Seattle Chase Wheedle could be paraphrased as "Pursue in Seattle Coax".
FACT CHECK: Is the city of Seattle forcing local businesses to comply with Sharia law?  Claim: The mayor of Seattle has "launched" a new "rule" forcing businesses to comply with Sharia law.   false WHAT'S   Seattle is exploring options to make home loans accessible to Muslims who are unable to participate in standard mortgage programs due to religious proscriptions.     WHAT'S   Seattle businesses are being forced to comply with tenets of sharia law. Examples: Seattle Mayor Planning to Force Banks to Give Sharia Compliant Homes Loans to Local Muslims https://t.co/QSKZ1XqzMB https://t.co/QSKZ1XqzMB  Warner Todd Huston (@warnerthuston) July 17, 2015 July 17, 2015   Seattle's Liberal Mayor Caves To Muslims Following Sharia Law - BuzzPo https://t.co/A3m76OJz7r https://t.co/A3m76OJz7r  EMERSON E.RODRIGUES (@EMERSON_NALITA) July 17, 2015 July 17, 2015   Mayor, no Sharia law applies in America!! Stop this unconstitutional junk. https://t.co/fx7VENmVQx https://t.co/fx7VENmVQx  Bunch (@bunch1243) July 17, 2015 July 17, 2015   Origins:On 17 July 2015, the unreliable web site Conservative Tribune published an article titled "ALERT: Seattle Mayor Launches Rules to Force Local Businesses to Comply With SHARIAH LAW" claiming that: article In one major American city, new rules may force banks to comply with Shariah law on lending and interest. One of the major tenets of Shariah law is that Muslims cannot pay interest on loans. In countries with large Muslim populations, theres something known as Islamic banking, which manages to get around this through various machinations. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray wants to see that change, and hes apparently willing to force banks into Shariah-compliant lending if necessary. This means that, if it passes, Seattle will be the first city in America to mandate that its banks allow access to Shariah-compliant financing.  That claim was sourced to the TeaParty.org site's article "Seattle Mayor Offers Plan for Sharia-Compliant Housing Rules," which offered the following visual: article That article was a word-for-word copy of a Puget Sound Business Journal article about a potential plan by the mayor of Seattle to help Muslims obtain home loans to buy houses.  Quoting both Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Seattle-area Chapter Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari, the article explained that the city was examining housing options available to home-buying Muslims who are prohibited from participating in the traditional American housing market due to religious restrictions that prohibit them from obtaining standard home loans (despite their having desirable credit profiles): article   For some Muslims, it can be hard to buy a house, and Mayor Ed Murray plans to do something about it. Murray's housing committee released its recommendations for ways the city can increase housing in the city. Most ideas were what you'd expect, including increasing the city's housing levy and implementing new rules and regulations to foster development of market-rate and lower-income housing. One suggestion would help followers of Sharia law buy houses. That's virtually impossible now because Sharia law prohibits payment of interest on loans. The 28-member committee recommended the city convene lenders and community leaders to explore options for increasing access to Sharia-compliant loan products. More and more lenders are offering Sharia-compliant financing. The sector has grown to more than $1.6 trillion in assets worldwide over the past three decades, and analysts see potential for continued growth as the number of Muslims in the United States and Europe grows. Based on what he called "rough anecdotal evidence," Bukhari estimated a couple hundred people aren't borrowing money for houses due to their religion. He said this includes even high-wage earners, such as the more than 1,000 Muslims who work for Microsoft and more than 500 Amazon.com  employees. They could easily qualify for home loans but opt not to apply "simply because they don't want to pay interest," Bukhari said. "We will work to develop new tools for Muslims who are prevented from using conventional mortgage products due to their religious beliefs," Murray said. The overall topic of Seattle-area Muslims and banking products was also addressed in another Puget Sound Business Journal article about retirement plans. According to that piece, CEO Thom Poulson of Falah Capital is working to facilitate opportunities for Muslim tech workers to access products such as 401(k)s and mortgages previously inaccessible to them due to religious barriers: article   It's estimated that more than 1,000 Muslims in the Puget Sound region work for Microsoft, and for those who closely follow their faith, it can be difficult to participate in the company's retirement plan. That's because Sharia law forbids them from investing in funds with holdings in companies that peddle pornography, alcohol and other vices. It's almost impossible for retirement funds to guarantee all their investments are free from those kinds of businesses. This has become an issue for workers at other tech companies, too. "You have people who aren't getting the full benefits of their employer's offering," said Thom Polson, CEO of a new Seattle company, Falah Capital LLC, which works with Muslims to ensure they're investing while staying true to their beliefs. In partnership with Seattle-based Russell Investments and IdealRatings of San Francisco, Falah set up its first Islamic exchange traded fund (ETF) last fall. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "FIA," the Russell-IdealRatings Islamic US Large Cap Index, the ETF is the first of its kind on the exchange. Polson said a large percentage of the Muslims who work at tech firms are not using their 401(k) plans because they're not Sharia-compliant. "All of our advisory business is about addressing these needs," Polson said, adding his company is working with clients from the Muslim Association of the Puget Sound. The association has a large community center with a mosque in Redmond near Microsoft's headquarters. Next up for Fallah is a possible foray into home mortgages so clients can buy houses without taking out interest-bearing loans, which is against Sharia law. As part Seattle Mayor Ed Murray's landmark housing initiative, the city plans to work with lenders to help observant Muslims buy homes.   What these articles address are efforts to help businesses  service a significant portion of the local Seattle-area working population who are unable to utilize those business' current offerings  due to religious limitations, not to force businesses to comply with tenets of sharia law.  Mayor Murray's 13 July 2015 "Action Plan to Address Seattles Affordability Crisis" merely included a policy point of "explor[ing] the best options for increasing access to Sharia-compliant loan products," not mandating that any local businesses offer such products: Action Plan  Support the Community in Finding Housing Tools for Sharia-Compliant Lending: For our low- and moderate-income Muslim neighbors who follow Sharia law  which prohibits the payment of interest or fees for loans of money  there are limited options for financing a home. Some Muslims are unable to use conventional mortgage products due to religious convictions. The City will convene lenders, housing nonprofits and community leaders to explore the best options for increasing access to Sharia-compliant loan products to help these residents become homeowners in Seattle.   Last updated: 17 July 2015 Originally published:  17 July 2015
As Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders gains ground on Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton, the two candidates supporters have been sparring, including over campaign donations. Recently, a reader sent us a social media meme that paints Clintons list of donors as dominated by corporate interests, whereas Sanders top 10 donors come largely from labor unions -- a dichotomy that, to Democratic primary voters, puts Sanders in a more favorable light. Hillary: Top ten donor list. Representing banks, corporations and media, the meme reads, providing a top-10 list with dollar amounts. Bernie: Top ten donor list. Representing people. The meme is topped by each candidates presidential campaign logo. (See the meme below.) We cant tell who produced this meme, but we thought it was worth a closer look. Well start by noting that reasonable people can disagree about whether labor unions represent people, as the meme says, as opposed to just unionized workers, who are a relatively small subset of the entire population. Well also note that while this meme may appeal to union supporters and critics of Wall Street and big corporations, it also could be used as evidence that Sanders is just as reliant on one type of donor -- labor unions -- as Clinton is on big corporations. We found that the data cited in the meme refers to cumulative donations over the course of each candidates political career as calculated by the Center for Responsive Politics, not just fundraising from the current presidential cycle. (ClintonandSandershave announced their fundraising hauls for the second quarter of 2015, but have not yet released the full data that is due at the Federal Election Commission by July 15; a more complete analysis of the data will be compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics after that.) ForClinton, we found a high degree of similarity with the meme when we checked the database on July 6. Clintons top 10 cumulative donors between between 1999 and 2016 were, in descending order, Citigroup ($782,327), Goldman Sachs ($711,490), DLA Piper ($628,030), JPMorgan Chase ($620,919), EMILYs List ($605,174) Morgan Stanley ($543,065), Time Warner ($411,296), Skadden Arps ($406,640), Lehman Brothers ($362,853) and Cablevision Systems ($336,288). That list is quite close to what the meme says. It includes five financial-services companies, two law firms that do a lot of corporate work, two media conglomerates and one group, EMILYs list, that supports abortion-rights Democratic candidates. Its worth noting that Clinton was a senator from New York, meaning that some of the donors on her list were not simply Wall Street and corporate behemoths, but also constituents, based in New York. The database results forSandersare also quite close to whats in the meme. The data for Sanders goes back to 1989. His top 10 are, in descending order, Machinists/Aerospace Workers union ($105,000), Teamsters union ($93,700), National Education Association ($84,350), United Auto Workers ($79,650), United Food & Commercial Workers union ($72,500), Communications Workers of America ($68,000), Laborers Union ($64,000), Carpenters & Joiners Union ($62,000), National Association of Letter Carriers ($61,000), and the American Association for Justice ($60,500). In the meme, the letter carriers union makes the list, but the Center for Responsive Politics has the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees cracking the top 10 instead. Either way, nine of the 10 are unions, and the tenth is the national association representing plaintiffs attorneys. During his career, Sanders has received strong support from progressive Democrats, so this pattern of financial backing is not surprising. So the meme is pretty accurate for both candidates. However, we see a few things worth pointing out. As we noted, this data refers to their entire political careers back to the 1990s. Once the full presidential data is released, those figures may show different patterns. That is not made clear in the meme, said Anthony J. Corrado, a campaign-finance expert at Colby College. Most people would assume that this is money raised so far in the 2016 presidential campaign. Also, the donors listed are not the ones who gave the money, since that would be against the law. Rather, it was their PACs, employees and those employees families. In fact, due to how the forms are filled out, the data is less likely to capture individual donations from union members than from employers of companies. Most individual donations are listed by employer, and if, say, a union carpenter lists his affiliation as his company, the fact that hes a union member wouldnt be recorded. Finally, lists such as this ignore that both candidates are collecting many small donations, too. According to the Clinton campaign, she raised roughly $50 million in contributions under $200 during her '08 campaign. Data for the 2016 cycle is not available yet. All told, its possible to look at the top donors on the two lists and say both candidates are captive to a particular set of interest groups, said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics. However, he added, labor is a Democratic constituency whose beliefs generally line up with Democratic policies, and were talking about a Democratic primary here. So all things being equal, Sanders donor list probably looks better, politically, than Clintons. Kondik added that, as the meme indicates, Clinton has a much larger reservoir of money than Sanders has. The value of having a large financial advantage over your competitors in a primary setting seems to be worth occasional questions about how the financial advantage was built, he said. Our ruling Social media memes say that Clintons top 10 donors are mainly banks, corporations and media, while Bernie Sanders top 10 donors are labor unions. This contention fits quite closely with campaign data from the Center for Responsive Politics. However, its worth noting that this data refers to cumulative donations as far back as the 1980s, rather than just donations to their current presidential bids. The statement is accurate but needs clarification, so we rate it Mostly True. Social media users are frequently targeted by anniversary giveaway and survey scams, with one common form of bait being fake coupon offers for free boxes of Dunkin' Donuts:  Such scams typically provide links which lead to web pages (not operated or sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts) displaying the Dunkin' logo along with entreaties to spread the scam further by sharing those pages and writing thank you in the comments field. The free Dunkin' Donuts offers are a variation of the company anniversary survey scam, a ploy that depends on the unwary unwittingly promoting the phony offer to their social media friends: anniversary survey scam These web pages (which are not operated or sponsored by the companies they reference) typically ask the unwary to click what appear to be Facebook share buttons and post