E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSMitt Romney accuses Newt Gingrich of calling Spanish a "ghetto language." Close, but not quite.
Gingrich denies doing so and said he merely promoted the use of English, "period." That's even more of a stretch.
The last Republican presidential debate before the GOP Florida primary Thursday brought viewers a blitz of charges and countercharges over immigration, the financial lives of the candidates and more. Here are how some of the claims compare with the facts:
Scott Audette / Reuters
Republican presidential candidates former Senator Rick Santorum, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Representative Ron Paul stand on stage before the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Florida January 26, 2012.
GINGRICH: "It's taken totally out of context.... I did not say it about Spanish. I said in general about all languages. We are better for children to learn English in general, period."
THE FACTS: At issue is Romney's Spanish-language radio ad running in Florida that says Gingrich branded Spanish a ghetto language in a 2007 speech. In the contentious remarks in question, much more came after Gingrich's "period."
In his speech to the National Federation of Republican Women, Gingrich advocated making English the official language, a position he still holds, and added: "We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto."
He did not explicitly call Spanish a ghetto language. But at the time, the remark was widely taken to mean Spanish, overwhelmingly the main foreign language spoken in the United States and the primary language of many immigrants.
Gingrich recognized as much when, in response to a Hispanic backlash against his remark, he made an online video days after the speech in which he more or less apologized for his choice of words and for producing "a bad feeling within the Latino community."
__—
ROMNEY on the same topic: "I doubt that's my ad, but we'll take a look and find out."
THE FACTS: It's his ad.
__—
RICK SANTORUM: "You had a president of the United States that held (up) a Colombian free trade agreement. Colombia, who's out there on the front lines working with us against the narco-terrorists, standing up to Chavez in South America — and what did we do? ... The president of the United States sided with organized labor and the environmental groups and held Colombia hanging out to dry for three years."
THE FACTS: When President Barack Obama took office, he actually tried to revive a free-trade deal with Colombia that had been negotiated by his Republican predecessor but left to languish without congressional approval, just as he tried to make similar progress with South Korean and Panamanian free-trade pacts. He bucked considerable opposition from organized labor and fellow Democrats in doing so.
Obama did hold off on submitting the three deals to Congress as his administration tried to negotiate more palatable terms to Democrats. He finally submitted them in 2011 and Congress approved them in the fall — with substantial GOP support and a fair amount of Democratic opposition.
__—
ROMNEY: "Obamacare takes over health care for the American people."
THE FACTS: Obama's health care overhaul does increase the role of the federal government in the health care system, but even after it is fully implemented in 2019, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says 56 percent of Americans under age 65 will be covered by employer plans, about the same share as today. That's hardly a takeover.
__—
ROMNEY: Fannie and Freddie are "offering mortgages again to people who can't possibly repay them. We're creating another housing bubble, which will hurt the American people."
THE FACTS: If there is another housing bubble forming, most homebuilders, mortgage lenders and real estate agents would like to find it. Instead, the housing market remains depressed, with sales low and home prices falling.
Fannie and Freddie don't sell or offer any mortgages. Their function has always been to support the housing market by purchasing mortgages from banks, packaging them into bonds and guaranteeing the bonds against default. This proved costly when the housing bubble burst: The two entities were formally taken over by the government in 2008 and have since cost taxpayers $150 billion.
The two mortgage giants are still functioning under government receivership, and now own or guarantee nearly all new mortgages, because banks are reluctant to make loans without the agencies' support. But banks have significantly toughened their credit standards since the housing bubble and are requiring higher credit scores and bigger down payments. That is causing an increasing number of home sales contracts to fall through as would-be buyers are unable to get mortgage loans.
__—
SANTORUM: Criticized the Obama administration for its "abysmal treatment" of allies in Latin America, and said Obama has a "consistent policy of siding with the leftists, siding with the Marxists, siding with those who don't support democracy."
THE FACTS: Obama has not sided with the leading leftists, such as those ruling Cuba and Venezuela, and instead has roundly criticized them.
It's true that Latin America has been on the back burner for much of Obama's tenure, as he concentrated on other parts of the world, including the Middle East. But Obama visited three countries in Latin America last year, and the Panamanian and Colombian trade agreements were part of the biggest round of trade liberalization since the North American Free Trade Agreement and other pacts of that era.
__—
ROMNEY: "My investments are not made by me. My investments for the last 10 years have been in a blind trust, managed by a trustee."
THE FACTS: Not all of his investments have been in a blind trust. Romney's personal financial disclosure forms show he owned between $250,001 and $500,000 in the Federated Government Obligation Fund, which contained mutual-fund notes of politically sensitive Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. An addendum to Romney' disclosure forms says that certain assets — including the federated fund — were outside the scope of his blind trust.
The investment was not on Romney's 2007 financial form, making it a relatively new one — just as the housing and financial crises were hitting Americans full force.
__—
RON PAUL: Obama "promises to end the wars, but the wars expand."
THE FACTS: By the most obvious measures, the wars are shrinking. Last month, the U.S. pulled its last troops out of Iraq, fulfilling a pledge by Obama to end the war there.
Obama did escalate America's fight in Afghanistan, announcing in December 2009 that he was sending an additional 33,000 troops.
The U.S. and its NATO partners in late 2010 agreed to end the combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. As part of that plan, Obama fulfilled his promise to bring 10,000 troops home from Afghanistan by the end of last year, and is moving ahead with plans to pull an additional 23,000 out by this fall. There are now about 90,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
__—
GINGRICH: "We're in a continuous state of war where Obama undermines the Israelis."
ROMNEY: "This president went before the United Nations and castigated Israel for building settlements. He said nothing about thousands of rockets being rained in on Israel from the Gaza Strip."
THE FACTS: Obama has spoken at length about the plight of the Israelis and has talked about an Israeli girl near Gaza who fears for her life because of the rocket attacks launched by Hamas. In a June 2009 speech in Cairo, Obama said both Israel and Palestine have a right to exist, but the U.S. does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. That's not only the view of his administration; it's long-held U.S. policy. Despite that, the administration sided with Israel by vetoing a U.N. resolution that would have condemned its settlement policy.
