Cowboys And Ignoramuses Show Up For GOP Debate

[Campbell]

Did Ted Cruz mean to suggest he would have gone to war with Iran over its brief detention of U.S. sailors?

Did Donald Trump forget that he proposed a massive tax on Chinese goods? And does Ben Carson really think Islamic State militants chill out with a cigar?

In their rush to slam the Obama administration, play up their records and play down inconvenient realities, Republican presidential candidates served up some misshapen rhetoric in their latest presidential debate.

A look at some claims and how they compare with the facts:

CRUZ: Any country that makes U.S. service members get on their knees like the 10 sailors whose boats were boarded and seized by the Iranian military this week "will feel the full force and fury of the United States of America."

CHRIS CHRISTIE: "Tin pot dictators ... are taking our Navy ships."

THE FACTS: Neither candidate addressed the fact that the short-lived crisis was created by the U.S. sailors who steered their boats into sovereign Iranian waters, where they were boarded and seized by Iranian naval forces. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday that the U.S. sailors had made a navigation error.

Under such circumstances it would not be unusual to disarm members of a foreign military force — even a small one like the two Navy boats — and hold them temporarily for questioning. What was exceptional about this episode — and perhaps a provocation — is that the Iranians videotaped the Americans during the encounter and posted the images on the Internet.

The suggestion by Cruz that he would have launched a military attack on Iran in response to such an incident is hard to square with accepted international tests for the use of force.

Iran returned the sailors unharmed and their boats undamaged.

———

CARSON on pursuing Islamic State militants wherever they can be found: "Why should we be letting people smoke their cigars in their comfortable chairs in Raqqa?"

THE FACTS: Carson is not likely to find IS fighters lounging with cigars in Raqqa, their de facto capital in Syria. The group has imposed a strict smoking ban throughout its territory in Syria and Iraq. In fact, the militant group implements stiff fines for anyone caught smoking, and even more brutal punishments for those caught selling cigarettes, water pipes or anything that can be smoked, cigars included.

Also in the debate, Carson suggested Syrian refugees be allowed to settle in "al-Saqqa province, where they'll be in their own country."

But there is no such place. He probably meant al-Raqqa, or Raqqa. As an IS stronghold, it would not be much of a safe haven for people trying to flee the group.

CHRIS CHRISTIE "Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey." ''I never wrote a check to Planned Parenthood."

THE FACTS: Common Core has not been eliminated in his state — far from it.

A panel Christie put together recommended a series of changes to state standards this week, but only recommended changes to 232 out of 1,427 standards in math and English. The panel also proposed renaming the standards the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. A separate Christie panel recommended the state continue using a Common Core-aligned test — and require it for graduation by 2021.

On Planned Parenthood, Christie's denial is at odds with a Sept. 30, 1994, Newark Star-Ledger story that quotes Christie as saying, "I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution, and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations."

Christie was running for local office in Morris County, New Jersey, at the time. The same quote appeared again in a book, "Chris Christie: The Inside Story of his Rise to Power," a book with which Christie cooperated.

The original story was written by Star-Ledger reporter Brian Murray, who now works as a spokesman for Christie in the governor's office. On Tuesday, Christie said he was misquoted in the 1994 story.


TRUMP, denying he told The New York Times he favored a 45 percent tax on Chinese goods: "That's wrong. They were wrong."

THE FACTS: Trump began wriggling out of his idea for a massive tax on Chinese goods soon after he told the paper last week that he would impose one and that "the tax should be 45 percent."

Several days later, he said the tariff could well be much less than that and might not be needed at all because China probably would start trading more fairly in order to avoid it. Now, he denies ever proposing 45 percent, despite his remarks on the record.

More broadly, China no longer appears to be the economic powerhouse portrayed by Trump. Its major stock market has had a rocky start in 2016 and its manufacturing sector began contracting last March as growth slowed, according to a purchasing manager index.

CRUZ, asked about loans from two large banks totaling as much as $1 million that fueled his 2012 Senate campaign, said he and his wife "ended up investing everything we owned." He acknowledged his failure to disclose the loans to the Federal Election Commission, saying: "Yes I made a paperwork error."

