Benjamin Franklin, at age 81, was the oldest person to sign the Constitution. Jonathan Dayton of New Jersey, at 26, was the youngest.
Source: Annenberg Classroom
FactCheck Mailbag, Week of Sept. 15-Sept. 21
This week, readers sent us comments on emergency health care for undocumented immigrants, proper citations, persistent falsehoods about ACORN and Muslim holidays.
In the FactCheck Mailbag we feature some of the e-mail we receive. Readers can send comments to editor@factcheck.org. Letters may be edited for length.
Boehner and the Cost of Cap and Trade
On Sept. 20 on NBC’s "Meet the Press," House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio claimed that according to the Department of Treasury, the Democrats’ proposed cap-and-trade system would be costly for American families:
Boehner, Sept. 20: It’s a cap-and-trade system, this big giant tax on the American people that this week, we just find out, the Treasury Department said will cost the average family $1,700 per year.
That’s not true.
September 22, 2009
Although considered Founding Fathers of the United States, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams did not sign the Constitution. They were serving as U.S. ministers overseas and did not attend the Constitutional Convention.
Source: Annenberg Classroom
Muslim Prayer Day Sept. 25
Q: Who’s behind the Muslim prayer day at the Capitol Sept. 25?
A: The New Jersey lawyer (and former Bucknell University star tailback) who is organizing the event says it’s to show "we love America." He was inspired by the president’s inaugural address and Cairo speech.
Dueling Ads in Virginia Race, Part 2
Last week, we wrote about a TV ad from Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate to be the state’s governor, which misleadingly described his opponent’s role in utility rate increases over the last few years. Deeds’ Republican challenger, former Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, responded with a misleading ad of his own.
The ad turns the tables on Deeds, saying that he "supports Washington’s cap and trade energy scheme that will dramatically increase utility rates for families and kill 56,000 coal and manufacturing jobs."
September 21, 2009
The word “democracy” is not used once in the Constitution.
Source: Annenberg Classroom
September 19, 2009
It wasn’t until the passage of the 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, that voters were able to directly elect their senators. Before that, senators were selected by the individual state governments, as outlined in Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution.
Source: Annenberg Classroom
September 20, 2009
Only a very few federal cases, such as Engblom v. Carey (1982), have directly referred to the Third Amendment, which prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner’s consent during peacetime.
Source: Annenberg Classroom
Dueling Ads in Virginia Race
A TV ad from Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, who’s running on the Democratic ticket in one of the nation’s two gubernatorial races this year, misleadingly describes his opponent’s role in utility rate increases over the last several years.
The Deeds campaign’s ad, "Power," asks viewers, "In tough times, what kind of politician sides with Appalachian Power?" The answer is "Bob McDonnell," according to the ad’s narrator. According to the narrator, McDonnell, the former state attorney general and GOP candidate,