eml from media matters

Here are today's news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.

Continuing Attack On Tucson Ethnic Studies Class, Beck Ignores Report That Contradicts His Fearmongering
Glenn Beck said that "the top education official" in Arizona ruled that an ethnic studies program, which Beck claimed "called for the overthrow of the United States government," was in violation of state law. But Beck didn't note that a study commissioned by that same Arizona official found no violation of the law. Read More

Fox's "Doctor" Ablow Dismisses Threat From Coal Plants
Fox News contributor and psychiatrist Keith Ablow misinformed viewers by dismissing EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's statement that limits on air pollution from coal-fired power plants benefit those who suffer from asthma. Indeed, it is widely accepted among public health professionals that pollution from these plants exacerbates asthma symptoms. Read More

Varney Revives False Claim That Cutting Taxes Increases Revenue
On Fox & Friends, Fox Business host Stuart Varney revived the false claim that "history shows that you get more money to the Treasury by lowering tax rates than by raising tax rates." In fact, virtually no economist believes the evidence supports the claim that tax cuts result in increased federal revenues. Read More

Here are [yesterday's] news items from Media Matters for America, click on the title or 'read more' to read the entirety of each story.

Forgot To Google It? Right-Wing Media Hype False Report That Google Gave "Special Deal" To Obama Campaign

The Drudge Report and Fox News both recently seized on discredited allegations that Google may have given a "special deal" to the Obama campaign in giving the campaign select access to a new advertising product. In fact, both Google and the Obama campaign denied the report; moreover, a Google spokesman pointed out that the ad that sparked the controversy was not a Google ad at all. Read More

Right-Wing Media Attack Wasserman Schultz For Economic Recovery Remarks
Several right-wing media figures and outlets have attacked Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz for accurately saying that President Obama "began to turn the economy around." Read More

Fox Continues To Misinform About WI Anti-Union Legislation
Fox & Friends hosted Glenn Grothman, a Republican state senator from Wisconsin, to promote Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union bill and to misleadingly suggest that the legal challenges to the bill simply involved state employees' contributions to their pensions. In fact, the controversy surrounding the bill was its intention to strip most public workers of collective bargaining rights; the unions have consistently agreed to higher pension and health care contributions. Read More

In WSJ Column, Rove Advances Dubious Health Care Reform Claims
In a Wall Street Journal column, Karl Rove advanced the misleading claim that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) "added $115 billion to administer" the health care reform law, which "reduced ... claimed savings to $28 billion." Rove also hyped a dubious study that he claimed found that "78 million Americans would lose their current health coverage" because of the health care reform law. Read More

Fox Wildly Misrepresents Allegation That Boeing Engaged In Unlawful Union Busting
Fox repeatedly spread misinformation about a case brought by the National Labor Relations Board's office of general counsel alleging that Boeing retaliated against workers in Washington state who had previously gone on strike by moving work to South Carolina. One Fox News personality went so far as to call the case "the end of freedom in America." Read More

and here are wednesday's items:

Right-Wing Media Attack Obama For Accurate Remarks On Business' Investment In Automated Machines
Right-wing media have seized on recent comments by President Obama to claim that Obama "blame[d] ATMs for high unemployment." But Obama's full comments show that he was suggesting that businesses are investing more heavily in automated machines than in hiring new employees, a view shared by economists. Read More

Right-Wing Media Use Benign Comment About Regulatory Reform To Call Millions Of Jobs A Waste Of Money
Media conservatives have found yet another excuse to push the myth that President Obama's economic policies have failed to increase employment, this time pointing to Obama's unremarkable observation that eliminating unnecessary regulations might speed up business activity and help create jobs. Economists have said that Obama's economic policies have boosted employment and raised gross domestic product. Read More

Fox Hypes Bogus Theory That ATF Operation Meant To Lay Groundwork For Stricter Gun Laws
Continuing its pattern of hyping ridiculous conspiracy theories to attack the Obama administration, Fox News baselessly suggested that the ATF's Operation Fast and Furious was deliberately designed to go badly in order to justify stricter U.S. gun laws. In fact, even a report prepared for House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley(R-IA) refutes this theory. Read More