Over the past few days, a trio of typically divertive fact checks have appeared – let’s take a look at each.
Most recently, Fox News and other outlets went about setting the record straight on whether any of Joe Biden’s transfer of $6 billion dollars to Iran ended up raining down on Israel today.
The answer is, of course, yes – Iran supports Hamas and Hezbollah and both launched un-provoked attacks against Israel over the weekend. Therefore, the ransom money – literal and figurative – paid to Iran recently played a role in the attack that so far has killed and injured thousands of Israeli civilians.
Fact checkers say that’s not true because that specific money is still in a Qatari bank waiting for final transfer.
Again, the wonderful world of being technically accurate – ish. True, all that bonus ( the U.S. really really didn’t have to give it to them) cash is not sitting in a giant pile on the Ayatollah’s kitchen floor and true Iranian leaders did not go to his house, grab wads of it, stuff it into envelopes, and mail it to Hamas with “Attention: money for killing Israelis” written on the outside.
You see, money is fungible and knowing you have lots more money in one place means you can take lots more money from another place without worrying.
So let's pose a scenario all of us have been through - it's Tuesday and you know your direct deposit with a special bonus will hit Friday but you really want/have to buy something pricey, though affordable on Friday without having to use the credit card. Do you whip out the credit card and buy it and then cover it (let's be honest, cover most of it) on Friday?
Yes, yes you do.
And do you spend windfalls on stuff you really really want?
Yes, yes you do.
And that is what Iran has done and that is why it is true the Biden’s Billions are funding the attack on Israel.
On another financial note, FactCheck.Org - https://www.factcheck.org/2023/10/conservative-politicians-commentators-recirculate-old-falsehood-on-aid-for-immigrants/ - weighed in on why you shouldn’t trust “conservative politicians, commentators” who “recirculate” that old debunked trope that illegal aliens can get lots of government benefits in the United States.
The check reads: “Immigrants who come to the U.S. without authorization have very limited access to government benefits. But an old falsehood revived by conservatives conflates aid given to authorized refugees with the limited assistance available to immigrants who entered the country illegally.”
The piece – as a diversionary tactic – also spends time talking about refugees – a more sympathetic sounding group of people as the check focuses on the oft-repeated “Gateway Pundit” headline claim: “Outrageous! Border Patrol Agent Reveals Biden Regime Gives $2,200 of Taxpayer Money Per Illegal Immigrant Family, Plus a Plane Ticket, Housing, Food, Free Medical Services.”
People designated as refugees can and do get direct assistant along those lines, but FactCheck.Org expands/conflates the “feeling” group of recipients to include all illegal immigrants and then says all illegal immigrants do not get that so the claim is false (yes – it’s that convoluted.)
Essentially, FactCheck.Org is saying that since illegals don’t get this they really don’t get a bunch of anything else.
And that’s not true.
First, illegal aliens get an education: nationwide there is a right to public school.
But they pay taxes so that’s okay, right?
Annually, illegals pay about $33 billion in state and federal taxes total – it is estimated they cost the government about $180 billion dollars per year https://www.fairus.org/blog/2023/04/24/fact-checking-cnns-deceptive-narrative-about-illegal-alien-tax-payments .
That $150 billion dollar difference amounts to about $460 per citizen – in other words, the per citizen tax to support illegals is about $460 a year.
Looking at individual states, the numbers can get very big. California -https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/undocumented_workers/ - is the most extreme example – so far – of what the undocumented can get from government, but could be soon representative of the nation.
· Free education
· In-state tuition if they go to college
· Medi-Cal (the state’s Medi-Caid program – value: $635 per month per person)
· State disability insurance
· Drivers licenses
The state also has very specific laws regarding undocumented people – they cannot be asked about their immigration status when applying for a job or renting or buying a house (before the mortgage meltdown, banks specifically targeted illegals for mortgages, reasoning that three families will live in the house so the loan will be paid no matter what. That is not in any way shape or form a joke.)
California also treats immigration status as a protected class; i.e. if someone makes fun of you because you are an illegal, that’s a hate crime.
So, yes, illegal immigrants do get significant government benefits – the fact check is wrong.
Finally, we come to the World Economic Forum and the United Nations…doesn’t everything, in the end? (a joke, I think, I hope, well, maybe not…)
A week ago, USA Today took on the challenge of proving WEF Arch-Arachnid Klaus Schwab did NOT say the UN Agenda 2030 is “failing.”
For background, Agenda 2030 can be seen as a blueprint for ultimate elite world domination or just a bunch of wonderfully happy inoffensive suggestions that will make everyone happier and healthier.
It’s sold as column B but is a lot more column A – see for yourself - https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda .
Anyhoo, the WEF is a big backer of the project and the fact check wanted to make sure Schwab everyone knows never used the world “failing” to describe anything related to the Agenda - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/10/02/false-claim-klaus-schwab-said-un-agenda-2030-is-failing-fact-check/71003376007/
200 people – yup, that’s it – shared a story entitled “Klaus Schwab Admits Agenda 2030 Is Failing As Millions Rise Up Against New World Order” so it clearly needed to be swatted down before 300 people saw it.
Taking the word of the PR flack for the guy who said he didn’t say it, the check writes: “Schwab and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced a strategic partnership in 2019 to accelerate the plan's implementation. But Schwab has not described the effort as failing, according to Yann Zopf, a WEF spokesperson.
‘I can confirm that these claims are fake news created to discredit the important work that the World Economic Forum does on serious global challenges,’ Zopf told USA TODAY in an email.”
It is true that Schwab did not say the program was “failing” – at least publicly. Since – even if Agenda 2030 were a good idea despite it really being a globalist’s wet dream – it is failing to meet its own mind-boggling internal benchmarks (seriously – check out the website – it’s the kind of thing that will make you wonder if Oprah really did use space lasers to burn Maui to build an elite 15 minute smart city so Bill Gates could microchip vaccines.)
Of course, the check admits, that even UN people have called the plan “in deep peril” - https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2023/05/un-2023-sdg-summit/ - and the WEF itself agreed that “a significant reversal of progress in key areas” has occurred - https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/un-sustainable-development-goals-progress-report/ .
So, again, technically but pointlessly true, though it does raise the question of exactly why USA Today took it upon itself to try to make sure the WEF and UN get along…that’s some inside baseball.
Or Rollerball –