PolitiFact Fact-Checked Bill Maher on This Week: How About Fact-Checking Matt Dowd?
Well PolitiFact caught Bill Maher getting his facts wrong during this exchange with George Will -- Bill Maher and George Will spar over oil and Brazil. We play the ref.:
Conservative columnist George Will challenged Maher about Brazil. "Could you just explain to me in what sense has Brazil got off oil?"
"I believe they did," Maher said. "I believe in the 70's they had a program to use sugarcane ethanol, and I believe that is what fuels their country."
"I think they still burn a lot of oil and have a lot of offshore (drilling)," Will said.
"Can we have judges factcheck this on Brazil?" Maher said a few moments later. "I don't think I dreamed that on Brazil."
As PolitiFact noted, Maher was dead wrong on that one and scored a "False" from them. As much as I enjoy a lot of Maher's humor and agree with a lot of but not all of his positions politically, anyone who has read this blog knows that I've also criticized him for not following the issues well enough. If he wants to be a guest on these Sunday shows and spar with George Will, he needs to read up on the subjects that are going to be addressed or don't bother.
That said, can we get PolitiFact to do some fact checking on Matt Dowd as well? He told this whopper while debating Katrina Vanden Heuvel over immigration reform.
VANDEN HEUVEL: By the way, I think the security card is a non-starter, because you have the coalition of privacy advocates meeting those who are deeply suspicious of government. I don't think that goes anywhere.
But I do think we need to fight for a comprehensive reform bill, and the Republicans are not signing on anything.
DOWD: OK, so -- so we can give some proper history to this, the first person to really offer and push for comprehensive immigration reform was George W. Bush, which the Democrats and every -- at every place and every time on everything tried to stop. To me...
VANDEN HEUVEL: Not Senator Kennedy.
DOWD: ... if we don't -- to me, this conversation is another example why people that tune in and people that think they're going to get an answer from Washington, from Democrats or Republicans, on almost any issue, whether it's protecting the environment, whether it's stopping things on Wall Street, whether it's immigration reform, whether it's enforcement of any law, that is why they're fed up.
Now, we can discount the Tea Party movement and say, "Oh, they're a bunch of crazies." They are symptomatic of a situation in the country which has lost total faith and trust in what goes on in the U.S. capital...
Sorry Matt, but George Bush's immigration reform bill got killed by the nativist base of the Republican Party and right wing radio which went crazy and scared the hell out of every Republican that was thinking about signing onto it. There was bipartisan support for the bill before that happened. Maybe PolitiFact can give Matt Dowd a rating for that one as well.
AllBullshitConveyor
when are they supposed to factcheck bullshit?! obviously we have confirmation as to the purpose of their supposed 'fact-checking'!
________________
common sense matters as much as truth
but I'm really surprised that he thought ANY country has weened itself off oil and gone to straight ethanol.
In Wikipedia it says that 50% of the auto fuel (by volume) in Brazil is ethanol. That doesn't seem like just bong smoke to me.
While in Brazil, all of our cars are 'flex' fuel.
We can burn alcool or gasoline. We chose alcool made from sugarcane primarily because it is about 60% the price of gasoline.
Virtually all new cars are flex fuel.
Maher is partially right... Brazil is totally self sufficient in energy.
after the first scare in 1973. They are about 45% ethanol and with domestic oil, depend on no other country for energy. Sugar cane produces about 700% more ethanol than corn per unit of energy input. I'd say they're doing pretty well.
Maybe Mahrer lacked research and Will beat him on the facts. HOWEVER, Brazil is in a much better position that the USA. So Will was right on the data but very, very wrong on insight.
what immigration laws do you support? and no one would speak. there is a huge gap here, wide open border or slammed shut boarder. need some middle ground here.
before an election especially.
Immigration reform, especially with amnesty and a path to citizenship, is something that would truly have to be bipartisan - because unfortunately it's something that, as much as it needs to be done, can only hurt incumbents come election time. It's a political hot potato.
The fine for first-time offenders charged with entering the country illegally is $1000. Just think how much some politico could score if he/she could find all the illegals in this country and get those fines. That $12B would be a nice little boost to the economy. I know, it's just a fantasy....
But I don’t recall any republihead saying “I may have this wrong, check me out”
They usually just make their statements louder with additional embelishments
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It's not.
- Dr. Suess
It's one thing to be incorrect about something - it's quite another to INTENTIONALLY tell the OPPOSITE of the truth.
EVERYONE who payed attention during the immigration reform discussions a few years ago KNOW that it was right wing radio and the rabid conservative base that prevented reform from happening - to say it was Democrats that killed reform is such a lie it's practically evil.
Dowd knew what he was saying was total bull shit. Maher didn't deliberately lie - it's not in his nature to do so.
They don’t want to invite anyone to check out what they say because they already know the results
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It's not.
- Dr. Suess
. . . like Sharpton, and Maher, and Vander Heuvel on the program. All of them are heavy on rhetoric and light on facts, and invariably miss the kinds of opportunities served up by Dowd and Will this weekend.
