Sean Hannity meets reality.
"Tammy" wrote in message
om...
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0040617-3.html
This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated
between Saddam and al Qaeda.
-President Bush, in an exchange with reporters, June 17, 2004
------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0030319-1.html
[A]cting pursuant to the Constitution and [the Authorization for Use
of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002] is consistent with
the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary
actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations,
including those nations, organizations, or persons who planned,
authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on
September 11, 2001. [Italics Chatterbox's.*]
-President Bush, in a letter to Congress outlining the legal
justification for commencing war against Iraq, March 18, 2003
Reading comprehension is obviously not your strong point. Nowhere does it
say what you think or want it to say.
"P.Fritz" wrote in message
...
"RD" wrote in message
...
Harry,
Too far left, too much of anything is not good and you need to
seriously
balance out and get a grip. your obsessive behavior is alarming not to
mention that you are in a boating news group.
You my friend sound like you could use some other activity in your
life
other than posting your political rant in this group.
Try boating Harry, it's fun and relaxing.
He's too busy being the union shill socialist hypocrite.....whining
about
O'Reilly being partisan, and then using Podesta......clintoon's former
chief of staff as a source......it's long overdue for harry to consult
his
doctor doctor for more medication
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
The Document Sean Hannity Doesn't Want You To Read
June 16, 2004
Speaking at the Take Back America conference on June 3, American
Progress CEO John Podesta said, "I think when you get so distant
from
the facts as -- as guys like Limbaugh and Sean Hannity do, yeah, I
think
that tends to -- it kind of -- it tends to corrupt the dialogue."
Apparently he struck a nerve with Fox News' Sean Hannity. Hannity
challenged Podesta to "defend and explain one example where I --
where I
said something that was so false." Since choosing just one of
Hannity's
distortions is too difficult, here are fifteen examples:
All Hannity quotes from Hannity and Colmes unless otherwise noted.
1. WMD
HANNITY: "You're not listening, Susan. You've got to learn
something. He
had weapons of mass destruction. He promised to disclose them. And
he
didn't do it. You would have let him go free; we decided to hold him
accountable." (4/13/04)
FACT: Hannity's assertion comes more than six months after Bush
Administration weapons inspector David Kay testified his inspection
team
had "not uncovered evidence that Iraq undertook significant
post-1998
steps to actually build nuclear weapons or produce fissile material"
and
had not discovered any chemical or biological weapons. (Bush
Administration Weapons Inspector David Kay, 10/2/03)
2. Colin Powell on Iraq
HANNITY: "Colin Powell just had a great piece that he had in the
paper
today. He was there [in Iraq]. He said things couldn't have been
better." (9/19/03)
FACT: "Iraq has come very far, but serious problems remain, starting
with security. American commanders and troops told me of the many
threats they face--from leftover loyalists who want to return Iraq
to
the dark days of Saddam, from criminals who were set loose on Iraqi
society when Saddam emptied the jails and, increasingly, from
outside
terrorists who have come to Iraq to open a new front in their
campaign
against the civilized world." (Colin Powell, 9/19/03)
3. Saddam/Al-Qaeda Connection
HANNITY: "And in northern Iraq today, this very day, al Qaeda is
operating camps there, and they are attacking the Kurds in the
north,
and this has been well-documented and well chronicled. Now, if
you're
going to go after al Qaeda in every aspect, and obviously they have
the
support of Saddam, or we're not." (12/9/02)
FACT: David Kay was on the ground for months investigating the
activities of Hussein's regime. He concluded "But we simply did not
find
any evidence of extensive links with Al Qaeda, or for that matter
any
real links at all." He called a speech where Cheney made the claim
there
was a link "evidence free." (Boston Globe, 6/16/04)
4. 9/11 Investigation
HANNITY: "[After 9-11], liberal Democrats at first showed little
interest in the investigation of the roots of this massive
intelligence
failure...[Bush and his team] made it clear that determining the
causes
of America's security failures and finding and remedying its weak
points
would be central to their mission." (Let Freedom Ring, by Sean
Hannity)
TRUTH: Bush Opposed the creation of a special commission to probe
the
causes of 9/11 for over a year. On 5/23/02 CBS New Reported
"President
Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice
his
opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the
government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11." Bush didn't
relent to pressure to create a commission, mostly from those Hannity
would consider "liberal" until September 2002. (CBS News, 5/23/02;
ABC
News, 9/20/02)
5. The Recession
HANNITY: "First of all, this president -- you know and I know and
everybody knows -- inherited a recession...it was by every
definition a
recession" (11/6/02)
HANNITY: "Now here's where we are. The inherited Clinton/Gore
recession.