Leave a Comment:
I can't wait to hear the comments that will certainly come. The only fact I need to know is Obama 2012!
English should be spoken in the US as the main language... end of story.
The socialist doesn't stand a snowballs chance with the jobs numbers where they are.
Poor Ron Paul. I love fact checks for both sides. I wish fact checks would get more air time vs politicians just spewing whatever they want to say in the moment.
Fact: Romney is a liar.
Fact: So is Newt, only less so.
Fact: Paul might as well run as an Independent; it's his only chance.
Fact: Santorum might as well drop out. He's never going to win a statewide election again. Ever.
So basically, he does nothing to earn his vast income. Maybe that's why he feels he shouldn't pay taxes. The bottom 20% pay taxes at a higher rate than Mitt Romney, work harder for their money than he does, and have next to nothing to show for it.
And Romney wants goverment to give money to his rich pals, so that yet-to-be-born generations of poor and middle class Americans can pick up the tab.
Freedom of Speech. End of story.
We don't need a stinking, huge, government bureacracy to tell us what to say and how to say it. The authors of the Constitution got it right.
If Obama is a socialist then Romney and Gingrich are fascists.
Obama will do well in the election, have you seen the polls starting to change? Americans now view Obama as the person that could do the best job with the economy.
Neither Romney or Gingrich can garner enough votes to defeat Obama
Eric...
You're likely correct. Mr. Obama simply has to get out the vote from enough folks who either do not pay federal income taxes at all or are unable to correctly spell his name...and he'll be fine.
Why Tony+numbers that would include 47 percent of all Americans, 50% of all corporations.
OBAMA IN 2012
Just in case you didn't get my last post Tony+numbers here are a few more facts:
http://www.ctj.org/corporatetaxdodgers/CorporateTaxDodgersReport.pdf
A tip of the hat to Mr. Reagan !
http://obamalies.net/
http://obamalies.net/
http://obamalies.net/
It's amazing that people actually buy the lies of the right anymore. After Bush, you might think we would learn. If you had a relative that always told you he wanted to borrow money and never paid it back, how long would you loan him money?
The republicans count on the, "gullibility factor," of people to maintain any base beyond those making millions. They seem to have made a sound bet.
It's amazing that people actually buy the lies of the right anymore. After Bush, you might think we would learn. If you had a relative that always told you he wanted to borrow money and never paid it back, how long would you loan him money?
The republicans count on the, "gullibility factor," of people to maintain any base beyond those making millions. They seem to have made a sound bet.
I always admired Reagan... liked his approach, his sound reasoning, his pragmatism.
This made up Reagan figure-head worshiped by the GOP today has no resemblance to the real Reagan that I knew.
Today, the REAL Reagan would be a Democrat... center-left, but Democrat.
The Democrats haven't been perfect by any standards. But at least they steer correctly. What they try to represent is much closer to what I want than the far-extreme-right of today's GOP position.
The GOP has turned itself into the party of the ridiculous... the raucous point of view... the reverse logic of economic principles... the party that advocates pushing a rope to solvency... the party with the shortest memory in history.
Between here and November, we can all watch this party self-destruct. The only question is how close to complete irrelevance it will get.
Wait a minute! Are you saying the Republican candidates are playing fast and loose with the truth? Republicans lying!?!?!?!?!?!?!
English IS the man language spoken in the US. It's just not the ONLY language spoken in the US, nor should it be. Following Gingrich's desires, by restricting our young people to only learning English, we deprive them not only of cultural enrichment, but a feeling for the history of this country (don't forget, this county was NOT all settled by English speakers), and a long term advantage not only around the world, but in their own future health.
Yes ... future health. There is now scientific evidence that learning other languages staves off Alzheimer's!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111013121701.htm
Bear this in mind:
Much of what is now the U.S. was settled by FRENCH, DUTCH, GERMAN and yes, SPANISH speakers!
Tony: President Obama's strongest group was EDUCATED voters with at least a 4 year degree--so much for your "theory" that because you don't like him, those who voted for him must be poor. The LEAST educated voters are of course T Party Republicans, and the base of the Republican party. (They are just not making angry white, uneducated men the way they used to, are they?)
Translation: Both candidates are completely full of crap.
and this site even as it claims to 'check' facts... slants so far to the left it's hard to read.
The truth hurts, eh?
i guess?
let me know when this site prints some.
I guess if the truth slants anywhere but to the right - it causes a problem for some people. I think we ALL deserve the TRUTH before we can make an informed opinion and MOST politicians tend to state their opinions and statistics as facts.
Remember, 94.57% of statistics are made up!
@ alexinPA
From reading your above comments, I can tell you're as well informed as the average Fux Snooze viewer.
http://gawker.com/5861733/poll-fox-news-viewers-less-informed-than-those-who-read-no-news
Truthfulness in the media is hard to come by since the laws were scrapped to allow Rupert Murdoch's propaganda machine to flourish.
Rush, Beck, Savage, they don't need to report 'facts' because what a normal person would call lies is what they call 'opinions'.
Two plus two equals six? Limbaugh's 'opinion', protected as 'free speech'. The President of the United States a foreign-born 'plant'. Beck's 'opinion'.
There is NO accountability in right wing media these days.
True enough but none one is going to get the truth or facts from the main stream media and especially from MSDNC
Well, Alex, you have the perfect right to factually disprove any and all of the factcheck points.
There are plenty of non-partisan fact check organizations. Even in this piece they can quote phrases of speeches that you can pull from anywhere.
It's clear there are lies and exaggerations all over the place by politicians.
It's best to get the truth then make up your mind.
The problem isn't so much that Fox News viewers on UN-informed, as that they are MIS-informed.
Well Alex in PA. Since the results don't match your beliefs then I guess we throw them out as slanted BS.
I guess you don't remember 2008 when FACTcheck hammered both sides. Republican = short memory, lasting only till the beginning of the Democrats term beginning. You do know that dinosaurs existed well more than 6000 yrs ago?
