False advertising

Ads by the group called ‘Americans for Prosperity’ are accusing Obama of  “..sending $2.3 billion in tax credits overseas that were intended for green energy at home.” The group also accuses Obama of “..sending $1.2 billion to a solar energy company that is building a plant in Mexico.”

 

These claims are accurate but misleading. They’re intended to leave the impression that Obama is undermining growth and tricking American taxpayers into sending jobs overseas. In the first case, $2.3 billion was sent overseas ..but either to American companies with subsidiaries overseas or to foreign companies with subsidiaries in the U.S. That’s the way businesses operate in a modern economy. Either way, we benefit. In the second case, $1.2 billion in loan guarantees were sent to Sun Power to build a solar facility in California. The company just happens to have a facility in Mexico. Like a home mortgage, a loan guarantee is secured by the assets and property for which the loan was intended. Campaign ads are rich in half-truths and provide excellent opportunity for the practice of deception detection.

Quaker Oats

I eat oatmeal fairly regularly ..the kind you get from the bins at the store. They’re called rolled oats and they taste ‘heartier’ than the ones you get in a box from Quaker Oats. However, I was beginning to wonder if I was missing the health benefits of oatmeal because I wasn't eating the Quaker Oats brand. I checked the box and the contents were the same ..Quaker doesn’t add anything special. I wasn’t sure where my doubts were coming from ..until I listened closely to the Quaker Oats commercial on TV. Here’s what they say: “Doctors have proven that oatmeal reduces cholesterol ..and there’s no oatmeal like Quaker Oats ..remember, the one you grew up with as a child.” ~ Now, they don’t come right out and say that Quaker Oats is the only brand proven to reduce cholesterol ..but they sure enough imply it ..and that’s what I was responding to.