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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Sunday Replay

The Father’s Day political talk shows contained a stretch here, an exaggeration there, misimpressions left everywhere. Here’s what we found.
All Studies Don’t Agree
On CNN’s "State of the Union," Sen. Joe Lieberman, an Independent, bragged about the supposed benefits of the climate-change bill he has introduced with Democratic Sen. John Kerry:

Lieberman: And, look, our comprehensive bill, according to all of the independent studies will create half a million new jobs a year,

Obama’s GOP Critics: Carbon Copies

In his oil spill speech, President Barack Obama praised "a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill." A chorus of Republican critics denounced the same thing as a "job-killing energy tax." Both sides know that battles are won or lost on how an issue is framed. And the truth is more complicated than either side admits.
House Republican Leader John Boehner issued his statement even before the speech was given:

Boehner: President Obama should not exploit this crisis to impose a job-killing national energy tax on struggling families and small businesses.

Five Words

Five Words

One nice thing about winning a Webby Award is that you needn’t bother making a long list of everyone you should thank from the podium – nor do you have to suffer through anyone else’s odes to early mentors or monologues about climate change.

Carly’s Climate Caper

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina has been attacking incumbent Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer since well before June 8, when Fiorina hoped to lock up the Republican Senate nomination in California. Her latest ad went up just a few days before the primary and falsely accuses Boxer of neglecting terrorism in favor of the weather report.

"One of the very important national security issues we face, frankly, is climate change," Boxer says in a 2007 clip shown in the ad.

Arizona and Prison Spas

In episode 14 of FactCheck Radio, we take a look at the controversial Arizona immigration law. We also examine an ad from Nevada that claims a Senate candidate supported Scientology-sponsored saunas and massage treatments in prisons.
(Click the play button below to listen to the podcast. Or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.)

For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Arizona’s ‘Papers Please’ Law  June 3
It’s True: Massages, Saunas For Inmates  June 2

Arizona’s ‘Papers Please’ Law

We’ll leave it to others to decide whether Arizona’s new immigration law is a good thing or a bad thing — but here we try to straighten out some of the confusing factual claims. First, a quick summary. Contrary to what the law’s defenders often say, the new statute does more than merely mirror federal law. For example …

Sunday Replay

The Sunday talk shows contained ample misinformation this week. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan was the subject of bogus claims coming from two lawmakers, and a Democratic candidate for Senate fudged the facts about his military record. Also, a Republican former House speaker played loose with the facts, while accusing the president and his party of "anti-religious bias."
Kagan: No Lawbreaker
On ABC’s "This Week," Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions falsely accused Supreme Court nominee Kagan of "violating the law."

The Obama Birth Chronicles, Chapter CCXCVIII

The latest development in the saga of the so-called "birther" challenges to Barack Obama’s presidency comes from Hawaii, Obama’s native state. Yesterday, Gov. Linda Lingle signed a law allowing state agencies to ignore requests for information if they determine the requests duplicate or are substantially similar to earlier ones. The law targets those who contend Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. and thus, under the Constitution, can’t be president; they still are sending 10 to 20 e-mails every week asking the state’s Health Department for verification of his birth certificate.

Does Immigration Cost Jobs?

Do immigrants take American jobs? It’s a common refrain among those who want to tighten limits on legal immigration and deny a “path to citizenship” — which they call “amnesty” — to the millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. There’s even a new Reclaim American Jobs Caucus in the House …

A False Hit on Bobby Bright

A new National Republican Congressional Committee ad falsely claims that Rep. Bobby Bright, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, "is supporting" President Obama’s health care legislation. He’s not. The fact is, Bright was one of the few Democrats who voted against it, and he favors changing certain aspects that he calls "deeply flawed."

Bright was strongly opposed to the law and said he was "disappointed" and "saddened" by its passage:

Bright, March 22: I voted against the health care reform bill because our country cannot afford its massive cost,