That's a fact." (5/6/03)
HANNITY: "The president inherited a recession." (7/10/03)
HANNITY: "He got us out of the Clinton-Gore recession." (10/23/03)
HANNITY: "They did inherit the recession. They did inherit the
recession. We got out of the recession." (12/12/03)
HANNITY: "And this is the whole point behind this ad, because the
president did inherit a recession." (1/6/04)
HANNITY: "Historically in every recovery, because the president
rightly
did inherit a recession. But historically, the lagging indicator
always
deals with employment." (1/15/04)
HANNITY: "Congressman Deutsch, maybe you forgot but I'll be glad to
remind you, the president did inherit that recession." (1/20/04)
HANNITY: "He did inherit a recession, and we're out of the
recession."
(2/2/04)
HANNITY: "The president inherited a recession." (2/23/04)
HANNITY: "The president inherited a recession." (3/3/04)
HANNITY: "Well, you know, we're going to show ads, as a matter of
fact,
in the next segment, Congressman. Thanks for promoting our next
segment.
What I like about them is everything I've been saying the president
ought to do: is focusing in on his positions, on keeping the nation
secure in very difficult times, what he's been able to do to the
economy
after inheriting a very difficult recession, and of course, the
economic
impact of 9/11." (3/3/04)
HANNITY: "All right. So this is where I view the economic scenario
as we
head into this election. The president inherited a recession."
(3/16/04)
HANNITY: "First of all, we've got to put it into perspective, is
that
the president inherited a recession." (3/26/04)
HANNITY: "Clearly, we're out of the recession that President Bush
inherited." (4/2/04)
HANNITY: "Stop me where I'm wrong. The president inherited a
recession,
the economic impact of 9/11 was tremendous on the economy, correct?"
(4/6/04)
HANNITY: "[President George W. Bush] did inherit a recession."
(5/3/04)
HANNITY: "[W]e got [the weak U.S. economy] out of the Clinton-Gore
recession." (5/18/04)
HANNITY: "We got out of the Clinton-Gore recession." (5/27/04)
HANNITY: "We got out of the Clinton-Gore recession." (6/4/04)
FACT: "The recession officially began in March of 2001 -- two months
after Bush was sworn in -- according to the universally acknowledged
arbiter of such things, the National Bureau of Economic Research.
And
the president, at other times, has said so himself." (Washington
Post,
7/1/03)
6. The Hispanic Vote
HANNITY: "The Hispanic community got to know him in Texas. They went
almost overwhelming for him. He more than quadrupled the Hispanic
vote
that he got in that state." (9/16/03)
FACT: Exit polls varied in 1998 governors race, but under best
scenario
he increased his Hispanic vote from 24 to 49 percent - a doubling
not a
quadrupling. He lost Texas Hispanics to Gore in 2000, 54-43 percent.
(Source: NCLR , NHCSL)
7. White House Vandalism
HANNITY: "Look, we've had these reports, very disturbing reports --
and
I have actually spoken to people that have confirmed a lot of the
reports -- about the trashing of the White House. Pornographic
materials
left in the printers. They cut the phone lines. Lewd and crude
messages
on phone machines. Stripping of anything that was not bolted down on
Air
Force One. $200,000 in furniture taken out." (1/26/01)
TRUTH: According to statements from the General Services
Administration
that were reported on May 17, little if anything out of the ordinary
occurred during the transition, and "the condition of the real
property
was consistent with what we would expect to encounter when tenants
vacate office space after an extended occupancy." (FAIR)
8. Patriotism
HANNITY: "I never questioned anyone's patriotism." (9/18/03)
FACT:
HANNITY: (to attorney Stanley Cohen) "Is it you hate this president
or
that you hate America?" (4/30/03)
HANNITY: "Governor, why wouldn't anyone want to say the Pledge of
Allegiance, unless they detested their own country or were ignorant
of
its greatness?" (6/12/03)
HANNITY: "You could explain something about your magazine, [the
Nation].
Lisa Featherstone writing about the hate America march, the
[anti-war]
march that took place over the weekend..." (1/22/03)
HANNITY: "'I hate America.' This is the extreme left. There is a
portion
of the left -- not everybody who's left -- that does hate this
country
and blame this country for the ills of the world..." (1/23/02)
HANNITY: (speaking to Sara Flounders co-director of the
International
Action Center) "You don't like this country, do you? You don't --
you
think this is an evil country. By your description of it right here,
you
think it's a bad country." (9/25/01)
9. Separation of Church and State
HANNITY: "It doesn't say anywhere in the Constitution this idea of
the
separation of church and state." (8/25/03)
FACT: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." (1st Amendment)
"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members
of
the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial
Officers,
both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound
by
Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious
Test
shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public
Trust
under the United States." (Article VI)
10. James Madison
HANNITY: "You want to refer to some liberal activist judge...,
that's
fine, but I'm going to go directly to the source. The author of the
Bill
of Rights [James Madison] hired the first chaplain in 1789, and I
gotta'
tell ya' somethin', I think the author of the Bill of Rights knows
more
about the original intent--no offense to you and your liberal
atheist
activism--knows more about it than you do." (9/4/02)
TRUTH: The first congressional chaplains weren't hired by James
Madison--they were appointed by a committee of the Senate and House
in,
respectively, April and May, 1789, before the First Amendment even
existed. James Madison's view: "Is the appointment of Chaplains to
the
two Houses of Congress consistent with the Constitution, and with
the
pure principle of religious freedom? In strictness the answer on
both
points must be in the negative." (James Madison)
11. Alabama Constitution
HANNITY: "But the Alabama Constitution, which Chief Justice Roy
Moore is
sworn to uphold, clearly it says, as a matter of fact that the
recognition of God is the foundation of that state's Constitution."