Stop worrying so much about immigration "reform", and concentrate on stopping ALL illegal imigration. Do that first, then I'll listen to any so-called reform. But until then, nothing is worth discussing.
Brazil has at least enough extra sugar-based ethanol to try to sell it on the international market, and are begging the US to lower tariffs to allow imports, but America refuses saying it'll hurt our own alternative energy research.
Like all that corn that used to go into our food both directly and indirectly like our meat supply before they're whacked.
Brazil I understand is totally energy independent, so it would make sense that if they have oil available they'll use it so they can SELL the sugar ethanol.
It's kind of like Iran wanting nuclear energy so all the oil they possess can be SOLD.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
pudgenet @ysbaddaden2003 I didn't say no precedents were overturned. Indeed, they quite explicitly overturned Austin in Citizens United.
That said, you're wrong that this makes them activist. The definition of activist is not "overturning precedents where those precedents violate the Constitution." The definition of activist is "reaching a decision based on personal opinion of what the law should be, instead of the law is." 18 hours ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUdFaIYzNwU&fe...
Thanx, I forgot where on youtube that was.
I bookmarked it.
Here's my response:#
ysbaddaden2003 @pudgenet
That's arguing interpretations of the Constitution, and under Common Law, Stare Decisis plays a significant factor, overturned by judicial activists based on their misinterpretation of the Constitution. 4 minutes ago
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
"There are no longer any light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. Since 1976 the government made it mandatory to blend anhydrous ethanol with gasoline, fluctuating between 10% to 22%."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol_fuel_in_...
Many people I've heard and read have it wrong about Brazil. I am no fan of Bill Maher I kind of give him a break on this one.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Here's what Politifact actually say (and on this they're right):
Brazil does produce a lot of sugarcane ethanol, as Maher said.
"Brazil is one of the largest producers of ethanol in the world and is the largest exporter of the fuel," according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that collects and analyzes energy information.
Additionally, more than half of all cars in Brazil are flexible-fuel capable, which means they can run on 100 percent ethanol or an ethanol-gasoline mixture.
He was sloppy in saying "got off oil", but his essential point - that Brazil uses a lot of alternative fuels - is correct.
Liberal Politifact check that never checks corporate talking points?...that Politifact check?
So Matt says government has no answers? Isn't that just the standard #2 Republican talking point?
1 - Taxes bad
2 - Government bad
Repeat, repeat, repeat - pause to scream your lies over any voice of reason that tries to counteract you - repeat, repeat, repeat.
The minute that Dowd said that I began screaming at my tv machine. I was equally stunned when Katrina didn't correct him. Well, she mentioned Senator Kennedy but, she still left Dowd's blatant lie hanging out there. Yes, let's see if tight assed Jake Tapper (Taper?), let's see if he corrects this next Sunday.
I did exactly the same thing. Doud is almost as smug as that pompus G. Will. All of these lies will be the death of America.
What followed that segment was a classic example of what's wrong with political media. From the transcript:
That's right. After discussing petty politics for fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds, I'm going to ask an actual policy question on this program for the first time since David Brinkley sat here. "Bill, you're a comedian. Please outline for us the solution to comprehensive immigration reform in 30 seconds or less. GO."
Its just not bills style to be IN the panel
"Could you just explain to me in what sense has Brazil got off oil?"
"I believe they did," Maher said. "I believe in the 70's they had a program to use sugarcane ethanol, and I believe that is what fuels their country."
Half of their vehicles are using sugar cane ethanol.
They are the world's largest renewable ethanol producer.
This seems to be a huge step toward getting off oil, isn't it.
Another Politifact lie.
Politifact makes "factcheck" into an oxymoron.
The stuff they put out isn't very good at all.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
Bill Maher used the qualifier "I believe", which has a much different meaning than say, "I know". The qualifier is what makes his statement factual.
Election 2012: Be Educated! Be Active! Vote!
www.PhoenixJustice.com
HALLELUJAH!!!
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
brazil's oil rigs have multiple redundant shut off valves that would have shut off the oil...
haliburton who was building and maintaining the rigs in the gulf, they got rid of that reg. during bushy's term.... darth cheney strikes again.... war in iraq, katrina, gulf is screwed...
and brownie was doin a heck of a job.....
"brazil's oil rigs have multiple redundant shut off valves that would have shut off the oil..."
AND - they have those in the north sea and (I'm guessin') everywhere except where it can hurt us the worst. Why are we always the crash test dummies?(nevermind I know that answer)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
that is was actually the republicans that killed immigration reform when GWB was prez. What an effing liar he is, but very typical of repub pundits. Always blame the Dems for what the repubs have actually done.
Maybe the story was that Brazil was off imported oil as the result of domestic ethanol production, which Bill recalled as off oil entirely?
...most of what I know is because of what I've read. (He knows because he has written shit he makes up.) Yes, Brazil does have some offshore drilling, but if what I've read is correct, Brazil is one of the countries that requires the "acoustic switch" mechanism on the rigs. Not fail-safe, but another layer of protection that our oil industry has successfully lobbied our government not to require. And Maher was right that Brazil has reduced its dependence on oil by exploiting ethanol production from WASTE products from sugar cane... NOT by using a food crop, as we do.