THE FACTS: Cruz did, as he asserted, eventually disclose the loans in personal financial forms filed with the Senate. But citing a mere "paperwork error" in failing to report the loans to the FEC glossed over the fact that the law requires candidates to make such reports to the election regulators.

He also did not address the fact that a large chunk of the loans came from Goldman Sachs, where his wife works as an executive, and whether that might have made the loan possible.

CRUZ, asked to explain his slam against Trump's "New York values," said, "not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just sayin'."

THE FACTS: Cruz may dislike New Yorkers, but he's been willing to take a bundle of money from one of them. Wall Street hedge fund mogul Robert Mercer contributed $11 million in April to a Cruz-aligned super PAC, according to federal filings. And there's also that Goldman Sachs loan.


JEB BUSH: "Every weapons system has been gutted."

TRUMP: "Our military is a disaster."

CARSON: "We have the world's best military, even though he (President Barack Obama) has done everything he can to diminish it."

MARCO RUBIO: "This president is undermining our military." ''This president is more interested in funding Planned Parenthood than in funding the military."

THE FACTS: These broadsides were stated in sweeping terms that reflect defense budget cuts approved by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Obama.

It's true that the defense budget has shrunk and that this has forced the military services to reduce their ranks and attempt to trim benefits paid to troops. But far from being "gutted," some key elements of the military have expanded, including the special operations forces.

Under the Obama administration the military services are undertaking a wide range of modernization efforts, including nuclear forces, combat fighter jets and missile defense systems.

The defense budget problem has been worsened by repeated partisan conflicts over "sequestration," or automatic budget cuts that resulted from the 2011 budget control agreement between the White House and the Congress.

Whence come your "facts"?

Fact-checking the latest GOP debate

Well gosh! Yahoo. AP. That makes them facts!

Got Katie Couric's staggering analysis?

As best I remember Katie set the world on fire by exposing the ignorance of the female asshole from Alaska:

 

[Wildman]

How the hell is correcting lies and presenting facts about a Republican dong flogging bigotry?

you should know.., you are very good at it!!

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

Obama is humiliated. We are not. The world had best realize that one way or another, things will change mightily when Obama finally gets the boot.

 

[Wildman]

Horse Shit!! You've been watching Fox News again.

and you are addicted to MSNBC!

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

Got Katie Couric's staggering analysis?

As best I remember Katie set the world on fire by exposing the ignorance of the female asshole from Alaska:

After which she lost the anchor job at a major network due to lack of ratings and went to work for ... wait for it ... Yahoo's "News" Division.

 

[Wildman]

...hate for anyone who doesn't bow to their thinking

Stephanie.., my dear, they do NOT think.., look at their narrative, they FEEEEEEEL!!

 

[Stephanie]

Got Katie Couric's staggering analysis?

As best I remember Katie set the world on fire by exposing the ignorance of the female asshole from Alaska:

After which she lost the anchor job at a major network due to lack of ratings and went to work for ... wait for it ... Yahoo's "News" Division.

poor Campbell. he can't ever not show his hate for women who aren't old hags like Warren and Hillary. he's pathetic. but remember, the democrat party care MORE about them womeeeeeeeen folk. pfeeeeeesh

 

[Stephanie]

...hate for anyone who doesn't bow to their thinking

Stephanie.., my dear, they do NOT think.., look at their narrative, they FEEEEEEEL!!

for sure. I saw that title and I said another thread not to take seriously. it's their gig.... beats me why they are so hateful all the time. and all over Politics.

 

[Campbell]

no one cares to read your bigotry over and over. go get a life

Steph, let him/her go ahead. After that debate, every one with a lick of sense has to draw the conclusion that------>the Democrats are in trouble. Virtually every issue they touched on except for "gun background checks," these guys were on the voters side by a very wide margin. And, with the "background check" issue, tell me how the Democrats are going to take 1 state from the South!

That is all you really need to see. The Democrats ability to win keeps shrinking, issue after issue.

In Trouble? LMAO!!

After the Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Gays, Lesbians, Poor People, Most Women, The Young and Hard Boiled Democrats show up it'll be another Romney 47% deal.