If you don't believe them do your own research, then you would be informed. Nice concept huh?
alexinPA...
It really doesn't matter what actual "facts" you present...nor does it matter what opinions you may have on any particular topic. On this site you will repeatedly be told that you are either wrong or stupid...any facts you provide will be attributed to "Rush Limberger, Faux News, or Repukes"....and if you present your personal opinion, you'll be ordered to "provide links" to prove you know what you say you know or you'll be informed that you've been misinformed by the above folks and you need to do research into other areas of the media.
If you make a criticism of the 'Occupy' mess, for instance, you'll be told that if you haven't spent a day talking to the protesters, then your personal opinion has no value. Of course, the person who tells you that hasn't spent a day talking to the protesters either.
You'll insult nobody, but your intelligence and opinions will be insulted...sometimes in very nasty terms.
And above all...you must sign on to two simple things if you truly want to go along to get along. Number one...you need to comprehend that Mr. Obama is in the middle of creating an economic miracle for this country and anyone who doesn't support his re-election to finish the job is an ill-informed idiot or a racist monster. And number two is that you will need to come the the intellectual conclusion that without addressing any actual facts or figures...the evil, dog-beating "rich" have never and will never pay their "fair share" of anything for their fellow countrymen.
If you can accept these truths, you'll get along just fine here !
Adam - you missed pointing out to AlexinPA that, no, dinosaurs and humans did not co-exist ('The Flintstones' was a cartoon, Alex).
There is NO accountability in right wing media these days. - but yet you accept everything on MSNBC as fact? I agree that Faux news is mostly BS but so is MSNBC. Every media outlet in America has an agenda and pushes it by the slant on thier stories.
omni....
None of these folks ever will state where they actually get their own news. I have probably posed this question a couple dozen times. You can find a thousand people posting here every day venting their bile duct buildup on Fox News...but you'll be hard pressed to find anyone that will clearly state what sources they get their news from. It is an interesting little issue with this site.
Oh, some folks will give you some "links"...how often are vistors here are spending their time opening some 'moveon.org' link because some stranger told you to.
But look around...nobody will ever say where they get their own news from while they are so very busy sticking needles into the eyes of Fox News.
I have been asking for a year here for somebody to point me to a more engaging and professional news anchor than Shepard Smith of the 7:00 PM Fox News Hour and nobody has yet provided a name. Maybe they are having trouble differentiating between a "news" show and an "opinion" show although it's not a hard concept to understand.
Thanks for showing some sanity on this site !
Tony, I get my news all over the place during the day and I watched the debates. I like Morning Joe with the contrast between Joe and Mika , but not all the news I get is TV. Some is from just hitting google news or msn news but Ill see Fox if I go to my mothers. I never do just believe everything and question just about it all. I do see slants all the time on both sides and I don't usually like stuff so slanted like Al Sharpton or Rush Limbaugh.
Tony: SHEPHERD SMITH?????? Your Edward R. Murrow??? LOL! Oh my gosh, and you weren't even joking were you?
I enjoy Shep Smith. Good newscaster with a level head, reasonable opinions, and good selection of topics to report. And I consider myself quite liberal. Now.... another name for ya? Try Rachel Maddow a few times. She also is pretty good. Certainly liberal in beliefs... but the way she deals with topics - and especially guests - is professional, calm, and a pleasure to view.....
How do these people live with themselves? Who ever they are talking about doesn't exist, whenever they talk about President Obama I have no idea who they are talking about. None of the crap they spew is true and all anyone has to do is a little research and they can inform themselves. Yet sadly the right wing in this nation does not have the ability to investigate for themselves they would rather be told what their opinions are instead of forming one on their own with reliable information.
It is truly frightening.
And the 'opinion' people are being spoon-fed are becoming increasinly ludicrous, increasingly dangerous, and increasingly hateful.
These days, most of the official Republican 'opinion' on immigration comes out of the machine built by Nazi-admirer John Tanton, who thinks the Third Reich had the right idea about "genetics" and wants to bring those same ideas to the United States. Hence NumbersUSA, the ironically named Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), and the ludicrously named Center for Immigration 'Studies'.
Pro-Nazi Tanton's network is responsible for the raft of falsehoods that have come to be considered 'common knowledge' even though they are untrue, and even writes 'legislation' for states and localities, like Arizona's SB 1070 which was introduced into the Arizona legislature under the name of Russell Pearce, who openly campainged arm in arm with American Nazi leader J. T. Ready, but written by an offshoot of Tanton's network. As was Alabama's even worse, and even more unConstitutional, rule, HB 56.
Fox News, drug-addicted college dropouts Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck, an end to taxes on the wealthy under President Mitt Romney, and concentration camps to round up Latinos in Arizona (the non-compete contract has already been given to the Corrections Corporation of American), and teh Interstate Highway system to be sold to foreign countries and turned into toll roads by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels.
The republican party has always been better about staying on message than the democrats. They just repeat the same lie over and over in hopes that it becomes fact.
Take the whole birther issue and the lie that Obama is a muslim.
And then there were four little dwarfs on stage; three named Dopey and one named Incredibly Stupid. Gingrich is in a continuous state of war ... where his mouth is constantly undermined by his pea sized brain.
The real fact remains.
Obama is an abysmal failure who will be leaving office very soon if the jobs situation doesn't improve. (and it won't)
Even the pea size brained crowd knows it's all about the economy.
So are you voting for the gambling out of touch mormon or captain moonbase? If the economy keeps improving it won't just be an Obama victory but a landslide.
The scary thing is when you see opinion polls reporting that well over a hundreds of million Americans will rabidly believe even the most outrageous of lies. Birtherism? At one time believed by 40% of Americans, and the vast majority of Republicans. And that's just one tiny (and relatively harmless) example of how our electorate is being hoodwinked by powerful media moghuls.
Are there really that many stupid people running around? Have we traded in a healthy skepticism for a complete inability to distinguish between the truth and an absurd lie?
Hey Alex, I got a great idea. Prove the facts you dispute with the so-called real facts and show how this fact checking is wrong and slanted left.
