Dobbs again promoted GOP claims that SCHIP could benefit undocumented immigrants
CNN's Lisa Sylvester again uncritically reported Republican claims that "people living in the United States illegally might be able to access" health insurance benefits under new legislation extending SCHIP. Lou Dobbs also stated that "opponents say it will make it easier for illegal aliens to receive taxpayer-funded health insurance." But neither Sylvester nor Dobbs noted that the legislation includes a citizenship verification process in which states would use SCHIP applicants' names and Social Security numbers to verify that they are eligible. Read More
Media figures advance assertion that Bush administration policies kept U.S. safe
In recent days, several media figures, including MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski and CNN's Tom Foreman and Campbell Brown, have either uncritically reported or echoed Dick Cheney's assertion that the Bush administration's anti-terrorism policies have kept the United States safe. These media figures did not note that a 2008 GAO report found that the U.S. "has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven" in Pakistan, or that many CIA analysts reportedly believe Al Qaeda leaders have declined to attack the U.S. again for strategic reasons, not due to the Bush administration's counterterrorism policies. Read More
Fox's Kilmeade falsely claimed Ackerman was "going off at" Madoff whistleblower
Fox & Friends' Brian Kilmeade falsely claimed that during a congressional subcommittee hearing, Rep. Gary Ackerman was "going off at" whistleblower Harry Markopolos. In fact, the video of Ackerman Fox & Friends showed contradicted Kilmeade's claim, as acting SEC general counsel Andrew Vollmer was shown on-screen responding to Ackerman's comments. Read More
In an article about criticisms of President Obama's nominations for Justice Department positions based on the nominees' "backgrounds" and "past clients," the AP's Devlin Barrett wrote: "Accusations of political manipulation at the Justice Department are not new. Over the past two years, the Bush administration has been investigated and excoriated by Democrats for making firing and hiring decisions based on political considerations." But there is no comparison between Obama's appointment of progressives to political jobs at DOJ and the Bush administration's alleged illegal use of political criteria to fill career DOJ jobs. Read More
Fox & Friends misrepresented FDR to criticize Obama for talking about "bad" economy
While criticizing President Obama for saying that the economy is currently doing poorly, Steve Doocy purported to contrast what Obama has said with FDR's famous statement that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." In fact, in the very speech in which Roosevelt made that remark, he said of the economy at the time, "Values have shrunk to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income." Roosevelt later added: "Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment." Read More
Dobbs, master of fear-mongering, warns that Obama, Pelosi are "fear-mongering" to pass stimulus bill
CNN's Lou Dobbs declared that, in recent comments about the state of the economy, President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been "fear-mongering" and "blatantly using the politics of fear to push for even more so-called stimulus measures." But Dobbs has repeatedly engaged in "fear-mongering" of his own, including stirring up baseless fears that the economic recovery bill would provide money for undocumented immigrants and ACORN -- two frequent scapegoats of Dobbs, Republicans, and conservative media figures. Read More
Rove latest to advance false claim that recovery bill "funnel[s]" money to ACORN
In his Wall Street Journal op-ed, Karl Rove wrote of the House-passed economic recovery bill: "And it should not shock Americans that Democratic appropriators would funnel tax dollars to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now." In fact, the recovery bill does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for funding; ACORN itself has said that it is ineligible for the funds and has no plans to apply for them. Read More
On MSNBC Live, The Hill's Susan Crabtree again stated that "Democrats have spent 500,000 -- half a million dollars" in "taxpayer money" on annual retreats "over the past five years" without noting that House Republican leadership committees have been appropriated amounts of taxpayer money for salaries and expenses that are comparable to the amount given to their House Democratic counterparts. Crabtree also did not address how the House Republican leadership committees spend their "taxpayer money." Read More
Dobbs again peddles baseless GOP claim that recovery bill has $4 billion for "groups such as ACORN"
CNN's Lou Dobbs repeated the Republican talking point that the House-passed recovery bill "call[s] for more than $4 billion ... for something called 'neighborhood stabilization activities,' " adding, "That means funding for low-income advocacy groups such as ACORN." In fact, the recovery bill does not mention ACORN or otherwise single it out for funding; ACORN itself has said that it is ineligible for the funds and has no plans to apply for them. Read More
MSNBC's Shuster invited "Muckraker of the Day" Deroy Murdock to muck up global warming debate
MSNBC's David Shuster allowed columnist Deroy Murdock to repeat the claim -- first made by climate change skeptic Martin Hertzberg -- that global warming is not occurring because "the Earth temperature has gone down 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1997." Rather than challenge that claim, Shuster named Murdock "our Muckraker of the Day" and "congratulat[ed]" Murdock for "stirring the pot." But climate scientists warn against cherry-picking yearly temperature averages as purported evidence that global warming is not occurring, especially from years in which El Niño and La Niña events occurred, as Murdock and Hertzberg did. Read More
Even more myths and falsehoods surrounding the economic recovery plan
Media Matters for America previously identified numerous myths and falsehoods advanced by the media in their coverage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As debate on the bill continues in Congress, other myths and falsehoods advanced by the media about the recovery package have risen to prominence. These myths and falsehoods include: the assertion that the bill will not stimulate the economy -- including the false assertion that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said the bill will not stimulate the economy; that spending in the bill is not stimulus; that there is no reason for stimulus after an economic turnaround begins; that corporate tax rate cuts and capital gains tax rate cuts would provide substantial stimulus; and that undocumented immigrants without Social Security numbers could receive the "Making Work Pay" tax credit provided in the bill. Read More
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