Stanley R Medley dot Info

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Geithner’s second crack at squaring taxes

Honest mistake. That’s the line from the Obama team about the tax problems that have sparked controversy about Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner. The IRS audited Geithner in 2006, and found that he failed to pay self-employment taxes on compensation he received as an employee of the International Monetary Fund for tax years the IRS was looking at, 2003 and 2004. By law, the IRS could not audit him for years prior to 2003. So Geithner ponied up $16,732 in back self-employment tax and interest. The IRS waived penalties for those years. As … >> More

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Geithner’s ‘common’ tax error

In the efforts to dismiss Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner’s tax problems as a little more than an embarrassing speed bump on the way to confirmation, supporters have repeatedly characterized his tax error as a common one. Obama made a just such an argument in Geithner’s defense on Jan. 14. “Look, is this an embarrassment for him? Yes,” Obama told reporters. “He said so himself. But it was an innocent mistake. It is a mistake that is commonly made for people who are working internationally or for international institutions. It has been corrected. He paid … >> More

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Barton correct that Congress getting little review of economic stimulus package

When Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, complained this week that Democrats were ramming the proposed $835 billion economic stimulus package too quickly through Congress, he was hardly charting new territory as far as minority party gripes. The “you’re not giving us reasonable time to debate this important legislation” is a well-worn minority party refrain.But we wondered whether Barton was accurate when he said the House Energy and Commerce Committee has not – and will not – hold a single hearing on a major portion of the $850 billion stimulus plan that came before it.Here’s what … >> More

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Obama’s numbers on lost income require explanation

President Obama argued forcefully for an economic stimulus bill in his weekly radio and YouTube address on Jan. 24, 2009. “We begin this year and this Administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action,” Obama said. “Just this week, we saw more people file for unemployment than at any time in the last twenty-six years, and experts agree that if nothing is done, the unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four.” … >> More

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: Pants on Fire! | Does the stimulus package really include $300,000 for a sculpture garden?

As part of their attack on the Democratic-led $835 billion economic stimulus package, some Republicans have attempted to discredit the plan by singling out examples of what they consider the most outrageous spending.In an interview with Fox News on Jan. 23, 2009, Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Republican Whip, said that in a meeting with President Obama, Cantor asked if he “could use his influence on this process to try and get the pork barrel spending out of the bill. I mean, there’s $300,000 for a sculpture garden in Miami.”But do a word search on “sculpture” … >> More

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Cantor says more in stimulus for Washington grass than small businesses

One of the most popular punching bags for Republican leaders critical of spending in the Democratic-led $835 billion economic stimulus bill has been new turf for the National Mall in Washington, D.C.Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Republican Whip, cited the turf in an interview with Fox News on Jan. 23, 2009.”If you look at the bill that passed the Ways and Means Committee yesterday, for every dollar that is spent to help small businesses, $4 is being spent to help upkeep the grass on the lawns of Washington,” Cantor said. So there’s two sides to this … >> More

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Mica correct roads and bridges are small part of stimulus

In making their case for the economic stimulus bill, President Obama and Democrats in Congress have been saying the bill will invest in the nation’s infrastructure similar to President Eisenhower’s creation of the interstate highway system in the 1950s.When Obama gave an initial outline of the stimulus plan in a radio/YouTube address on Dec. 6, 2008, he said it would include a significant investment in the highway system.”We will create millions of jobs by making the single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s,” he … >> More

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Obama says Chicago schools never close for snow

A veteran of many frosty winters in the Windy City, President Obama was incredulous to find out that classes at his daughters’ new schools in Washington, D.C., had been canceled due to icy road conditions.”Can I make a comment that is unrelated to the economy very quickly?” Obama told reporters in a light moment at a gathering with business leaders on Jan. 28. “And it has to do with Washington. My children’s school was canceled today. Because of, what? Some ice?”"As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never canceled,” Obama said. “In fact, my … >> More

TRUE or NOT – Give us your comments…
Should Republicans be bought with a glass of beer?….You bought John Murtha’s re-election…Global warming irreversible…Some ads are more equal than others…

Read full story

TRUE or NOT? – Give us your comments.
The Truth-o-Meter says: True | Geithner’s second crack at squaring taxes

Honest mistake. That’s the line from the Obama team about the tax problems that have sparked controversy about Treasury Secretary nominee Timothy Geithner. The IRS audited Geithner in 2006, and found that he failed to pay self-employment taxes on compensation he received as an employee of the International Monetary Fund for tax years the IRS was looking at, 2003 and 2004. By law, the IRS could not audit him for years prior to 2003. So Geithner ponied up $16,732 in back self-employment tax and interest. The IRS waived penalties for those years. As … >> More