Obama is a huge success. Check out the graphs below. Did you know that the economy under Obama has grown each and every quarter since he was elected.
http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011083428/three-charts-email-your-right-wing-brother-law
Well, Alex, as somebody once said, "There you go again!". Oh, BTW, have you checked the economic news lately, especially as it pertains to unemployment?
alexinPA:
"Even the pea size brained crowd knows it's all about the economy."
You said it, not me.
The economy has steadily recovered in spite of the obstructionists, which is an amazing accomplishment. Just think how good things would be now if the teabaggers hadn't been elected. The GOP: holding back millions of jobs to put one man out of work.
alexinPA...
See what I mean !!!
Hey, alexinPA, guess you haven't been reading/hearing the news for the last month or so. Many (not all) parts of the economy are showing measurable signs of improvement. Oh, that's right, the GOP election playbook for this year says the economy won't improve. Sorry, my mistake.
@Eric-913730
I think it is my duty to inform you that it took me less than a minute of checking your "facts" to come accross the EXACT SAME CHART WITH DIFFERENT RESULTS! The chart that I am posting was courtesy of Pelosi's office so go figure I'd be willing to bet it is incorrect as well. Just saying if your going to bluntly lie atleast get your story straight.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/01/07/137866/obama-more-jobs-bush/
dman...
Funny that for the past several months I've been reading on this site that once the Republican Party took over the House of Representatives that they were simply being "the party of no" and "obstructionists" who were stopping everything Mr. Obama or the Democrats wanted to do.
Yet, you're now saying things are improving...despite all that "obstructionism" and "party of no-ing" that was preventing the president from doing what he wanted to do.
Strange how that works, isn't it ???
Do you actually think that the only way business and the economy could ever improve at all is if some political hack gets another plan or bill passed ??? Do you really think experienced and intelligent businessmen need a government to vote on something for them to succeed ???
That's exactly right...think about that. There's nothing strange about it...just like Obama being forced to do an end run around the obstructionists just to recently assign the head of an agency that was passed by majority into law over a year ago, but could not be effective without a head administrator. The obstruction of Republicans using the super majority 60 vote requirement for even the most minor of legislation has not gone unnoticed by the voting public and they will pay for it come November.
Also, I see you complaining about the nature of this site yet failing to counter one fact presented per several requests to do so. Dig in and state your position with facts - if you can.
Commonsense: if you really want a dose of reality, take a look at the percentage of people in this country who don't believe in evolution. When you look at it that way...the numbers of complete loons willing to believe their country is being run by a secret Muslim/communist/atheist/infiltrator who won the election with millions of illegal votes and who wants to impose sharia law and outlaw Christmas and the Easter Bunny...some of the appeal of the far right extremists begins to make sense. Good thing actually, that the vast majority of those um...under-educated Americans....never make it to the polls at all.
Time for the Honesty Party?
We the people can't handle the truth.
We still teach our kids in school that in 1462 a Spanish funded italian discovered a continent. Fact Check: Someone had already discovered it at least 15,000 years before Europeans.
Or the Norse in about 1000 BC. The truth is that Columbus was the first in history, not pre-history, since there are no historical records regarding discoveries before Columbus.
The reality is that there is a lot of gray in history and in truth. It can be slanted whatever way you want.
A lot of MSNBC's "facts" in this article should be fact checked themselves.
It was 1492, apparently you weren't paying attention anyway.
Pointless argument.
Christopher Columbus, was born in Genoa in 1451 (Italy didn't exist until 400 years later), took to the sea at age 10, and later moved to Spain (while Spain later grew to include most of what is now Italy).
Yes, people had settled in the Americas long before Columbus's voyages. However, the Americas were not opened up to the world at large until Columbus's "discovery".
Back to the subject, the electorate should DEMAND the truth, from media and from politicians.
Barack Obama is one of the most honest politicians in America today.
And Mitt Romney is probably the biggest hypocrite.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/jan/26/fact-checking-cnn-debate-florida/
From politifact.com
"Spanish is a ghetto language" (Newt) is rated Mostly True.
"My wealth was earned and not inherited" (Mitt) is rated Half True.
"When I was speaker we had 4 consecutive balanced budgets" (Newt) is rated False.
...and unrelated to the debate last night.
(Mitch Daniels Republican Response) "Steve Jobs created more jobs than the stimulus" was rated FALSE.
Our progressive/liberal public education system at work.
Our progressive/liberal public education system at work.
Or home-schooling, more likely. Or just a poor student, regardless of the venue.
Or home-schooling, more likely. Or just a poor student, regardless of the venue.
Never mind the fact that home-schooled kids consistently outperform public school kids on every test out there...
@millidad
except for history and social interactions. Every home-schooled kid I ever met was weird, and I mean REALLY weird like serial-killer-in-training weird.
and except for the fact that the countries with the highest academic achievement in the world have outlawed homeschooling completely (Germany, Switzerland among them). ..and except for very mixed results on SAT and ACT scores in the mid-2000's of homeschoolers who bothered to take the tests...and except for the very poor matriculation rate to college for homeschoolers...other than that...yeah...nothing prepares America's next generation for the information age like being kept at home all day and isolated from schools, teachers and their peers.
All examples of why I'm sick of the right's crap. If they can talk facts, if they can not pander to their most zealous and most conservative base, I would be much more ready to listen to them. Instead, we have smear campaigns that, in any other context than politics, would amount to slander. We have a core of fanatics who seem intent on moving America to a conservative religious theocracy.
Funny enough, I might have voted for McCain in 2008 if he had selected Leiberman and not the wacko from wasila.
The center is dead and a "United" States isn't far behind.
FACT:
If jobs don't improve the Socialist is gone.
lol
bye bye O
Gingrich has more baggage than the Queen of England when she travels.
Romney is the poster boy for Corporate Greed gone awry.
Ron has some interesting ideas but only some. Otherwise, he's a loony.
Rick would turn this country into a far right religious revival/theocracy.
