XPost: dc.urban-planning, wa.politics   
   From: impeach_obama@yahoo.com   
      
   FACT CHECK: Overreaching in State of Union speech   
      
   By CALVIN WOODWARD | Associated Press   
      
   WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama did some cherry-picking   
   Tuesday night in defense of his record on jobs and laid out a   
   conditional path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that may   
   be less onerous than he made it sound.   
      
   A look at some of the claims in his State of the Union speech, a   
   glance at the Republican counterargument and how they fit with   
   the facts:   
      
   OBAMA: "After years of grueling recession, our businesses have   
   created over 6 million new jobs."   
      
   THE FACTS: That's in the ballpark, as far as it goes. But Obama   
   starts his count not when he took office, but from the point in   
   his first term when job losses were the highest. In doing so, he   
   ignores the 5 million or so jobs that were lost on his watch, up   
   to that point.   
      
   Private sector jobs have grown by 6.1 million since February   
   2010. But since he became president, the gain is a more modest   
   1.9 million.   
      
   And when losses in public sector employment are added to the   
   mix, his overall jobs record is a gain of 1.2 million.   
   ___   
      
   OBAMA: "We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a   
   gallon of gas."   
      
   THE FACTS: Not so fast.   
      
   That's expected to happen in 12 more years.   
   ___   
      
   OBAMA: "Already the Affordable Care Act is helping to reduce the   
   growth of health care costs."   
      
   THE FACTS: The jury is still out on whether Obama's health care   
   overhaul will reduce the growth of health care costs. It's true   
   that cost increases have eased, but many experts say that's due   
   to the sluggish economy, not to the health care law, whose main   
   provisions are not yet fully in effect.   
   ___   
      
   OBAMA: "Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to   
   earned citizenship — a path that includes passing a background   
   check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English   
   and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to   
   come here legally."   
      
   THE FACTS: The seemingly stern admonition that illegal   
   immigrants must go to the back of the line, often heard from the   
   president, doesn't appear to have much practical effect except   
   in the most obvious sense. Everyone who joins a line, whether   
   for a movie, a coffee or citizenship, starts at the back of that   
   particular line. It's not clear he is saying anything more than   
   that illegal immigrants won't get to cut in line for citizenship   
   once they've obtained provisional legal status.   
      
   Like those living abroad who have applied to come to the U.S.   
   legally, illegal immigrants who qualify for Obama's proposed   
   path to citizenship will surely face long waits to be processed.   
   But during that time, they are already in the U.S. and will get   
   to stay, work and travel in the country under their new status   
   as provisional immigrants, while those outside the U.S. simply   
   have to wait.   
      
   Sending illegal immigrants to the "back of the line" is   
   something of a distinction without a difference for some legal   
   immigrants who dutifully followed all the rules before coming to   
   the United States.   
      
   For instance, some legal immigrants who are in the U.S. on an   
   employer-sponsored visa can't easily change jobs, or in some   
   cases take a promotion, without jeopardizing their place in line   
   to get a green card. In other cases, would-be legal immigrants   
   in other countries wait for years to be able to settle in the   
   U.S.   
   Obama is using "back of the line" somewhat figuratively, because   
   there are multiple lines depending on the applicant's   
   relationship with family already in the U.S. or with an   
   employer. Generally, a foreign-born spouse of a U.S. citizen or   
   someone with needed skills and a job offer will be accepted more   
   quickly than many others.   
      
   But even as a figurative point, his assertion may cloak the fact   
   that people who came to the U.S. illegally and win provisional   
   status have the great advantage over applicants abroad of   
   already being where they all want to go.   
   ___   
      
   OBAMA: "Study after study shows that the sooner a child begins   
   learning, the better he or she does down the road. ... And for   
   poor kids who need help the most, this lack of access to   
   preschool education can shadow them for the rest of their lives.   
   ... Every dollar we invest in high-quality early education can   
   save more than $7 later on — by boosting graduation rates,   
   reducing teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime."   
      
   THE FACTS: Dozens of studies have shown Head Start graduates are   
   more likely to complete high school than their at-risk peers who   
   don't participate in the program. But a study last year by the   
   Department of Health and Human Services that found big   
   vocabulary and social development gains for at-risk students in   
   pre-kindergarten programs also found those effects largely faded   
   by the time pupils reached third grade. The report didn't   
   explain why the kids saw a drop-off in performance or predict   
   how they would fare as they aged.   
   ___   
      
   OBAMA: "I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-   
   based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and   
   Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if   
   Congress won't act soon to protect future generations, I will. I   
   will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can   
   take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our   
   communities for the consequences of climate change and speed the   
   transition to more sustainable sources of energy."   
      
   THE FACTS: Obama failed to get a global warming bill through   
   Congress when both Houses were controlled by Democrats in 2010.   
   With Republicans in control of the House, the chances of a bill   
   to limit the gases blamed for global warming and to create a   
   market for businesses to trade pollution credits are close to   
   zero. The Obama administration has already acted to control   
   greenhouse gases through existing law. It has boosted fuel-   
   efficiency standards and proposed rules to control heat-trapping   
   emissions from new power plants. And while there are still other   
   ways to address climate change without Congress, it's   
   questionable regulation alone can achieve the reductions needed   
   to start curbing global warming.   
      
   http://nation.foxnews.com/barack-obama/2013/02/12/ap-fact-check-   
   destroys-obama-sotu   
      
   --   
   Are you obligated as an armed civilian, to defend unarmed   
   liberals while you are both under fire by foreign agents of the   
   outlaw Obama administration?   
      
   No.  Shoot the liberals immediately so they can't stab you in   
   the back while you are defending yourself, then return a   
   controlled rate of aimed fire.       
      
          
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)