comments to the scammers site (which is really a ruse to dupe users into spreading the scam by sharing it with all of their Facebook friends). Those who follow such instructions are then led into a set of pages prompting them to input a fair amount of personal information (including name, age, address, and phone numbers), complete a lengthy series of surveys, and finally sign up (and commit to paying) for at least two Reward Offers (e.g., Netflix subscriptions, credit report monitoring services, prepaid credit cards). A representative for Dunkin' Donuts wrote on the company's official Facebook page that the online "free dozen" coupon was not one offered by the chain:   The Better Business Bureau issued guidelines warning specifically of identical scams on Facebook that target shoppers: Dont believe what you see. Its easy to steal the colors, logos and header of an established organization. Scammers can also make links look like they lead to legitimate websites and emails appear to come from a different sender. Legitimate businesses do not ask for credit card numbers or banking information on customer surveys. If they do ask for personal information, like an address or email, be sure theres a link to their privacy policy. When in doubt, do a quick web search. If the survey is a scam, you may find alerts or complaints from other consumers. The organizations real website may have further information. Watch out for a reward thats too good to be true. If the survey is real, you may be entered in a drawing to win a gift card or receive a small discount off your next purchase. Few businesses can afford to give away $50 gift cards for completing a few questions. Legitimate Dunkin' Donuts offers are listed in a Promotions page on the company's website. Promotions Claim:  Letter chides Senator Barbara Boxer for asking a general to address her as "Senator." CORRECTLY ATTRIBUTED Example:  [Collected via e-mail, July 2009] Many of us witnessed the arrogance of Barbara Boxer as she admonished a brigadier general because he addressed her as "ma'am" and not "Senator" before a Senate hearing. This letter is from a National Guard aviator and Captain for Alaska Airlines. I wonder what he would have said if he were really angry. Long fly Alaska !!!!! Babs: You were so right on when you scolded the general on TV for using the term, "ma'am," instead of "Senator". After all, in the military, "ma'am" is a term of respect when addressing a female of superior rank or position. The general was totally wrong.. You are not a person of superior rank or position. You are a member of one of the world's most corrupt organizations, the U.S. Senate, equalled only by the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress is a cesspool of liars, thieves, inside traders, traitors, drunks (one who killed a staffer, yet is still revered [Remember Mary Jo]), criminals, and other low level swine who, as individuals (not all, but many), will do anything to enhance their lives, fortunes and power, all at the expense of the People of the United States and its Constitution, in order to be continually re-elected. Many democrats even want American troops killed by releasing photographs. How many of you could honestly say, "We pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor"? None? One? Two? Your reaction to the general shows several things. First is your abysmal ignorance of all things military. Your treatment of the general shows you to be an elitist of the worst kind. When the general entered the military (as most of us who served) he wrote the government a blank check, offering his life to protect your derriere, now safely and comfortably ensconced in a 20 thousand dollar leather  chair, paid for by the general's taxes. You repaid him for this by humiliating him in front of millions. Second is your puerile character, lack of sophistication, and arrogance which borders on the hubristic. This display of brattish behavior shows you to be a virago, termagant, harridan, nag, scold or shrew, unfit for your position, regardless of the support of the unwashed, uneducated masses who have made California into the laughing stock of the nation. What I am writing, Senator, are the same thoughts countless millions of Americans have toward Congress, but who lack the energy, ability or time to convey them. Under the democrats, some don't even have the 44 cents to buy the stamp. Regardless of their thoughts, most realize that politicians are pretty much the same, and will vote for the one who will bring home the most bacon, even if they do consider how corrupt that person is. Lord Acton (1834 - 1902) so aptly charged, "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Unbeknownst to you and your colleagues, "Mr. Power" has had his way with all of you, and we are all the worse for it. Finally Senator, I, too, have a title. It is "Right Wing Extremist Potential Terrorist Threat." It is not of my choosing, but was given to me by your Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano. And you were offended by "ma'am"? Have a fine day. Cheers! Jim HillSouth Hill, WA 98374 Origins:  In June 2009, Brigadier General Michael Walsh testified before the U.S. Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer of California.  As General Walsh was answering  questions about New Orleans' levee system, Senator Boxer interrupted him mid-sentence to request that he address her as "Senator" rather than "Ma'am": Environment and Public Works Committee  This exchange touched off a partisan political brouhaha, with one side maintaining that the incident was merely an appropriately polite interjection by Senator Boxer requesting that she be addressed as she preferred, and the other side maintaining that it was a rude and disrespectful mid-sentence interruption of a  general who had already been exhibiting due deference by addressing her as "ma'am." The above-reproduced letter, which takes the latter tack and chides Senator Boxer for her action, has been circulated in versions attributing it to several different names, with the most common variant concluding with the mailing address of one Jim Hill of South Hill, Washington.   Mr. Hill told us that he did indeed write and send it: With respect to the letter to Senator Barbara Boxer, I am in fact the author of it.   The only thing I received [from Senator Boxer's office in response to my correspondence] was a "form letter," or at least it seemed to be, that stated that since it was determined that I was not a constituent of the Senator's, that the letter would not be shown to her.  I felt that to be a little bit blunt, but not all together out of place.  I thought no more of it until about two weeks later when I received an email from a friend and fellow airline pilot asking me if I had indeed written the original letter. He attached the email which he had received that contained my letter.  I have received hundreds of letters addressed per the copy of the letter circulating over the internet.  It would seem that someone within the Senator's office either forwarded a copy of the typed letter to a friend, or posted it on the internet.  The letters that I have received have come from all over the country, and from persons from all walks of life.  