A giraffe’s feet are 12 inches wide; its legs are 6 feet tall.
Source: San Diego Zoo
Our election coverage wins a Clarion Award
We’re going to have to get a bigger trophy case.
FactCheck.org’s 2008 election coverage has been selected by the Association for Women in Communications for one of its Clarion Awards. We’re both honored and pleased by this additional recognition, which comes on the heels of our third consecutive Webby “People’s Voice” Award for best political site on the Internet.
The 2009 Clarion competition attracted nearly 500 entries in various categories. Our election coverage won in the category of “Online Publication”
Recycled Health Care Ad
A coalition of liberal and union groups called Health Care for America Now has announced the release of two television ads and several print ads thanking Democratic senators and members of Congress for supporting President Obama’s health care plan. The two television ads laud Sens. Harry Reid of Nevada and Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and will run in each senator’s home state for five days, according to a press release from the group. Here’s the one congratulating Reid:
If the ad looks familiar,
July 16, 2009
There were 66 nuclear power plants in the United States in 2007.
Source: Energy Information Administration
You Talking to Me?
In his remarks on health care legislation today, President Barack Obama didn’t hedge his bets on the subject of cost, stating expressly that a revamped health care system would lead to cheaper care for insured families. "But here’s what else reform will mean for you — and this is for people who have health insurance: You will save money," he said. He probably should have been a little more equivocal. The House plan released a day ago is partly funded by tax increases on the wealthiest,
Tax-and-Spend Twittering
On July 14, House Democrats released their health care bill and Republicans were quick to criticize it. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took to Twitter, typing out: “The liberal health bill introduced by pelosi is a disaster. $1.5 trillion in new spending. Tax increases on virtually everyone.”
Gingrich wasn’t the only one to say the bill would cost $1.5 trillion (over 10 years, that is), but the other person who said it remains anonymous. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office,
RGA Continues Attack on Corzine
The Republican Governors Association is on air with another ad, with one old and one slightly revised claim about New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s record on taxes and jobs. In one instance, the group even cites our article, “Corzine’s Misleading Calls on Christie,” as the source of its claim that Corzine is “spending millions falsely attacking Chris Christie.” Not exactly. We said that one of the claims in Corzine’s ads “is outright misleading” and that “others could use some context.”
Off Target in Sotomayor Ad
Yesterday we wrote about a radio ad attacking Florida Republican Reps. Adam Putnam and John Mica for not denouncing radio personality Rush Limbaugh for calling Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a "racist" and a "bigot." We found that the ad was accurate in capturing the words of Limbaugh and in its description of the historical significance of Sotomayor’s nomination. We left it to readers to determine how responsible the congressmen were for Limbaugh’s words.
After the story was published,
Virginia Unemployment Clarification
In our article "Virginia Myths and More," we wrote that some of the federal stimulus money available to Virginia came with a requirement to change the state’s unemployment eligibility rules to give "benefits to part-time workers for the first time." However, an alert reader who works at the Virginia Employment Commission told us that the state has always extended unemployment benefits to part-time workers. We checked in with the VEC, and our article could use some clarification.
July 15, 2009
The word "smallpox" comes from the Latin word for "spotted" and is a reference to the bumps that appear on the body of a person who has the disease.
Source: Food and Drug Administration