joined the Austin American-Statesman in 2009. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism and French from Western Washington University. She shifted from PolitiFact Texas to the Statesman's Hays County bureau in 2011.
The latest Truth-O-Meter items from Ciara O'Rourke
"Obamacare was patterned after (Mitt Romney's) plan in Massachusetts."
Says 11 percent of the nation’s fatal car crashes in 2009 were attributed to distracted driving.
Says the state budget includes spending on commercials for Fortune 500 companies.
Says this month’s special session will cost the state $27,300 a day just for legislators’ daily living expenses.
"Obesity kills 34 children per hour."
Says the Obama Administration has fulfilled all of Texas’ requests for fire management assisting grants.
Says the Obama administration approved a major disaster declaration for Oklahoma in 2009, when nine of the state’s 77 counties burned for "about three days," while Texas wildfires have been burning for longer without such a declaration.
Says the Texas Board of Nursing has a backlog of "3,000 complaints against nurses, many of them sexual assaults, malfeasance."
Recent stories from Ciara O'Rourke
PolitiFact Texas turns twoPolitiFact Texas just turned 2 -- bounding into toddler-hood in part thanks to strong interest in fact checks of Rick Perry and Barack Obama.
Al Sharpton is fired up about Rick PerryOn MSNBC, Al Sharpton called Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign message "fact-free" and then offered up some Texas stats that we've checked before.
Checking Rick PerryNo one in Texas has faced the Truth-O-Meter more than Rick Perry, who's gotten more True ratings than anyone else in the state -- 10 -- while also leading in False (14) and Pants on Fire ratings (7). The just-declared presidential hopeful has generally fared well on our other meter, the Perry-O-Meter, which rates the fulfillment of campaign promises, though given his speech in South Carolina today we're also marking as a Promise Broken his repeated vow not to run for president.
Perry nails jobs claimIn a Texas speech, expected presidential candidate Rick Perry accurately pegged a claim about recent job growth in Texas while touching on claims we’ve previously found incomplete. Meanwhile, an Iowa group’s pro-Perry TV ad, posted to the right, offers an untested take on the job-gains topic.
Mailbag, the sequelWe emptied some of our mailbag last week, saving blasts touching on obesity, Barack Obama and Ron Paul until now...
Mailbag: "It's no wonder you people are losing your jobs."Our inbox was bulging with criticism, compliments and some choice words to keep our egos in check.
How likely are you to be struck by lightning?State Rep. Van Taylor says you're more likely to get zapped than to be shot by a concealed handgun license holder. We weren't so sure.
Mailbag: “You should have a Socialist-O-Meter”Readers tell us how they would have rated statements (and one suggests a leftish replacement for the Truth-O-Meter).
Your moment of Zen: The Daily Show lampoons the Texas HouseComedy Central took on Republicans who called for a Christian conservative to lead the House, prompting us to revisit statements about the speaker’s race.
"Is your organization Mostly Liberal?"Readers tell us how they would have rated certain statements.
We want to hear your suggestions and comments. Email the Texas 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.
