Media Matters Daily Summary 05-18-10

Wash. Times pushes fallacy that Kagan doesn't care about the military
A Washington Times editorial and op-ed baselessly suggested that Elena Kagan is hostile to the military, citing as evidence the false claim that she "banned" military recruiters from Harvard Law School. In fact, Kagan's respect for the military is well established; students had access to military recruiters throughout Kagan's tenure as dean; and Harvard's data show that her actions did not hurt military recruitment from the school. Read More

Right-wing media converge on baseless claim that Obama admin. "apologized" to China for AZ law
Conservative media are baselessly accusing the Obama administration of "apologizing" to China for Arizona's immigration law during a discussion on human rights. In fact, the State Department official who commented on the talks in no way said they "apologized"; he said the exchange was part of an "open discussion" about "how each of our societies are dealing" with discrimination issues. Read More

Fox News, CNN mainstream anti-immigrant extremists
Fox News and CNN recently hosted Phil Kent of Americans for Immigration Control (AIC) and the American Immigration Control Foundation (AICF), a group that has ties to white nationalists and "sells ... publications authored by racists and anti-immigrant figures who routinely demonize immigrants," according to the Anti-Defamation League. Moreover, Kent himself has a history of inflammatory rhetoric, including asserting that Barack Obama is a "dangerous, anti-white multiculturalist." Read More

Limbaugh distorts Sunstein's and Kagan's views on control of the Internet
Referring to remarks Cass Sunstein made in a 2001 interview, Rush Limbaugh stated that Sunstein "want[s] to control the Internet" and that "[Elena] Kagan agrees" with Sunstein. In fact, Sunstein has called the policy he described in the 2001 interview a "bad idea," and Limbaugh offered no evidence to support his claim that Kagan agrees with such a policy. Read More

Nothing Wash. Times says about Kagan's views on the First Amendment is true
A Washington Times editorial advanced numerous falsehoods in order to paint Elena Kagan as anti-free speech, including the false claim that Kagan has argued that the government could ban pamphlets such as Thomas Paine's Common Sense.
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