Facts can be hard to find or use, but I will try to do so here. A key factor is how people act according to their judgement, and judgement is based on several factors: experience, knowledge, education, awareness, ability to connect the dots, and most of all, maturity.
"Fact-checking the Obama years"
By Eric Black | 04/14/16
https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2016/04/fact-checking-obama-years
"Here’s a factual-sounding statement, and one in which I believe: The United States has prospered during the presidency of Barack Obama.
That’s not exactly a “fact” by the most demanding meaning of that word. It’s more of a conclusion based on facts, or maybe, one should say, on a selection of facts. And most of us do select our facts for some purpose, often hidden from ourselves. Face this fact: It’s possible, it’s not even difficult, to compile a set of numbers tending to prove that things have gotten better during the Obama years, and a set of numbers that suggest the opposite."
It depends on what facts we choose. and how we use them to make a point about President Obama. The facts are impacted by what time-frame they can be attributed to. For example, if we choose 2009, we have to allow for the disaster of 2008 brought on by numerous bad actors in the financial world [Wall Street, banks with bad loans, and investment rating/ranking companies like Morningstar] to talk about economic actions and recovery.
So a challenge is to be objective and HONES in our use of FACTs to assess Obama.
"‘Obama’s Numbers’
My favorite journalistic fact-checking operation is FactCheck.org, which is pretty close to being the granddaddy of the now widespread fact-checking sub-genre of journalism. So the other day, I opened an email from FactCheck which linked to the latest quarterly update of a series called “Obama’s Numbers.”
Here’s the summary, direct from FactCheck:
Since President Barack Obama first took office:
The U.S. trade deficit has shrunk by 24 percent; exports have grown faster than imports.
The number of immigrants in the U.S. illegally has gone down — by 3.4 percent according to one independent estimate and by 9 percent according to another.
The economy has added 9.7 million jobs.
The unemployment rate has dropped below the historical norm.
The buying power of the average worker’s weekly paycheck is up 4.2 percent.
Corporate profits are running 144 percent higher and stock prices have soared.
Federal debt has more than doubled, and annual deficits, after shrinking, are again on the rise.
The number of people lacking health insurance has gone down by nearly 15 million."
I am striving to find FACTs when I criticize Tweety Twump, and truly trying to be factual in any blog that points out Tweety foolishness.
Here is a Huff Post story. I know Huff Post sometimes favors the liberal word, but give the FACTs a chanced folks. It is of course 2010, with 2011 update. The author is, by the way, a Republican.
Obama’s Critics Owe Him a New Years (Fact-Based) Apology"
12/31/2010 09:55 am ET | Updated May 25, 2011,
Frank Schaeffer New York Times best-selling author
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/obamas-lefty-critics-owe-_b_802911.html
"Fact-Checking Site Proves Just How Good President Obama Has Been for America"
January 23, 2015 By Allen Clifton
http://www.forwardprogressives.com/fact-checking-site-proves-just-good-president-obama-america/
A couple FACTs to ponder:
"When he talked about our unemployment rate he claimed that it’s now below where it was before the financial crisis hit our economy. That statement was rated as “Mostly True,” though Politifact claims they need clarification based upon how many people have simply stopped looking for work. That’s a statistic that’s nearly impossible to measure considering the reasons why people stop looking for work are varied and often have nothing to do with the strength of the economy. “Real unemployment” is a never taken into account when factoring in the unemployment rate, so using that as a variable to downgrade the honesty of a statement didn’t make much sense to me. But nevertheless, Obama’s statement is still factually accurate based on the same measure we’ve used for decades.
Who remembers all of the right-wing rhetoric over the last few years about Obama making the U.S. more dependent on foreign oil, which would then weaken our national security and could possibly threaten to send gas prices over $5 per gallon? It really is laughable to look back at all of the ridiculous claims Republicans have made against the president over the years. Well, during his SOTU speech the president proudly claimed that America is the number one producer of oil and gas. That’s another statement that was rated as completely “True.”"
Be aware! Beware!
