Category: 1

Reader question: Does George Soros have any involvement in Snopes.com

11/02/2012

Snopes.com is run husband and wife David and Barbara Mikkelson of southern California. They provide this information on their website. The Mikkelsons have not publicly stated a political preference or affiliation, or expressed support for any particular party or candidate.

Moreover, Barbara Mikkelson is a Canadian citizen, and as such cannot vote in U.S. elections or contribute to political campaigns. In a statement to FactCheck.org, David Mikkelson said his "sole involvement in politics" is voting on election day. In 2000 he registered as a Republican, documents provided to FactCheck.org show, and in 2008 Mikkelson didn't declare a party affiliation at all. Says Mikkelson: "I've never joined a party, worked for a campaign, or donated money to a candidate" (source: FactCheck.org). FactCheck.org confirmed in 2009 that David Mikkelson was a registered independent.

There is no evidence that Soros has any involvement in Snopes.com. They funded the site themselves for many years before adding advertisements to fund the cost of hosting the site.

Add Comment

Reader question: Did Obama offer Iran a deal to hold off uranium research until after the election?

10/20/2012

0 Comments

by Kathy Wiemers

On October 20, 2012, the White House said it was prepared to talk with Iran about its nuclear program and Iran agreed, but no meeting has been set. The New York Times reported that Iran insisted that the meeting occur after the US elections. (1) The White House has denied that there is any agreement with Iran to talk about their nuclear program. The Tehran Times also reported that no date has been set for talks. (2) Obama has asked Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, to hold off on a preemptive strike until after the US elections. (3)

The EU recently instituted new sanctions on Iran over their nuclear program. (4) On September 17, 2012, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, met with H.E. Dr. Fereydoun Abbasi, Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Head of the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran (AEOI). The most recent report published by the IAEA describes the status of Iran's nuclear program and their noncompliance with the United Nations Security Council resolutions. (5)

Add Comment

Reader submission: frequently seen quote on conservative blogs and media falsely attributed to Czech newspaper

09/30/2012

1 Comment

by Kathy Wiemers with thanks to Larry Staton

The falsely attributed quote is attached to an email making the rounds with a statement and video link from a Navy SEAL.

1 Comment

What is true about the 46.4% that do not pay income taxes

09/18/2012

Ezra Klein at Wonkblog did an excellent job of showing who does not pay income taxes and why. Who doesn’t pay taxes, in eight charts

Links July 2-3, 2012

07/03/2012

Why is Nobody Freaking Out About the LIBOR Banking Scandal?
Poor Land in Jail as Companies Add Huge Fees for Probation
Women's Voices Unheard in Media Coverage of Women's Issues
GOP Votes for Contempt as "Fast and Furious" Blows Up in Its Face

Mortgage Settlement, Political Party Advertising, Reproductive Health

06/04/2012

1 Comment

Our articles take quite some time to put together. While you wait for a new one, check these links to some great investigative journalism.

See where the mortgage settlement money paid to states by five of the nation's banks has gone.
Help determine how political campaigns target their advertising.
Reproductive health services dependent on income and lags behind other developed countries.

1 Comment

Tips for Viewing Political Ads

05/18/2012

by Kathy Wiemers

FlackCheck.org identified 12 methods of deception in political ads, and they have examples from 2012 campaign ads. Both parties and political action committees run deceptive ads. Visit FlackCheck.org for detailed descriptions of these techniques. If you’re curious about a political ad you’ve seen, FlackCheck.org will cover political ads and point out the deceptions and deceptive practices. They also invite submissions.

Deceptive techniques to watch for:

Deceptive audio designed to manipulate the viewers’ responses to pictures.
Deceptive dramatization or misleading images or aspects of images designed to create a specific association or inference.
Deceptive framing where the first image creates the frame for the second image often leads to false conclusions.
Glass house attacks by a candidate for a vote or position by their opposition also held or performed by the candidate in their ad.
Guilt by association that leads viewers to believe that the person attacked is also guilty.
Forcing assumptions by inviting viewers to hear what is not said particularly when words on the screen have no relationship to the picture. Our minds will create a relationship that the advertisers expect.
Using reputable sources to appropriate credibility.
Ambiguity of pronouns used to take opponents’ words out of context.
Presentation of statements out of context invites misunderstanding and distortion of what the opponent said or meant.
Photoshopping
Using a logical fallacy that assumes because Y follows X that X was caused by Y (post hoc ergo propter hoc).
Defining terms to ensure that viewers here what the advertisers want even if the language contradicts or misinterprets a candidates’ record.
Deceptive visuals that have viewers see what is not heard.
Use of unflattering photos in an attack (visual vilification). The advertisers are counting on viewers’ automatic disgust or dislike.

Women (and Men) Speak Up

05/08/2012

We want our readers to hear about a project started by several groups to get women's and men's opinions on what matters to them about politics and government. This is another chance to have your voice heard and possibly get published in a book. Take the poll and send them an essay. Everyone has something important to contribute.

Visit: Women and the Future of Politics

Intersection of Media, Money & Politics: How They Decide What the Public Sees and How the Public Reacts

05/01/2012

by Kathy Wiemers

In a recent episode of Moyers and Company,(1) Bill Moyers interviewed Marty Kaplan, founder of the Norman Lear Center and dean of the Anneberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, about politics and journalism. Kaplan’s statements were more direct than our mission statement and reason for starting this site, so we wanted to share his interview here.

Birth Control Controversy-How Did We Get Here?

03/23/2012

1 Comment

by Kathy Wiemers

We are covering the birth control controversy in several parts, beginning with looking at some of the arguments against the use, history, statistics, and a discussion of several models that may explain the reasons behind the current birth control panic. The models come from psychology, political science, law, cognitive science, and sociology.

Why in 2012 is there a sudden controversy over the birth control pill and birth control? The issue began when the Health and Human Services Department of the Obama Administration announced its policy that contraception would be covered in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Churches and houses of worship would be exempt. This policy is similar to several states’ policies requiring contraception coverage and allowing religious organizations to be exempt.

Currently 28 states require contraception coverage without exemption and without mass protest. The January 2012 announcement was favored by women’s rights groups, but not by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops who declared it an affront to religious freedom[1] and asked for conscience clauses in the PPACA. The bishops framed the issue as “religious freedom” rather than against contraception, even though it is well known that the Catholic Church is against contraception.

The bishops’ conscience clause affects more than the 750,000 Catholic hospital employees. It also affects the millions of patients who use the 629 Catholic hospitals who cannot receive services that are against the conscience clause. These patients also cannot be informed about these services nor referred to another institution. The opposed services include contraception, sterilization, emergency contraception, abortion, fertility treatments for same-sex couples, counseling for sexually transmitted diseases, and removal of patients from feeding tubes.[1] The Catholic hospitals receive 50% of their funding from state and local government, and only 3% of the funding comes from the church or church donations.[1] The allowance of conscience clauses results in patients negotiating health care decisions with the local bishops and their present employer rather than between patients and doctors.

1 Comment