You realize that Nazi ism and Fascism were both far right movements. The further the right moves right, the further this country divides. The only hope for the country is Centrism and considering the flock of centrists retiring from politics, we're screwed....
you keep using that word, "Socialism".
I don't think it means what you think it means.
@joe
"Inconcievable!"...lol
Since jobs have improved since 2008, Obama will be reelected and the Corporate elitists trying to run for President and cut, OOPS, I mean eliminate Capital Gains so they pay NO income tax, they wil be sent packing back to their investments.
Sick of the Right's Crap-
I agree. And your point is well taken about what Facism and Nazi ism mean. Yet, in some of these posts from our friends in the farther reaches of rightdom, you will see them accuse Obama of socialism, facism, AND Nazi ism, all in the same sentence! Then they claim they really DO know what they're talking about. No wonder they keep hoping for Palin to take a break from wolf hunting and make a comeback. She's their intellectual hero!
How can conservitives try to move the country to a "religious theocracy" with the US Constitution still some what in place?
What the he77 does that even mean? You have no idea what conervitism even is, all you know is the progressive/liberal mind set and you will NEVER change.
It's pretty clear that alex has no idea what the word "socialism" means, but that is not the point.
Unlike the Republican Party of the 1860s to 1998, modern Republicans have no interest in telling the truth these days, much less solving problems.
It is far easier to whip people into frenzy of fear, hatred, and resentment of African Americans, Latinos, Muslims, immigrants, Democrats, and poor people than it s to solve real problems, just like it's easy, when in power, to eliminate taxes on the rich while increasing spending and growing government bureacracy instead of exercising anything that even remotely resembles 'fiscal conservatism', while screaming about welfare and voter fraud whenever out of power.
This November, we can choose to resume our role as the greatest nation in world history by backing the President and the party that supports him
Or we can choose to self-destruct by electing those who would pit white against black, native born against immigrant, rich against poor.
United We Stand.
Sonnie, the right has been pushing back on the separation of church and state for years. As per wikipedia:
The constitution doesn't explicitly say "separation of church and state" and so many of those nuts walking around with the constitution in their pocket tend to ignore the outside writings of the constitutional framers unless they support their own views on church and state.
Listen to any of the right today and they very much wear their religion on their sleeve. Listen to much of the tea party and they say things like "unchurched", etc. There are plenty of theocracies in the world and all of them wield religion in a most unpleasant manor.
By the way, were you aware that there is a group of conservatives who are working on translating the bible again from it's source texts. Their belief is that the bible has been translated by liberals and the original text supports their more conservative views on politics, life, etc. Search on google using the following:
commonsense - great post! Thank you!
Re AlexinPA
"I don't think it means what you think it means."
Throw that one on the pile with the rest of concepts that went over his head.
alexinPA...
See...you can only be an ill-informed idiot if you simply just don't leave your lies behind and agree completely with the folks insulting you on this site. Don't you see that the things people here are trying to teach you are soaring right "over your head" ?
You can learn that 'teabaggers' use words like "unchurched" while at the same time, those who vote Democrat all hold, at minimum, either a Master's Degree in Science or a MENSA membership...sometimes both. And don't you dare try to question the intelligence of any of the current president's strongest voting blocs...well...then you'll simply be uncovered as another of those repuke bigots. Face facts...all Democrat voters are folks of the highest breeding, education, and accomplishment; while all Republican voters are race-baiting, non-fair-share-paying, teabagging rednecks.
You catching on yet, alexinPA ???
Tony, they aren't the only ones who employ sarcasm but you're on the "right" path.
So, first question, are you saying that his use of the term socialism actually matches to the definition:
Would you also say that there isn't a strong under current of religion on the right? Who uses the bible to advocate for removal of personal rights - abortion is just one example.
From religiondispatches.org:
I used the term "unchurched" based on an emailing I received from the WV tea party movement which critiqued some politicians for not being affiliated with a (or any) specific church. Also, don't forget all those "factual" comments about how Obama is a muslim, etc.
You can't hide from fact. If you feel abused or misused, consider your beliefs and whether they are supported by fact. This forum will not dispute fact but will smack you down for falsehood.
This forum "will not dispute fact" ??? Now that's funny !
I could not care any less about the TEA Party...although I sick of reading the horrid insults thown at every member and every statement or idea any member, or the entire group may have. Especially after being instructed that I should view the ragtag 'occupiers' basically as American heroes.
And what gives you even a hint of an idea that I feel 'abused or misused' ??? If I did, do you really think the supposed "facts" presented on this site would possibly set my soul free ???
I have never written the word 'socialism' on this website...now I'm supposed to parse 'alexinPA's' reason for writing a single word ?
These guys don't care about the facts. They will just keeep repeating their misinformation, ad-nauseum, and many will believe them. That is how Sux News thrives.
This isn't fact checking. It's Democrat propaganda!
But you are not disputing the results of the Fact Check, eh? I suppose because these results are backed by research and evidence and not just rantings and agenda positioning.....
yes it is.
these aren't facts... just word smithing for the left-tards
Jersey Bob,
I do dispute the Fact Check. On almost every "Fact" that MSNBC discusses, they only include information that supports their view.
The Latin American free trade and Israeli settlement issues leave out a lot of information that would contradict MSNBC's "facts".
Regarding Romney's investments, MSNBC states that the investments weren't part of his blind trust, but don't offer any proof that Romney directed the investments himself, only that the investments weren't there in '07. How does this prove that Romney lied? While there may be facts, they certainly don't seem to support their conclusion.
If that is the case refute them one by one with factual information. Just saying something over and over again does not make it true. All politicians do this but the right is much more egregious in this regard. It reminds me of "Animal Farm". The republicans think that because a certain group of ignorant voters buys into their propaganda that all Americans will. They are wrong, and the coming election will prove it.
Please feel free to prove your points with facts and sources. Otherwise, your credibility continues to disappear.
Armurray, I see your point but I find it hard to believe, even with a blind trust, that Romney doesn't know what is being invested in, because his specialty is investing.
For the right wingers, lies and opinions count as truth, and the truth counts as 'socialist propaganda'.