(8/21/03)
FACT: While the preamble of the Alabama Constitution does reference
"the
Almighty," section three provides: "That no religion shall be
established by law; that no preference shall be given by law to any
religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of worship; that no
one
shall be compelled by law to attend any place of worship; nor to pay
any
tithes, taxes, or other rate for building or repairing any place of
worship, or for maintaining any minister or ministry; that no
religious
test shall be required as a qualification to any office or public
trust
under this state; and that the civil rights, privileges, and
capacities
of any citizen shall not be in any manner affected by his religious
principles." (Alabama Constitution, Section 3)
12. Rent for Public Housing
HANNITY: Betsy, they're not going to lose it [public housing],
because
if you work less than 30 hours a week -- if you work more than 30
hours
a week, you don't have to do it. If you're between the ages of 18
and 62
and you're not legally disabled and you have free housing -- in
other
words...
BETSY MCCAUGHEY: No. Wait a second, Sean. Let me correct you. Most
people in public housing are not receiving free housing. Many of
them
are paying almost market rates.
HANNITY: Betsy, that is so ridiculous and so false, it's hardly even
worth spending the time. (10/23/03)
FACT: Residents of public housing pay rent scaled to their
household's
anticipated gross annual income, less deductions for dependents and
disabilities. The basic formula for rent is 30 percent of this
monthly
adjusted income. There are exceptions for extremely low incomes,
but
the minimum rent is $25 per month. No one lives in public housing
for
free. (Department of Housing and Urban Development)
13. Kerry Tax Plan
HANNITY: "The Kerry campaign wants to cut taxes on people who make
two
hundred thousand dollars. She [Teresa Heinz Kerry] only paid 14.7
percent of her income in taxes, because their plan doesn't go to
dividends, only income. So they don't want to tax themselves."
(5/12/04)
FACT: Kerry's plan would "Restore the capital gains and dividend
rates
for families making over $200,000 on income earned above $200,000 to
their levels under President Clinton. (Kerry Press Release, 4/7/04)
14. Kerry and Weapons Systems
HANNITY: "He's [Kerry's] flip-flopped all over the place... on the
issue
of Iraq. All the munitions that we have built up, most of them
wouldn't
be there." (1/30/04)
HANNITY: "But he wanted to cancel.every major weapons system.
Specific
votes that he would have canceled the weapons systems we now use."
(2/26/04)
FACT: "In 1991, Kerry opposed an amendment to impose an arbitrary 2
percent cut in the military budget. In 1992, he opposed an amendment
to
cut Pentagon intelligence programs by $1 billion. In 1994, he voted
against a motion to cut $30.5 billion from the defense budget over
the
next five years and to redistribute the money to programs for
education
and the disabled. That same year, he opposed an amendment to
postpone
construction of a new aircraft carrier. In 1996, he opposed a motion
to
cut six F-18 jet fighters from the budget. In 1999, he voted against
a
motion to terminate the Trident II missile." (Slate, 2/25/04)
15. Kerry and the CIA
HANNITY: "If he (Kerry) had his way and the CIA would almost be
nonexistent." (1/30/04)
FACT: John Kerry has supported $200 billion in intelligence funding
over
the past seven years - a 50 percent increase since 1996.
Kerry votes supporting intelligence funding:
FY03 Intel Authorization $39.3-$41.3 Billion
[2002, Unanimous Senate Voice Vote 9/25/02]
FY02 Intel Authorization $33 Billion
[2001, Unanimous Senate Voice Vote 12/13/01]
FY01 Intel Authorization $29.5-$31.5 Billion
[2000, Unanimous Senate Voice Vote 12/6/00]
FY00 Intel Authorization $29-$30 Billion
[1999, Unanimous Senate Voice Vote 11/19/1999]
FY99 Intel Authorization $29.0 Billion
[1998, Unanimous Senate Voice Vote 10/8/98]
FY98 Intel Authorization $26.7 Billion
[1997, Senate Roll Call Vote #109]
FY97 Intel Authorization $26.6 Billion
[1996, Unanimous Senate Voice Vote 9/25/96]
(Source: CDI)
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