You people don't get it. You've been found out. We're slow but we get there. The American voters want something besides a party which stands for nothing except tax cuts for the rich and corporate subsidies i.e. big bad military. We have a military force greater than the next eight world powers combined and the last time anybody surrendered to us was in the fall of 1945. If I were you I'd be ashamed:

 

[Wildman]

He's funny like that.

i wish it were only funny.., he is a prime example of those his leader talked about who should never be allowed within a mile of a gun.

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Did Ted Cruz mean to suggest he would have gone to war with Iran over its brief detention of U.S. sailors?

Did Donald Trump forget that he proposed a massive tax on Chinese goods? And does Ben Carson really think Islamic State militants chill out with a cigar?

In their rush to slam the Obama administration, play up their records and play down inconvenient realities, Republican presidential candidates served up some misshapen rhetoric in their latest presidential debate.

A look at some claims and how they compare with the facts:

CRUZ: Any country that makes U.S. service members get on their knees like the 10 sailors whose boats were boarded and seized by the Iranian military this week "will feel the full force and fury of the United States of America."

CHRIS CHRISTIE: "Tin pot dictators ... are taking our Navy ships."

THE FACTS: Neither candidate addressed the fact that the short-lived crisis was created by the U.S. sailors who steered their boats into sovereign Iranian waters, where they were boarded and seized by Iranian naval forces. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday that the U.S. sailors had made a navigation error.

Under such circumstances it would not be unusual to disarm members of a foreign military force — even a small one like the two Navy boats — and hold them temporarily for questioning. What was exceptional about this episode — and perhaps a provocation — is that the Iranians videotaped the Americans during the encounter and posted the images on the Internet.

The suggestion by Cruz that he would have launched a military attack on Iran in response to such an incident is hard to square with accepted international tests for the use of force.

Iran returned the sailors unharmed and their boats undamaged.

———

CARSON on pursuing Islamic State militants wherever they can be found: "Why should we be letting people smoke their cigars in their comfortable chairs in Raqqa?"

THE FACTS: Carson is not likely to find IS fighters lounging with cigars in Raqqa, their de facto capital in Syria. The group has imposed a strict smoking ban throughout its territory in Syria and Iraq. In fact, the militant group implements stiff fines for anyone caught smoking, and even more brutal punishments for those caught selling cigarettes, water pipes or anything that can be smoked, cigars included.

Also in the debate, Carson suggested Syrian refugees be allowed to settle in "al-Saqqa province, where they'll be in their own country."

But there is no such place. He probably meant al-Raqqa, or Raqqa. As an IS stronghold, it would not be much of a safe haven for people trying to flee the group.

CHRIS CHRISTIE "Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey." ''I never wrote a check to Planned Parenthood."

THE FACTS: Common Core has not been eliminated in his state — far from it.

A panel Christie put together recommended a series of changes to state standards this week, but only recommended changes to 232 out of 1,427 standards in math and English. The panel also proposed renaming the standards the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. A separate Christie panel recommended the state continue using a Common Core-aligned test — and require it for graduation by 2021.

On Planned Parenthood, Christie's denial is at odds with a Sept. 30, 1994, Newark Star-Ledger story that quotes Christie as saying, "I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution, and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations."

Christie was running for local office in Morris County, New Jersey, at the time. The same quote appeared again in a book, "Chris Christie: The Inside Story of his Rise to Power," a book with which Christie cooperated.

The original story was written by Star-Ledger reporter Brian Murray, who now works as a spokesman for Christie in the governor's office. On Tuesday, Christie said he was misquoted in the 1994 story.


TRUMP, denying he told The New York Times he favored a 45 percent tax on Chinese goods: "That's wrong. They were wrong."

THE FACTS: Trump began wriggling out of his idea for a massive tax on Chinese goods soon after he told the paper last week that he would impose one and that "the tax should be 45 percent."

Several days later, he said the tariff could well be much less than that and might not be needed at all because China probably would start trading more fairly in order to avoid it. Now, he denies ever proposing 45 percent, despite his remarks on the record.

More broadly, China no longer appears to be the economic powerhouse portrayed by Trump. Its major stock market has had a rocky start in 2016 and its manufacturing sector began contracting last March as growth slowed, according to a purchasing manager index.

CRUZ, asked about loans from two large banks totaling as much as $1 million that fueled his 2012 Senate campaign, said he and his wife "ended up investing everything we owned." He acknowledged his failure to disclose the loans to the Federal Election Commission, saying: "Yes I made a paperwork error."

