Saturday, December 12, 2009

Media Matters Daily Summary 12-11-09

Wash. Times smears Jennings with claim he "encourag[ed] underage drinking among homosexual kids"
In a December 11 editorial, The Washington Times continued its relentless anti-gay campaign against Department of Education official Kevin Jennings by advancing several previously debunked claims, including the false claim -- which was pushed by the hate group MassResistance -- that the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a group founded and formerly headed by Jennings, "allowed" an explicit safe-sex brochure that included a bar guide "to be handed out to high school students." In fact, a community health group -- not GLSEN itself -- reportedly said that it had mistakenly "left about 10 copies" of the booklet on an informational table it rented at a 2005 GLSEN conference and GLSEN stated that if it had known the booklets had been at the conference, it would have demanded they be removed. Read More

Bolton falsely suggested Obama said "treaties and declarations" more important to post-WWII security than U.S. role
Fox News contributor and former United Nations ambassador John Bolton falsely characterized President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, claiming Obama suggested "it's the treaties and declarations that were the centerpiece" of post-World War II global security "and the United States made a small contribution here or there." In fact, Obama suggested that while "the world" may believe that it was "just treaties and declarations" that "brought stability to a post-World War II world," Obama himself also attributed it to how "The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms," which he stated "has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea." Read More

Quick Fact: Hoft falsely claims Jennings' "Teen Conference Literature Pushed Anal S*x in Parks With Strangers"
In his latest smear of Department of Education official Kevin Jennings, Gateway Pundit's Jim Hoft wrote that Jennings' "Teen Conference Literature Pushed Anal S*x in Parks With Strangers," citing a booklet that he claims "children who attended Kevin Jennnings' GLSEN 2005 Conference also left with." Read More

Quick Fact: WSJ's Strassel calls stolen emails a "gold mine" for climate change skeptics
In a Wall Street Journal column about the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) endangerment finding on greenhouse gas emissions, Kim Strassel wrote that "[i]ndustry groups are gearing up for a legal onslaught; and don't underestimate their prospects. The leaked emails from the Climatic Research Unit in England alone are a gold mine for those who want to challenge the science underlying the theory of manmade global warming."
Read More

Quick Fact: Beck repeats PolitiFact "Lie of the Year" contender: Holdren supported "forced abortions"
Glenn Beck repeated his false claim that White House science and technology adviser John Holdren -- whom Beck called "our science czar" -- supported forced abortions and putting sterilants in drinking water. PolitiFact previously declared his claim "pants on fire" false and nominated it for "Lie of the Year," stating that Holdren and his coauthors "make clear that they did not support coercive means of population control." Read More

Quick Fact: The Hill advanced false claim that Jennings "gave sexual advice to minors"
The Hill advanced the false claim that Department of Education official Kevin Jennings "gave sexual advice to minors," referencing a December 9 Washington Times editorial about a controversial session at a 2000 event sponsored by the group Jennings founded, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). In fact, the workshop was conducted by Massachusetts Department of Education staffers -- not Jennings -- and Jennings reportedly criticized the discussion when he became aware of some of its content. Read More

The Persecution of Sarah Palin: Teflon in convenient book form
Weekly Standard associate editor Matthew Continetti's book The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star lives up to its name -- the author does indeed paint his subject as the victim of persecution by the "feral beast" of a mainstream media taking their cues from "the partisan and vitriolic blogosphere." They "malign[ed] facts" about Palin and tried to "undermine Palin's accomplishments," he writes. Read More

The Friday Rush: Vive la résistance!
Stop what you're doing! Don't you see? It's been apparent all along. Right in front of your eyes! Read More

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