Author Archives: Emi Kolawole

Richardson Flunks Two Subjects

Summary Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson, governor of New Mexico, has claimed again and again U.S. students, from kindergarten through 12th grade, are ranked 29th in the world in math and science. He claims they used to be No. 1, too. But none of that is true. The two leading …
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Twisting Facts in Spanglish

Summary The Sunday night debate, complete with interpreters, produced a few flubs or fibs from the Democratic field, including these: Rep. Dennis Kucinich gave a figure for health insurance company profits that was vastly overstated. He also made a much-disputed claim about NAFTA. Former Sen. John Edwards made his health …
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Some Old, Some New

Summary The Republican candidates aired their views, claims and criticisms in yet another debate. We found a few mistakes and questionable pronouncements: Rudy Giuliani said 2,000 illegal immigrants was the most the federal government deported from New York City during any of his years as mayor.  That doesn’t square with …
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What is a Civil Union?

Summary When politicians say they support civil unions but not marriage for people of the same sex, what do they mean? We find three main differences between civil unions and marriage as it’s traditionally viewed: The right to federal benefits. States that allow some type of same-sex union are able …
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Counter-rotating Tax Spin

Summary The Democrats’ proposed 2008 budget is being spun by both sides. Democrats claim it will not raise taxes by even a penny, while Republicans say it will impose the largest or second-largest tax increase in history. Obviously, the budget can’t be the largest tax increase in history and zero …
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GOP Candidates Debate, Round 2

Summary Claims, facts and figures flew at the second GOP presidential debate of 2008. Not all were true. For example: Mitt Romney claimed he didn’t raise taxes when he was governor of Massachusetts, failing to note that he increased government fees by hundreds of millions of dollars and shifted some …
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