THE FACTS: Cruz did, as he asserted, eventually disclose the loans in personal financial forms filed with the Senate. But citing a mere "paperwork error" in failing to report the loans to the FEC glossed over the fact that the law requires candidates to make such reports to the election regulators.

He also did not address the fact that a large chunk of the loans came from Goldman Sachs, where his wife works as an executive, and whether that might have made the loan possible.

CRUZ, asked to explain his slam against Trump's "New York values," said, "not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just sayin'."

THE FACTS: Cruz may dislike New Yorkers, but he's been willing to take a bundle of money from one of them. Wall Street hedge fund mogul Robert Mercer contributed $11 million in April to a Cruz-aligned super PAC, according to federal filings. And there's also that Goldman Sachs loan.


JEB BUSH: "Every weapons system has been gutted."

TRUMP: "Our military is a disaster."

CARSON: "We have the world's best military, even though he (President Barack Obama) has done everything he can to diminish it."

MARCO RUBIO: "This president is undermining our military." ''This president is more interested in funding Planned Parenthood than in funding the military."

THE FACTS: These broadsides were stated in sweeping terms that reflect defense budget cuts approved by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Obama.

It's true that the defense budget has shrunk and that this has forced the military services to reduce their ranks and attempt to trim benefits paid to troops. But far from being "gutted," some key elements of the military have expanded, including the special operations forces.

Under the Obama administration the military services are undertaking a wide range of modernization efforts, including nuclear forces, combat fighter jets and missile defense systems.

The defense budget problem has been worsened by repeated partisan conflicts over "sequestration," or automatic budget cuts that resulted from the 2011 budget control agreement between the White House and the Congress.

Can you say "plagiarism"?

These are not your words and you failed to link or cite the article you stole them from.

If I'm not mistaken, that's a violation of USMB rules.

 

[bodecea]

no one cares to read your bigotry over and over. go get a life

Bigotry? How the hell is correcting lies and presenting facts about a Republican dong flogging bigotry?

Anything that questions her GOP gods is bigotry to Staphanie.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

Every candidate on that stage is better POTUS material than Obama....and that's after Ears playing POTUS for the last seven years

 

[blackhawk]

Very long boring drawn out way of saying your partisan Democrat who doesn't like Republicans.

 

[Stephanie]

Very long boring drawn out way of saying your partisan Democrat who doesn't like Republicans.

yep, over and over it's the same ole thing. zzzzz

 

[bodecea]

Got Katie Couric's staggering analysis?

As best I remember Katie set the world on fire by exposing the ignorance of the female asshole from Alaska:

After which she lost the anchor job at a major network due to lack of ratings and went to work for ... wait for it ... Yahoo's "News" Division.

poor Campbell. he can't ever not show his hate for women who aren't old hags like Warren and Hillary. he's pathetic. but remember, the democrat party care MORE about them womeeeeeeeen folk. pfeeeeeesh

Irony alert.

 

[deltex1]

Did Ted Cruz mean to suggest he would have gone to war with Iran over its brief detention of U.S. sailors?

Did Donald Trump forget that he proposed a massive tax on Chinese goods? And does Ben Carson really think Islamic State militants chill out with a cigar?

In their rush to slam the Obama administration, play up their records and play down inconvenient realities, Republican presidential candidates served up some misshapen rhetoric in their latest presidential debate.

A look at some claims and how they compare with the facts:

CRUZ: Any country that makes U.S. service members get on their knees like the 10 sailors whose boats were boarded and seized by the Iranian military this week "will feel the full force and fury of the United States of America."

CHRIS CHRISTIE: "Tin pot dictators ... are taking our Navy ships."

THE FACTS: Neither candidate addressed the fact that the short-lived crisis was created by the U.S. sailors who steered their boats into sovereign Iranian waters, where they were boarded and seized by Iranian naval forces. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday that the U.S. sailors had made a navigation error.

Under such circumstances it would not be unusual to disarm members of a foreign military force — even a small one like the two Navy boats — and hold them temporarily for questioning. What was exceptional about this episode — and perhaps a provocation — is that the Iranians videotaped the Americans during the encounter and posted the images on the Internet.

