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The 6 Dumbest Government Shutdown Myths
Mother Jones fact checks some of the most comment and dumbest shutdown myths about the shutdown circulating in the media. Keep these in mind the next time you need to shoot down the next wacko Facebook post or uninformed comment by a co-worker.
1. Obama closed the ocean.
On Saturday, Breitbart's Mike Flynn posted a piece, titled "Feds Try to Close the Ocean Because of Shutdown", that reads, "before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was 'closed' due to the shutdown." A bunch of people started tweeting about how Obama had shut down the ocean, including this Republican congressman from Arizona:
And on Monday, Fox News' Megyn Kelly had the cast of Fox's The Five on her new show to talk about what Miley Cyrus looks like when she twerks, but also about Obama closing the ocean.
Barack Obama did not close the ocean. Officials are indeed restricting access (fishing, for instance) to Florida Bay, a body of water that's part of a national park. Florida Bay encompasses roughly a half million acres, but exceptions are being made for transit, access for emergencies, and access for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to monitor the population of algae. "t's an exaggeration to state that Obama has tried to shut down the entire ocean—or even to suggest that he has shuttered the Atlantic Ocean or all of the waters in the Keys," PolitiFact.com concludes. "Tourists and locals can continue to fish, swim and play in the ocean, even in the Keys."
2. Obama is personally paying to keep a Muslim culture museum open.
During the weekend edition of Fox & Friends, cohost Anna Kooiman claimed that President Obama offered to pay "out of his own pocket" to keep the International Museum of Muslim Cultures open during the shutdown—while refusing to allow World War II veterans to visit their memorial in Washington, DC. Here's the clip:
This would be outrageous and bizarre—if the claim weren't based on a piece published on a satirical website. Kooiman later apologized on Twitter, and Fox is set to issue an on-air correction this Saturda
On Saturday, Breitbart's Mike Flynn posted a piece, titled "Feds Try to Close the Ocean Because of Shutdown", that reads, "before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was 'closed' due to the shutdown." A bunch of people started tweeting about how Obama had shut down the ocean, including this Republican congressman from Arizona:
Rep David Schweikert ✔ @RepDavid
Feds try to close the OCEAN because of the #shutdown. http://bit.ly/1byP2dg
And on Monday, Fox News' Megyn Kelly had the cast of Fox's The Five on her new show to talk about what Miley Cyrus looks like when she twerks, but also about Obama closing the ocean.
Barack Obama did not close the ocean. Officials are indeed restricting access (fishing, for instance) to Florida Bay, a body of water that's part of a national park. Florida Bay encompasses roughly a half million acres, but exceptions are being made for transit, access for emergencies, and access for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to monitor the population of algae. "t's an exaggeration to state that Obama has tried to shut down the entire ocean—or even to suggest that he has shuttered the Atlantic Ocean or all of the waters in the Keys," PolitiFact.com concludes. "Tourists and locals can continue to fish, swim and play in the ocean, even in the Keys."
2. Obama is personally paying to keep a Muslim culture museum open.
During the weekend edition of Fox & Friends, cohost Anna Kooiman claimed that President Obama offered to pay "out of his own pocket" to keep the International Museum of Muslim Cultures open during the shutdown—while refusing to allow World War II veterans to visit their memorial in Washington, DC. Here's the clip:
This would be outrageous and bizarre—if the claim weren't based on a piece published on a satirical website. Kooiman later apologized on Twitter, and Fox is set to issue an on-air correction this Saturda
Others include: Obama shut down the Amber Alert system; NASA won't tell you about world-ending asteroids because of the shutdown; Priests are being threatened with arrest; and shutdowns are normal.
See: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/10/government-shutdown-myths-debunked
