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Weekly Standard
Mark Hemingway is a senior writer at the Weekly Standard. He is a former staff writer for the Washington Examiner and contributor to its Beltway Confidential blog.
PROFILE
Mark Hemingway
Guest
FROM Mark Hemingway
To the Point
Scientific uncertainty and the politics of climate change Last Friday, the New York Times introduced a new, conservative columnist: Bret Stephens, former editor at the Jerusalem Post and the Wall Street Journal. He's also a former climate-change denier, who now says he believes that human activity is responsible for global warming. But, in his first column he wrote that, "claiming total certainty about the science... creates openings for doubt [when] much that passes for accepted fact is really a matter of probabilities." The response has been deafening... from readers, including scientists, saying the paper's encouraging climate-change denial. The Times' Public Editor says readers need to hear different perspectives and it's time for "Busting up the paper's mostly liberal echo chamber." But scientists say climate change should be treated as an emergency that could be worse than predicted.
To the Point
Separating Fact and Fiction: Truth and Lies in American Politics Today Nobody should be surprised when politicians distort the facts or tell outright lies. In 2007, the St. Petersburg Times introduced a feature called PolitiFact . It's complete with a "Truth-O-Meter," and a range from "True" through "Mostly True" to "Mostly False," "False" and finally, "Pants on Fire." PolitiFact joined the Annenberg Public Policy Center's FactCheck.org . The Washington Post now has a regular feature called The Fact Checker . While such checkers promise to give voters the truth, they themselves are critiqued from the Right and the Left, accused of choosing the facts they check according to hidden agendas. Does one side lie more than the other? Do the media add to the confusion by trying to find "balance" between the two or are "facts" really what voters want to know? If so, why do they sometimes cling to beliefs in proven falsehoods?
Which Way, L.A.?
Obama 'All Fired Up' Again, but Is It Too Little, Too Late? President Obama is barnstorming for healthcare reform to be passed by Democrats only. But members of his own party still need convincing. Public opinion polls are not encouraging, and Republicans say, come November, any bill Democrats vote for "will be the issue in every race in America." After yesterday' s rally for healthcare reform in Pennsylvania, Democratic Senator Arlen Specter said, "That' s the most fiery I' ve seen him since the early campaign…"
To the Point
Obama 'All Fired Up' Again, but Is It Too Little, Too Late? President Obama is barnstorming for healthcare reform to be passed by Democrats only. But members of his own party still need convincing. Public opinion polls are not encouraging, and Republicans say, come November, any bill Democrats vote for "will be the issue in every race in America." We look at the "fixes" House Democrats are demanding in the bill passed by the Senate. Has the President waited too long to assume a dominant role? Will compromise be a historic achievement or a political trap for his party?
Recommended
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?