The suggestion by Cruz that he would have launched a military attack on Iran in response to such an incident is hard to square with accepted international tests for the use of force.

Iran returned the sailors unharmed and their boats undamaged.

———

CARSON on pursuing Islamic State militants wherever they can be found: "Why should we be letting people smoke their cigars in their comfortable chairs in Raqqa?"

THE FACTS: Carson is not likely to find IS fighters lounging with cigars in Raqqa, their de facto capital in Syria. The group has imposed a strict smoking ban throughout its territory in Syria and Iraq. In fact, the militant group implements stiff fines for anyone caught smoking, and even more brutal punishments for those caught selling cigarettes, water pipes or anything that can be smoked, cigars included.

Also in the debate, Carson suggested Syrian refugees be allowed to settle in "al-Saqqa province, where they'll be in their own country."

But there is no such place. He probably meant al-Raqqa, or Raqqa. As an IS stronghold, it would not be much of a safe haven for people trying to flee the group.

CHRIS CHRISTIE "Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey." ''I never wrote a check to Planned Parenthood."

THE FACTS: Common Core has not been eliminated in his state — far from it.

A panel Christie put together recommended a series of changes to state standards this week, but only recommended changes to 232 out of 1,427 standards in math and English. The panel also proposed renaming the standards the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. A separate Christie panel recommended the state continue using a Common Core-aligned test — and require it for graduation by 2021.

On Planned Parenthood, Christie's denial is at odds with a Sept. 30, 1994, Newark Star-Ledger story that quotes Christie as saying, "I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution, and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations."

Christie was running for local office in Morris County, New Jersey, at the time. The same quote appeared again in a book, "Chris Christie: The Inside Story of his Rise to Power," a book with which Christie cooperated.

The original story was written by Star-Ledger reporter Brian Murray, who now works as a spokesman for Christie in the governor's office. On Tuesday, Christie said he was misquoted in the 1994 story.


TRUMP, denying he told The New York Times he favored a 45 percent tax on Chinese goods: "That's wrong. They were wrong."

THE FACTS: Trump began wriggling out of his idea for a massive tax on Chinese goods soon after he told the paper last week that he would impose one and that "the tax should be 45 percent."

Several days later, he said the tariff could well be much less than that and might not be needed at all because China probably would start trading more fairly in order to avoid it. Now, he denies ever proposing 45 percent, despite his remarks on the record.

More broadly, China no longer appears to be the economic powerhouse portrayed by Trump. Its major stock market has had a rocky start in 2016 and its manufacturing sector began contracting last March as growth slowed, according to a purchasing manager index.

CRUZ, asked about loans from two large banks totaling as much as $1 million that fueled his 2012 Senate campaign, said he and his wife "ended up investing everything we owned." He acknowledged his failure to disclose the loans to the Federal Election Commission, saying: "Yes I made a paperwork error."

THE FACTS: Cruz did, as he asserted, eventually disclose the loans in personal financial forms filed with the Senate. But citing a mere "paperwork error" in failing to report the loans to the FEC glossed over the fact that the law requires candidates to make such reports to the election regulators.

He also did not address the fact that a large chunk of the loans came from Goldman Sachs, where his wife works as an executive, and whether that might have made the loan possible.

CRUZ, asked to explain his slam against Trump's "New York values," said, "not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just sayin'."

THE FACTS: Cruz may dislike New Yorkers, but he's been willing to take a bundle of money from one of them. Wall Street hedge fund mogul Robert Mercer contributed $11 million in April to a Cruz-aligned super PAC, according to federal filings. And there's also that Goldman Sachs loan.


JEB BUSH: "Every weapons system has been gutted."

TRUMP: "Our military is a disaster."

CARSON: "We have the world's best military, even though he (President Barack Obama) has done everything he can to diminish it."

MARCO RUBIO: "This president is undermining our military." ''This president is more interested in funding Planned Parenthood than in funding the military."

THE FACTS: These broadsides were stated in sweeping terms that reflect defense budget cuts approved by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Obama.

It's true that the defense budget has shrunk and that this has forced the military services to reduce their ranks and attempt to trim benefits paid to troops. But far from being "gutted," some key elements of the military have expanded, including the special operations forces.