I am totally amazed that these right-wing nutjobs can still throw around the word "socialism" with a straight face.
Socialism: /ˈsoʊʃəˌlɪzəm/ Show Spelled[soh-shuh-liz-uhm] N. A political or cultural system that places the collective benefit of the community ahead of the encouragement or concentration of individual wealth. The concept of supporting one's fellow citizens, especially when it benefits the entire community, over that of allowing a select few to benefit. Any of various social or political theories or movements in which the community benefit or welfare is to be achieved, as opposed to the encouragement of individual accumulation of wealth benefiting only a few.
So when did the politics of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Samuel Adams and James Madison become such a bad thing? How can the right wing claim to love America, when they clearly hate most Americans? "Most Americans" aren't the wealthy group to whom the GOP (Greed Only Party) are trying to give tax cuts. The majority of Americans don't make enough money for the GOP cuts to even apply to them.
oats...
So...the "ignorant voters" are all Republicans ! Good to know...thanks for pointing that out for the unwashed among us.
By the way, have you taken an actual look at the intelligence of a very large numbers of voters who vote the exact same way you do ???
Better hold your nose before you do.
armurray
The point is not whether Romney directed the investments himself. The point is that Romney said all his investments werer in a blind trust and they are not, which makes Romney's statement FALSE!!!
WOW ! Then off with his head ! How dare Romney become so very successful and so wealthy that he failed to correctly inventory one of his investments !
Throw him in the slammer...but first, off with his head.
I know...I know...you don't have to remind me...he made his money either on the backs of the poor or just stole it from the middle class.
Andie469,
If you actually read his statement, the investment in question was one that was his wife's trust. So if you are looking at his statement, it is then TRUE!!!
Again, truth is just a matter of gray. The real question that matters to me is: Did he make a decision to invest in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? If he did, he may be biased in his decision making as to how to deal with the continuing housing meltdown. The other question I have is what other candidates are invested in Freddie and Fannie?
The flipside of this is that maybe it isn't bad to have our politicians invest in the success of the US economy. It gives them incentive to make better decisions... Again, a shade of gray.
armurray: you really are making no sense. The article states the investments were not part of the blind trust, which Romney's tax lawyer does not dispute, but you say they have no "evidence" he directed the investments. you don't seem to even understand what a "blind trust" is. It's irrelevant if Romney himself picked the investments, or if they were in his wife's name, if it's not in a blind trust, then he knew about those investments and approved them. There is no grey area. If you had millions in investments (JUST LIKE GINGRICH) ..of COURSE you would invest in government backed Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Nothing illegal in that. It is a POLITICAL problem for the Republicans because they are criticising those agencies as being instrumental in the mortgage crisis and blaming Obama for their performance. This really isn't that hard....(or as grey)...as you would love to believe.
These are politicians and professional prevaricators. I prefer objective explainations rather than the "True" or "False" or "Half True" assessments from "Fact Checker" who appear to have their own proprietary Truthometer that only exacerbates the spin.
oh yes, it's just SOOOO annoying to have people investigate the truth and veracity of statements politicians you approve of make...isn't it???
Down with corporate greed! Go 99%! GoBama!!! I still think English should be the official language in the US, because common language helps bring understanding to all citizens. Our laws are written in English, and our road signs are too. If you can't read English, you shouldn't be driving...you can't even read an amber alert! One last thing...everyone check your jury conformation forms(jury duty is a civic duty) where you will see, "Do you speak English?". You cannot serve on a jury if you cannot speak English, at least in Pennsylvania. Notice not one language was singled out against.
Just for the record . . . it's confirmation not "conformation" . . . Do you speak English?
Lol, I speak it, but have difficulty spelling sometimes...apparently. Come on, really!? It was the GoBama comment, wasn't it? :)
Haha...Douglas, didn't you know you are suppose to be gramatically correct and have no typos or spelling errors in these posts!! :-)
MSNBC is bought and paid for liberal machine. Nowhere did you see MSNBC report on Obama insisting the military could be used to indefinitely detain Americans through the NDAA, with no judicial recourse, which he signed into law December 31st. Nowhere do you see MSNBC report that while Obama was reading the outrage against SOPA/PIPA, he signed a treaty called ACTA on October 1st which basically does everything SOPA/PIPA would do, but affects all the nations that agreed to it. Right now the White House is pressuring the Senate to ratify it, and if they don't the President is declaring it an, "executive agreement," which is illegal because copyright and IP are constitutionally under the mandate of Congress, not the executive branch. Nowhere on MSNBC do they report about Solyndra, where the government backed the investments a billionaire put into the failed company and left the taxpayer on the dole. Nowhere on MSNBC do you see coverage on the federally run gun-running operation Fast & Furious. This is about the most corrupt administration in this country's history, whose sole purpose is to make serfs out of the American people. If you care at all about being a free citizen in this country, I strongly recommend you study our current President's actions. Sad to say, most of the Republican alternatives aren't much better.
That sir is a Republican manifesto. Since their are generally 43 no votes in the Senate, on anything that Obama wants, since it was passed, that means the Rethuglicans wanted it. Remember the Rethuglicans have said, we will destroy the United States to ensure we have a War mongering Republican elected in 2012.
I am independent and will question your statement that "This is about the most corrupt administration in this country's history, whose sole purpose is to make serfs out of the American people.". Well I will suggest that it has some competition for that with Watergate, Iran Contra, and Enron just to name a few, but actually it seems every administration has something.
Mike...
Can you also question Chuck's statement just above yours that proclaims: "Remember the 'Rethuglicans' have said, we will destroy the United States" in order to win an election.
K tony, I wasn't going to comment on it but I guess thats how Chuck is perceiving the comments about making Obama a 1 term president as a goal. By setting that as their goal it gives the impression of sinking the ship to take out the captain with no regards for the passengers, which is us. Basically, they have given the impression of obstruction rather then helping the economy rebound to better their chances of winning the white house. Plus, alot of the Repub candidates have been talking about a conflict with Iran.