I have only received one negative letter to date. Last updated:  29 December 2009 Two days into the 2020 new year, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq, setting off an escalating series of events that included Iran pulling out of its 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S. and other world powers, threats of retaliation traded in both directions, and the Iraqi parliament voting to end the presence of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq. escalating series Critics of the president's decision voiced fears that it brought the U.S. to the brink of yet another long, bloody war in the Middle East. But some of Trump's supporters pointed out that former President Barack Obama also engaged in drone warfare.  For instance, social media users widely shared a statistic that Obama ordered 542 drone strikes while president, resulting in the deaths of 3,797 people, including 542 civilians. Snopes.com readers asked us to verify the figures. Here is an example of the information and how it was being used on social media. We have cropped this Twitter user's name out for privacy reasons.Other than an apparent typo in the civilian death-toll count above, the figures being shared are based on the reporting of political scientist Micah Zenko, who in 2017 reported for the non-profit research organization Council on Foreign Relations that "The 542 drone strikes that Obama authorized killed an estimated 3,797 people, including 324 civilians." Zenko's figures are based on U.S. military press releases and news reports.  reported As Zenko noted, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released two reports tallying drone strikes under the Obama administration. The first reported that there were 473 strikes between January 20, 2009, and December 31, 2015, in "areas of active hostilities" that included Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The second reported that there were another 53 strikes in the same region for 2016, bringing the total to 526, a figure that doesn't include Obama's final 20 days in office in January 2017.  first second The reports provide ranges for fatalities, with 2,372 to 2,581 "combatants" killed from 2009 to 2015, and 64 to 116 civilians killed in that time frame. In 2016, one civilian was killed while the report states anywhere from 431 to 441 combatants were killed. Exact figures on total number of strikes and resulting casualties depend on the source. Independent organizations that have tracked air strikes made in the U.S.-led global war on terror generally produce figures that are higher than those produced by the U.S. government. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, for example, reported there were a total of 563 air strikes authorized by Obama, "largely by drones," which hit targets in Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan. Meanwhile, New America, a public policy think tank, estimates there were 571 drone strikes under the Obama administration in Somalia, Yemen, and Pakistan. depend on reported estimates The drone program under Obama and the strike that killed Soleimani are not apt comparisons. The U.S. has been carrying out drone warfare in the region since the administration of George W. Bush, Obama's predecessor. Although such warfare has always been controversial, the fallout over the killing of Soleimani is the result of his status in the Iranian government. As Reuters reported, "Major General Qassem Soleimani was the second most powerful man in Iran. He answered only to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei." His killing, per Reuters, "struck at the heart" of leadership in Tehran. reported In March 2018, Trump revoked an Obama executive order requiring an annual disclosure of civilian deaths resulting from drone strikes. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism also reported that the number of drone strikes ratcheted up during Trump's first year in office, doubling in Somalia and tripling in Yemen. revoked Zenko, Micah."Obamas Final Drone Strike Data."
Council on Foreign Relations.20 January 2017. Zenko, Micah."The (Not-So) Peaceful Transition of Power: Trumps Drone Strikes Outpace Obama."
Council on Foreign Relations.2 March 2017. Purkiss, Jessica and Jack Serle."Obamas Covert Drone War in Numbers: Ten Times More strikes than Bush."
Bureau of Investigative Journalism.17 January 2017. Reuters."Slain Soleimani was Iran's Second-in-Command."
2 Januar 2020. Purkiss, Jessica, et al."US Counter Terror Air Strikes Double in Trump's First Year."
Bureau of Investigative Journalism. 19 December 2017. On Nov. 8, 2022, the day of much-anticipated midterm elections, The New York Times published a list of tips to help particularly stressed election watchers. A couple of those tips earned the Times a round of jeering from right-wing media and social media users. right-wing media users Yes, the tipscame from the Times. Some seem straight forward enough. Limit scrolling on your phone for updates, take a short walk, for example. A couple of them went viral for the wrong reasons, including "breathe like a baby" and face-plunge into ice water. the tips The list of tips is titled "5 ways to soothe election stress" with pointers that include, "Breathe like a baby. Focus on expanding your belly as you breathe, which can send more oxygen to the brain." Here's a screenshot of the list, as posted on the social media platform Twitter: posted  (Screenshot, @nytimes Twitter page) The phrase "breathe like a baby" may sound infantilizing, but the breathing practice described in the list above is a technique known as diaphragmatic breathing, sometimes called belly breathing, and it is known to ease anxiety and stress, whether it's from the watching election returns or anything else. known Licensed clinical psychologist Dianne Grande wrote in Psychology Today that the technique works because "it signals the brain and body to relax." That's because it stimulates the body's parasympathetic nervous system, known as the "rest and digest" aspect of the nervous system think of it as the opposite of the "fight or flight" response, per the University of California, Los Angeles' Health blog. stimulates We can't say we found much in the way of reputable medical sources to support the idea that going face first into a bowl of ice will help with anxiety, election-related or otherwise, though Psychology Today says research does support the idea that hot and cold baths can help with mood. says "Relaxation Therapies," Integrative Digestive Health & Wellness, UCLA Health. https://www.uclahealth.org/medical-services/gastro/wellness/wellness-approaches/relaxation-therapies#:~:text=Diaphragmatic%20breathing,rest%20and%20digest)%20nervous%20system. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022. Solan, Matthew. "Ease Anxiety and Stress: Take a (Belly) Breather." Harvard Health, 26 Apr. 2019, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ease-anxiety-and-stress-take-a-belly-breather-2019042616521. Grande, Dianne. "The Simplest Stress Management Skill." Psychology Today, 31 July 2021,https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-it-together/202107/the-simplest-stress-management-skill. Chesterfield County Administrator James J.L. Stegmaier wants folks to know he oversees a lean government.Chesterfield has eliminated more positions from its general government operations than the Commonwealth has from the entire state government since (fiscal) 2009, Stegmaier said in an outline of a Dec. 14, 2011 speech he made to the Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce.We were struck by this statement. The state government has 33 full-time equivalent workers for every one in Chesterfields central government. Is it true that the county, in raw numbers, eliminated more jobs than the much larger state?We ran a check.Chesterfields general government operations include workers in all services except education. Stegmaier said that if education was included, the numbers would only grow in Chesterfields favor since the county has trimmed employment in that department as well.Stegmaier, to support his claim that Chesterfields central government has shed more jobs than the state, pointed us to two sets of statistics.He cited county budgets that detail Chesterfields authorized full-time employment levels in general government. In fiscal 2009, there were 3,697 authorized jobs. In fiscal 2012, which ends June 30, there were 3,516 such positions. Thats a decrease of 181 approved jobs.For state figures, Stegmaier relied on data from Virginias Department of Planning and Budget that detail authorized employment levels for all agencies. The state lists the number of employees as full time equivalents -- a figure that lumps together full-time and part-time employees. Thats why the overall number ends in a decimal.In fiscal 2009, the state had a maximum employment level 114,724.44 jobs. This fiscal year, the maximum is set at 114,566.73.So the states drop of about 157 authorized employees falls 24 short of Chesterfields reduction.But we had some issues with Stegmaiers proof. He had not made an apples-to-apples comparison because Chesterfield only tallied full-time employees while the state counted full-timers and part-timers.Also, the state and county numbers Stegmaier compared are maximum employment levels in budgets. Not all of those jobs were filled.We think the acid test for Stegmaiers statement is measuring the change in the number of people who actually worked for Chesterfield County and the state.We turned to the Virginia Department of Human Resource Managements website, which lists the number of state employees for any given month over the past 21 years.On June 30, 2009 -- the end of fiscal 2009 -- , the state had 119,850.81 full-time equivalent employees. By Oct. 31, 2011, the latest date for which statistics were available, the number  rose to 120,465.97. The state had gained 615.16 full-time equivalent workers.Then we turned to Chesterfield. Matt Harris, the countys senior budget analyst, told us Chesterfield had 3,816 full-time equivalent employees on July 1, 2009. The number dropped to 3,664 on Nov. 1, 2011. The county lost 152 full-time equivalent workers.Our ruling:No matter which set of numbers you use, Chesterfield has eliminated more jobs from its general government operations than Virginia has from its entire state government since fiscal 2009.We rate Stegmaiers claim True. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal have become something of a team, delivering a one-two punch for various economic development projects in Georgia, including metro Atlanta. Although the two line up on opposite sides of the political aisle, they have managed to put the D and R aside to work together on getting funding for Georgia ports, get a new football stadium built and get Porsche to move its North American headquarters close to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The relationship hascaught the eyeof politicos far and near as an example of how leadership should work. But that hasnt always been the case. And Reed noted this last month during the Governing Georgia Leadership Forum in downtown Atlanta. My office is about a 300-step walk to the governor's office, Reed said. But you would have thought previously that walk was a 10k. PolitiFact Georgia is always looking for an opportunity for a little fun and exercise. So we grabbed our pedometer and set out for a walk. At the Leadership Forum, Reed and Deal were co-presenters for a 30-minute session titled Shared Fortunes -- Building a Better Georgia. The description of the discussion said: the state's governor, a Republican, and the mayor of its largest city, a Democrat, discuss how they are working together to advance a common agenda. And to work together you have to be together. And being together includes office visits, so we set out to check the distance between them. Not depending on our math alone, we got out a pedometer for a more accurate step count. We walked the path from Reeds office in Atlanta City Hall to Deals office on the main floor of the Georgia State Capitol, and back again, twice. We began walking at a normal pace. But the mayor stands at 6feet, a full six inches taller than this PolitiFact Georgia reporter, so we extended our stride a bit. Our calculations found that Reed was correct. The distance from the governors office to the first step outside City Hall was 300 steps. Throw in the distance from the outside City Hall steps to Reeds actual office and the step count increases between 65 and 100 steps, depending on the route through the lobby, whether you take a short ramp or the few steps up to the main office level, and stride of the walker. To sum up, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said his office was about 300 steps from Gov. Nathan Deals office. Walking the path that the mayor is likely to take, it is 300 steps from Deals office to the bottom of the first step of Atlanta City Hall, where Reeds office is located. Walking all the way to the receptionist that sits just outside the mayors office adds additional steps, based on our calculations, which could make the mayors claim off by about one-third. Reeds overall point was that the political divide between he and Deal has closed. Based on their history of delivering economic development projects for the city and state, that statement is correct. But the mayor is off just a bit on his distance claim if you take his statement literally. We rated Reeds claim Mostly True. On Nov. 1, 2022, the @catturd2 Twitter account, described by The Daily Beast as a "MAGA troll account," tweeted to its nearly 1 million followers, "Funny how we could easily count every vote in every state on election night until a few years ago." Similarly, Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar claimed, hours before Election Day, that "one day is all it took until very recently" to "count all legal votes in an election." However, this assertion about past U.S. elections is false.  