Q: Did the new health care law give Obama a Nazi-like “private army” of 6,000 people?
A: No. Contrary to false Internet rumors, the new Ready Reserve Corps of doctors and other health workers will report to the surgeon general and be like the “ready reserves” in other uniformed services. They will be used during health emergencies.
Person: Barack Obama
April Fools’… Still
In view of today’s date, we’d like to pay tribute to the longest-running and most successful April Fools’ hoax we’ve yet encountered.
In the spring of 2009, a chain e-mail started circulating with claims of a "smoking gun" proving President Obama was a foreigner.
AP- WASHINGTON D.C. – In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama’s qualifications for the presidency, the group “Americans for Freedom of Information” has released copies of President Obama’s college transcripts from Occidental College.
Misleading on Military Pay
Q: Did Obama propose a 1.4 percent pay increase for the military, the lowest since 1973?
A: Yes. Military pay raises are based on the Employment Cost Index, which grew very little this year.
A Final Weekend of Whoppers?
With the House preparing for a final vote on the Senate health care legislation, with revisions, Sunday afternoon, we thought we’d give our readers a wrap-up of the top falsehoods of late. The debate over this bill has stretched on about as long as a presidential campaign, and we suspect this weekend will be filled …
Extras: Obama, Bush, Health Care and More
In this edition of Extras, we look at morphing presidents, a piece of health care pie chart and an ad that checks itself.
Mighty Morphin’ Presidents
In Sunday’s New York Times, the American Civil Liberties Union took out a full page ad urging President Obama to try Sept. 11 defendants in criminal court, as opposed to military tribunals. The ad even included a stark graphic morphing Obama’s face with former President Bush’s:
But the ad cites a questionable statistic.
Obama’s Glowing Assessment
The president made another push for health care legislation March 3, while being flanked by physicians and nurses in the East Room of the White House. Much of what he said in describing his proposal was correct, but he went a bit overboard with a few of his statements.
In a remark reminiscent of last week’s spat with Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander over premiums, Obama said most people would save money under his plan:
Obama: Our cost-cutting measures mirror most of the proposals in the current Senate bill,
Voting for a Health Care Takeover?
A relatively unknown conservative group called the League of American Voters has launched an ad attacking Democratic members of Congress for, in the words of the TV spot, voting in favor of “Obama and Pelosi’s health care takeover." But the ad is filled with misleading claims.
The group’s Web site says it is running similar ads "across the nation." We contacted the group to ask where exactly the ad is airing, but we have yet to receive an answer.
Summit Extras: Medical Malpractice
Yesterday we filed our lengthy report on the Blair House health care summit. But there were a few claims we didn’t have a chance to investigate, such as this exchange on medical malpractice.
A key Republican proposal for any health care overhaul effort is so- called "tort reform" that would limit the potential liability awards in medical malpractice cases. We found at least a dozen references to it throughout the transcript of yesterday’s session. Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner asked: "Why can’t we do something about the biggest cost driver,
Health Care Summit Squabbles
We tuned in to watch the president’s health care summit at Blair House today — all six-plus hours of it. And we weren’t surprised to hear some factual missteps in the discussion: Sen. Lamar Alexander said premiums will go up for “millions” under the Senate bill and president’s plan, while President Barack Obama said families …
Health Care Summit: We Rebut A Pre-buttal
The conservative American Future Fund has released an attack ad in anticipation of President Obama’s health care summit with Democrats and Republicans at the Blair House on Thursday. The group said the ad would air on cable television during the week.
It says that the president and liberals want to build on a health care bill that includes "Backroom Deals" including a "Cornhusker Kickback" and a "Louisiana Purchase."
The "Cornhusker Kickback" claim is outdated. That was a nickname given by Republicans to an exemption within the Senate-passed health care bill.