Under the Obama administration the military services are undertaking a wide range of modernization efforts, including nuclear forces, combat fighter jets and missile defense systems.

The defense budget problem has been worsened by repeated partisan conflicts over "sequestration," or automatic budget cuts that resulted from the 2011 budget control agreement between the White House and the Congress.

Whence come your "facts"?

Fact-checking the latest GOP debate

Just for you Stef

You're supposed to attribute the bullshit when you post your thread, grandpa. That way we can judge immediately whether or not to read it.

 

[AmericanFirst1]

Did Ted Cruz mean to suggest he would have gone to war with Iran over its brief detention of U.S. sailors?

Did Donald Trump forget that he proposed a massive tax on Chinese goods? And does Ben Carson really think Islamic State militants chill out with a cigar?

In their rush to slam the Obama administration, play up their records and play down inconvenient realities, Republican presidential candidates served up some misshapen rhetoric in their latest presidential debate.

A look at some claims and how they compare with the facts:

CRUZ: Any country that makes U.S. service members get on their knees like the 10 sailors whose boats were boarded and seized by the Iranian military this week "will feel the full force and fury of the United States of America."

CHRIS CHRISTIE: "Tin pot dictators ... are taking our Navy ships."

THE FACTS: Neither candidate addressed the fact that the short-lived crisis was created by the U.S. sailors who steered their boats into sovereign Iranian waters, where they were boarded and seized by Iranian naval forces. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday that the U.S. sailors had made a navigation error.

Under such circumstances it would not be unusual to disarm members of a foreign military force — even a small one like the two Navy boats — and hold them temporarily for questioning. What was exceptional about this episode — and perhaps a provocation — is that the Iranians videotaped the Americans during the encounter and posted the images on the Internet.

The suggestion by Cruz that he would have launched a military attack on Iran in response to such an incident is hard to square with accepted international tests for the use of force.

Iran returned the sailors unharmed and their boats undamaged.

———

CARSON on pursuing Islamic State militants wherever they can be found: "Why should we be letting people smoke their cigars in their comfortable chairs in Raqqa?"

THE FACTS: Carson is not likely to find IS fighters lounging with cigars in Raqqa, their de facto capital in Syria. The group has imposed a strict smoking ban throughout its territory in Syria and Iraq. In fact, the militant group implements stiff fines for anyone caught smoking, and even more brutal punishments for those caught selling cigarettes, water pipes or anything that can be smoked, cigars included.

Also in the debate, Carson suggested Syrian refugees be allowed to settle in "al-Saqqa province, where they'll be in their own country."

But there is no such place. He probably meant al-Raqqa, or Raqqa. As an IS stronghold, it would not be much of a safe haven for people trying to flee the group.

CHRIS CHRISTIE "Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey." ''I never wrote a check to Planned Parenthood."

THE FACTS: Common Core has not been eliminated in his state — far from it.

A panel Christie put together recommended a series of changes to state standards this week, but only recommended changes to 232 out of 1,427 standards in math and English. The panel also proposed renaming the standards the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. A separate Christie panel recommended the state continue using a Common Core-aligned test — and require it for graduation by 2021.

On Planned Parenthood, Christie's denial is at odds with a Sept. 30, 1994, Newark Star-Ledger story that quotes Christie as saying, "I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution, and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations."

Christie was running for local office in Morris County, New Jersey, at the time. The same quote appeared again in a book, "Chris Christie: The Inside Story of his Rise to Power," a book with which Christie cooperated.

The original story was written by Star-Ledger reporter Brian Murray, who now works as a spokesman for Christie in the governor's office. On Tuesday, Christie said he was misquoted in the 1994 story.


TRUMP, denying he told The New York Times he favored a 45 percent tax on Chinese goods: "That's wrong. They were wrong."

THE FACTS: Trump began wriggling out of his idea for a massive tax on Chinese goods soon after he told the paper last week that he would impose one and that "the tax should be 45 percent."

Several days later, he said the tariff could well be much less than that and might not be needed at all because China probably would start trading more fairly in order to avoid it. Now, he denies ever proposing 45 percent, despite his remarks on the record.

More broadly, China no longer appears to be the economic powerhouse portrayed by Trump. Its major stock market has had a rocky start in 2016 and its manufacturing sector began contracting last March as growth slowed, according to a purchasing manager index.

