A new ad from Conservatives for Patients’ Rights says that a public health insurance plan now being proposed in Congress “could crush all your other choices, driving them out of existence, resulting in 119 million off their current insurance coverage.” That’s misleading. The 119 million figure comes from an analysis …
Month: June 2009
June 11, 2009
Nearly 30 million persons have visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum since it was dedicated in 1993.
Source: Holocaust Museum
When $3 Million is Too Much
The Supreme Court’s June 8 decision in Caperton v. Massey established that there is such a thing as too much money, at least when it comes to campaign support for a judge who is hearing a case involving the supporter. And $3 million is definitely over the line, according to the majority opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy in the landmark 5-4 decision.
Excessive campaign contributions to or in support of a judicial candidate can subvert the due process clause of the Constitution,
New Army Policy Against ‘Faith-Based’ Events?
Q: Did Obama issue a policy that “no U.S. serviceman can speak at any faith-based public event”?
A: This claim in a chain e-mail is false. Army officials say there has been no change in policy regarding “faith-based” events. And the event the e-mail refers to wasn’t a “faith-based” one.
June 10, 2009
Initially, the Supreme Court chambers were in the Merchants Exchange Building in New York.
Source: Supreme Court
June 9, 2009
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas had the longest tenure on the court, serving for a little more than 36 years. He retired in 1975, at the age of 77.
Source: Supreme Court Historical Society
June 8, 2009
Construction began on the Supreme Court building when Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes laid the cornerstone on October 13, 1932.
Source: Supreme Court
Privately Owned Gun Tax?
Q: Would Senate bill 2099 put a yearly $50 tax on each privately owned firearm?
A: There is no such bill. A chain e-mail containing bogus claims refers to a bill that died more than eight years ago.
June 7, 2009
The term of the Supreme Court begins on the first Monday of October and lasts until the first Monday of the following October.
Source: Supreme Court
‘Dealergate’: Mistaking Anecdotes for Data
Ever since Chrysler announced that it wanted to shed 789 of its 3,188 nationwide dealerships, speculation and outright accusations have circulated to the effect that Republican donors were being singled out. The list of dealers slated for closing contained some who had given to Republican candidates, and far fewer who had given to Democrats. One blogger’s early tabulation, based on the first five pages of the 40-page list of closed dealers, showed $120,000 had been given to GOP candidates and $34,350 to Democratic candidates in 2004 and 2008 (exclusive of presidential candidates).