Okay Political "Fact Checkers" Time to Check the Obama SOTU Speech

The political fact checker has become the new phony name for agenda driven parsing of Republican commentary.  The fact checkers have worked overtime with their "pants on fire", "4 pinnochios" cleverness.  Each of the leading Republicans have been ridiculed for lies, fabrications and stretching the truth. No democrats have been under such scrutiny. It's open season on Repubs and the Democratic National Committee is laughing up its collective sleeves.

Well the Prez is giving his SOTU speech right now and is spewing economic data that purports that we are basically living in an economic Nirvana.  The numbers he's offering up are simply not true.

The political fact checkers, if they are indeed fair fact checkers, will have mountains of information for us tomorrow correcting President Obama.

I shall not hold my breath waiting.

UPDATE:

Surprise, surprise the New York Times fact checking site finds the speech to be pretty darn accurate.  Take a look at ANY sentence that actually references comparative numbers "most domestic oil production in 16 years" and on and on and you'll see that they simply don't investigate one single quantitative claim.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/01/24/us/politics/state-of-the-union-2012-video-transcript.html?hp

Obama's Pipeline Denial Helps Warren Buffet

One of Warrren Buffet's largest holdings in Berkshire Hathaway is Burlington Northern railroad.  Suspiciously Buffett (Obama's close pal) will be rewarded with millions of dollars because Obama won't allow the XL pipeline to be built allowing the railroad to carry the crude and a much higher cost. Was Obama's decision influenced by his relationship with Buffet? Don't expect the mainstream media to bring it up.

The rail option, though costlier, would lessen the environmental impact, such as a loss of wetlands and agricultural productivity, compared to the pipeline, according to the State Department analysis. Greenhouse gas emmissions, however, would be worse.

The devil is always in the details. And a media that's so in the tank for Obama and the Democrats will never dig deep to the one thin layer that let's the sunshine of truth in.

 

The Gnawing Guilt of Jake Tapper

I've always liked Jake Tapper of ABC news.  He is a member of what most Republicans and some Independents call the Main Stream Media or Legacy Media or some other ungracious moniker. He is the White House correspondent and has had the courage to go nose-to-nose with Republican and Democrat communications lackeys. I wish he would be more contentious than he is, I wish that he would point out the naked emperor with more gusto, but the truth is he can't. Not with what I'm sure is a very short leash from his ABC overlords.

But he clearly feels guilty about how journalism has become so agenda driven and that his agenda is to support Democrats and the Obama administration. ABC is no longer even trying to disguise this fact. The embarrassing performance by George Stephanopoulos at the Republican debate in New Hampshire this past Saturday is the most recent example. Hounding the candidates, primarily Romney, about a contraception issue that doesn't even exist, in lieu of discussing the economy, foreign policy tells you all you need to know about what "the agenda" is.   The absolute absence of critique of Obama during the ABC evening news while making sure that at least one or two Republicans are made to look foolish also confirms the bias.

But Jake tries every so often. It's clear that if there is at least one broadcast journalist that has trouble sleeping at night it's Jake Tapper. That may be why on this past weekend's ABC Sunday talk show he said, in referring to the 2008 presidential election, "you had the media, perhaps, tilting on the scales a little bit." (one of the factors "going for Obama").  The collective inhalation of air in the room probably wiggled the huge sound drapes surrounding the set.

I once thought that maybe Jake is a closet conservative who might do well taking his talents to Fox News.  But I'm sure he's not. He would feel just as upset at the extreme bias that goes on over there. I actually think he may be what the media really needs - an honest guy who is dying to be the kind of journalist that he must have been inspired to become - neutral, but probing.

One has to wonder how many other Jake Tappers there are out there who could improve their sleep with an occasional honest utterance about media bias?  Come home honest journalists, it is you more than politicians, who can bring a divided country together.

Daily Show Nails It

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Obama Plays Politics on the Pipeline, Strains Canada Relations

The Obama administration is delaying a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline designed to carry Canadian crude to Gulf Coast refineries for 12 to 18 months, enough time to get past the election next year.  Had Obama allowed the pipeline it would have helped the consumer with cheaper energy but angered Democrat donors and possibly voters. It also would have been a great boon to our neighbors to the north.  Canadians feel betrayed.


"That a publicly traded Canadian company, with transparent governance and processes based in a free and democratic society can be subject to this kind of treatment does not bode well for companies from other countries seeking to invest in the U.S.

The U.S. companies with operations in Canada, especially those operating in the oilsands, should be feeling mighty betrayed that their own government doesn't appear to understand the economics behind the need for this kind of continental energy infrastructure."


Of course this will also curb oil sands development in North Dakota, an area that was also going to utilize this pipeline. The development in that area is enormous and right now there are 15,000 jobs of all kinds just waiting to be filled. 

This pipeline decision will turn that area into a ghost town within a year or two.

But Obama, voting "present" instead of making a decision, is much more concerned with gainin some sort of political advantage.

Gingrich Rising

Since his Lincoln-Douglas style debate over the weekend Newt Gingrich has gained serious momentum in the Republican presidential primary battle.  He leads in the latest Iowa caucus polls.  Once considered an also ran and often overlooked as a guy too wonky to appeal to the average Republican Joe, Gingrich is recreating his brand to be more concise, still intelligent, yet understandable.  It will continue to serve him well. Depending on how Herman Cain survives the latest MSM onslaught about the sexual harassment charges,  Gingrich's fortunes could be boosted sooner rather than later.

Voters in the general election will want someone ready to tackle the deficit, the unemployment mess and to keep an eye on Iran.  Gingrich is clearly superior to Romney in perceived foreign policy knowledge (it's all about perception after all) and Romney holds the cards with respect to the economy.  Neither are slouches when it comes to either issue, however and this will keep both of them near the front of the pack.

Indeed, a new sensation for Gingrich.

But with the new "flavor of the day" title, Gingrich must gird his loins for the Legacy Media onslaught.  Newt has a few skeletons and the Journolisters are busily planning their coordinated attack.

I call BS on the "anonymous accuser" of Herman Cain

A bright, outspoken black man speaks out against a black president every day.  His legitimacy can not be questioned. He cannot be dismissed as most critics of Obama are as "racially motivated".  This is very, very scary, troubling, worrisome and annoying to the Democrats and the Washington cabal benefitting every day from the Obama huge government largesse.

Thus, anonymous victims of sexual harassment are dug up to bring this very difficult Republican candidate down.

It's not that Democrats think Herman Cain would ever have a shot at beating Obama.  It's that he just Needs. To. Be. Silenced.