Fact-Checker For Hire
Before I got sick, I was preparing to write an open solicitation to a certain local newspaper to take me on as a volunteer fact-checker for both their op-ed page and letters page. I feel this is necessary, because I don't think a newspaper gives a fair forum on the issues if it just prints baseless claims by its readers, but they still show up in print, day after day. I'm not trying to stop your right to free speech, but as you may have noticed from reading this blog, whenever I write about something that is even in the least bit controversial, I link to where I got the info so you can tell I'm not just pulling it out of my hindquarters. Why can't you, the letter-writer, at least say "according to such-and-such" when you say something along the lines of "President Bush stuck me with a bad mortgage and spends my tax money on bombing Iraqi women and children" (WARNING: NOT AN ACTUAL QUOTE!), so inquiring minds like mine can at least look it up and see if you aren't just shooting your mouth off?
So as a public service, I will show some recent examples from both the op-ed and letters pages. The letter-writers will remain anonymous, because as I noted in my last entry, I can't afford a good lawyer for the inevitable libel suit. I'll name columnists, though, cuz I do that all the time and none of them could give a rip about me...
Letter-writer #1 claims that when Hillary Clinton initially tried to fix health care, she was "opposed by a partisan Congress." You mean the partisan Democrats? In 1994, when Hillary's health-care fix was proposed and rejected, the Democrats ran the Congress. That was an easy fix. Revisionist history can easily be defeated by facts.
Oh, and this letter also mentions the problem of "tax breaks for the rich." This is an easy fix, too. Look here... it's a fact-check where Bush is shown to have stuck his foot in his mouth, but that happens all the time. The point is that everyone who pays income taxes had their taxes cut by President Bush and many of the "rich" who got substantial amounts cut make $50,000, $75,000... hardly "rich", except maybe to Democrats. Of course, the rich got the biggest cuts... because they PAID THE MOST IN TAXES!
Which leads me to our favorite raving liberal, Paul Krugman, who once again proclaims that tax cuts do not increase tax revenues. So are you saying that your own newspaper was wrong, Mr. Krugman, when the New York Times reported lower deficits from higher tax revenues caused by the tax cuts? Liberals will NEVER admit that tax cuts cause economic growth that grows tax revenues, because they think the rich should be taxed as much as possible.
In this aforementioned column, Krugman slams down the growing hopes people have for a president who will bring the country together. I find it interesting that we moderates can somehow get conservatives like Cal Thomas and Kathleen Parker to come to the party on actually trying bipartisanship and seeking compromise on solutions (even as they attack John McCain, the only GOP candidate who has done that), but the liberal Krugman says forget it. You know what that says to me? He doesn't WANT to be bipartisan. It's the old "we're right, they're wrong, our side must prevail" BS that the right and left have given us for years.
Back to the letters... Letter-writer #2 writes an attack letter against Destiny, proclaiming that after all the tax breaks, it is "something that has not materialized." I guess all of us who see the steel rising when we drive past Carousel are just hallucinating. He then says that Destiny should be able to come up with "a detailed plan, timeline, and secured funding" if it has such a wonderful vision. You mean like the timeline printed in the May 20 issue of this certain local newspaper that spelled out chapter and verse of what would happen when? The one they are keeping to and are on time for a late summer opening? Maybe if you moved back here from Colorado, you'd see that.
Letter-writer #3 begins, "I watched the Tournament of Roses Parade New Year's Day on WNYS." Nope, Channel 43 in Syracuse didn't show the parade. Are you perhaps referring to this WNYS? And if so, do you know that they changed their call letters 30 YEARS AGO? Things like this are why I used to get phone calls at WSYR from people looking for WSYR-TV... and they meant Channel 3 (which was WSYR-TV until 1981). Pay some freakin' attention! That goes for both the writers and the newspaper, which should have EASILY caught the mistake since they too should know which channel is which in this town... you would think.