I think the government should spearhead a committee to research what language is most predominant in the ghettos. Then and only then will we know who is right. My guess though is it isn't going to be Swedish.
Hey....I'm half Swedish...I can move to a ghetto if I want to !
for all of you that think this is all just left-wing propaganda: Why are you here?
Wouldn't you be more comfortable with your own kind over at Fox?
Are you here just because you crave attention? Didn't you get enough affection as a child?
I await your inevitable reply, but please try to stay on topic.
We're here because reading the left's point of view is like watching a slow moving train wreck. You cringe, but can't stop yourself.
Also, we like to find out about both sides of the issue because we are open minded.
"Also, we like to find out about both sides of the issue because we are open minded."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
OMG, I almost peed myself I am laughing so hard. Seriously? You aren't serious, are you?
I am laughing with Detroit-Storm and I'm not a Democrat or Republican but I do not see very much open mindedness going on in all of Politics, let alone here. Just like a$$holes, people have opinions and they use both dumping their $Hit. HAHAHAHA.
Right, Murray. You guys are still open minded about whether the world is flat or not. Of course, global warming was settled as soon as Al Gore's name got attached to it.
Has anyone tried to get the rights views at Fox? The discussions aren't discussion. For the most part one liners. Usually not very intelligent. Just slam spin slam. Here there are actually discussions and whole paragraphs. I go over once in awhile, but never learn much. Most all them are Rush believers and spew hateful insults. This is true.
mudshark...
Since you are so media-wise and intelligence friendly...allow we numbskulls to know what news sources you follow.
And if you can get over your confusion over what constitutes "news" versus "opinion" shows...please find me a better 7:00 "news" anchor than Shepard Smith on the evil Fox News. I do watch his "news" hour...it is not an 'opinion' hour. So please find me a more intelligent, humorous, and competent news anchor and I will give it a shot.
Say, Tony, please tell us what facts listed in this article are incorrect, with sources not Fox or Newsmaxx or their like. You know, real sources.
Unless, of course, you assert that the only truth does come from those sources, in which case we don't need to listen to you.
Obama/Clinton 2012 (yes, yes, still holding that torch for Hillary...)
Has anyone tried to get the rights views at Fox? The discussions aren't discussion. For the most part one liners. Usually not very intelligent.
I have noticed that, most of the comments on FAUX NEWS are things like this:
MARK MY WORDS FROM EXPERIENCE NEWT WILL BEAT OBUMA.
ITS ELMER FUDD ROMNEY THE LIBERAL THAT WILL LOSE. BEEN THERE DONE THAT, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR TALKINGA ABOUT
On fox news you can't even view where your comments goes, I notice that most liberal comments seem to disappear. You can see the difference in intelligence between the FOX discusssion boards and this board.
excessive...
You bore me. Where did I "assert" anything other than my request for someone to point out a better news anchor than Shepard Smith from the 7:00 News on the Fox NEWS Channel ?
I have never even held a 'Newsmaxx' in my hand or read a word from that source...sorry to disappoint.
I read 15 newspapers and four magazines every week, watch an hour or so of nightly news, and peek into web nws a couple times per day. Do those qualify as, "you know, real sources" ???
More to the point, what do approve of as "real sources" of news ??? I've seen seventy miles of criticism of "Faux News" or whatever you prefer to call it...but I almost never see any of you critics say a word about where you get your 'news' from..."you know, the real sources".
Hey Joe...
Nothing for nothing, but before you feel the need to criticize the intelligence of others or toot the horn about your own...try reading what you write before hitting "Post Comment".
Good Grief.....Time to break away to something more interesting.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b285/dwighthuth/SpongeBob.jpg
Download the movie to watch the fun. Clear Skies 3
To: T-1236278
You're demonstrating your ignorance to such an extent, I honestly doubt you know what you're talking about. Just a little example..."On MSNBC you can find the Rachel Maddox Show ans she did speak about the NDAA Obama signed, Chris Matthews also spoke about this issue. Also bringing up Solyndra again belittles you. it was an investment into a company the President thought would work, just like previous presidents have done, just happens that this one didn't. And to all your brouhaha, the Obama Administration haven't found guilty of any misconduct, unless because he's a democrat that doesn't apply, cause I'm totally sure that if it was a republican president that made such an investment you wouldn't be up in arms.
When you criticize, please know what you're talking about, because it just makes you look bad.
Paul, I must congratulate you. You are an example of what the progressive/liberals need to have in every american.
Again, CONGRATS
Al Sharpton sounds like an illiterate fool every time he opens his mouth. Yet, PMSNBC makes him a host?
How could any person who is called "reverend", which means he supposedly "graduated" from some "college of divinity" in order to receive his title... STILL be unable to ENUNCIATE SMALL, SIMPLE English words????
We live in a country where "supposedly educated people, who supposedly graduated from some college or university" and get a job AS AN MSNBC HOST...
and CANNOT ENUNCIATE A COMPLETE SENTENCE in English?
How or why can ANY news outlet, dominated by people who have UNIVERSITY DEGREES in Communications, actually permit a person to say AXE instead of ASK, or AXING instead of ASKING?
That is just one embarrassing example.
While I understand there are plenty of poorly educated people, who come from poorly educated families that are "dictionally challenged" because of their environments... but they are not the issue.
The "issue" is how any so called "media outlet" can allow any so called "host" to speak like such a bumbling, illiterate fool.
Sharpton's claim to fame is that is he the "poster child" of what a poverty pimp truly is.
The fact that he has a "serious speech impediment" only makes him look even more ignorant than everyone knows he is...
What a buffoon.
Im not sure about Al Sharpton (and I do agree with you that he isn't a smart guy), but to become a minister you just have to complete short course (I think like 2 hours) and a questionaire or test of some sort, and submit it (I'm not sure where). Your certificate comes in the mail in a few short weeks. It really isn't hard at all - my husband just did it on line a couple of months ago.