On Nov. 7, The Associated Press reported that "no state releases complete and final results on election night" and that they haven't done so in modern history, according to experts. reported The tweet appeared to be pushing the notion that it now takes much longer to count the votes on and after Election Day to bolster the broader (and false) conspiracy theory, pushed by former U.S. President Donald Trump and others, alleging there has been widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections in recent years. The implication appears to be that the "delay" is caused by some sort of tampering on a massive scale in the days after an election. But researchers have never found any credible evidence of large-scale voting fraud in American elections. pushed by former U.S. President Donald Trump never found any credible evidence We're going to dive into reporting on past elections and show examples of how it wasn't true that every vote was counted by election night. Bear in mind that there are multiple examples like the following from each election year and that the certified, or final, vote count always occurs later. For the purpose of keeping this story brief, we have documented only a few of the examples from each past election year. Also, we want to note off the top that some states begin counting mail-in and absentee ballots early, whereas others wait to start tabulating votes until Election Day. Readers can find data on these states and their vote-counting procedures on thewebsitefor the National Conference of State Legislatures. National Conference of State Legislatures On Nov. 1, 2020, The Arizona Republic newspaperreported of that year's U.S. presidential election, "Actual vote counts take weeks to tabulate." The reporting also noted that, "It's possible we won't know the winners of major races for more than a week." reported According to newspaper archives on Newspapers.com, votes were still being counted after Election Day in California,Delaware, andFlorida, to name just the first three examples we found. Newspapers.com California Delaware Florida On Nov. 6, 2018, KQED.org reported of Election Day, "For close races  for example, some of the hotly contested congressional contests  the final results may not be known for days, or possibly even weeks." The story added, "What will be needed tonight is generally in short supply these days: patience." reported We were able to quickly find newspaper articles published after election night that said votes for the midterms were still in the process of being counted inNew Jersey, Florida, andCalifornia, and again, those were simply the first three examples we encountered in search results. New Jersey Florida California On Nov. 7, 2016, Utah's Deseret News newspaperpublished a story with the headline, "Here's why precinct results don't tell the whole story on election night." The reporting said, "Don't be shocked if you don't know whether or not your county voted for a certain candidate. The majority of Utah's votes are now mail-in votes, which delay the count." published After Election Day, votes were still being counted days later in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, and other states. Pennsylvania Ohio Arizona On Nov. 5, 2014, the Burlington Free Press newspaperreported that Vermont's Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates in the 2014 election had chosen to wait until the morning after election night to make statements, so that all votes would have a chance to be counted. reported Further, we quickly found examples that showed votes were still being counted after Election Day in Illinois, California, Alaska, Virginia, Louisiana, and other states. Illinois California Alaska, Virginia, Louisiana, On Oct. 30, 2012, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaperreported via USA Today that U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney were "prepared to take their presidential campaign to the courts," in the case that "election night doesn't produce a clear winner." Election Day was on Nov. 6 in 2012. The story documented how some states might take days to count all of the votes."In Ohio, for example, provisional and absentee ballots can be counted as late as Nov. 16," the reporting said. reported After Election Day, multiple newspapers reported thatFlorida, Montana, and Marylandwere still counting votes, and once again, those were just the first three examples we found when performing a quick and simple online search. Florida Montana Maryland In 2010, The New York Times reported that ballots in the state of Washington were still being counted as of Nov. 3, the day after the election. Similarly, the Naples Daily News published that votes were still being counted in Florida after Election Day. More examples were easily located on Newspapers.com, such as votes still being counted after Election Day in Minnesota, Illinois, and California, just to name a few. reported published Minnesota Illinois California In 2008, a presidential election year, Election Day was on Nov. 4. On the next day, The Guardian, Politico, and many others reported that ballots were still being counted in some states. We quickly found newspaper articles that were published after the election that said it took days or even more than a week to count all of the votes in Massachusetts, Georgia, and Oregon, for example. The Guardian Politico Massachusetts Georgia Oregon On Nov. 9, 2006, two days after the 2006 election, the Billings Gazette newspaperreported that votes were still being counted in Montana. We also found that votes were still being counted in North Carolina as of Nov. 12, according to the Charlotte Observer. reported Charlotte Observer On Nov. 3, 2004, the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper reported that votes were still being counted in a number of states for the U.S. presidential election. The same was also the case in Iowa, the Miami Herald published. These were just the two first examples we found. Election Day was on Nov. 2. reported published In the 2002 election,the The Monitor newspaper in McAllen, Texas, reported that votes were still being counted two days after Election Day. The same was the case days later in California, North Carolina, and Arizona, just to name a few examples we found. reported California North Carolina Arizona In the 2000 election, the winner of the presidential contest was not known for more than one month. As PBS.org reported,"Afew hundred votes separated Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore in Florida," which led to a recount and the famous term, "hanging chads." reported The story from PBS, which was originally published by The Associated Press, also noted that Election Day ended without a clear winner in the presidential contests of 1876, 1824, and 1800. The data in this story goes back more than two decades, with PBS and AP adding context for elections from the 19th century. With all of this information in mind, it seems clear that some people could use a subscription to Newspapers.com. Newspapers.com Baragona, Justin. "Sorry, Elon! Catturd Turns on Musk, Admits to Being '100% Wrong' About Him." The Daily Beast, 2 Nov. 