Month: June 2013

The McConnell Bind

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 2:38 PM
To: Greg Brock, senior editor, Standards, New York Times
Subject: Error: American history, credit scores

Thank you for replying.  See today’s message and your response at https://blog.creditscoring.com/?p=5142 (“The McConnell Bind”).

Recently, I have been looking into media accuracy, errors and corrections and their consequences.  Here are two more errors that exist on your website.

In “Obama Presses Israel to Make ‘Hard Choices,’” dated May 23, 2011, you published, “’The U.S. ought not to be trying to push Israel into a deal that’s not good for Israel,’ the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said on ‘Fox News Sunday.’”

And, in “Framing the Debate” (February 25, 2010), you state, “Republicans, including the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, and the House leader, Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, have called on Mr. Obama to discard the plan unveiled on Monday, as well as the bills adopted by the House and Senate late last year, and to start over.”

Of course, Mitch McConnell is not (and has never been) Senate Majority Leader.  Will you make a correction today?

Having received no response about an issue I raised—after your publisher’s office acknowledged my message over two months ago—I am binding your American history errors to those about employers and credit scores and credit score statistical distribution.

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
Page A2
pagea2.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

The Guardian accuracy, standards, errors, corrections and clarifications

From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@creditscoring.com]
Sent: Friday, June 21, 2013 2:49 PM
To: Liz Forgan, Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and chairwoman, Scott Trust [Guardian]; Corrections, The Guardian; Paul Mason, economics editor, Newsnight, BBC; Paul Mason, economics editor, Newsnight, BBC (address 2); Alan Rusbridger, editor, Guardian (media@guardian.co.uk)
Cc: Stephen Herzenberg, executive director, Keystone Research Center; Mark Price, labor economist, Keystone Research Center; Christopher Lilienthal, communications director, Keystone Research Center and Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center; Robin Greene, chair and president, Keystone Research Center (via C. Lilienthal); Associated Press (info@ap.org); Eileen AJ Connelly, Associated Press; Gary Pruitt, president & CEO, Associated Press (via P. Colford); Mary Junck, Davenport, Iowa, chairman, Associated Press; Kathleen Carroll, senior vice president – executive editor, Associated Press; Kathleen Carroll, senior vice president – executive editor, Associated Press (2); Kathleen Carroll, senior vice president – executive editor, Associated Press (3); Laurie Kellman, reporter, Associated Press
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, Guardian, conflation II

Carelessly and irresponsibly, you published a story indicating that U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is the majority leader of his legislative body, but you are mistaken.  Since his party is not the majority (and was not in 2012, the date of the story), it is impossible for him to be Majority Leader.  In fact, Senator McConnell has never been the majority leader.  The majority leader is (and was, in 2012) Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

So, apparently, you do not know what you are doing (but I do not expect that from a Briton’s vantage point).  The inaccurate article states, “’The combination of these two proposals will provide sufficient resources to fund both,’ Reid said in his letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”

That is idiotic:  If what you maintain were true, it would mean that Senator Reid misattributed his own title—indeed, to his counterpart in the opposition party.  Correct that false report today, or produce the letter to which you refer.

The errant piece is titled, “Reid offers new plan on student loan deadlock,” is dated  June 7, 2012, and was written by Laurie Kellman.  The dateline is “Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP)“ and the address is http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/10278519.

Also, with equal wanton disregard for the truth, you published inaccurate information about credit scores.  Employers do not use them.  I looked into it.  If you know of a case in which the Keystone Cracker Corporation queried the credit companies to cull job applicants with credit scores under 600, then let me know; you have failed to name even one company engaged in the practice you claim.

I don’t care if the uninformed columnist is an economist (or a pessimist, optimist, botanist, cyclist, meteorologist or a cellist)—he does not know what he is talking about and is flat-out wrong.  It told you about this 3 months ago, and I don’t like having to repeat myself—particularly when it comes to incompetent, irresponsible foreigners with hokey designations.  We threw you out 200 years ago; your digital attempt to get back in to make money is pathetic.

You and the Associated Press are out of control.  Wake up, and have your boy make a correction today, Lizzie.

—
Greg Fisher
The Credit Scoring Site
creditscoring.com
PO Box 342
Dayton, Ohio  45409-0342

[PREVIOUS CORRESPONDENCE]

ABC News inaccurate reports on U.S. history, credit scores

Giving an incorrect title to the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, ABC News stated, inaccurately (in its story’s first sentence, no less), “After Senate Republicans  last night blocked the $7 billion aid package for relief funding of the natural disasters that have swept the country this summer, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced today that he’d try again this afternoon.”

The item is a written piece dated September 13, 2011 on the blog known as The Note and titled “Senate to Give FEMA Funding Another Try.”

The television network company also reported, in error, that employers use credit scores.  That urban legend has serious consequences.