Lastly, Letter-writer #4... he writes to counter a previous writer who claimed that God was taken out of our history books. He cites several facts about our founding fathers that prove that these great thinkers, such as Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, were Deists and agnostics, NOT Christians, taking the starch out of the argument that this country was created as a "Christian nation." Actually, there's nothing to fix about this one... the writer is correct on everything. Good job.
Maybe there's some hope for people after all... And as for me, I feel much better having done my part to set some people straight and get things off my still-somewhat congested chest...
So as a public service, I will show some recent examples from both the op-ed and letters pages. The letter-writers will remain anonymous, because as I noted in my last entry, I can't afford a good lawyer for the inevitable libel suit. I'll name columnists, though, cuz I do that all the time and none of them could give a rip about me...
Letter-writer #1 claims that when Hillary Clinton initially tried to fix health care, she was "opposed by a partisan Congress." You mean the partisan Democrats? In 1994, when Hillary's health-care fix was proposed and rejected, the Democrats ran the Congress. That was an easy fix. Revisionist history can easily be defeated by facts.
Oh, and this letter also mentions the problem of "tax breaks for the rich." This is an easy fix, too. Look here... it's a fact-check where Bush is shown to have stuck his foot in his mouth, but that happens all the time. The point is that everyone who pays income taxes had their taxes cut by President Bush and many of the "rich" who got substantial amounts cut make $50,000, $75,000... hardly "rich", except maybe to Democrats. Of course, the rich got the biggest cuts... because they PAID THE MOST IN TAXES!
Which leads me to our favorite raving liberal, Paul Krugman, who once again proclaims that tax cuts do not increase tax revenues. So are you saying that your own newspaper was wrong, Mr. Krugman, when the New York Times reported lower deficits from higher tax revenues caused by the tax cuts? Liberals will NEVER admit that tax cuts cause economic growth that grows tax revenues, because they think the rich should be taxed as much as possible.
In this aforementioned column, Krugman slams down the growing hopes people have for a president who will bring the country together. I find it interesting that we moderates can somehow get conservatives like Cal Thomas and Kathleen Parker to come to the party on actually trying bipartisanship and seeking compromise on solutions (even as they attack John McCain, the only GOP candidate who has done that), but the liberal Krugman says forget it. You know what that says to me? He doesn't WANT to be bipartisan. It's the old "we're right, they're wrong, our side must prevail" BS that the right and left have given us for years.
Back to the letters... Letter-writer #2 writes an attack letter against Destiny, proclaiming that after all the tax breaks, it is "something that has not materialized." I guess all of us who see the steel rising when we drive past Carousel are just hallucinating. He then says that Destiny should be able to come up with "a detailed plan, timeline, and secured funding" if it has such a wonderful vision. You mean like the timeline printed in the May 20 issue of this certain local newspaper that spelled out chapter and verse of what would happen when? The one they are keeping to and are on time for a late summer opening? Maybe if you moved back here from Colorado, you'd see that.
Letter-writer #3 begins, "I watched the Tournament of Roses Parade New Year's Day on WNYS." Nope, Channel 43 in Syracuse didn't show the parade. Are you perhaps referring to this WNYS? And if so, do you know that they changed their call letters 30 YEARS AGO? Things like this are why I used to get phone calls at WSYR from people looking for WSYR-TV... and they meant Channel 3 (which was WSYR-TV until 1981). Pay some freakin' attention! That goes for both the writers and the newspaper, which should have EASILY caught the mistake since they too should know which channel is which in this town... you would think.
Lastly, Letter-writer #4... he writes to counter a previous writer who claimed that God was taken out of our history books. He cites several facts about our founding fathers that prove that these great thinkers, such as Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, were Deists and agnostics, NOT Christians, taking the starch out of the argument that this country was created as a "Christian nation." Actually, there's nothing to fix about this one... the writer is correct on everything. Good job.
Maybe there's some hope for people after all... And as for me, I feel much better having done my part to set some people straight and get things off my still-somewhat congested chest...
posted by Dave | 3:57 PM
1 Comments:
People should read this.
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