I first learned about this website while reading a news story from Hot Air. I decided to go see what the hub-bub was about and I was amazed at what I saw. I read each falsehood they attribute to Fox News (mainly Glenn Beck) and their retort. If this is the best their research staff can do; they need to get some better people. Here is my reality check to their “Reality Check”
RHETORIC: BECK SAID VANCOUVER LOST $1 BILLION WHEN IT “HAD THE OLYMPICS.” Glenn Beck said, “Vancouver lost, how much was it? they lost a billion dollars when they had the Olympics.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]
REALITY: VANCOUVER’S OLYMPICS WILL NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL 2010. Vancouver will host the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games from February 12 – 28, 2010 and March 12-21, 2010, respectively. [Vancouver2010.com, accessed 9/29/09]
Real Reality – Obama does have a point on this, in that Beck used past tense and they have yet to have them yet. This seemed more like a “Gotcha!” statement, so I decided to see just where Beck snagged his numbers from.
Mr. Beck is citing the report by Marvin Shaffer which can be found here. This think tank used the numbers and formulas from the Vancouver Olympic Committee and saw that the city would lose $1.2 billion dollars. This number is true unless there are more overruns or costs. Since this is a government operation I can almost guarantee these numbers will increase.
RHETORIC: VALERIE JARRETT “WAS LAST SEEN WITH THE NEA.” Beck’s guest, FOX News contributor Pat Caddell, said, “[Obama] is going to go [to Copenhagen] with Valerie Jarrett who was last seen with the NEA pumping up their use of, you know, money.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]
REALITY: VALERIE JARRETT WAS NOT ON THE NEA CONFERENCE CALL. Valerie Jarrett was not a participant in the August 10, 2009 United We Serve/NEA conference call.
RHETORIC: Beck’s guest Caddell said, “Chicago is closing the government several days a week because they cannot afford to be open. They are going to go and reward — this is the biggest scandal.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]
REALITY: CHICAGO HAS HAD ONE REDUCED-SERVICE DAY IN 2009, AND WILL HAVE TWO MORE ON THE FRIDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING AND ON CHRISTMAS EVE. On August 17, 2009, CBS Chicago reported, “If you planned to check out a library book, visit a city clinic or have your garbage picked up on Monday, you’re out of luck. The City of Chicago is basically closed for business on Aug. 17, a reduced-service day in which most city employees are off without pay. City Hall, public libraries, health clinics and most city offices will be closed. Emergency service providers including police, firefighters and paramedics are working at full strength, but most services not directly related to public safety, including street sweeping, will not be provided. That also includes garbage pickup. Residents who receive regular collection on Mondays should expect trash to be picked up on Tuesday. Some other customers may experience a one-day delay as collectors catch up. As part of the 2009 budget, three reduced-service days were planned for 2009, days which are unpaid for all affected employees — the Friday after Thanksgiving; Christmas Eve; and New Year’s Eve. The City Council recently approved moving the reduced-service day planned for New Year’s Eve to Monday. The 2009 budget anticipates saving $8.3 million due to the reduced-service days. In addition to reduced service days, all non-union employees were asked to take a series of furlough days and unpaid holidays, and most non-sworn union employees agreed to similar unpaid time off.”[CBS Chicago, 8/17/09]
Real Reality Check - Obama does have a point on this one, but not a very good one. The City of Chicago is not closing down continuously like the commentator said, but they are doing other things which seem to me to be much worse. I read the entire news story that Obama cited as his source to discredit Beck. You might be surprised to learn that he left out a few choice details. First, these three days are unpaid days. If you are making minimum wage, 3 days without pay is a substantial amount of money. Second, is that “all non-union employees were asked to take a series of furlough days and unpaid holidays” in addition to the three days. I find it truly disgusting that this effects only non-union workers. I am also guessing that if you were “asked” by your boss to take a week off that you would say no.
RHETORIC: VALERIE JARRETT WILL BENEFIT FINANCIALLY. Beck asked, “Is it possible that she is going to benefit if the Olympics come to Chicago?” Caddell responded, “Well, that’s the word. She has certainly had a lot of dealings going on in real estate.” [Transcript, Glenn Beck Show, 9/29/09]/
REALITY: Valerie Jarrett divested all her investment real estate holdings upon entering government except for a single real estate holding that she was unable to sell. This single real estate investment has been determined by White House Counsel and the independent Office of Government Ethics to present no conflict of interest in performing her duties as a White House advisor. It has nothing to do with the Olympic bid.
Real Reality Check – This post annoyed me the most. The previous accusations against Fox could be attributed to sloppy and lazy research. This one cannot. Valerie Jarrett has everything to do with the Olympic bid. Where did I get this information? From a website Obama should be somewhat familar with: it is called change.gov. The exact link to her site is here. Now that we have established that she was indeed involved with the Olympic bid perhaps we can dispense with the cow puckey and admit she would make money off of it. First, she is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Habitat Company. This company owns Grove Parc Plaza (an apartment complex that received a score of 11 out of 100 by the HUD, which makes it unfit for human habitation). Guess where the Olympic Village was slated to be? It was supposed to be placed where Grove Parc Plaza is standing now. If that isn’t considered to be a conflict of interest I don’t know what is.