Speedy...Splitting hairs are we not?.......axe instead of ask is what makes Reverend Al a buffoon?...The example you just made is one of "Regional Dialect" it exists in all corners of the country. If you ASK people from different regions to pronounce the word "Washington" for example....the word will sound different depending on where in the country that person originated. Warshington...wazington...washin ton....just a few examples. If in fact Reverend Al does have a speech impediment...then the fact that he has progressed to the point that he can host a show on "pms..nbc" (your so clever!) is quite remarkable. So i guess conservatives were okay with the "Thrilla in Wasilla....moose murderer...and habitual english and fact butcher potentially becoming president....but lets not give Reverend Al a 1 hour show that is optional to participate in....what is the world coming to
Appalachian people use the "axe" dialect as well as many blacks and it has more to do with what particular region you are from as to whether or not you use that particular sound. The Appalachian use of "ain't" was also used correctly in old England and is a hold over from that period by people who didn't migrate much from their birth place. Just as many northerners use ANT for AUNT while many southerns use the Awnt sound for Aunt. It's really all just potato patatto.
So really you are displaying your own ignorance as you try to diminish someone else for theirs.
The last thing Al Sharpton is is ignorant.
oops - meant to attribute that quote above:
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070714005628AAR1P8a
culhealth: excellent post
"We are better for children to learn English in general, period."
It would be nice if our politicians could learn it, too.
Remember GW's "Is our children learning?"
You just can't make this stuff up.
And Republicans still insist that their hatred of Obama has nothing to do with his race?
It would be a lot more convincing if they either:
a) came out against the racism
or
b) had factually based reasons for hating him
Go to Texas or Mississippi and see what a "conservative" education gets you. Their standards are below the national standard. While "liberal" California is higher.
It is pointless to request or demand factual information from these people (the right wingers and loyal minions). They applauded Party Boy Bush while he mangled his native language continuously over his two terms, and even seemed proud of his tenuous grasp of English. The STILL call Obama 'Socialist' despite the American Socialist Party's refusal to endorse him. They STILL call him Muslim because of his middle name. They STILL insist he was born in Kenya despite him producing the most acceptable legal form of proof possible. You simply cannot win an argument. The best strategy is to give them more rope, and concentrate on fixing the problems created by their party without their help, because are withholding it.
Type in ----Texas changing history books. This is the new way to teach our children history in Texas. This is true. Inform yourself what conservatives are doing to education.
Commonsense, Great post's really a lot of good post's and discussion. I do enjoy the factcheck's after the debate's. But people that don't want to believe, WON'T. It does amaze me, that two people can read say a quote and come away with different ideas of what that quote says!
Let's get the history correct on "English". English was not a native language of the Americas. It was brought from Europe. Also, it almost was not selected to be the language of the U.S. German was spoken by more people than English. Why should we make the Apache, Navajo, Nez Pierce and others speak a language imported from Europe? Now as to Spanish. Spanish was another language brought to the Americas from Europe. It has been spoken in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado for over 300 years. Did you forget Puerto Rico. It has been spoken there for 450 years. The reason Spanish held on in these areas was not some secret plan of Spain or Mexico to take back what was stolen from them but rather the Anglos pushed the Spanish speakers aside into the poorest areas of these states why they grabbed all their land. Barrios were formed and the English speakers could care less what those people spoke as long as they picked the strawberries for nothing. Now the Anglos are upset that these people do not want to be just like them and want to retain at least a little of their culture they have practiced for 300- 450 years. The same with the Apache, Navajoes and other Native Americans. Also, should be mentioned. the Spanish speakers of New Mexico to a large extent came directly from Spain and not Mexico. However, there are large numbers of Mexicans in New Mexico. Both speak Spanish. Live with it Redneck.
Pushing for English to be the official language... DOMA... Inoculating innocent school children with the poison of religion in public schools... But they say that they want the federal government to stop interfering in the lives of others... Which is it? Does the GOP even know what it stands for anymore? Election maps have long been touted as color-coded guides to where all of the stupid people live. An all blue map shouldn't be the goal, but the less red, the better!
weus...
A large majority of the so-called "stupid people" you mention live in the nation's cities, which by coincidence have the highest high school dropout rates in the nation, massive unemployment, horrid percentages of fatherless children, and serious drug and crime rates.
Also, by coincidence, these same areas offer some off the highest percentages of Democrat voters !
So I guess when one tries to gauge intelligence by the colors on a map, it would depend on the type of map one is looking at.
I hear this reply all the time, and while being a caring, compasionate person, I have to say ~ SO! I pay my taxes, give to charity, and I personally have never done anything to harm any of the above mentioned peoples. And it is not my responsibility or duty to lift them from the conditions you list. For well over two decades, much has been said about the plight of the disadvantaged inner city youth. Corporations, agencies, church, & civic groups started mentoring & many other types of programs. Over 20 years later, their conditions have not improved. There would not be "horrid percentages of fatherless children" if men AND women were held responsible & accountable for the children they bring into the world. Instead, it becomes a state/federal/charitable org problem which has not helped. Things will never change until all people become responsible for themselves. Also, please check the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov). 2000 - 2007 the Bush Administration ~ unemployment was usually less than 5%. So, with jobs, a stable economy, & gov/private aid, nothing has changed, nothing has improved. And you can thank a Democrat for that. ;)
Tony: you would be shocked apparantly to learn that the vast majority of Americans with advanced degrees and the highest incomes live in America's cities...so no wonder you didn't post any sources for your "information" (which wouldsn't by any chance happen to be racial and political prejudices disguised as "facts"?). Take a look at the states with the lowest percentage of education and see if they're red or blue. You apparantly again would be shocked to see that your prejudices don't match the facts....but then again, they're just not making angry white Republican, uneducated men the way they used to, are they?
Come on internet trolls. Lets make up more lies about OBAMA! All of these facts are false!
Don't need to make up any lies. Any one with an open mind can see them.
OBAMA 2012!! OBAMA 2012!! OBAMA 2012!! OBAMA 2012!!
Rah Rah Rah !!!
Who wouldn't want four more years just like the last three !!!
Anyone who can remember George Bush???
Give English back to the English,,, We've been our own country long enough to return to a REAL "Original American National Language" ---- Lakota