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/catturd-turns-on-elon-musk-admits-to-being-100-wrong-about-him. Barkas, Sherry. "First Time Quintanilla up in Palm Desert's District 1." Palm Springs Desert Sun via Newspapers.com, 5 Nov. 2020, https://www.newspapers.com/image/692212264/. Barr, Andy. "2008 Turnout Shatters All Records." POLITICO, 5 Nov. 2008, https://www.politico.com/story/2008/11/2008-turnout-shatters-all-records-015306. Brown, Matt. "Progressive Wave Sweeps Petaluma." Petaluma Argus-Courier via Newspapers.com, 8 Nov. 2018, https://www.newspapers.com/image/613921159/. Burton, Greg, and Phil Boas. "You Are Key to Keeping Panic out of Election." Arizona Republic via Newspapers.com, 1 Nov. 2020, https://www.newspapers.com/image/691136097/. "Bush Re-Elected." The Santa Fe New Mexican Election Extra via The Associated Press via Newspapers.com, 3 Nov. 2004, https://www.newspapers.com/image/583749918/. Carter, Andrew. "Tri-Rivers, MARCA Additional Levy Failing as Votes Still Being Counted." The Newark Advocate via Newspapers.com, 9 Nov. 2016, https://www.newspapers.com/image/241690461/. Catalini, Mike. "EXPLAINER: The Need-to-Know Basics for the U.S. Midterm." The Associated Press, 7 Nov. 2022, https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-united-states-4f6eca413f8c6aa6d02d3f5d004f4347. Clark, Lesley. "GOP Wave Could Get Bigger." Nation & World via Sun Herald via Newspapers.com, 6 Nov. 2014, https://www.newspapers.com/image/678432835/. Cowan, Emery. "All Supervisor Incumbents Win." Arizona Daily Sun via Newspapers.com, 9 Nov. 2016, https://www.newspapers.com/image/517382755/. Dennison, Mike. "For Tester, Victory Capped Long Night's Wait in Great Falls." The Billings Gazette via Newspapers.com, 9 Nov. 2006, https://www.newspapers.com/image/411966011/. ---. "Taking Aim at Big Issues." The Billings Gazette via Newspapers.com, 8 Nov. 2012, https://www.newspapers.com/image/523328406/. Diamond, Michael L., et al. "Kim Takes Lead over MacArthur." Courier-Post via Newspapers.com, 8 Nov. 2018, https://www.newspapers.com/image/504236358/. Ellis, John. "Rep. Jim Costa Takes Slim Lead over Johnny Tacherra." The Fresno Bee via Newspapers.com, 13 Nov. 2014, https://www.newspapers.com/image/667246373/. "Fact Check-Official U.S. Election Vote Counts Legally Take Weeks to Certify." Reuters, 7 Nov. 2022, https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-election-vote-count-idUSL1N3231SX. "From Naples to Tallahassee: Rick Scott's Improbable Rise to Florida's Governor." Naples News, 6 Nov. 2010, https://archive.naplesnews.com/news/local/from-naples-to-tallahassee-rick-scotts-improbable-rise-to-floridas-governor-ep-393387057-343154782.html. Goldstein, David. "Democrat Wins Oregon Senate Seat." Ledger-Enquirer via Newspapers.com, 7 Nov. 2008, https://www.newspapers.com/image/860338643/. Hallenbeck, Terry. "AP: Shumlin up 2,095 Votes with All Precincts Reporting." Burlington Free Press, 5 Nov. 2014, https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2014/11/05/vermont-governor-results/18515931/. "Here Are the Four Times Election Day Ended with No Clear Winner." PBS NewsHour via The Associated Press, 6 Nov. 2016, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/4-times-u-s-election-night-ended-no-clear-winner. Hutcheson, Ron. "Bush Vows to Push Changes in Taxes, Social Security." Miami Herald via Newspapers.com, 5 Nov. 2004, https://www.newspapers.com/image/651799110/. Korte, Gregory. "Both Sides Arming for Vote Recounts." Honolulu Star-Advertiser via USA Today via Newspapers.com, 30 Oct. 2012, https://www.newspapers.com/image/266586446/. Lemire, Jonathan, et al. "Trump Hits Election Integrity as Votes Still Being Counted." Florida Today via The Associated Press via Newspapers.com, 6 Nov. 2020, https://www.newspapers.com/image/692268850/. McCarthy, John. "Nelson Presses Ahead with Recount." Florida Today via USA Today via Newspapers.com, 8 Nov. 2018, https://www.newspapers.com/image/504244713/. Neiburg, Jeff. "In Delaware, Biden Exceeded Clinton's Votes." Delaware News Journal via Newspapers.com, 12 Nov. 2020, https://www.newspapers.com/image/694251795/. Pacella, Rachael. "Maryland Voters Evenly Split on Casino Expansion." Star-Democrat via Newspapers.com, 7 Nov. 2012, https://www.newspapers.com/image/115981704/. Pearson, Rick, et al. "Rauner Declares Victory, Quinn Refuses to Quit." Chicago Tribune via Newspapers.com, 5 Nov. 2014, https://www.newspapers.com/image/249063356/. Pemberton, Mary. "Young Retains House Seat in Alaska Election." Athol Daily News via Newspapers.com, 13 Nov. 2008, https://www.newspapers.com/image/842933492/. Petrie, Kari. "Bennett Carries Slight Early Lead over Skwira." St. Cloud Times via Newspapers.com, 3 Nov. 2010, https://www.newspapers.com/image/224962504/. "Quinn Wins despite Carrying Just 3 Counties." The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus via Newspapers.com, 6 Nov. 2010, https://www.newspapers.com/image/436509434/. Rochman, Bonnie. "Races Are Still up in Air." The News & Observer via Newspapers.com, 8 Nov. 2002, https://www.newspapers.com/image/656526452/. "S.C. Candidates Brace for Recounts." The Charlotte Observer via The Associated Press via Newspapers.com, 12 Nov. 2006, https://www.newspapers.com/image/631737287/. Schor, Elana, and Ewen MacAskill. "Congress: Big Democratic Gains Put Party in Firm Control after 16 Years." The Guardian, 5 Nov. 2008, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/nov/06/democrat-gains-congress-senate-elections. Scribner, Herb. "Here's Why Precinct Results Don't Tell the Whole Story on Election Night." Deseret News via Newspapers.com, 7 Nov. 2016, https://www.deseret.com/2016/11/7/20599984/here-s-why-precinct-results-don-t-tell-the-whole-story-on-election-night. Scutari, Chip, and Robbie Sherwood. "Napolitano next Governor." Arizona Republic via Newspapers.com, 11 Nov. 2002, https://www.newspapers.com/image/124690930/. Shafer, Scott. "Making Sense of Election Night Returns." KQED, 6 Nov. 2018, https://www.kqed.org/news/11703680/making-sense-of-election-night-returns. "Shapiro Claiming Treasurer's Seat." Standard-Speaker via The Associated Press via Newspapers.com, 9 Nov. 2016, https://www.newspapers.com/image/526805187/. "Smith, Merkley Race Nearly Tied." Corvallis Gazette-Times via The Associated Press via Newspapers.com, 5 Nov. 2008, https://www.newspapers.com/image/383477446/. Stanton, Sam. "Jones Leads, but Sheriff's Race Still Undecided." The Sacramento Bee via Newspapers.com, 10 Nov. 2010, https://www.newspapers.com/image/635252317/. "Table 16: When Absentee/Mail Ballot Processing and Counting Can Begin." National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vopp-table-16-when-absentee-mail-ballot-processing-and-counting-can-begin.aspx. Taylor, Steve. "Loss in the Valley." The Monitor via Newspapers.com, 7 Nov. 2002, https://www.newspapers.com/image/331514877/. Trone, Kimberly. "Garcia's Lead in Race Widens." The Desert Sun via Newspapers.com, 9 Nov. 2002, https://www.newspapers.com/image/194263596/. Washington - Election Results 2010 - The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2010/results/washington.html. Wire Reports. "House Race in Florida, 7 Other Contests Drag On." The Times and Democrat, 9 Nov. 2012, https://www.newspapers.com/image/440420617/. Adam Hasner, fake conservative? That's the contention being made by George LeMieux, as the two Republicans vie for the GOP nomination to take on incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson. LeMieux, a former U.S. senator, is challenging Hasner, a former Florida House majority leader, on two core issues: taxes and spending. LeMieux campaign e-mails and Web posts on Aug. 1, 2011,show a cartoon Hasnerwearing a joker hat and holding a mask in his hand. He is attending his own masquerade ball  one where hes only pretending to be conservative.The Masquerade Ball gown Hasner has chosen on the key issues of taxes and spending is a prime example. Hasners rhetoric simply does not match his record. Hasners record includes: Increasing Spending  A 40% increase during his time in the legislature. Requesting over $92.2 million in earmarks. Billions in new taxes and fees. Voting to accept Obama stimulus money.The earmark claim caught our eye. Hasner, elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2002,served as majority leaderfrom 