CRUZ, asked about loans from two large banks totaling as much as $1 million that fueled his 2012 Senate campaign, said he and his wife "ended up investing everything we owned." He acknowledged his failure to disclose the loans to the Federal Election Commission, saying: "Yes I made a paperwork error."

THE FACTS: Cruz did, as he asserted, eventually disclose the loans in personal financial forms filed with the Senate. But citing a mere "paperwork error" in failing to report the loans to the FEC glossed over the fact that the law requires candidates to make such reports to the election regulators.

He also did not address the fact that a large chunk of the loans came from Goldman Sachs, where his wife works as an executive, and whether that might have made the loan possible.

CRUZ, asked to explain his slam against Trump's "New York values," said, "not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just sayin'."

THE FACTS: Cruz may dislike New Yorkers, but he's been willing to take a bundle of money from one of them. Wall Street hedge fund mogul Robert Mercer contributed $11 million in April to a Cruz-aligned super PAC, according to federal filings. And there's also that Goldman Sachs loan.


JEB BUSH: "Every weapons system has been gutted."

TRUMP: "Our military is a disaster."

CARSON: "We have the world's best military, even though he (President Barack Obama) has done everything he can to diminish it."

MARCO RUBIO: "This president is undermining our military." ''This president is more interested in funding Planned Parenthood than in funding the military."

THE FACTS: These broadsides were stated in sweeping terms that reflect defense budget cuts approved by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Obama.

It's true that the defense budget has shrunk and that this has forced the military services to reduce their ranks and attempt to trim benefits paid to troops. But far from being "gutted," some key elements of the military have expanded, including the special operations forces.

Under the Obama administration the military services are undertaking a wide range of modernization efforts, including nuclear forces, combat fighter jets and missile defense systems.

The defense budget problem has been worsened by repeated partisan conflicts over "sequestration," or automatic budget cuts that resulted from the 2011 budget control agreement between the White House and the Congress.

First off you are a lying libtard. They didn't steer thei boats into Iranian waters they broke down and drifted. Under obuthole our military is a laughing stock, to be more precise our military is laughing at obuthole.

 

[Stephanie]

Did Ted Cruz mean to suggest he would have gone to war with Iran over its brief detention of U.S. sailors?

Did Donald Trump forget that he proposed a massive tax on Chinese goods? And does Ben Carson really think Islamic State militants chill out with a cigar?

In their rush to slam the Obama administration, play up their records and play down inconvenient realities, Republican presidential candidates served up some misshapen rhetoric in their latest presidential debate.

A look at some claims and how they compare with the facts:

CRUZ: Any country that makes U.S. service members get on their knees like the 10 sailors whose boats were boarded and seized by the Iranian military this week "will feel the full force and fury of the United States of America."

CHRIS CHRISTIE: "Tin pot dictators ... are taking our Navy ships."

THE FACTS: Neither candidate addressed the fact that the short-lived crisis was created by the U.S. sailors who steered their boats into sovereign Iranian waters, where they were boarded and seized by Iranian naval forces. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Thursday that the U.S. sailors had made a navigation error.

Under such circumstances it would not be unusual to disarm members of a foreign military force — even a small one like the two Navy boats — and hold them temporarily for questioning. What was exceptional about this episode — and perhaps a provocation — is that the Iranians videotaped the Americans during the encounter and posted the images on the Internet.

The suggestion by Cruz that he would have launched a military attack on Iran in response to such an incident is hard to square with accepted international tests for the use of force.

Iran returned the sailors unharmed and their boats undamaged.

———

CARSON on pursuing Islamic State militants wherever they can be found: "Why should we be letting people smoke their cigars in their comfortable chairs in Raqqa?"

THE FACTS: Carson is not likely to find IS fighters lounging with cigars in Raqqa, their de facto capital in Syria. The group has imposed a strict smoking ban throughout its territory in Syria and Iraq. In fact, the militant group implements stiff fines for anyone caught smoking, and even more brutal punishments for those caught selling cigarettes, water pipes or anything that can be smoked, cigars included.

Also in the debate, Carson suggested Syrian refugees be allowed to settle in "al-Saqqa province, where they'll be in their own country."

