Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Media Matters Daily Summary 08-31-2011

Krauthammer Twists Facts To Claim Obama Is Bypassing Congress
Charles Krauthammer distorted facts to claim that when President Obama "doesn't succeed in Congress, he goes under the radar" to enact harmful regulations. Krauthammer supported this claim with the inaccurate assertion that the administration has "essentially enact[ed] the DREAM Act" and the dubious suggestion that new EPA regulations will "shut down about 10 percent of coal-generating electricity in the United States." Read More

Krauthammer Urges GOP To Attack Obama Using Ridiculous Apology Tour Line
Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer has urged Republican presidential candidates to campaign on the claim that President Obama "apologizes for America," saying "it's a line of attack that Republicans can easily use on the president and ought to use on the president." In fact, the claim has been called "ridiculous" and "not borne out by the facts," and Republicans have been criticized for trying to "invent a storyline that does not appear to exist." Read More

"Federal Family" Reunion: Obama Admin's Use Of Phrase Isn't New
Led by journalists at Fox News, media figures have mocked the Obama administration for using the phrase "federal family" to refer to federal agencies involved in Hurricane Irene relief efforts, suggesting that the administration invented the phrase as a "euphemism" for "federal government." However, "federal family" is not a new phrase; it dates back to at least George H.W. Bush's administration and was regularly used by members of George W. Bush's administration when discussing disaster relief. Read More

Conservative Media Predictably Butcher Study Of Cosmic Rays
Fox and other conservative media claim that CERN's study of cosmic rays "concluded that it's the sun, not human activity," causing global warming. In fact, at this point the research "actually says nothing about a possible cosmic-ray effect on clouds and climate," according to the lead author, and it certainly doesn't refute human-induced global warming. Read More

Limbaugh Pushes Myth That Unemployment Benefits Have "No Stimulative Effect"
Rush Limbaugh claimed that "there is no stimulative effect of unemployment benefits." But economists agree that unemployment benefits do have a strong effect on job creation and growth. Read More

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