Monthly Archives: January 2009
Posted on January 29, 2009
During the 2008 campaign, we repeatedly called out then-candidate Barack Obama for complaining that the U.S. was spending billions in Iraq while the Iraqi government sat on a projected $79 billion surplus. We said that Obama’s projection didn’t account for updates to the Iraqi budget. But things were slightly more …
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Posted on January 29, 2009
Q: Was Harry Reid’s ancestor a horse thief? A: That’s a hoax. Sen. Reid is only the most recent political figure to be accused of fabricated outlaw ancestry.
Posted on January 28, 2009 , Updated on April 16, 2009
Republican incumbent Norm Coleman headed into the Minnesota U.S. Senate recount leading Democratic challenger Al Franken by more than 200 votes. But on Jan. 5, the state Canvassing Board certified recount results showing Franken received 225 more votes than Coleman in the general election, out of nearly 2.9 million votes …
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Posted on January 27, 2009 , Updated on January 27, 2009 , Corrected on January 30, 2009
Q: Did Obama snub Medal of Honor recipients at the Inaugural Balls? A: Obama is the first president since Eisenhower to miss the American Legion’s Salute to Heroes ball. A Legion spokesman says it "does not feel offended or ‘snubbed,’" and Medal of Honor recipients were invited to the Commander in …
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Posted on January 22, 2009
On the campaign trail, President Obama embraced the coal industry’s vision of “clean coal” technology. But even before he took office, a coalition of environmental groups (including Al Gore’s) launched ads ridiculing the idea as a myth: “In reality, there’s no such thing as clean coal.” We’re sure to hear …
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Posted on January 21, 2009 , Updated on Jan. 23, 2009
Q: Did Barack Obama’s inauguration really cost 4 times as much as George Bush’s 2005 inauguration? A: Claims of a huge disparity are untrue. Actually, an apples-to-apples comparison shows that the two inaugurations likely cost about the same.
Posted on January 20, 2009
President Barack Obama made one factual error in his first speech in office when he said, immediately after being sworn in: Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. It is true that Obama is counted as the 44th president, but he’s only the 43rd person to take the oath. …
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Posted on January 16, 2009
Q:Are states going to require serial numbers on bullets and require disposal of existing ammunition? A:Such a proposal is being pushed by a company that holds a patent on bullet-coding technology. But none of the 31 bills introduced last year ever made it out of committee.
Posted on January 14, 2009
Q: Why did the Obamas stay at a hotel instead of Blair House? A: The family wanted the daughters to start school in early January, much earlier in the month than recent presidents have taken up residence there. The Bush administration said the guest house was unavailable, and a former …
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Posted on January 14, 2009
Pelosi has taken her place with Obama and Palin as a favorite target of false claims in chain e-mails, judging by the examples our readers send us. Here’s the truth about some of the bunk being thrown at her by anonymous Internet rumormongers. Her husband does not own a …
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FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Jan. 24-30.