But there is no such place. He probably meant al-Raqqa, or Raqqa. As an IS stronghold, it would not be much of a safe haven for people trying to flee the group.

CHRIS CHRISTIE "Common Core has been eliminated in New Jersey." ''I never wrote a check to Planned Parenthood."

THE FACTS: Common Core has not been eliminated in his state — far from it.

A panel Christie put together recommended a series of changes to state standards this week, but only recommended changes to 232 out of 1,427 standards in math and English. The panel also proposed renaming the standards the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. A separate Christie panel recommended the state continue using a Common Core-aligned test — and require it for graduation by 2021.

On Planned Parenthood, Christie's denial is at odds with a Sept. 30, 1994, Newark Star-Ledger story that quotes Christie as saying, "I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution, and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations."

Christie was running for local office in Morris County, New Jersey, at the time. The same quote appeared again in a book, "Chris Christie: The Inside Story of his Rise to Power," a book with which Christie cooperated.

The original story was written by Star-Ledger reporter Brian Murray, who now works as a spokesman for Christie in the governor's office. On Tuesday, Christie said he was misquoted in the 1994 story.


TRUMP, denying he told The New York Times he favored a 45 percent tax on Chinese goods: "That's wrong. They were wrong."

THE FACTS: Trump began wriggling out of his idea for a massive tax on Chinese goods soon after he told the paper last week that he would impose one and that "the tax should be 45 percent."

Several days later, he said the tariff could well be much less than that and might not be needed at all because China probably would start trading more fairly in order to avoid it. Now, he denies ever proposing 45 percent, despite his remarks on the record.

More broadly, China no longer appears to be the economic powerhouse portrayed by Trump. Its major stock market has had a rocky start in 2016 and its manufacturing sector began contracting last March as growth slowed, according to a purchasing manager index.

CRUZ, asked about loans from two large banks totaling as much as $1 million that fueled his 2012 Senate campaign, said he and his wife "ended up investing everything we owned." He acknowledged his failure to disclose the loans to the Federal Election Commission, saying: "Yes I made a paperwork error."

THE FACTS: Cruz did, as he asserted, eventually disclose the loans in personal financial forms filed with the Senate. But citing a mere "paperwork error" in failing to report the loans to the FEC glossed over the fact that the law requires candidates to make such reports to the election regulators.

He also did not address the fact that a large chunk of the loans came from Goldman Sachs, where his wife works as an executive, and whether that might have made the loan possible.

CRUZ, asked to explain his slam against Trump's "New York values," said, "not a lot of conservatives come out of Manhattan. I'm just sayin'."

THE FACTS: Cruz may dislike New Yorkers, but he's been willing to take a bundle of money from one of them. Wall Street hedge fund mogul Robert Mercer contributed $11 million in April to a Cruz-aligned super PAC, according to federal filings. And there's also that Goldman Sachs loan.


JEB BUSH: "Every weapons system has been gutted."

TRUMP: "Our military is a disaster."

CARSON: "We have the world's best military, even though he (President Barack Obama) has done everything he can to diminish it."

MARCO RUBIO: "This president is undermining our military." ''This president is more interested in funding Planned Parenthood than in funding the military."

THE FACTS: These broadsides were stated in sweeping terms that reflect defense budget cuts approved by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Obama.

It's true that the defense budget has shrunk and that this has forced the military services to reduce their ranks and attempt to trim benefits paid to troops. But far from being "gutted," some key elements of the military have expanded, including the special operations forces.

Under the Obama administration the military services are undertaking a wide range of modernization efforts, including nuclear forces, combat fighter jets and missile defense systems.

The defense budget problem has been worsened by repeated partisan conflicts over "sequestration," or automatic budget cuts that resulted from the 2011 budget control agreement between the White House and the Congress.

Whence come your "facts"?

Fact-checking the latest GOP debate

Just for you Stef

You're supposed to attribute the bullshit when you post your thread, grandpa. That way we can judge immediately whether or not to read it.

I don't have to think about that anymore. I see its from them (which is every dang day) and with a title like that and I'm turned off, immediately

 

[NightFox]

Cowboys And Ignoramuses Show Up For GOP Debate

Oh lord, another brainless DNC commercial, what happened Campbell? you run out of minorities to oppress?