2008-10 before term limits ended his run. That means plenty of time to rack up requests for pet projects. But did he request over $92.2 million in earmarks? And if he did, how did that compare with requests by other lawmakers?A more detailed look at Hasners record atGeorgeForFlorida.comclarifies the LeMieux campaign was talking about Floridas twist on the earmark, the Community Budget Issue Request. As weve written inother earmark fact-checks, its a way state legislators use to request funding for local projects. Lawmakers had to file requests  for a local park, say, or a new community wastewater system  and attach their names to each one.The Legislaturestopped the practicein 2009 as budgets got tighter. But the Florida House keepsan archive of such requests, funded and unfunded, at FloridaHouse.gov.A PolitiFact Florida analysis oflawmakers requests from 2003-08shows Hasner indeed made use of CBIRs to ask for state funding for everything from acommunity child care center in Delray Beach($25,000) to support for amedical cluster and research institutein the Miami area ($20 million). He requested $1 million for manatee avoidance technology, made regular requests on behalf ofbrain injury prevention effortsamong seniors ($199,450) and asked for taxpayer aid for drainage improvements, boardwalk replacements and reclaimed water systems.Over six years, his requests total just over $92.2 million.Well mention that the archive doesnt make it clear which projects ultimately won funding, and indeed some requests may have been made year after year precisely because they failed to attract lawmaker support. Rep. Adam Hasners Community Budget Issue Requests 2003-08 That means the amount of local funding Hasner requested for his district was in the bottom half of lawmakers in four out of six years, though it jumped to the 60th percentile in 2006, the year before he served as deputy majority leader, and the 86th percentile in 2007, the year before he took the top seat.But even in 2007, the amount Hasner requested was eclipsed by top CBIR filers, such asRep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna,who wanted $202.3 million for projects in her district  nearly four times Hasners total.A couple of other notes.First, we feel we should at least mention that LeMieux has a record of voting for earmarks while he was in the U.S. Senate. LeMieux, whohadnt held elected officebefore he was appointed to U.S. Sen. Mel Martinezs seat in 2009 by his former boss, Gov. Charlie Crist, has claimed henever requested a single earmark. But he didnt have to: Earmarks bound for Florida were already packed into appropriations bills before LeMieux took over for Martinez. LeMieux voted forseveral such bills. He also activelylobbied for local stimulus projects. Later, he voted for a moratorium to ban federal earmarks through 2013  but so did Sen. Bill Nelson.Meanwhile, as the Florida economy faltered, Hasner cut his own local funding requests in 2008 to a single item  $385,000. That put him last among more than 100 lawmakers who made local funding requests. And he was in the leadership when the decision was made to stop such requests altogether. Hasners campaign, for the record, thinks its unfair to call Community Budget Issue Requests earmarks, which campaign spokesman Douglass Mayer said evokes last-minute congressional handshake deals.The difference here is transparency, Mayer said. CBIRs are submitted with full accountability and voted on in the light of day. Earmarks are snuck in the backdoor of the federal budget process to avoid accountability.But CBIRs are often referred to as Floridas version of the earmark, and documentation from the LeMieux campaign makes the reference clear.Where does this leave us?LeMieuxs campaign says that (Adam) Hasners record includes  requesting over $92.2 million in earmarks. On the numbers, LeMieux is right -- from 2003-08 Hasner requested $92.2 million for projects through a process called Community Budget Issue Requests. But we think there are a couple of caveats worth noting. First is the CBIR process itself -- which was open and transparent. Legislators made requests for dollars in writing and were forced to explain what the money would be used for. Second, it's important to note that Hasner wasn't particularly aggressive in requesting money through CBIRs and more than 100 House members asked for more than he did in 2008. Lastly, it strikes us as hypocritical for LeMieux to attack competitors over earmarks when his own record  where it exists  shows votes and personal lobbying for local spending. We rate this claim Mostly True. On Aug. 16, 2022, we received mail from our readers that asked if Facebook pages named Target Fans and Walmart Fans were legitimately giving away or donating hundreds of refrigerators and ovens. The truth was that these pages were nothing more than the first step of potentially dangerous survey scams. The scammers appeared to be based in Indonesia. The posts showed pictures of refrigerators and ovens (ranges) with the caption, "We are happy to announce that we will be donating 670 refrigerators and cookers which cannot be sold due to a few scratches and minor damage, all machines are in working order, so we will send them randomly to someone who writes 'DONE' before August 19th!"  A search of Facebook for the words Target Fans and the lowercase and special characters ??????? ???? showed dozens of pages that were hosting the survey scams. Target Fans ??????? ???? Survey scams like the one for the Target refrigerators giveaway are a specific kind of ruse. They promise big prizes up front, but then lead to a seemingly endless number of surveys with other tantalizing prizing promises, such as a $750 transfer via the mobile finance app, Cash App. Usually, the scammers who created the Facebook posts are hoping that users sign up for accounts on various websites that might land them small amounts of commission. Target At the same time, survey scams can also be quite dangerous, reported AARP.org: reported AARP.org Amid questions about the supposed subject, sham surveys solicit personal or financial information, such as a credit card number to pay a shipping fee for your prize  something a legit survey will not do. They might trick you into signing up for a free trial offer thats actually a costly subscription for a dietary supplement or other product. Clicking on the link might also launch malware that can scrape sensitive data from your device. Either way, the scammers get information they can use for identity theft or sell on to other bad actors. Some major retailers, including Amazon and Walmart, do offer gift cards as prizes for customers who complete online surveys about their shopping experience, but those companies say they will never ask participants to provide sensitive data. We strongly advise readers to never click any links in offers that seem too good to be true. Also, we recommend sharing our article with family members or friends who might be susceptible to falling for this kind of a Target or Walmart Facebook scam. In sum, no, Target and Walmart weren't giving away or donating refrigerators or ovens on Facebook on pages named Target Fans and Walmart Fans. Walmart Facebook Source: Beware of Survey Scams That Require Personal Information. AARP, https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2021/survey.html.