Brazil currently produces most of its ethanol from the sugar-rich juice obtained from the sugarcane, which would not be considered "waste". The "waste" portion, the stalks (or bagasse as it is known) is cellulosic and it is not currently feasible to use as an ethanol feedstock. However, there are a lot of people trying to develop a commercially viable cellulosic ethanol process. When that's available it will open up a huge range of new feedstocks.
Thanks, Zach. But still, it's preferable to use sugar, a sweetener that's less essential to the worldwide human diet than corn, a grain. And yeah... there's the high-fructose corn syrup issue, but still...
Cane can be grown in many areas of Texas from near Houston south and eastward and Louisiana now being made into Urban sprawl. Sugarcane is a chief crop along with rice in southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
The cost of making fuel from Corn and many other sources are too expensive; But Government wants to waste all our money on them.
Donaldd
Bill Maher is an old style liberal who gets
by on laughs but can't sit still long enough
to read anything. It's considered a bonus that
he even has an interest in politics. The average
comedian or celebrity can't even do that. None of
them read anything serious or read anything period.
Half the time he looks like he belongs in rehab
and that's putting it lightly.
If he was any less qualified to be a political commentator, he would probably just troll message boards taking potshots at celebrities and making up gross generalizations.
...(and it usually does), the Brazilian effort was largely intended and designed to make it possible for Brazil to move away from foreign or imported oil, was it not? And if my understanding is correct, they've been largely successful -- but only because they knew it would take time and therefore starting taking steps ten years ago.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
...that Politifact is highlighting Brazil's total oil consumption when trying to discredit Maher, when of course oil consumption per capita is what tells how well a country is getting away from oil. According to Nationmaster, Brazil is at number 50 in the world, which is darn good. Give Brazil credit where credit is due.
Hold it right there, bub. Trying to lay the oil spill on the government only works to the extent that it's a case of regulatory capture -- the practice of money and lobbyist-driven corporate self-dealing perfected by the Bush administration that Dowd served.
Somehow, I doubt that was the argument Dowd was trying to make. Rather, it's yet another attempt to lay every problem at the feet of "Big Gubmint" ... just as they've been doing for 30 years now.
.
Hey Heather , you should check your politifact's "facts" before quoting them and pronouncing Maher or anyone else dead wrong / false ,google Brazil / ethanol , Wikipedia for instance . Brazil has gone a long long ways in getting off oil , that is a fact , they use a lot of ethanol and are one of the worlds top producers and exporters of ethanol , made from sugar cane which they can grow like weeds .Coincidentally , unlike the good old USA , from what I am told the government of Brazil requires all of it's off shore oil drilling rigs to have remote / emergency shut off equipment on them .
Insanity , it is what it is , there is no understanding it .
Brazil even runs some planes on ethanol.... but it does have offshore oil. The point is that the country is far more prepared than the USA, which simply ignored the oil shocks. A word about Europe: we have a good public transport system to replace cars, even if most people still drive cars like crazy here...
How Brazil Broke Its Oil Habit
Government's Central Role May Prove Unpalatable to U.S.
By DAVID LUHNOW
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
February 6, 2006; Page A9
...The (Brazilian) government helped make ethanol affordable through free-market policies, too. Brazil's ethanol is made from sugar, which had been coddled with subsidies for decades. When the cost of the ethanol program became prohibitive in the early 1990s, Brazil slashed its subsidies and forced its farmers to become more productive to survive and thrive in a global market. Since growing the sugar represents by far the biggest cost in making Brazilian ethanol, trimming sugar prices was the key to making more affordable fuel....A Brazil-inspired ethanol program would mean ending federal support for U.S. corn and sugar farmers....the U.S. would have to slash farm subsidies that are protected by a powerful farm lobby and a majority in Congress.
A few years ago there was a PBS documentary that talked about Brazil's dependence on Middle Eastern oil, I remember it because gas was $4.00 a gallon here in Mississippi and no one was mowing there lawns. Hell I was ready to steal a few cows to whittle my stuff down some. But in the documentary the Minister of energy said that 80% of the cars run on Sugar Ethanol which is allot less harmful than corn ethanol and that they don't by any oil from the middle east. I verified this thru a Brazilian bullrider that me and my wife know he says you can buy gas down there but it is like $3.00 a gallon and only the rich buy it and is usually dispensed by one pump and the gas stations, but the rest of the country uses ethanol and they pay like a $1.00 a gallon for it and it is like %85 ethanol and 15% gas. I am not saying Bill Maher is right just that this is what PBS put on the air a few years ago
more states enact that stupid immigration law in Texas Florida and in more farm states lets see how fast the fucking oranges die on the trees. Let see if Billy the redneck asshole will be out there picking oranges and grapefruit and beans. Arizona is a fucking desert nothing grows out there but rocks and tumbleweeds. As usual the republi****s aren't thinking nationally only locally.
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